This was written for Lizzie's Fan Fiction Challenge on her LJ. Basically, Ron is avoiding Hermione at all costs and she has no idea why. She tries to get him talking to her with attempts including Viktor Krum and S.P.E.W. But to no avail. Eventually though, we get to hear why he was acting so strange.

This was written to the sounds of Sting's "A Brand New Day" and R.E.M's "Automatic For The People" and was finished in about 3 hours.

Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did writing it!

Disclaimer:I don't own it. If I did, I wouldn't be posting sappy fan fiction on the Internet.

It had begun only a few days prior, Ron Weasley – chief irritation coordinator to one Hermione Granger – was no longer fulfilling his duties. Of course, it had taken me three days to realise that he had, in fact, stopped teasing me and creating arguments. But it hit me like a slap in the face. He wasn't just ceasing his irritating actions towards me, but also his attention towards me in general. He stopped speaking to me altogether – excluding the obvious, "Pass the marmalade, please" at meals. But this wasn't just general shock. This was a slap in the face. Ron. My Ron was ignoring me. This was the end. Not just the end of our friendship, but the end of my life. For this wasn't just any schoolgirl crush. I was in love. Of course, how typical for me to fall in love with the one boy I had the most disagreements with. And now the one that no longer existed as my best friend.

The morning I had figured it out was the morning I decided to get him interested in me again. As soon as I was ready, I rushed down the stairs to see he and Harry sitting by the fire waiting for me. They were always earlier than I was, because after all, they are boys. Or men, I noticed as they stood. Ron didn't even look my way when Harry greeted me. I could see a defiant look in his eyes, making him look like such a handsome young man that I nearly swooned.

"Morning, Harry." I had replied eventually. Harry could tell what was going on in my head. He just rolled his eyes and threw Ron a dirty look. "Good morning, Ron." I said pointedly, staring at him.

He turned around and looked straight through me, and gave a small "Morning."

I tried so hard to think of something else to say, but nothing came. So we left the common room for breakfast.

When we were seated I tried to strike up conversation. "So, what have we got first?"

"Charms. I hate to think what's going to happen to Seamus today. Somehow he always manages to blow something up." Harry offered.

I smiled, Charms was the one subject that Ron had to talk to me in. He was my partner after all. "Do you know what we're doing?" I asked him. But he had turned away, to begin talking to Dean. Harry shrugged his shoulders and gave me a sympathetic look.

Just before we had to be in Charms I took Ron aside. He seemed preoccupied, looking over my shoulder at every chance he got.

"Ron, please. You're not making any sense! What's going on with you? You're not talking to me any more, and I can't stand it. Please tell me what's going on."

He looked straight into my eyes, making me shiver, and said, "Sometimes things are better left unknown." Then he walked away. That was when I knew there was something wrong. It couldn't have been my fault, either. I hadn't done anything different. There was something going on in his life that was making him act this way. And I was determined to find out what it was.

Charms went by without as much as a sentence from Ron. He ignored me throughout the lesson, and refused to be helped when he couldn't do a spell. So I decided to up the ante. I wasn't going to get anywhere by talking to him normally. I had to start taunting him with things that would surely get him talking to me again. Even if that meant he began yelling first, I had to try.

When classes were finished for the day, I sat down with my S.P.E.W things and got to work. Normally I did these things in my dormitory where Ron couldn't make fun, but anything to get his attention was needed. I sat there for two hours working away, making occasional comments in Harry and Ron's direction, but to no avail. He wasn't taking the bait. He seemed to know what I was doing. After all, he hadn't seen me with the S.P.E.W things for over a year, why would I bring them out now when I knew it irritated him?

Soon enough I put the things away and got my homework out. I was working away for about half an hour when a large Owl came through the window and landed on the table. It stuck out its leg in a haughty fashion and I untied the letter attached. Then it flew away. From the seal on the letter I could tell it was from Viktor. So I walked over to the couch that Harry was sitting on across from Ron and sat down. Ron eyed the letter suspiciously but said nothing.

"Who's that from Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Viktor. He's been sending me letters a lot lately. Wants to know if I can come to Bulgaria." Of course, this was a lie. But when Ron turned a dark shade of red, I knew it was working. Harry stared at me, caught between amusement, shock and worry. I read the letter, which informed me of how Viktor's relationship with his girlfriend was going, and put it away.

"How is Viktor?"

"Great. He says he's going to try to get signed to an English Quidditch team so he can see more of his friends over here." This got Ron going. I could see him going purple, and his hands were digging into his knees, making his knuckles go white. Then he got up and headed for the boys' staircase. "Ron, wait!" I called, rushing over. He stopped but didn't turn.

"Mmm?" he grunted.

"Please tell me what's wrong. Would you please?" I begged.

"I would rather eat jelly toads smothered in mustard and served on the back on a Snorkel-Horned Snorkack if truth be told." He replied, sneering, then continued up the stairs.

I was at a loss. Now what? He had somehow managed to control his anger even in the face of his most hated topic. I sat there thinking about this as I ate dinner, and waiting for Ron to come to the Great Hall. He wouldn't miss dinner, not for anything.

Soon he came trudging through the doors. He headed for Harry and I, but stopped when he saw me and joined Neville and Seamus at the other end of the table. When I saw this, tears began pricking the back of my eyes. No. You can't do this. You have to be strong. You'll figure it out. But it all seemed so hopeless. I looked down onto my plate, not willing to finish what was left.

Suddenly I saw a boiled potato fly over my head. Then another thing. Soon everyone in the great hall was having a food fight, with a few teachers trying with no success to stop it.

I stood and began walking towards the door when I ran smack into Ron, the chicken leg he was about to throw landing in my hair. I looked up and frowned angrily. He frowned back.

"Do you mind getting that thing out of my hair please?" I growled. He looked fit to kill. Instead he plucked the leg out of my hair and threw it in Malfoy's direction. I continued walking on, ignoring everything going on around me.

When I reached the common room, I threw myself down on a chair in front of the fire. This was getting ridiculous. I had to confront Ron. And this time I wasn't going to let him get away.

It was almost midnight when I saw Ron walk through the portrait hole and into the empty common room. I stood and walked towards him. He saw me and looked away, heading for his dormitory.

"Ron! Come here!" I demanded. He ignored me. "Ron! Get your arse over here now!"

He flinched at my swearing, and struggled to stop a smile consuming his face at my disregard for my own rule. He came to a halt just before the stairs.

"What?" he asked.

"Come here." I said in a nicer tone, patting the couch. He sighed and trudged over. He didn't want to do this, but he knew he wouldn't get away. He sat down and slumped against the back of the couch. "Ron, all I want to know is why you're avoiding me. You're acting so strange. You haven't argued with me, let alone talked to me for three days. Please, all I want to do is make whatever's wrong better." I pleaded, looking into his eyes. His face twisted and he tried not to give in. But it was useless.

"I knew it would come to this. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep this up without you wanting to know. And I knew I'd give in all too easy" He said, running a hand through his hair and suddenly looking very tired. "I haven't been sleeping too well. Ever since I stopped talking to you. I figured I could go without sleep so long as the temptation wasn't there. But now it's all for nothing. You'll know what's going on before the end of this conversation."

"Ron, please, I don't understand." I said, moving close to him and rubbing his back. He flinched at my touch. But then something in him snapped, and he relaxed, leaning into me.

"Forgive me, Hermione. I never wanted this to happen. I didn't want to ruin your life with this." He looked up at me and ran his hand down my face. "I love you." He said sincerely, then his lips hit mine. All of the emotion that we'd bottled up for so long came pouring out in that kiss. My heart soared as he pulled me close, loving the feeling of his hands on my waist.

Soon we pulled apart. He looked at me with sorrow. "I'm sorry."

"No! Don't be." I soothed, "I love you too."

"You do?" he asked, looking at me carefully. "You do." He smiled.

"But I still don't understand why you weren't talking to me?"

"Oh. Well it was stupid, really. I…I didn't think you would ever think of me as anything more than Ron Weasley, your second best friend. The sidekick." He looked away.

"I never have, Ron. I've always thought of you as my love. I've always loved you. Sometimes you irritate me to no end, but I still love you." I smiled, pulling his face towards mine.

"I'm sorry I ignored you. I didn't think I could live without you as my own." He admitted. I shook my head and smiled, then leaned in to kiss him again.

Although they were the three most painful days of my life, I'll never regret having gone through them. After all, if I hadn't, I wouldn't be lying here next to my husband on our wedding day.

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you, 'Mione."

So? What did you think? Liked it? Hated it? Want to Know where you can get a hold of the fan fiction challenge? Give us a review! Please. Lol. Come on people, it's not that hard! Even if it was the worst fic you've ever read, tell me! Write me a book! Or just a few words. You don't even need to be a member or be signed in!

Don't you think it's hilarious that people are always begging at the end! Except when they forget, of course.