Angelgirl18647: Here you go, another chapter and on Christmas of all days.

Please review and tell me your thoughts.

Chapter Two: Sweatpants

Push

Beat

Faster...

Beat

Higher...

Beat

Push Harder

The pressure seems to increase tenfold on my body. The air is much cooler up here than back on land. My heart raced. Was it even possible for me to be this high without crumbling under the insensitive weight of the sky? I could feel almost every heartbeat. It wasn't racing like I thought it would be; in fact if anything it seemed to slow down to a dangerously loud beat.

Beat

This wasn't a recommended way to fly a broom in anyway shape or form.

"Rose, get down from there!" A voice calls up from down below. For a second my heart only races faster. If I could still hear her than I couldn't be that high up now couldn't I? Maybe just a few more feet?

Just a few more inches.

Just one more second of this intense feeling in my chest.

"ROSE!"

Time to test it out I suppose. For a second I feel an all too real rush of fear as the plan goes through my hear. However, now isn't the time or place for that is it? A wicked smile graces my face as I let go. I was riding upward, higher and higher much in a fashion I saw in a muggle sport of skateboarding. I clutched the tip of the broom, had both my feet on the base and flew straight up much higher than I probably should have.

This was the essence of living.

But now I was falling. Letting go of the broom I pushed back and began my free fall. I expected to hear the air rushing by me but it was oddly silent. Just me falling without a care in the world. Reaching out I felt like I could touch the clouds and for a second I had no cares.

No fears.

Nothing to worry about.

However, that feeling can never last now can it?

"Protego!" I shouted. The charm in the boom activated, rushing downwards to complete its task. A revolutionary new children's and inexperienced flyers' broom; no need for a wand to protect from falls just a charmed broom. Also an added bonus for adrenaline junkies as I was quick to discover. The broom was quick to catch up with me, giving me ample time to clutch back on to the handle and redirect myself from my potentially fatal nosedive.

"LILY IT WORKS! MERLIN IT WORKS!"

I cheered.

Lily flew to me on her own broom with her arms outstretched, almost tackling me in the process. She hugged me so tightly I thought for a moment I may very well burst. Her holiday jingle bell earring let out chimes to our success.

"After all our work!" Lily was almost sobbing at this point. It was the first thing we have ever crafted together that wasn't a joke product for the store. Something that we could market for ourselves and combined both our talents. Her talent with charms work combined with my love of flying and interest in becoming healer. After interning at St. Mungo's the summer after I graduated it really was an eye-opener on just how many people hurt themselves critically due to falling from their brooms.

This would help so many people.

"I can't wait to show Uncle George tonight! He has so many connections..." the implication was clear, she wanted to get this on the market tomorrow at the latest. I felt the same.

"Before business meetings, lets get ready for tonight?" I pointed the watch around her wrist for proof. It was already 6pm. While the annual Weasley Gathering had no set time, most of the cousins started pouring into the poor Burrow around 4 pm, we had told the boys to meet us at the apartment at 7pm.

Grandma was going to kill us for being three hours late but we had to test the product.

We left the practicing field and raced home. Living in the wizardry district of London was always an adventure. At it's core it was an experiment; to see how a group of wizards could live among muggles without letting the secret of magic out of the bag. Certain areas, such as the pratice field, were charmed so that no muggle would ever see the magic going around them inside the area but others were left unprotected such as malls and shopping districts.

Young wizards living among muggles without any conflict; everything the Dark Lord was against.

We got upstairs and quickly changed. Lily's "lovely and oh so perfect" man was supposedly going to be making an appearance at the Burrow but part of me feared he wouldn't. Evan Wood was good to his friends, handsome with his father's looks and a kind gentleman. He was a good Hufflepuff in theory but he had issues with some of the core beliefs of his house.

He was the type of guy to have multiple female friends and flirt with them all. The one who never seems to remember to call you back but whenever you were angry never stops ringing you up. The type who would make you so furious for being a selfish prat but then do something stupid and make you try, "just one more time". It was an emotional roller coaster. A coaster that was currently on it's high point.

I was fearing for how the next drop would affect Lily.

To Lily he was her prince charming. The snarky sarcastic man that's always featured in romantic comedies that changes for the girl and becomes a better loving man. But it had been five years and he remained the same.

It seemed more like she was sick of kissing frogs and settled for a frog in a prince suit.

But none of that tonight. Tonight was a good night, a night for celebration.

"Ready to go tonight my Rose?" Arms wrapped around me before I could even react. Blond hair came into view on my right as he nuzzled my neck.

"One second," I teased bumping into his neck trying to put on my owl necklace. I chose to go with my dark red shirt and jeans for Christmas Eve this year. No make-up or anything wild for Lysander said he liked me best natural.

Tonight was going to be a good night.

If father doesn't die when I tell him the news. Mother did say he had bad blood pressure as of late. Perhaps I should wait-no Rose, you told yourself you would do it tonight. We had been dating for half a year at this point, the least I could do was inform my parents of this. It seemed all my cousins, and other unpleasant sources, knew of my relationship status so why not them?

Because my father is a loving git that's why.

"STOP MAKING LITTLE WEASLEY IN THERE AND GET IN HERE!" Lily shouted from the other room.

Making little Weasleys?

"Wow you're as red as your name!"

"Sh-shut up!"

He just laughed.

That's what I like about him. He takes everything in stride. He's one of the most open minded people I have ever met. He was smart, he was creative, we could talk for hours about our day and just stupid things around our apartments. He would complain about his mother almost setting something ablaze with their experiments while he stood by bucket in hand. I would talk about Lily and I playing tricks on the woman who lived down the hall, a real witch if you ask me.

He was comfortable.

Like a pair of sweat pants.

I had always heard love was supposed to set your heart ablaze but what if you were just comfortable with someone, wasn't that an achievement in itself? He didn't make my heart stop with his kisses, infact I'm not sure if I was quite sold on the idea of kissing him even close mouth ones even after six months, but he was nice. Part of him pressed for a bit more in the physical sense, heck in the last six months we have never even made out, but it seemed a bit...I'm not sure what the correct term was for this.

Wrong?

Blimey no, he was my boyfriend for crying out loud. Just not right.

He was a comfy guy I could talk to anything about. The type of boy my parents expected me to date. The type of boy they would be okay with me dating after they got used to their "little" (I am 23 damn it) dating big scary boys. Lily and Dom were the heart breakers in the family; the ones who went to the Yule ball and made a point to dance with every male not tied down to another woman. I was the one who became exhausted at social events and more often than not ended up back in the Ravenclaw dorms with a couple of others who couldn't take the noise.

I was that awkward flower who I'm not really sure bloomed at all.

Lysander took my hand and lead me to the fireplace. Lily was waiting patiently dressed in her favorite white short dress. The Potter Princess at her finest. Adjusting her jingle bell earrings she paced back and forth. I took a quick check of the time.

7:35

He was thirty-five minutes late.

Part of me wanted to tell her that it was useless.

That no man who plans on showing up would be so very late.

That she should forget about him.

But...

She looked up at me with the biggest smile on her face. Her were scrunched up and two alligator tears came out.

"I called him but got no answer. Just give him ten more minutes okay?"

I just couldn't break it to her that he wasn't going to be here in ten more minutes. So I smiled and nodded and took a seat next to Lysander. Lily began pacing.

Back and forth

After three minutes she took off her heels.

Back and forth

By five minutes, her arms began shaking.

Back and forth

By eight minutes she began her calming breaths.

So on and so forth until the ten minute mark passed and she walked right out the room without a word. She went to her room and came out a few minutes later dressed in a large sweatshirt. Her jingle bell earrings chimed as she walked past.

They sounded like a death toll rather than the joyous chimes they released earlier this evening.

Reaching into a the small blue bag in her hands she set the fire place aglow with green flames.

"Tell mom and dad I will be by for Christmas."

"Lily-"

She held out her hand to cut me off and just smiled. "I would really prefer to be alone right now Rose." She looked so small right there. My little cousin was holding back her tears, for who wants to cry in front of your cousin's boyfriend, the best she very well she could. But the second I left she was going to explode. Her shoulders were shaking as she choked back emotion.

"If you want me to st-"

"Oh Merlin, no! You have to tell your parents the news! I'll be okay here for a few hours, I can promise you that. I will just pig out on all the ice cream we have left in the freezer. " She took my hands in her and gave them a quick squeeze, "I'm a big girl Rose."

Also a very sad broken one.

I looked over my shoulders at Lysander.

"May we have a moment?" I asked. He just smiled and got into the fire place.

"He doesn't deserve you Lily." He smiled, "The Burrow!"

And up in green flames he went. I took my younger cousin, almost sister it seemed, in my arms. She wasn't going to break down in front of me either it seemed for she was still holding back her sobs just letting loose irregular odd hiccups.

"It's okay, he's done it before. I''ll be alright." She wiggled her way out of my arms and beamed up at me. "Lysander's a good guy Rose, I hope you realize that."

I smiled at her. " I know."

After being doubly sure she would in fact be alright I took a handful of Foo Powder for myself.

"Do you love him?"

Beat

"What?" for a chilling second that still fearful loud beat rang again. My heart clenched inward at the question and it seemed to be all too loud. Why would she ask that?

Beat

"Do you love Lysander because that boy is head over heels for you." She stated this as if it were a fact. Perhaps it was and I just never took notice.

"I-" I thought for a second. Love? Was I in love? I was so nervous about introducing Lysander tonight to my family but it was out of fear of how they all would react.

But love?

I would never know.

I had never been in love before.

Was love the comfortable feeling of sweatpants?

"I'm not sure..."

I threw the powder into the flames and took my place.

"He might not be the guy I wanted you to date but he's good for you!"

"You never did tell me who I was supposed to fall for in Lily world."

She just smiled which I took as my cue to floo back home.

Angelgirl18647: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I wish you all a very merry holidays.