I told you I'd be fast. Thank you to everyone who is trying to motivate me to keep going with reviews, it seriously means a lot. So I dedicate this chapter to all of you - unfortunately, it is not a happy chapter.

To the reviewer that wished I wouldn't make Fred break Hermione's heart, I am so sorry. It had to happen! Hang in there, it shouldn't last long, as you'll see here in the next couple days.

Please keep reviewing! I've pulled out a longer chapter for you guys. This one is about 1800 words, the longest yet. It would mean a lot if as a thank you I got lots more feedback? Anything you guys want to see? Different descriptions? How loveydovey should I get here? Should they do wink wink stuff? (Obviously not smut, I have never tried that before and refuse to ruin this story with my amateur attempts.)
Anyway, enjoy this chapter. Break starts day after tomorrow, so I should be sending out chapters pretty quickly.

Thank you all again!


FALLING IN LOVE WITH HERMIONE GRANGER

Fred

Hermione followed me out of the Great Hall and down an empty corridor. When we stopped, I turned to face her and while it really hurt me, I knew I had to break off whatever we had before it got too serious. I knew I was her first everything, which only made it worse. Seriously, who would want their first boyfriend to be known around the school as a player? A pit of lead was forming in my stomach as I looked down at her face. She knew something was up - her eyes were creased and her lips were pressed tight.

I wished so hard that I could forget about what I was going to do and just pull her in close and breathe in her scent - mint, vanilla, maybe some cinnamon, depending on the day. I wished I could just take in everything that was her - the slight offness to her teeth, the messy curls that were short around her face and longer as they reached her shoulders and tumbled down her back.

It was strange - the closer I got to her, the more and more I noticed things that it seemed others did not. What some, from far away, considered bland and common brown eyes, I could look into as much as I wanted to see the small ring of red around her pupils, the dark circle of black around the edge. The hair that most considered unruly and frizzy I now could see was just a mirror of who she was - wild, free and loud...if she let herself, anyway.

I wanted with all of me to be the person who could make her laugh and prove to her that there is more to the world than what she's restricted herself to. I wanted to be the reason she smiled - and maybe that was selfish of me, but I wanted it so bad. But I just couldn't be that for her. I was a player. I lied to girls to win bets. I used them, and threw them away. And I could never, ever hurt Hermione. So I had to break it off early, before my habit of hurting girls came back in and broke her heart.

Maybe it's egotistical of me to assume she'll get attached and I'll hurt her. For all I know, she'd be the one to break up with me. But that was something else I was avoiding. If we never got truly involved, neither of us would ever get truly hurt.

But it sure was hurting me now.

"Fred?" she asked in a small voice, bringing me back.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking." Sighing, I prepared my lie for her. "Look, Hermione…" She stilled, staying completely silent, waiting. "This really has been fun. But I don't think that you and I will work out. I just don't think I like you like that." My voice turned up at the end, making it all sound like a question, and she narrowed her eyes at me.

"You're a crappy liar, Fred Weasley. At least do me the service of being honest."

I sighed again, wishing she'd have just taken that one so I didn't have to tell her. I ran a hand through my hair. "Okay. George said he'd give me - ah - Honeyduke's candy if I got you to confess 'love' for me. And well, when we kissed… I got the candy this morning."

She stared at me in disbelief. "You're still lying." One thing I wouldn't do is tell her that I actually had fallen for her, so I reached into my bookbag and pulled out the bag of candy, looking at her apologetically even as my heart seemed to be getting squeezed by her fists, which hung rigid at her sides.

"You used me for a bag of candy?" She bit out through her teeth, her eyes flashing with rage and hurt. I immediately put on a poker face and tried my best not to let what was happening inside of me give me away. If I broke it off now, I kept repeating, it won't hurt as bad later.

"I'm sorry."

She suddenly laughed harshly, surprising me. This was a side of Hermione I had never seen - I had only ever seen her ticked off with Ron. "You traded my feelings for some sweets." She clicked her tongue. "I never thought you to be so low." She laughed again, and I took a step back, only for her to step forward, gaining momentum. "Get the Gryffindor prude to spill her feelings to you, to give you her first kiss, to tell her she actually felt something during it-" she faltered, and breathed for a moment. "I can't believe I fell for it. And for you." Hermione closed her eyes and turned on her heel, heading for the staircase to Gryffindor tower.

I turned around, my hand over my eyes as I tried to recover my carefree do-nothing attitude and put this behind me, only to get smacked on the back of the head. I looked up to see Lee and George standing in front of me. George was fuming while Lee stood there, indifferent.

"How'd he rope you into this, mate?" I asked him, trying to smile.

"I helped him come up with the idea. Apparently I'm his backup now."

My smile broke for a moment, as I realized I was missing something. I looked at George, and in a voice a bit too high for my masculinity, "What?"

"Yeah. You idiot. We set this up. It wasn't just some random dare. Do you think I'd give you something as small as candy? When have I ever given you something so miniscule?"

I thought back to when he proposed the bet, everything suddenly clicking. "You told me to get Hermione," I said slowly, "because you were actually trying to get us together."

"Duh. Most everyone knows you two are great together. And that's obviously true, since you both hit it off in a little under a week. But I didn't think you'd actually break it off!" He smacked the side of my head again. I turned around to look at the stairs that Hermione had run up.

"I didn't want to hurt her."

"You just did, mate." Lee cut in, supporting his role as backup. "At least it would have been worth it if you had had time to make some real memories."

I frowned as I realized he was right. I had taken so much time to convince myself that breaking it off now was the right thing to do that, well, I hadn't realized I was wrong. I looked at the stairs again. "It's too late now. She hates me."

"Seeing as she's skiving off her first class right now, I'd say so. You must have really hurt her." George shook his head at me. "Why do I even bother?" Then he turned around and walked in the direction of Potions.

I leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor, wishing I hadn't been such an idiot.

Hermione

I threw open the door to my room and slammed it behind me in under five seconds, quickly collapsing on my bed. I buried my face into my pillow and screamed, wishing with all my heart that I hadn't put so much stock into my first relationship. It hadn't even started yet! All we had done was kiss, and plenty of the girls in my year had kissed without expecting a relationship after. This is what I get for stepping out of my comfort zone and letting somebody know me. Maybe it was good that Ron and Harry had never tried to learn more about me. They'd get scared and run off just like Fred had, and I'd be all alone.

I clenched the ends of my pillows into my fists, squeezing so hard my hands hurt. I shouldn't have expected so much from Fred. He hadn't ever explicitly said that he liked me, only fed me compliments...that probably weren't even true. He was just trying to get that bag of sweets. What, a couple of sugar quills were more important to him than my happiness? He could have never talked to me that day in the library and I never would have gotten a taste of what life could be like with him and I would not feel so empty.

I heard a soft knock followed by Ginny's voice whispering my name. I sat up and quickly tried to wipe my face off, but barely got done with one cheek before she was sitting at my side. She was probably the only person that knew some details about my life - well, except for Fred. A cold, fresh wave of anxiety and grief seemed to flood down my throat and over my lungs, and I felt Ginny wrap her arms around me.

"What happened?" she asked quietly.

"Fred Weasley," I mumbled, ashamed.

"This is about a boy?" she asked, leaning back. "I think I can actually help you, for once." I choked out a small laugh for her sake. "Tell me."

"He - he made me fall for him for a bag of candy," the words seemed to fall out of my mouth, and I instantly felt slightly less stressed, despite the next wave of anxiety.

"What do you mean?"

"George dared him to get me to confess my feelings for Fred. Once Fred succeeded, he would receive a bag of candy from Honeyduke's for his efforts. He used me. For candy."

She was quiet for a moment. "That doesn't sound right."

"Well, it's what Fred told me. After he lied, saying that he just didn't like me like that." I scoffed, looking down at my hands.

"Well, it's usually something bigger, like the chance to do a huge scheme on Filch or something. Fred never does anything for something as small as candy."

I looked at her, her good intentions getting twisted in my mind. "So your brothers probably just figure that I'm not worth anything good," I dropped my head into my hands, and she whispered no to me over and over while rubbing my back, everything slowly fading away as I drifted into sleep.