Slowly, Liam leaned forward and, inching his head out around the corner, caught a glimpse of what was happening across the street. Placing himself back against the wall, he adjusted his glasses and peered through his secret spy mirror attached to his lenses to watch.

When Eleanor told Liam he was going to have to be sneaky around her parents, she mostly likely had no clue the lengths Liam would go. For him, this was the perfect opportunity to break out that old spy kit, wear dark colors, hide in the shadows, and be a secret ninja.

Watching closely, Liam saw Eleanor trying to usher her parents out of Florean Fortescue's while Suzanne stood next to her. Her parents were smiling, gesturing toward Suzanne with an enthusiasm that Liam would never receive. They couldn't even know he was here.

His eyes were going slightly cross-eyed as he tried to concentrate on only the mirror part of the glasses and Liam pushed himself off the wall to peer around the corner again. This time, he hesitated, watching the interaction for a couple seconds.

Eleanor was smiling brightly, though Liam immediately recognized it as fake, because she was trying her best to push her parents down the road. After more goodbyes and promises, it looked like they were about to leave.

Liam slowly moved out of the shadows, all the while playing a dramatic theme song in his head, and moved down the alley, closer to the action. Eleanor's parents were out of hearing range and he waited so he could keep it that way.

Since Eleanor was facing in his direction, she eventually locked eyes with him and subtly gestured to indicate that he could make his way toward the shop.

"We'll be fine. Don't worry about leaving me here for the day. Mr. Fortescue has protective spells around his entire store and I doubt anything would happen. Mum wants a new book anyway and I don't want to have you wait," he heard her saying and then, finally, they were walking down the opposite way and disappearing around the corner.

With a sigh, Eleanor turned around as Liam quickly made his way over. As he got closer, she gave him a puzzled look. "What is on your head? You look ridiculous."
Liam reached up and, with an excited grin, held out the pair of glasses. "Here, you've gotta see these. They're awesome."

He put them on her and she just stood there, staring straight ahead at him. Suzanne started waving behind her, obviously trying to see if Eleanor could see her. "Interesting," she exclaimed, taking them off. "We probably don't have that long, so..."

"Oh, yeah, okay," Liam hurriedly said, folding them up and putting them back in his pocket.

They took a seat at a circular table right outside the front door of the shop. Liam could see the owner watching them carefully and, even though it was for safety reasons, he still felt a bit unnerved.

"Happy birthday!" Liam exclaimed, grinning at Eleanor. Suzanne repeated it after him and Eleanor muttered her quick, soft thanks.

"How was your summer?" he continued, gesturing toward both the girls. He didn't want Suzanne to feel left out or feel as though they only invited her so Liam could show up; that'd be an awful scenario.

"I stayed with my family in an Italian villa for two weeks," Suzanne answered first. "It was just a short vacation before...you know..." She didn't have to finish to have Liam know she was talking about him.

Eleanor paused, taking her time before saying, "We haven't really done anything. I've been sending for books lately to pass my time."

Liam nodded, noticing Mr. Fortescue ready to take their orders. They quickly got their treats and lapsed into silence as they ate. Liam noticed Eleanor watching him over her bowl.

Quirking his eyebrow at her, she put down her spoon and said, "So, what did you do? You never said."

He should've expected that question, but it still made him wince and almost drop his ice cream in his lap. Leaning forward, he put his spoon down and shrugged. "Nothing much. My brother got this new girlfriend he keeps bringing over. She's actually quite nice and chastises Sean when he tries to bully me." He took in a deep breath before muttering, "And Siobhan won't leave me alone; she thinks we're a couple."

Eleanor rose an eyebrow at him. Suzanne snickered. "Who's Siobhan?" Eleanor asked.

Liam rolled his eyes. "You know, the girl who keeps trying to kiss me, remember, I told you about her awhile ago."

With a curt nod, Eleanor asked, "Oh, her. Don't you dislike her or something?"

"I can't help it!" Liam sighed, resting his hand on his head. Even the thought of her... "She forces me into things! Tackles me and pins me to the ground."

Eleanor and Suzanne shared a look that made Liam frown. "And I take it she succeeded by the way you're snappy today."

With a frustrated sigh, Liam let his head hit the table. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Anyway," he heard Suzanne suddenly say. "Time for presents. Here's mine."

Looking up, he saw Suzanne hand Eleanor something wrapped with green polka-dotted paper. Eleanor unwrapped it in her usual way, making sure she didn't rip any of the paper. Inside was a small navy trinket box which little flower details on the cover.

"It's for anything small really. I thought it was cute," Suzanne told her as Eleanor held it up.

"I really like it. Thanks," Eleanor said honestly.

Fishing around in his pocket, Liam finally pulled out a small package, only the size of a chess piece. "Happy birthday!" Holding out the gift, he watched Eleanor eye it curiously before taking it. It wasn't wrapped in any paper and she took a moment to find the opening side. Pulling out a flap, a small ring fell onto the table.

"Do you have any of these in the wizarding world?" Liam asked before she said anything. He didn't know how she was going to react and felt as though he needed to explain himself. "They're really popular with muggles. It's a mood ring; you put it on and it tells you what mood you're in by the color it is! There's probably a better wizarding version, but I thought it would be a cool gift and do you hate it?"

Eleanor took a moment to look at it and then glanced up at Liam. "We don't have anything like this. It's so simple; you'd think we would."

Liam could tell she was impressed by her tone. He couldn't help but grin as she put it on, twisting it around her finger. "There's a guide in the box saying what each color means," he remembered to inform her.

Both he and Suzanne moved their chairs as Eleanor unfolded the guide, holding out her hand and reading the list in front of her.

"It's gray," Suzanne proclaimed.

"According to that..." Eleanor ran her finger down the list, "I am sullen, depressed, and suffering from angst." She looked up at Liam with the corners of her mouth turned upward. "I must really hate your gift."

He narrowed his eyes at her comment. "It's muggle-made; what do you expect?" he tried to redeem himself.

She chuckled, looking back down at the ring on her hand. "Definitely dark gray."

Well, at least he got her to laugh.

A short, adorable chapter...as per usual. Yay.

This site hated me for the past couple days and I couldn't post. Blah. Thanks to Nathpollen for editing as always. She's awesomeeee.

If you need something good to read, check out Inevitable by AkieriN. She's pretty much amazing and so is seleneswan, who's co-writing it with her.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed. (GLEE STARTS ON WEDNESDAY AND I'M SO EXCITED. OK, BAI.)