Hey! Back again with another update! Well, you've waited for this chapter for ages and it's finally here! What will happen? Who will Annie choose? How did Charlie get into Annie's flat (actually, you won't find that out this chapter). But thank you for all the lovely responses! It's great to know that so many people are enjoying it!
On another note, that last chapter was the longest one I have wrote yet! Cookies for me! Haha, sorry, but this chapter isn't as long. I think you'll all like it though. Gotta love Tonks, don't ya?
Anyway, without further ado, chapter 52! Please read, review and enjoy!
He's not perfect. You aren't either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn't going to quote poetry, he's not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don't hurt him, don't change him, and don't expect for more than he can give. Don't analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he's not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don't exist, but there's always one guy that is perfect for you
-Bob Marely
4th March 1995 Part 2
The two stared at each other for what Annie thought felt like hours but in reality, it couldn't have been longer than a minute tops. Both seemed unable to speak; neither one of them knowing what to say. After another minute of silence, Annie spoke.
"Hi," She said, slightly cautiously.
"Hi," Charlie replied, wringing out his hands nervously.
Annie looked at him, still perplexed at what Tonks had done to even… Annie didn't know. But when Tonks wanted something done, she got it done. Annie still didn't know how to react though. The nerves were getting the best of her.
"Hi," She said again, feeling tongued tied.
What was she supposed to say? Not even half an hour ago she would never admit she liked Charlie, and now, a mere thirty minutes later, she had managed to overcome the nerves, and tell herself – as well as her best friend and a somewhat semi stranger – that she liked the boy she previously thought she hated for the entire of her school years. Not only had the same boy kissed her when she least expected it (and she did slightly enjoy it), he was now somehow magically – probably not the best word to use – sat on the worn couch in the middle of her living room.
Talk about a sign from above.
"You already said that," Charlie said, the nervousness evident in the tone of his voice. Somehow, this managed to relax Annie, knowing he was as nervous as she was.
"Um, sorry, it…it's just been a long night," Annie apologised, folding her arms across her body in an almost defensive manner.
The silence once again grew, with the two young adults avoiding eye contact with one another.
"Would you like a drink or something?" Annie asked, trying to be polite. It was her home and although it was unexpected, she did have a guest – even if this guest had been her longer than she had.
"Okay," Charlie nodded, his shoulders relaxing slightly.
"What would you like? I've got tea, coffee, water, juice, I think I've got some butterbeer if you'd like-"
"Tea is fine," Charlie cut across Annie, just as she started to ramble. She nodded and walked over to the small kitchenette of her studio apartment. Dumping her bag and coat on the island, Annie picked up the kettle, filled it with water from the tap and set it on to boil on the stove. She grabbed a red mug and a yellow mug out of the cupboard and chucked a tea bag in each.
Annie silently thanked that she had to turn away from Charlie to make the tea; she knew he was watching her but at least this way she didn't have to speak to him. However, it did make her feel a bit self-conscious. Once the water had boiled, she turned to face Charlie, who quickly looked away and his face reddened in realisation that she had seen him looking.
"Would you like milk and sugar?" She asked, ignoring his blushed face.
"Yeah- Um- milk and two sugars, please," He stammered.
Annie nodded and kept a cool expression on her face as she turned to open the 50's style fridge -clearly muggle. She picked up the glass milk bottle, used her foot to close the door, walked head first into a solidly built body and promptly dropped the milk bottle.
She swore loudly, as did Charlie.
"I'm sorry!" Charlie quickly exclaimed. Annie bent down to pick up the glass shards, and Charlie copied her. "I thought you might have wanted a hand so I-"
Annie held up a hand and he stopped speaking.
"It's fine," She told him. "I'm pretty sure I've got another bottle of milk in the fridge."
Charlie nodded and they began to pick up the stray pieces of glass, some of which were surprisingly sharp. It really didn't help when Annie – who was still wearing the heels she had put on for her date – twisted her leg sharply which caused her to fall straight on to some shards which were especially sharp.
"Shit!" Charlie cried as Annie gasped in pain as the glass stabbed at her skin. Specks of crimson blood fell on to the wooden floor as the wound began to bleed. "Annie, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"
Instead of shouting or swearing, Annie began to laugh, which caused Charlie to give her a questioning, yet still panicked, look.
"Why are you laughing?" Charlie asked. "Shouldn't you be shouting or swearing or crying or whatever girls normally do when the get hurt?!"
"Charlie, I'm a trained healer. I think I can handle a few shards of glass," She said. "Anyway, why are you apologising? You didn't do anything; it was my own stupid fault."
Charlie's face began to redden again, and he looked embarrassed.
"Yeah, well, it was my fault you dropped the bottle. I shouldn't have startled you like I did," Charlie said, hanging his head slightly.
"Yes, well, I was the one who was wearing the heels that caused me to trip in the first place," Annie said lightly, beginning to smile for some reason. Even though she'd just made an idiot of herself, she could feel the mood beginning to lighten.
"Do you need anything?" Charlie asked quickly. "I can take you to St Mungo's if you'd like."
Annie scoffed.
"If I go to work with such a minor injury, I'd be a laughing stock. If you want, you could go into the bathroom and grab my first aid kit out of the cabinet?" She asked. Charlie nodded and pointed to a door next to wear the couch was.
"That room?" He asked.
"Yeah," Annie replied. "There'll be a small white bag under the sink."
Charlie nodded and walked off to get the bag. Annie let out a hiss of pain as he left and looked down at her leg. For a few pieces of glass, it was cut up pretty badly, with blood steadily seeping out of the deepest cut. Easily healed though.
Using the bench as support, Annie lifted herself into a standing position, kicked off her heels and, while being careful to avoid any stray pieces of glass, limped over to the couch, being careful not to put any weight on her injured leg. She stumbled slightly, and grabbed on to one of the beams to steady herself. She felt strong arms wrap around her shoulders and looked to see Charlie holding her as though she was a porcelain doll.
"Here," He said, guiding her to one of the couches. He gently lowered her in to a sitting position and helped her proper her leg on the small coffee table. After doing this, he sat on the seat opposite and placed the first aid kit on the table.
"Do you need any help?" He asked. Annie shook her head.
"No, I can manage," Annie said, digging though the small bag. "Thanks though."
There was silence and Annie quietly clean her cuts, using a pair of tweezers to pull out shards of glass. Charlie sat in equal silence, fidgeting as he watched Annie calmly clean the cuts.
"Could you pass me my wand?" Annie asked, breaking the awkward silence. "It's in my bag on the bench."
Charlie nodded and quickly retrieved the wand from the bag.
"Is this willow?" He asked curiously as he walked back to the living area. Annie nodded.
"Yeah. Willow, nine and three quarter inches, phoenix hair," Annie said. Charlie handed her the wand and she smiled in thanks.
She waved her wand over the cuts and smiled as she watched the cuts magically stich themselves together. Annie quickly wrapped her leg up in a bandage, to stop any further bleeding.
"Tergeo," She muttered and the dried blood on her leg vanished.
The eerie silence fell upon the room again, both still not knowing what to say. He's supposed to be the Gryffindor, Annie thought. Isn't the bravery thing built in? He can knock me off my broom but not have a normal conversation with me? Merlin, Annie, man up and speak!
"So then," She said, repeating what she had said to Thomas nearly an hour ago. She thought she was nervous then but looking back, that was like a walk in the park!
"So then," Charlie mimicked, smirking slightly. "I like your flat."
"Thanks," Annie said, looking round her home. "After Chris…I just had to get out, you know?"
Charlie nodded, looking slightly uneasy at talking about Chris. Annie sighed.
"I don't think we should be making small talk at a time like this, Charlie," She said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "What's next, we talk about the weather? How very British of us."
Charlie managed a laugh and smiled widely.
"Well, we have had nice weather lately," He smiled.
This did cause Annie to smile weakly as she looked down at her hands.
"I'm sorry for what I said last week," Annie said, her gaze not moving from her hands. "I was mad and bitter and looking for someone to blame-"
"Hey," Charlie said, stopping her from speaking. He reached across the coffee table and gently took one of her hands, which made Annie look up at him. "I shouldn't have kissed you like that at Christmas. I knew you were with Chris but… I don't know!"
Annie was silent for minute.
"Don't apologise," She said softly. "I mean, yeah, I'm still mad at you for doing that but…I did like it. And… I think, that is, in the long run, it did help me to break up with Chris."
Charlie's head shot up.
"How so?"
Annie fiddled with the long sleeves of her red dress.
"Well, the kiss, it helped me realise, that when I was with Chris… it didn't feel right. I didn't feel anything anymore. And from that, it helped me to see that I wasn't happy living like that."
"But, you liked it, right?"
This time it was Annie's turn to blush.
"Yes. As painful as it is to admit, I did like it," She said.
Charlie's face lit up.
"So, what about us?" He asked.
Annie looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Us?"
"Us. Where do we go from here?"
Annie sighed.
"I-I don't know. I mean, my head's literally everywhere. I think I like you, but I'm not sure. And I'm not sure if I'm ready or if you are-"
From out of nowhere, Charlie's lips crashed against hers, stopping her train of thought. It felt like the kiss at the Yule Ball, only this time she felt more relaxed and it felt right. She allowed herself to enjoy it and yes, she did like it. Unlike Chris' kisses, when she kissed Charlie it felt like…fireworks. Like two parts of a puzzle fitting together.
When they pulled away, their foreheads rested against one another's, both still taking in what had happened.
"Annie?" Charlie said and the two pulled away. Annie looked in to the clear blueness of his eyes. It felt right.
"Annie, I've liked you since first year, since that stupid day when I snapped at you, since our first Quidditch match, since that time you tripped up the stairs and Tonks threatened to hex me. I know this must be hard for you, but I like you. Hell, I might even love you.
I'm sorry if that scares you off but that's how I feel. I know that your favourite flowers are sunflowers, your favourite sweet are mint humbugs, that you support the Holyhead Harpies and that you collect old edition books.
Annie, if you look me in the eye and tell me you don't have even the smallest amount of affection for me, I'll leave and I won't come back. But, now you know how I feel so it's all cards on the table. Make your choice."
Annie sat there, dumbfounded. She couldn't believe it. She studied his face, trying to see if he was lying. But he wasn't. From the redness of his hair, to his crooked smile. The splattering of freckles across his tanned skin, the blueness of his eyes which she found herself getting lost in, the faint scars on his cheeks from the years of working with dragons.
She kissed him. Lean across the coffee table like he had done and kissed him on the lips. She let her hand run through his hair and his hand went to her hip. She enjoyed every second. They pulled back, both slightly breathless.
"I've made my choice," She said softly. "I choose you."
Charlie grinned which caused her to smile.
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but if you want milk in your tea, it appears I'm all out," She said slyly, looking over to where the kettle stood, probably stone cold now. Charlie smirked.
"I think I want to take my girlfriend out for a drink," He grinned and Annie found herself laughing. Girlfriend, she thought. I, Annie Lauryn Ainsworth, am the girlfriend of Charlie Weasley. That sounds good.
"Well then," Annie said, getting to her feet. "Where is my boyfriend going to take me?"
Both grinning, they grabbed their stuff and apperated out of the flat, both thanking Tonks for making it happen.
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