Author's Note: For Elizabeth, because she asked for it. :)

Everything

560 words

Neville anxiously rubbed the numbers on his arm until the skin surrounding them was red and raw. He frowned down at it as the numbers ticked down, reaching out his hand to continue his nervous tick when he felt a hand grab his arm.

"You're going to rub the counter right off at this rate," Ginny scolded, holding his arm down. "Just relax. One more minute to go."

He watched helplessly as the tattoo ticked down until it was a series of zeroes, unable to tear his eyes away even as he heard a waitress approach their table.

"Black coffee and a strawberry scone for you, miss. And green tea for you—oh no!"

Boiling hot tea spreading across the tabletop and spilling onto his brand new runners pulled Neville away from the soul mark. He pushed away from the table urgently as the waitress started mopping up the spill with a cloth.

"I'm so sorry!" she said, looking up at him with stunning hazel eyes. "Did it hit you?"

"Uh, no, I'm okay."

She straightened up, pushing a lock of dirty blonde hair behind her ear. "Good. I'll get you a new drink." She picked up the soaked cloth and empty cup, rushing back to the counter as Neville re-positioned his chair around the table.

"She's cute," Ginny commented, having watched the entire ordeal calmly, breaking her scone into bite-sized pieces.

"Who?"

"Hannah, of course."

Neville stared at her blankly. "Who's Hannah?"

"The waitress. She's wearing a name tag."

"Oh." Her words sunk in slowly. His eyes shifted down to the mark on his wrist, already starting to fade. "You don't think…?"

Ginny grinned. "Yes! Who else would it be? No one else has come near us in the last five minutes. Oh, she's coming back."

Neville rushed to pull down his sleeve as Hannah gently set a teacup down in front of him.

"Here you go, one green tea, and a chocolate chip muffin on me. Sorry again."

"I-It's fine. Thank you." Talking seemed much harder now. With a pointed look from Ginny, he pushed on. "I'm Neville."

"Hannah." She smiled brightly, reaching out her hand to shake his. He took it eagerly, and smiled as a soothing warmth spread over his body once their hands met.

Hannah looked down at her wrist immediately, eyes widening as she came to the same realization. Her eyes flicked back to Neville as a blush colored her cheeks.

"This isn't how I imagined today going."

"This is beautiful," Ginny commented, leaning back in her chair with her coffee. Neville glared at her.

"We should probably talk," Hannah said. "I get off work at five, if you're free."

"He'll pick you up then. Do you like Chinese?" Ginny asked, now pulling out her phone.

"I love it."

"Great, I'll make reservations. I'm Ginny, by the way."

"My best friend," Neville supplied. "I'm sorry, she likes to meddle."

Hannah laughed it off. "I guess I'll see you at five."

"Right. See you then."

He watched, dazed, as she returned to work and Ginny made the call.

"You two are cute together."

"I've known her all of five minutes. It means nothing."

Ginny tapped her own, blank wrist—the mark having faded long ago. "It means everything. You'll see."

He didn't have the heart to argue with her, he just hoped she was right.