Truth

The night was coming to a close, with many turning in for the night and those that had somehow found a way to drink alcohol stumbling outside to deal with the very gross consequences. One of these individuals was Brea, her charming date had smuggled in plenty of bottles of something dark and strong, and with Brea being the lightest of weights, two swigs went straight to her head. In an effort to make sure she didn't get into trouble, the group decided to have a cosy after party in their tent, but Victoire had to say goodbye to some friends first.

As Fred waited, he lit up at the sight of a sparkling cerise suit and playfully waved at Carlisle the moment he noticed him.

"You're still here," Fred didn't know how to hold back the joy from his voice,

"Well, someone had to sustain the life in this party," Carlisle smiled, "did you miss me?"

"Maybe."

There was no disguising the smitten look on Fred's face as Carlisle moved in closer and stroked his arm in a way that made Fred giggle. When their eyes met, Fred could feel the pining streaming from him, but the longer he stared, the more he realized he wasn't returning the same amount of want. Yes, they were getting along like a house on fire, but it was the flattering feeling from the flirting that dominated, rather than a romantic liking. Abruptly, Fred felt a strong grip on his arm and he was pulled away from within Carlisle's reach in milliseconds, "Who is this?"

Lucas's hand didn't ease up on Fred's arm as he looked at the both of them. As eye-catching as Carlisle's suit was, Lucas was showstopping in his metallic black suit with a waistcoat and a bright white shirt that teased him by revealing the tops of his pecs and his tied up hair that showed off his tantalisingly sharp jawline. It didn't matter how attractive Carlisle was, Lucas stole the show and Fred's heart.

"Th-this is Carlisle, I met him tonight," Fred spoke like a told off child,

"Pleasure to meet you," Carlisle greeted him, but Lucas replied with an unfriendly, "mmmhhmmm."

Carlisle took it has his signal to leave and once he did, Lucas turned Fred to face him directly as if he wanted to stop him from watching his new friend walk away. Anger wasn't what Fred was sensing as he looked up at Lucas like a startled deer, but something very similar radiated off of him as he lowered himself to his level.

"That boy is not the one for you, Freddie," he adamantly said,

"W-why do you say that? We just met, I'm not even thinking about dating him," Fred replied,

"Just, just-" Lucas couldn't seem to form the words and he was interrupted by a drunk Brea bumping into him, demanding that he stopped spinning around and followed her.

"Is truth or dare the most creative game you can come up with?" Aaron tutted as he took his place next to Brea.

The group had set up a tent in the middle of a plot of green on the west side of the castle. Rapidly tapping on the roof of the tent was the torrent of cascading rain, the whistling wind banged on the walls relentlessly and the creaking of the tree branches was enough to send fright into a child. However, the cosy fairy light lit tent filled with cushions, quilts and cookies eliminated outsides existence. A circle was formed, consisting of the usual culprits- Victoire, Aaron, Brea, Lucas, Fred, Teddy and Tonka. Despite the sofa towards the back of the room, the group sat on the rug, shuffling around when their legs became numb.

"It will be fun," Victoire smiled as she started to wipe off her makeup.

Hesitantly, Fred grinned as he stroked Tonka and nuzzled her to put him at ease over playing a game that never ended well. As per usual, for the game, a vial of truth serum was placed in the centre alongside a bottle labelled 'The Spirit of Vomit' which Teddy had so very kindly conjured up in his free time.

"You all know the rules," Brea's words were occasionally interrupted by her drunken hiccups and the giggles that followed, "choose truth and you must drink from the good-looking vial first. Choose dare and if you fail to perform it, the nasty looking vial shall be your fate."

The entertaining giddy drunk Brea put some of Fred's nerves at rest; he was constantly terrified that a certain question would come up and though it hadn't, it still made him anxious. Victoire tapped his shoulder to reassure him things would be fine. He couldn't let anxiety take away from such an enjoyable moment. I am going to enjoy this, I am going to have fun he repeated to himself until the nerves were shoved into a small corner. A genuine smiled appeared on Fred's face as the game began and he found himself laughing, cheering, clapping and enjoying himself.

"I exchanged the necklace you bought me four Christmases ago for the earrings I wore tonight," Victoire painfully admitted to Teddy.

The tent cackled as Victoire instantly begged for forgiveness and smothered a disappointed Teddy with kisses. When it came to dares, Lucas could be cruel, but Brea was the devil serving punishments that were Azkaban worthy and her drunk self was much worse, making many choose truth in fear of how disgusting and horrible her dares would be. They had each had a turn and after Victoire, came Fred. On his first go, he merely had to reveal who he liked least in the group which Aaron took pretty well, so there was no fear or nervousness in him when he bravely asked for a truth question and took a swig of the truth elixir. There was a brief silence that Fred filled with humming as everyone thought hard about what to ask him. The rain fell harder to compensate for the reduction of the wind and as thunder rumbled, Brea perked up as if suddenly fully charged and clapped at the brilliance that entered her head. Her eyes locked onto Fred's as she grinned mischievously. Staring back at her, Fred felt the suspense build, but was ready for whatever nonsense question she'd throw at him.

"Is it true that you-" Brea's slurred words were interrupted by another deep belch.

Fred was ready.

"That you are in love with Lucas Youngstead?"

But not for that.

Panic. Embarrassment. Dread. Helplessness.

They bombarded Fred like the four horsemen as his heartbeat matched the pace of the rain and another rumble of thunder filled an infinite silence. Everything on his body went numb, as his brain simply chose flight rather than fight. An answer was needed. How was he supposed to give his answer when Lucas was two metres away from him? Not answering would mean drinking the vilest thing on the planet, as well as making it obvious that he was in fact in love with Lucas. Say yes and run- the only thought his brain could concoct, as tears threatened to breech his eyes and a suffocating knot formed in his throat. Victoire's hand delicately landed on his shoulder to try to calm his panicking brain, but calm had flown out into the rain.

"Y-y-y-yes," Fred tossed the quilt off of his shoulders as he stormed out without making eye contact with anyone.

Sharp rain and punching wind hit him in the face when he pulled back the opening to the tent; yet he pushed through into the night. He tipped his head back, letting the rain cool him down, as he made a wish on every sparkling star in the velvet midnight sky, begging for this to be another night terror. He paced the green, frantically talking to himself as if it would make anything better whilst his breathing increased, as if he had been running. There would be no more hanging out with Victoire while Lucas was there, there would be more bullies without Lucas's protection and nothing- nothing- was going to be the same. Racing thoughts distracted Fred from the biting cold, a flash of lightening and a tall figure exiting the tent.

"Freddie," Lucas stuttered.

Uttering his name in his husky voice paired with his strong Scottish accent usually made Fred weak, but a small smile from just one word was cut off by the dominating panic.

"Y-y-you," Lucas was as lost for words as Fred.

Witnessing Lucas's tall and muscular physique made Fred lose all control of his breathing, as he admired strands of his precious gold hair clinging to his Adams-apple, droplets of rain sliding off of his sharp jawline and his tempting blue eyes staring back at him. Staggering back, the rain was joined a tear that trickled down Fred's cheek as he restricted his eyes to only looking at the ground.

"Go back inside," Fred's voice wavered but was loud enough to be heard over the storm,

"No," Lucas shouted, "we need to sort this!"

How? Lucas was the ladies' man, the most irresistible bachelor who could make girls faint with one wink, whereas Fred was just…Fred- the bullied boy who knew everything there was to know about wands. A friendship between them should've been impossible and it was so easy to break that Fred had begun to mourn it. The rain weighed him down as he took two steps back and ceased caring about the little things, such as his now limp dripping hair and his almost translucent skin.

"Erm, why do you, erm-" Lucas was baffled,

"Oh, I don't know," Fred didn't see any point of holding back, "probably because you're dreamy and flawless and I uncontrollably smile when you look at me or even say my name."

Dizziness hit Fred once the words had left his mouth and he turned away from Lucas, ready to cry into his pillow and wish for a different life. His one step towards the castle was followed by a hasty several more from Lucas and a strong hand clenched his left shoulder, pulling him back as it quivered under the pouring rain. Through his tears, Fred glanced a Lucas's hand as the butterflies of anxiety began to beat their wings in his stomach again. Feebly, he made an attempt to rid his shoulder of Lucas's touch, his heart pounded against his ribs as he felt the need to run away and hide and he hung down his head as the energy to fight his feelings became lost in the wind.

"Girls line up just to witness me swimming, some follow me everywhere or send me gifts," Lucas's voice was soft and tickled Fred's ear,

"Yeah, I get it," Fred refused to look at him,

"You don't, Freddie. I'm not close to you because of Victoire and I don't protect you to uphold my reputation."

What was he venting about? Confused, Fred slowly pivoted to have his unguarded eyes meet Lucas's which rendered him silent as he gazed into the pair of beautifully blue pools, but he was screaming inside. Whirling wildly within his body was embarrassment, unease, self-pity and unravelling depression, all of which joined with the icy rain and brisk wind to allow goosebumps to creep all over his body. As he tried not to become lost in Lucas's eyes, he noticed a light in them that wasn't of the usual confidence, but something else. The strong sturdy and impenetrable exterior of Lucas was visibly dissolving into one that was soft, sensitive and vulnerable. This had to be his way of showing sympathy before he ruptured Fred's heart.

"For two years, I've sat in the perfect seat for every meal so I could see you, I've doodled your name, I've forgotten my work because I was busy remembering all the little things about you," Lucas gripped Fred's shoulder,

"Stop it!" Fred shoved him away, "stop messing with me, it's not fair."

The anger in his voice disguised the yearning he had for him, but a sharp voice in his head was adamant that there was no chance of Lucas ever requiting his love. Through a violent gust of wind, Lucas advanced forward, his twinkling eyes mimicking the stars above as they locked onto Fred's and his hand brushed Fred's arm.

"I told you Carlisle wasn't the one for you, because the perfect guy has been by your side for ages," Lucas's words made Fred fall for him more and more,

"W-w-w-what do you mean?" Fred's heartbeat was louder than the rain,

"I mean-"

Tenderly, Lucas's hand graced Fred's face, catching a raindrop as it fell onto his cheek and tilting his head at the last of Fred's tears. The light in Lucas's eyes oozed lust and as much desire as Fred was experiencing. Gradually, the howling storm muffled into a faint backing track, the stars became dull and dim in comparison to Lucas, and Fred could feel nothing but Lucas's hand on his cheek. There was no time to comprehend the scene as Lucas moved in, his lips almost touching Fred's ear and subjecting him to becoming more and more powerless with every breath that teased it. In a bid to control his heart, Fred squeezed his eyes shut and drew tremored breaths.

"-I'm infatuated by you, Fred Weasley, and only you," Lucas's intense and raspy words snatched Fred's breath.

As Fred's stomach performed all kinds of acrobatics from the tension and thrill, Lucas run his hand through his hair and slowly down his arm. The butterflies had vacated to his heart as his eyes slowly opened and before he could come up with something to say, Fred's body collided with Lucas's; their lips meeting and refusing to part. Lucas's lips were like cotton candy and Fred yearned for more as they both melted into every kiss, with the wind and rain making the moment more intense. Consumed by desire and passion, Fred tugged at Lucas's shirt the moment they parted and let his hands glide down his chest to his hips as their lips found each other again. This had to just be a vivid dream and even when Lucas's fingers created tingles as they lightly ran up his arm, Fred was still in disbelief. With each kiss creating more sparks, Fred worried that he'd get carried away and despite his desire for Lucas still burning, he found the will to pull away. Lucas rested his forehead against Fred's as they breathed heavily and smiled from their amorous kisses.

"I, erm, we," Fred had lost all capability to talk as he held both of Lucas's hands,

"The others will be getting worried and I'm soaking wet," Lucas chuckled,

"I was going to say that," Fred felt heat run through his cheeks.

Gently, Lucas pressed his lips against Fred's forehead and nose before finding his lips and restricting himself to just one kiss. Any nerves, doubts or sadness that Fred may have exhibited had been thoroughly erased and replaced with pure joy. Leading him gradually to the tent, Fred refused to take his eyes off of Lucas, even when his brain told him to stop. Over was the massive secret that kept him weighed down and stopped him from being true to himself. Viscous wind and rain continued, yet Lucas's sinfully angelic appearance remained untarnished as Fred's eyes followed droplets sliding down his neck and chest. Ending their moment alone, Lucas grabbed Fred and passionately kissed him, one hand remaining clasped in his and the other cupping his cheek, before the two cheekily winked at each other and returned to the cosy warmth of the tent.