CHAPTER TWO

Three small wordS

"Ron, you know you should put some sunscreen on," Ginny scolded as they left the hotel the next morning.  After landing and catching up on some sleep from their jet lag, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Sirius, and Ron were ready to hit the beach.

            "You should listen to your sister," Sirius said.  "You'll be paying for it later."

            Ron shrugged and flung a towel over his shoulder.  "It'll be okay.  I burn, and then I tan."

            Hermione shook her head.  "Don't be an idiot.  You know it'll be nothing but trouble, and you'll be sore and whine about it for the whole trip."

            Ron grinned.  "At least I'll be tan."

            "I don't know, Hermione," Harry spoke up.  "Maybe if you helped him put the sunscreen on he'd wear it."

            Hermione blushed.  Ron turned to her with a smile on his face and had a pleading look in his eyes.  She made a quick recovery and smacked him with her towel.  "Don't even think about it."

            Ron loved to see Hermione blush.  She was usually so cool and in control.  He loved that he could make her so flustered she forgot how to speak properly.  Ever since the Yule Ball during their fourth year at Hogwarts, it seemed as though a light bulb had gone off in Ron's head. Actually, it was more in the general area of his heart.  He started having feelings for Hermione that he'd never had for any other girl – not even Fleur Delacour, the beautiful student from Beauxbatons Academy.

            Now was the time to make his move.  He'd been imagining this vacation ever since Harry told him that he and Hermione were coming along.  Ginny only ended up in the mix so that Hermione would have another girl to keep him company.  Frankly, Ron didn't want his little sister tagging along with them.  He could keep Hermione occupied – if he got his nerves up.  Sadly, his mother seemed to be trying to push Harry and Ginny together, something that Ron knew would never happen as long as Cho Chang was still in the picture.

            The group walked along the beach in silence, the beauty of the Hawaiian afternoon overwhelming them.  Harry had that faraway look in his eyes.  Honestly, he was a complete bore to talk to sometimes, Ron thought.  Though he imagined he'd feel like a third wheel if he were in Harry's shoes.

            Sirius chose a spot in the shade, near a tall palm tree.  Everyone set out their towels and prepared for an afternoon of some much-needed relaxation.

"Anybody hungry?" Sirius asked.  He had been playing the father role quite well on their vacation so far.  He seemed to be enjoying himself as well, and there was a little more color in his usually pale cheeks.

"I'm starved," Ron replied.  That was no surprise to anybody.

"I could eat too," Harry said. 

"We just passed that restaurant.  We could go back there and eat," Ginny suggested.

            "What about you Hermione?" Sirius asked.

"No thanks," she replied.  "I had a big breakfast, and I think I'd rather just sit here and read for a while."

"Reading?" Ron questioned.  "We're in the middle of paradise and all you want to do is read?"

"Well, all you want to do is eat."

Ron opened his mouth, about to protest, and then thoughtfully closed it.  If they all went to dinner and he stayed with Hermione… They'd be all alone together for quite some time.

"On second thought, I think I'll stay back here."  He sat down on the blanket next to Hermione and her book.  "And I'll… you know… experience some culture and all that other stuff.  If it's all right with you, Hermione."

She rolled her eyes.  "Suit yourself."

Ginny glanced at him suspiciously.  Harry winked.  He felt his face go red.  "So, I guess we'll meet you back here then."

"Right," Sirius said.  "We should be back in a half hour or so."

Ron nodded and gave Harry the thumbs up sign as the three of them headed back towards the restaurant.

Ron breathed a sigh of relief and put his arms behind his head.  He laid back and enjoyed the bright sunshine.  There was a sweet scent of cocoanuts and salt in the air, mixed in with the aroma of Hermione's apple blossom sunscreen.  He loved the way she smelled.  It reminded him of being at home, his mother baking in the kitchen, and Hermione sitting near the fireplace with him.  She had only been to the burrow on a few occasions, but Ron hoped to change that.

And sure, he loved the way he smelled, but even more than that, he loved the way she looked.  Her thick dark hair was tied back in a loose braid that was draped over her shoulder.  Her swimsuit was blue – a conservative one-piece that she still, somehow, managed to look great in.  She chewed her fingernails on one hand as her eyes darted back and forth across each page, the other hand holding up her book.  She had even painted her toenails a light lavender color, which surprised Ron, because Hermione wasn't the type to take the time to do her toenails, let alone her hair.  She was not Cho Chang.

            "What are you staring at?" she asked, not looking up from her book.

            There were so many ways Ron could have answered her.  The most beautiful girl I've ever seen.  No, that was too corny.  Someone I'd like to kiss.  No, that was worse.  Finally he decided on the simplest answer.

            "Nothing."

            "Right."  She turned the page and Ron caught her rolling her eyes again, but there was a tint of red in her cheeks.

            Ron sighed.  How could he tell her Hermione how he felt about her without overwhelming her and scaring her away?  He'd never done this sort of thing before.  He couldn't ask his parents.  Bill and Charlie had all moved passed their days of teenage angst; they wouldn't know what to do.  Ron wouldn't ask Percy romance advice if he was the last person on earth.  Fred and George were more interested in money than girls.  And if he asked Ginny she'd tell him to start spouting poetry or love songs or something.

            The silence was killing him.  "What are you reading?" he barked.

            "The Hawaiian Dictionary I picked up at the airport."

            "What?" Ron cried.  "You're reading the dictionary?"

            Hermione put the book down across her stomach.  "Just the preface.  They have some very interesting facts about the origin of the Hawaiian language.  For example…"

            Another thing Ron loved about Hermione was the way her eyes lit up when she learned something new.  She could talk a mile a minute without making an ounce of sense to him, and he'd never get annoyed.

            "Ron!" she shouted.  "Are you listening?"

            "Not really," he said, not realizing what he said until it was too late.

            "Honestly, I don't know why I bother!"  She scowled and picked up the dictionary again.

            Ron frowned.  This wasn't going the way he planned it.  Maybe honesty was the best policy.  If he just came right out and said it, then he wouldn't be so uncomfortable anymore.

            "Hermione?"

            She groaned and slammed her book shut, rolling over on her side to face him.  "What is it Ron?  What are you trying to say?  You're driving me crazy!"

            Ron gulped.  "I… I guess what I'm trying to say is…" He turned his head to face her.  "Hermione, I love you."

            There, I've said it.

            Hermione sat up so fast her hair nearly hit him in the face.  "You what?"

            He covered his face with his hands.  "You aren't going to make me repeat it are you?" he groaned.

            Hermione grabbed him by the wrist and jerked him into a sitting position.  "What do you mean you love me?"

            Ron struggled free from her grip – she was stronger than her realized – and tried desperately not to look Hermione in the eyes.  "Well, you know…"

            "No, I don't know.  Tell me."

            "Well, after all these years…  You… You've just…" He paused thoughtfully for a moment.  "You've grown on me."

            "I've grown on you?" she cried.

            Ron covered his ear with one hand.  "Do you have to shout?"

            "Somebody who has been my best friend for six years has just told me he loves me, so excuse me if I'm a little anxious."  Her eyes were intense, her face flushed.  "Do you mean you love me like a friend, like a sister?"

            He cringed, thinking of Ginny.  "No, definitely not."

            "Then, how do you love me?"  She studied Ron closely.  "No, wait, don't answer that."  She ran her fingers through her hair until they reached the end of her braid.  She bit her lip nervously.  Ron had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he was pretty sure it wasn't all the fruit he'd eaten for breakfast.

            "Hermione…"

She stood up and began pacing in the sand. "Ron, I think I know what you're trying to say, but love is not a word you can just throw around when you feel like it."

Ron jumped to his feet.  "So you think I'm just throwing it around?"

            "No.  Yes.  I don't know."

            "Hermione, you've no idea how long it's taken me to find the courage to tell you this."

            "But Ron, did you ever stop to consider what would happen to our friendship?  What about Harry?"

            He raised one eyebrow in surprise.  "What about Harry?  As far as I know, Harry has nothing to do with me being in love with you!"

            Hermione shook her head, knowing that she said the wrong thing.  "Okay, okay.  But what about our friendship?  The three of us?  What if something happened – what if I didn't love you back?"

            Ron hadn't thought of that.  He'd just assumed that Hermione felt the same way about him that he felt about her.  "You don't love me?"

            Hermione sighed.  She looked down at the sand.  "I don't know how I feel about you right now."

            Defeated, he hung his head in shame.  "I understand."

            "No, you don't." Hermione walked over to him.  He took a step back, not daring to meet her eyes.  "Love is just… It's a strong word."

            "I'm quite aware of that."

            "Look," Hermione said, grabbing Ron's shoulders and looking him straight in the eyes.  "I just need some time to think about this.  To think about you."

            Ron wondered what there was to think about, but he agreed.  "Right.  Time.  I can give you that.  I've given you everything else," he muttered, feeling his heart drop into the depths of his stomach.

            "Good."  She managed a weak smile.  "Do – do you want to catch up with the others and get something to eat?"

He turned away from her and headed towards the shore.  "No thanks.  I'm not very hungry anymore."

By & © 2002 spazzoid3@yahoo.com