I really wish that IHY, ILY could be as easy to write as this story is. I'm having lots of fun writing it.
I was in Washington D.C. for a week, so I was late on this one. I'm leaving again to go up north until the end of July, so don't expect anything else until then. This chapter is really short. Sue me. (Or not.)
Big thanks to; Eruaphadriel, KitKat001, InsPins2011, Tay, Jagged Epiphany, Blazing Unicorn, Blandsaft, Satinzevi89, Whispered Paradox, Clueless Bystander, and Twisted Little Star.
Disclaimer: I own a spiffy new camera. I own an Orlando Bloom calendar. I own two pairs of Roxy boardshorts. I don't, however, own Harry Potter.
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I had given up. All I could think about was how Fred was right. I blew my shot. I was just about to go help clean up before I heard something.
"Psst!" It was someone whispering. "Is she gone?" I turned around, but didn't see anyone. I looked all around- no one was there.
"Finally," I heard someone say behind me. "That Marley girl was driving me insane."
I looked to my left, towards the women's bathroom, and for a second, I swear, all I saw was scarlet.
Hiding. She was hiding. At first, all I could think was 'I didn't blow it! I didn't blow it!'
But then I really took her in. How could one person be so gorgeous?
"She just wouldn't stop talking," Alicia said, shaking her head. "Like I really care about how her friend is cheating on her boyfriend with his best friend's cousin, or something like that. And I didn't even know her, so it's not like I could have told her to shut up, right?"
I nodded. She looked older than when I had last seen her. She had obviously gone from the cute little girl that I had gone to school with to a mature looking, beautiful woman.
"It was a nice wedding, wasn't it? Everyone knew they would get married eventually," she said, smiling.
I nodded. She sighed.
"You can say something any time soon, you know. If this one sided conversation goes on any longer, I'm going to ask people to start calling me Marley."
"Sorry," I apologized. I must have looked so stupid, standing there and nodding like an idiot. "I was just- I had been-" I paused. "You look really nice, Alicia."
She smiled. "Thank you," she said. "So do you. I don't think I've ever seen you in a tie before, unless it was required for school." For some reason that comment made me relax.
"Thanks," I replied. I finally felt a smile take my features. "Plus, I didn't say anything at first because the last time I saw you, you said that you'd pretty much hex my brains out if I ever talked to you again."
She laughed, her nose wrinkling just a bit, which I had always found cute. "Yeah, well I said a lot of things I didn't mean that day, and so did you. I'm sorry if I'm that intimidating." I rolled my eyes. Geeze, I had missed her humor.
"Yeah, that was a while ago," I pointed out. "Three years."
"Three years is a long time to be away from anyone, none the less someone that you had spent pretty much every day with for eight years," Alicia said. "We were pretty immature then. A lot changes in three years."
"Yeah it does," I agreed. "I mean, look at Fred. It seemed just like yesterday he was lighting off fireworks while my mum was trying to cook dinner, and now he's married."
"I wouldn't doubt it if it was yesterday that Fred was lighting off fireworks in the kitchen!" she said, which, of course, made me laugh. It probably was yesterday. "You're right though," she continued. "I know that I've changed a lot. I've learned a lot being so far away from home. It's an adventure, I guess."
"How is everything with work?" I asked her, wondering what she had been going all these years. "And Ireland. Is it much different from here?"
"Ha! Work," she rolled her eyes. "It pays well, I can say that much. I enjoyed it much more when I first took the job three years ago. But Ireland- I really like it. I thought it rained a lot here, but there's not a day that I don't leave the flat without my slicker and umbrella. Alex always reminds me."
Alex. I was wasting my time. Alicia had a boyfriend. Of course she did. He was probably even her fiancé. I had gotten my hopes up for nothing.
"Alex, huh?" I asked her. She nodded. "So how long have you and Alex been living together?"
"Well we got the apartment about a year and a half ago, and then- wait," she paused. "Are you thinking, no!" she said, shaking her head, beginning to laugh.
"Alicia, I don't understand what's so funny," I said. "It was a simply, easy to answer question. I just wanted to know how long you've been living with your boyfriend."
"No George! You're missing something. Alex, or Alexandra, isn't my boyfriend! She's my roommate. She works with me at the office."
"Oh," Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! "Okay. I was just assuming."
"Well you know what they say about people who assume." She smirked at me.
"So how long are you here for?" I asked, hoping she was staying for a while.
"Just a couple of days. I came in yesterday morning. I'm going to spend the day with my dad and my sister tomorrow, then one day to hang around and then I leave that night."
"Where are you staying?"
"I'm staying with Katie," she said, moving some hair from her face. "She's got that spare bedroom in her flat. Thank goodness she does, because The Leaky Cauldron is looking worse every time I see it. When I walked in yesterday, it was empty. There was just a pair of old wizards playing chess in the corner of the room."
"You were in Diagon Alley yesterday?" I asked her. Then I realized that it was a stupid question- of course she was. How would she be in The Leaky Cauldron if she weren't there? With a laugh, she nodded. "You could have stopped by the shop, you know. I'm always there."
"I thought you were going to say that," she shrugged. "Honestly, George, I didn't think that you would want me to. Don't you think that it would be a little weird if I just came waltzing into the store? I didn't think that you would even want to talk to me tonight. I got lucky, I guess."
"Well next time, be sure to stop by," I said. Someone else then interrupted me.
"Well, thank you for the help, little brother," Charlie said, full of sarcasm as he walked up to Alicia and I. "The ballroom is all cleaned up, and you greatly did you part. You know- oh hey Alicia!"
"Hi Charlie," she said, smiling. Charlie gave her a quick hug before crossing his arms over his chest. "Has he been here with you the whole time?" Alicia nodded. "Well then I suppose it's alright." He looked down at his watch. "It's 7:50. They're going to kick us out of here in ten minutes. I'm going to make sure Mum doesn't need any more help. It was good to see you, Alicia. If you're ever in Romania, you know who to call."
"Thanks, Charlie," she said, waving to him as he left. "He's too much. You're lucky to have such a great family, George."
But I wasn't really thinking about it. I was thinking about Charlie's watch- well, what it said, at least. There was so much more that I wanted to talk to Alicia about, and ten minutes simply wouldn't do. The rest of the family was beginning to pile out of the ballroom and outside.
That was it. It was time to go, and I didn't know what to do. So I did the first thing that came to my head.
"Do you want to go out tomorrow night? After your day with your family?" I asked her. And as soon as I did, I felt like I shouldn't have. Alicia didn't want to go out with me. I was kicking myself in the butt. I knew that the next minute was going to be embarrassing. It was going to be awkward and-
"Yeah, sure," she replied, although I really didn't hear her because I was too busy feeling like an ass.
"That's alright," I said, feeling my face grow hot. "I know you're probably busy." Alicia laughed at me.
"George, I said yes," she said, giving me an obviously confused look.
"You did?" I said, feeling twice as stupid, if that was even possible. "I mean, I knew that. I was just making sure that's what you said." She nodded, obviously not believing it for a second.
"I bet," she said with a smile. "I'll say it more clearly this time. George Weasley, I'd like to go out with you tomorrow night." So that alone was enough to forget that I was at my brother's wedding.
"Great," I said. Even I could tell that I was grinning from ear to ear. "I'll pick you up at Katie's at 7:00?"
"Sounds great," she said. "That'll give me the day to spend with my family and then the night with you." And then, thank Merlin she did it, because I wouldn't have had the guts to do it, she hugged me. I hugged her back, of course, but I was glad that she went for it first.
"It was nice to see you, Lich," I said quietly as we stepped away. She gave me one last beautiful smile before she was gone in a loud CRACK.
"It was nice to see you, Lich," I heard in a mocking voice behind me.
"Shut up, Fred," I said, rolling my eyes at him.
"Oh, leave him alone, Fred," Angelina said, coming up to us. "I think it's great that you two are talking again, George. I have a feeling she missed you a lot."
"Well I have a feeling that he just made a fool out of himself," Fred said, smirking.
I shot him a look. "And I have a feeling that you should listen to your wife."
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I told you it was short. But if I was going to get a chapter out by the time I left, it was going to have to be.
Review, please.
What did everyone think about HBP? I didn't really like it.