Over three months without a chapter. Lame, right? Don't worry, I totally agree. I promise I have a good excuse, though. My computer was sooooo messed up from the end of July to now. It's still pretty screwed up, but at least I can see the monitor now. I'm really sorry. I think this chapter might turn out all right…Remember; this story is going to be short. I'm thinking maybe two or three more chapters, but that's it. Maybe a sort sequel, maybe not. We'll see.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with him. He belongs to the lovely J.K. Rowling, who is pretty much my hero.
Thank you for all who reviewed the last three chapters. You are wonderful.
This chapter is extremely short. Get over it. I'm leaving the state tomorrow for a week and wanted to get this out before I left. So enjoy.
"You've been standing here for an hour, dear," said a voice, seeming to come out of thin air. "You look fine. You're either a perfectionist, paranoid, or extremely vain."
Horrible. I looked horrible, despite what that stupid mirror said to me. Who invented talking mirrors anyway? "Oh shut it," I said to the ridiculous piece of glass. "No one asked you."
I took one last glance at my reflection. I looked like I was 15- my hair was in every direction except for the one I wanted it to be in. I was tired of trying to fix it, so it was going to have to do. I sighed and walked out of the half-empty bathroom.
Yes, half empty. Out in the living room of the flat, there were boxes upon boxes, labeled everything from 'Various Exploding Objects' to 'Kitchen Stuff'. If it seemed as though half of the house was packed away in these boxes, it's because it was. That could only mean one thing; Fred was moving out tomorrow.
As I climbed over a box labeled 'Highly Dangerous Things', my brother walked out of the kitchen.
"It'll all be gone tomorrow," he said, biting into an apple. Not that I needed any reminding. I frowned thinking about it. "Oh don't look so disappointed," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm a married man now, remember?" He held up his hand, waving around his new wedding ring. "It was only right that I bought a house for Angelina and me. I don't think she would have quite liked living with the both of us, and you know that."
"I know that," I replied. "It's just going to be weird. The farthest we've ever lived from each other was across the hall once we bought this flat. And now you're moving into a Muggle neighborhood and pretty soon you're going to have four hundred little Freds who won't even be able to blow stuff up without the neighbors wondering what's going on. And I'll be here alone."
"I think it'll be good for you," Fred said, very matter-of-factly after biting into his apple once again. I gave him a 'how do you figure' look that he understood. "Look at you," he went on. "You've got a date with a gorgeous girl in tonight and you're more worried about my non-existing kids and what they will be blowing up. I think you've got your priorities wrong, man."
Whether I admitted it or not, he was right. "Yeah, well I guess anything to calm me down about tonight will work, right?" I asked.
"You're nervous, aren't you?" my brother asked with a grin. "You haven't been nervous about a date in years."
"I also haven't dated Alicia in years."
"Yeah, but you've known her since we were 11. George, you've known her for half your life. Do you really think you should be nervous?"
"I shouldn't be, but I am," I pointed out. "I was nervous from the second I saw her last night at the reception. She just looked so… beautiful. Not that Alicia hasn't always been a pretty girl, but last night she was stunning in that dress."
"Since when do you day words like stunning?"
"Since Alicia's been back in town."
"And if you want to see her before she leaves again, you better get out of here now." He pointed to the clock. 7:45.
"Damn," I muttered. I grabbed a jacket and threw it on as I opened the front door. I couldn't be late.
"Hey!" I heard as I was closing the door. I opened it back up and stuck my head in.
"What?" I asked my bother.
"Have fun tonight. Don't say anything to screw everything up, okay?"
"Got it," I said, closing the door and making my way down the stairs that led to the dark Weasley's Wizard Wheezes shop we owned. Having the apartment right above the shop was convenient. Making sure to lock the shop back up after I walked out of the door, I began my walk to Katie's flat.
Katie lived close, right down one of Diagon Alley's side streets. I guess that's why she, Fred, and I spent a lot of time together after Hogwarts, which made me wonder why she never told me that Alicia was coming home.
As I walked the lamp-lit streets of Diagon Alley, I tried to think of things I could say to her. Somehow 'Hey Alicia. How have you been?' Didn't seem good enough.
I ran out of thinking time when I found myself right at Katie's doorstep. I checked my watch. 8:00 exactly. I was good. I took a deep breath before I rang the doorbell. After a while, no one answered. Maybe it was broken? I picked up the doorknocker.
KnockKnock
Knock
I waited a minute before thinking "She's not going to answer. She doesn't want to see me. It was all some big joke." I was starting to think about how much of a loser I was and how I was never, ever going to get anywhere in life if I couldn't even get women to answer the door when I came to pick them up when the door opened.
Katie stood in the doorway, looking like she had just been through a battle zone. A chocolate battle zone. "Sorry," she said, wiping some kind of chocolate goo off of her face. "I was making a cake and I couldn't hear the door bell over the cake mixers. Come in." I followed her inside.
"And that would explain the chocolate all over you how?" I asked, referring to her cocoa-splattered wardrobe and skin. "Katie, you're supposed to mix the cake in the bowl, not on your face."
"Shut up or I'll hug you," she said, rolling her eyes. I held up my hands in surrender at just the thought of her transferring her chocolaty mess to my clothes. "Alicia!" she yelled. "George is here!"
"Coming!" I heard from inside another room. Oh man. Here it was, time to get nervous again. From the spare bedroom, Alicia emerged wearing a denim skirt that showed off her legs, and a baby blue tank top, her brown hair falling just over her shoulders. She looked great.
I wondered why she never worse stuff like that while we dated before.
"Hey, stranger," she said with a smile. Wow… that smile. I wondered how she could be so calm when I was shaking like a twelve year old at a Weird Sisters concert. Well, at least shaking on the inside.
"Hey Alicia, you look great," I replied. What a lame greeting.
Katie shot me a look. "No 'Oh Katie, you look wonderful too' or anything like that?" she said.
"Katie, she doesn't have chocolate cake mix all over her," I pointed out. Alicia laughed, and I settled down some. "You, on the other hand, look like you just ran through a chocolate explosion. I'm sorry if I offended you and your cake mix."
"You better be," she said with a frustrated look, but I knew she was just kidding around. "So where are you kids off to anyway?"
"Good question," Alicia said, coming to stand next to me. "Where to?"
"I was thinking about walking to that new ice cream place near the Quidditch shop. They finally opened a new one after the owner of the old one died a few years ago." I said with a look that almost searched for approval.
"Oh, I remember that," Alicia said. "That was the summer after we graduated. He was killed by Death Eaters, right?" I nodded. "Well that sounds wonderful. Minus the whole Death Eater part." I got the approval.
"Well you guys better get a move on it before the place closes," Katie said, pushing us to the door.
"You know Katie, if I didn't know any better, I would think that you were trying to get us out of here for some special reason," I said, suspiciously. "Who exactly were you baking that cake for?" Alicia laughed again. That was the second time I had made her laugh that night, and it was making me feel so much better.
"Oh you just shut it," Katie replied, literally giving us a push out of the door. "If you must know, it's for Angelina. A housewarming present. Now leave before I hex both of you until you can't see straight." I gave her a 'yeah right' look before she shut the door. Alicia and I laughed as we heard an unmistakable click of a lock, as if we were going to go back inside and argue some more.
"She's a nutter," Alicia said as we began to walk down the dim streets. "I don't know how we've put up with her for so long."
"Yeah, me either," I said. It was quiet for a while before I got the nerve to break the silence. It was going to have to be good enough. "So, Alicia, how have you been?"
DUM DUM DUM! You didn't think I was going to leave it at that, did you? How will the date go? Will it be fantastic, or will George say something incredibly dumb to blow his second chance?
Also, I Hate You, I Love You is postponed either until I finish this story or, unfortunately, indefinitely. I'm so stuck on that story. I just don't know how to continue it. It kind of sucks any way…