Disclaimer: I don´t own Harry Potter. Honestly.
A/n: I´m really sorry it has been so long! My computer committed suicide and I didn´t get a new one till last week.
On a happier note, I will do a sequel to this story! I got more than 50 reviews, so I feel obliged to do it (and, of course, I want to do it myself). Big cheers for Believe- in-yourself4ever, my 50th reviewer! You rock! And so do the rest of you who reviewed.
One last thing before we get started: I´ve gotten a LiveJournal! I´ll try to use it to keep you updated on how my writing is going.
Alicia´s PoV:
After having breakfast, I decided to spend the rest of this horrible day hiding in the library. I have a favourite spot there which is very sheltered, you wouldn´t find it unless you knew where it was. George was the one who showed it to me the first time and since then I´ve loved spending time there when I need to be alone. So of course I should have known that my friends would know where to find me. The thought just never crossed my mind. Not until...
"ALICIA VERONICA SPINNET!"
Uh-oh. I winced. It was Angelina, and she was using middle names. That´s never a good sign, as she knows that
"Um, hi Angie! I would love to stay and talk to you, but I´ve got some pressing business to attend to..." I attempted to leave, but she caught me before I had any chance of getting away.
"Sit down!" she snarled and pointed at the chair I´d just left. I sat. I have yet to meet someone who can stand up against an angry Angelina Johnson.
"Is it true?"
I didn´t exactly feel like saying yes, that´d just be stupid. But saying no would be lying. And you don´t lie to your best friend. So I did what any sensible person would´ve done: I pretended I didn´t know what she was talking about.
"Is what true?" I tried my best to look innocent, but Angelina saw right through me.
"Don´t try that innocent look on me!" she said angrily. "Lee´s the only one who falls for that. I didn´t fall for it in first year, and I most definitely won´t fall for it now. So I´ll ask you one more time: Is it true that you´re in love with Fred?"
"Yes," I whispered, staring at my feet. I didn´t dare to look at Angelina, as I expected her to claw my eyes out.
But she didn´t. Instead, she was silent for what felt like a very long time. When I finally dared to lift my eyes to her, her face was cleared of all expression.
It seemed like an eternity passed before she spoke again
"I can´t believe this," was all she said, but her tone said it all.
"Look, Angie just let me explain..." I tried desperately.
"I don´t want your explanations! You lied to me. How do you explain that? I had to hear it from Lavender Brown! D´you think I enjoyed that?"
"I wanted to tell you!" I was on the verge of tears now.
"Then why didn´t you?" She shook her head slowly. "I thought you trusted me. You do know that´s what best friends are supposed to do, right?" With those words, she was gone.
I blinked a couple of times. This was all wrong! Angelina wasn´t supposed to act like that. She should be furious and try to rip out my hair, not stay all calm and talk about trust in that sad voice.
Anyway, the library was apparently out of the question when it came to hiding places. I had to go and find somewhere else.
xxxxx
For a while I walked aimlessly through the castle, hiding every time I thought someone was coming. At last I settled in an empty classroom on the third floor where I often go when I want to be away from people. However, this time it didn´t work. I hadn´t been there for more than five minutes when the door opened and Fred stepped inside.
I closed my eyes and groaned. When I opened them again, he was grinning.
"Why, Leesh, aren´t you happy to see me?" I scowled at him. How could he act like this was just some big, immensely funny joke?
"You know perfectly well why I don´t really feel like talking to you now!" I said heatedly. "I´ve just been humiliated in front of the whole school, my best friend hates me and…." I didn´t finish the sentence.
He sat down next to me. For a while we sat in silence, neither of us knowing what to say. I felt incredibly embarrassed, but I couldn´t think of anything to say that would make things better. At last, I took a deep breath and said "Look-" the exact same moment that Fred said "Leesh, I-". We both stopped speaking rather abruptly, and I blushed.
"You were saying?" I asked him after a moment.
He looked a bit uncomfortable. "I guess you know why I came here…" I nodded, urging him to go on. "Um… Do you really love me?" He finally blurted out.
"Love you?" I said surprised. The expression just didn´t seem right to me. "I don´t know…" Then I realized what I was saying. Did I really mean this? I couldn´t have fallen out of love with Fred, could I? That wasn´t possible!
Fred looked every bit as surprised as I felt. "You don´t know?" he asked. "Then why´s everybody telling me that you do?"
I shrugged. "Well… Maybe I have a crush on you… But you belong to Angelina and there´s nothing I can do about it. I might´ve sort of given up on you."
"You have?" I was too ashamed about having to admit that I had a crush on him to look at him, but he sounded kinda relieved.
"You don´t have to sound so happy about it," I said defensively. "Most guys would be flattered to hear that a girl liked them, even when they don´t like her back!"
"Of course I´m flattered. But I don´t like you in that way. No offence, you´re pretty, but Angie would kill me." I didn´t have to look at him to know that he was grinning that Weasley grin of his, and I couldn´t suppress a smile of my own.
"So… Are we okay?" I asked.
"Definitely. We´re friends, after all."
xxxxx
About an hour later I was sitting in the kitchen, trying to do my Potions homework. Occasionally I dropped my quill by accident to make the house elves happy by letting them pick it up. I had turned down all the food they´d offered me, so I figured I had to make it up to them somehow.
I was just wondering if Angelina would hate me any less if I failed Potions, cause with this essay I would, when a voice behind me said: "Leesh?"
I sighed and turned around. It was Lee.
"Hi, Lee."
He noticed my lack of enthusiasm. "Why so happy?"
"Oh, you know… Potions essay," I excused myself. "Why are you here?"
"I was hungry," he said and grinned. I should have known.
"Well, help yourself!" I gestured to the food all over the kitchen, and he got right to it. For a while all I heard from him was chewing. Then, finally, he said: "Can I ask you a question, Leesh?"
Suddenly I couldn´t take it anymore. Everyone had been after me all day, and now Lee had joined in on it too. Enough was enough.
"Yes, it´s true!" I shouted. "I am in love with Fred! I used George as a replacement for him! I truly, deeply regret it, but it´s still true! Can people please leave me alone now?" Having at last gotten this off my back, I stood still, waiting to be judged.
Lee looked slightly shocked at my outburst. "Um… I was actually just wondering if you know where they keep the ice cream. But of course, that other stuff was nice to know, too."
"Oh, right," I said and started to cry.
Lee sat down next to me and patted me a bit awkwardly on the back. "Wanna talk about it?"
I shook my head.
"Sure? You know you can tell good old Lee everything."
Why not? Sniffing, I told him the whole story from the beginning. I left nothing out, not even my stupid jealousy towards Felicity and the insecurity of my feelings for Fred. He was a good listener, nodding and commenting in all the right places. Slowly, I began to feel better.
"What am I going to do?" I finished. "Angelina hates me, I don´t know who I´m in love with, my Potions essay sucks, and everyone knows where my hiding places are!"
Lee put his arm around me and hugged me. "It´ll be all right," he told me. "Angelina doesn´t hate you, she´s just mad at you right now. She´ll forgive you soon. You guys are best friends, and she won´t let a boy come between you."
"What about my hiding places? How come everyone knows where they are?" I felt a bit childish in saying this, but I had to get it off my chest.
He grinned. "Well… Maybe it´s because you told us where they are? You´re not very discreet about them." I blushed slightly. Come to think of it, I had actually told my friends where my not-so-secret places were.
"Thanks, Lee." I smiled at him. "It was really good to talk to you, I feel much better now."
"Anytime." He got up and mock-bowed to me. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go and meet Katie. Oh, yeah, one last thing. It´s not Fred you´re in love with…it´s George."