((I now have two friends badgering me to post new chapters XD Oh...I also made a Weasley twins tribute...if anyone wants to watch it. Anyway.
Sorry that I fooled some of you into thinking there was going to be some more...intimate stuff in this chapter. That's soon to come I promise!))
An hour later, Josie was pacing her room ranting about her grandmother after re-telling them the happenings of the prior night, her fingers raking through her hair and her accent thickening as she spoke. It was only when she started talking in rapid French that the twins decided she was getting too riled up, her breathing coming in short gasps at random intervals. George was the first to get up from his spot in on the window seat, walking over to her and taking her face between his hands to stop her. "Hey, calm down." She looked up deep into his eyes and breathed to calm herself down, her hands shaking. "She's a rotten woman who doesn't deserve a beautiful, intelligent granddaughter like you. Stop letting her get to you." She nodded, laying her hand over his as they gazed at each other until she completely calmed down. The three decided to find something to eat, food always having eased Josie's nerves and the two boys getting hungry even after they'd eaten what sounded like an extensive breakfast at their home.
As Fred fixed yet another sandwich in the kitchen, George and Josie looked over the streets at the people who passed below, counting the number of times people looked up at the head of flaming red hair above them. All was well again until one of the nasty girls from the high end witches clothing shop around the corner looked up at her balcony and scoffed, nudging her equally nasty friend in the side before calling up to them. Josie knew these girls; they liked to tease her about her lack of social interaction. Even though their ridiculing of her counted as a social interaction.
"Josephine Desmarais is that a boy up there with you?!" one of them called in French, the mention of her full name grating on her nerves. "Yes, what's that mean to you?" she called back, leaning over the railing of her balcony. The girl flipped her annoyingly strait hair and placed a hand on her hip. "Tell him, whoever he is, that if he wants something better to go to the animal shop down the street. I'd offer him to come down and meet us, but if he has such little sense to be up there with you then he's not worth it." "He does look attractive actually." The other interjected, George looking at Josie confused at what she was saying. He could tell it wasn't polite, the clenching of Josie's jaw and the shakiness of her breathing showing she was irritated, and the dark blush that spread over her cheeks and ears showed her embarrassment. The first girl chuckled, gesturing to George with a wave of her hand. "She can have him. But, she's had everyone." The sentence's ending was broken by laughter.
"What are they saying?" George asked softly, leaning into her and wrapping an arm around her waist. "They're making fun of me for having a boy in my house, saying you should get with one of them, and comparing me to an animal. One called you attractive though." She said softly, beginning to chew at her lip. George scowled and glared down at the girls, watching them walk away cackling. He smirked suddenly, winking at Josie before throwing himself nearly completely over the balcony and yelling at the top of his lungs. "Oi! Watch this!" A shudder rolled down Josie's spine and settled in her lower stomach at the exclamation, the gruffness of his yelling reminding her that they could be more than playful or caring. Why did their voices have to get so rough when they yelled?
Both girls looked up at her, jumping at the loudness of his voice as their heads snapped up. Josie didn't what was happening, her attention brought back from the twisting in her stomach when George wrapped an arm around her waist and turned her to dip her slightly, his other hand sliding behind her neck as his lips crushed down onto hers. All the blood rushed into her cheeks, becoming light headed even though her heart was clearly pumping enough blood to her brain, beating rapidly in her chest as George's lips moved against her own. His mouth fully locked onto hers, soft lips giving her more than the simple short kisses they had shared before the break started. His grip on the back of her neck tightened as her shock wore off and she kissed him back, her hands gripping the front of his shirt as a small pleased noise made its way out of her throat. They pulled apart moments later, George swinging her back around to stand and grinning down at the two girls, who scoffed loudly and walked away in a rage, muttering something about being indecent.
Josie was leaning against the railing, her cheeks bright red and her breathing heavy. The combination of being kissed like that and George's yelling prior to it had made her completely flustered, her stomach in knots and blood pumping furiously. Fred walked out a minute later with a sandwich in hand, taking one look at Josie and then glancing in George's direction. "What did you do?" He asked, chuckling at Josie's ruffled state. His brother leaned over and whispered in his ear, a grin breaking out over Fred's face they high fived. Josie rolled her eyes, straitening herself up and heading back inside with the twins trailing her, going to wait in her room while she escaped with slumped shoulders to the bathroom to calm herself down.
Why do they have to do that? They should know if frustrates me… She thought to herself as her eyes ran over her ruffled hair and flushed skin in the bathroom mirror, fighting the urge to undo the knots in her stomach quickly so she could calm down. Her insides twitched as a throaty laugh drifted across the hall from her room, followed by the sounds of shuffling. She hated that they had this effect on her, hated that they could do little simple things that made something stir inside her. And this wasn't the first time they had done this, they had been doing it so often lately that Josie became suspicious that they knew that they caused her to feel more for them than just admiration.
Fred kept playing with her hair whenever possible, always seeming to make sure to brush her neck just exactly enough to send shivers down her spine. George had stood close behind her when she was showing him something in Potions, warm breath blowing across the back of her ear and her body colliding with his when she jumped back in surprise, hips meeting her behind and his chest bumping against her back as he and his brother laughed at her reaction. The ordeal had landed all three in detention for "canoodling in that classroom" and "being disruptive wastes of my time". The entire night of re-organizing the vials behind Snape's desk had been filled with the two of them getting dangerously closer and closer to her, almost as if they were competing to see who could get the best reaction. The award went to the more adventurous of the two of course, when Fred had trapped her between his arms while the two of them were alphabetizing the non-lethal ingredients, his lips brushing dangerously against the back of her neck as he chuckled at the high pitched squeak she emitted. And then they were always staring at her. She could look up in any class at any time and catch at least one of them looking at her with the annoyingly endearing grin on their face, the one that made her heart beat quicker and her hands shake.
She was snapped out of her daydreaming, which was not helping her situation, when she heard her name from across the hall. The word was soft, included in the conversation being held inside her bedroom. Ignoring the butterflies dancing in her stomach and the weakness in her legs, Josie quickly splashed cold water across her face and down her neck in an attempt to cool off before opening the door quietly and sneaking across the hallway. Cold painted wall pressed against her back as she nestled between two paintings of flowers that swayed in the wind, listening to what the twins were saying through her half opened doorway.
The sound of a drawer closing and someone sitting down on the bed made her wonder what they were doing in there, hoping they didn't find anything embarrassing. "Think we can really pull this off?" The deeper tones in the voice told her that was George, Fred's voice following soon after. "Of course we can, we can do anything. I don't think having a girlfriend is the most outrageous thing we've attempted." He chuckled, Josie leaning in farther to hear more when she realized they were talking about her. "I know we can, we've already talked about that. I'm worried about her." "Why, think she likes me more?" The wave of pride was felt even outside the room, blue eyes rolling at his ego. Something hard hit the floor, most likely one of her books being sent in Fred's direction by his twin. "I'm being serious you sod, think of what this might do to her."
After a long silence she heard Fred sigh softly, his tone suddenly serious. "What do you mean? I care about her; I'm not going to let anything happen to her. Are you?" "Of course not, I'm not saying that we're going to do anything wrong. We've agreed to not get jealous of each other, we've shared since we were kids, and we can do it now. I'm worried that she's going to feel torn between us, or that she'll start to like one more than the other, and feel obligated to stay with both." "Or that she's going to doubt herself and think she's not enough for the both of us." "Or that she see's us as a set, not individuals." Shuffling feet signified one of them sitting down on her bed, maybe next to the other one, both of their voices taking on an insecure tone. Hearing them be anything but happy placed a seed of guilt in Josie's heart, becoming buried deeper as the silence went on. It was broken a few moments later, their words lifting her spirits a bit. "I think that she's more than she gives herself credit for. She'll be fine, as long as we don't do anything stupid that makes her think she's less than…" "Wonderful?" "Exactly."
Josie felt torn, not sure how to feel about them talking about her without her knowing, but flattered that they were worried for the relationship the three of them had. They knew her well, some of their worries valid; she did doubt her ability to keep them both interested in her, as well as her ability to handle both of them. The thought that she didn't have enough romantic feelings inside her for the both of them haunted her, the idea of leaving one of them behind or hurting one of them more painful than anything she'd ever felt.
She was snapped from her thoughts when Fred began to speak again, his voice less than optimistic. "What if we both can't have her? It is a little strange right? One girl with two boys, brothers at that. Don't you think people are going to be unhappy, even go as far as reporting it or picking on her more than they already do?" There was a long pause, and Josie held her breath so they wouldn't know she was outside the door. "Fred, have we ever really cared what people think? And do you doubt that she can't hold her own? You heard what she said to her grandmother, and to Flint. She's gotten more confident, and she's stronger than the cute little French girl we talked to at the beginning of the year. She's still Josie, just the one she can really be deep down. "
The room was quiet for a few moments, the only sound was one of them standing again and then the sound of her things moving, followed by Jones mewing softly as the bed shifted. Josie took this time as a signal to go in, pushing the door open the rest of the way and stepping into the room. The twins looked up at her, her blue eyes scanning over the room as Fred shut a drawer behind his back in what he thought was a discreet manner. Another tiny mew drew her attention to the ball of fur that was curled into the other twin's lap, disturbed from his nap when George moved to pull off his sweater. It took Josie a second of looking between the two of them, the drawer Fred had closed, and the mess of books and cd's laying across her bed for her to realize what they had been doing.
"Were you going through my things?" The question hung in the air for a minute before the two gingers grinned, shrugging their shoulders. "Just your most personal items. You have some very cute undergarments by the way." George said with a wink, chuckling when her face went scarlet with anger and embarrassment. She didn't get the chance to open her mouth to yell at them, Fred wrapping an arm around her waist and spinning her as George stopped laughing and clarified. "Just joking." "Mostly." Fred added in her ear, sending a shudder down her spine. "We were mostly going through your odd collection of… things." Fred let go of her waist and sat on the rounded bed next to George, picking up a few cd's and looking through them.
"Let me guess? You've never heard of any of these because they're not from the wizarding world." Her voice was shaky as she sat at the head of her bed, picking up the old books off the bed and stacking them on her bedside table. Fred was flipping through her cd's as George gently tried to nudge Jones out of his lap. The plastic shiny cases caught her eyes as they landed on the bed. ABBA, Nirvana, Roxette, Green Day, Goo Goo Dolls, Third Eye Blind, The Beatles, The Cranberries, Alphaville, Weird Sisters, Billy Joel, Bewitched, UB40, Kansas, David Bowie, the list went on and on. Not music Josie thought really fit her outer appearance, but what she liked none the less. Fred set the ones he recognized aside, looking through the one's he did not. "Are these all muggle?" He asked, holding up the leftover disks and nodding his head towards the posters on her walls. Well, the ones who weren't moving. "Yeah, of course." She answered, tucking her legs under her. The two boys looked at each other. "Dad would flip his lid." They said together.
After a long while of Josie explaining the films and bands she had posters for, the conversation changed direction when George noticed the scribbles that peeked out from behind the lamp in the corner and jumped off the bed to get a closer look. "What's that?" The sudden movement made Josie jump a bit, in turn making Fred jolt, his head resting on her thighs as he threw a small sparkling ball repeatedly into the air. All three sets of eyes shifted to the bright blue paint splattered one the otherwise bright white walls of her room, hidden in the shadows under the light. Fred got up quickly, crouching down in the corner to inspect the smears. The bed creaked as Josie shifted to lay across it on her back, watching the twins upside down. " I drew those when I was little. I got into mothers paints and decided I wanted to be creative like her. " Her explanation was met with slight nods of their heads, the two gingers bent down in front of the crude drawing of a blue butterfly and flowers, glittery silver firework streaks barely visible.
"Its cute." George grinned, standing up to look at her. "She's cute." Fred added, still looking at the doodles. "Sure." She said softly, drawing out the vowels sarcastically, obviously not agreeing with the two on that statement. Suddenly Fred was leaning over her body, his arms braced on either side of her shoulders as he looked down at her, his grin upside down in her vision. His eyes flickered over her, lingering on her chest. Did he just… George sat down beside her before her question could be finished, his weight sinking the bed down as he leaned on his arm. Her eyes flicked to him in time to catch the end of him glancing over her hips and stomach to smile at her. Did they both just...no, of course not.
She took the situation in; feeling a bit helpless with Fred leaning over her like that, ginger hair falling around his face as he watched her run her eyes over his arms, the muscles flexed from holding up his weight. Her stomach went into knots, a tingle running down her spine to the tips of her toes when he went suddenly serious, even though the expression was obviously playful. "I thought we said not to talk bad about yourself or else." He said simply. "Technically you said that if I suggested that I weighted too much that you would turn my skin green." Josie stuttered, biting her lip after she finished talking. "Well not accepting that you're beautiful counts as well." "But the punishment is different." Fred added after his brother, his voice dropping in pitch enough to send a steady throb into her lower half. This was not going to end well.
George grabbed her, fingers brushing against her sides as she broke out into a fit of laughter, Fred going for her ribs and below her arms while George abused her stomach until she could barely breathe between giggles. Squirming out of their grip, she hit the ground running, taking off out the front door and down the stairs with the sound of bare feet thudding against metal accompanying her. She could hear the twins behind her, taking the steps two at a time. Strong arms wrapped around her, George picking her up around her waist to turn her around, but Josie caught him off balance and slipped downward out of his grip. She could hear the twins curse as they got caught up on each other, her hands meeting the door to into the alleyway as she cold air blew around her. She was halfway down the street, swerving in and out between the witches and wizards who glared at her in annoyance before getting out of the way of the two ginger haired bludgers barreling after her when she finally slowed down.
She was lifted up by Fred, his arms tucking themselves behind her knees and around her waist. She shrieked in surprise, her yelp dissolving into a fit of giggles as he spun her around. George caught up with them, poking her ribs to her squirm in Fred's arms enough to make the two boys chuckle. People stared as Fred pressed his lips firmly against hers, kissing her deeply as he set her feet back down on the ground. They broke apart a few seconds later, Fred's hand pressed into the small of her back as hers rests on his biceps. The looks they got for being so affectionate in the middle of the street were cold enough to freeze dragon fire, but Josie felt nothing but their warmth. She floated on air as George took her hand and led her back inside out of the cold, Fred's hand still resting on her back. Josie didn't care what anyone thought of them at that moment.
She only cared about them.