I know this update has been INCREDIBLY long-coming. I've had an incredibly busy semester, but I'm on winter break now. Which means finally time for writing! Hope you guys like it - please review! Sorry for all the cursing... George is going through a bit of an angsty phase. And I swear, that ending will be explained soon!
Silent
Two weeks passed before Angelina decided to confront George about her talk with Lee.
She found him at the Burrow, hiding out in the backyard with the garden gnomes. According to Ron, it was his new favorite spot for avoiding the family.
"Oi! Weasley!" she shouted as she made her way across the grass towards him.
George looked up with a start. He seemed shocked to see her, shocked that human life still existed outside the corner of the yard he'd been spending most of his time in.
"Angelina?" He said in a confused tone.
"Nice to see you too, friend." She stared at him.
George started to realize that her shouting before wasn't just to ensure he heard her greeting. "Did I.. do something?" he asked. "Why are you-"
"Why am I what? Coming to check in a friend who's been hurting? Who lost someone? You're right. What kind of crazy person would ever think of doing a thing like that?"
Angelina was fuming. All the anger that'd been building up the past few weeks was clearly etched across her face.
George fumbled for words. "I've... I've been busy..." he began lamely.
"Busy doing this? Yeah, sitting in silence must take up a ton of time. I'm sure Fred is real proud-"
"Don't." George was on his feet now, face to face with Angelina.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I ruining your 'Let me ignore everything that hurts' plan for living life?" She retorted.
George's face reddened. "Don't pretend to know what I'm feeling, Angelina. You- you have no idea-"
"Well, then, give me one! Talk to me about it! Or – better idea – how 'bout you talk to your family for once-"
"You want me to talk to you about it? You want to hear all about how fucking awesome my life is right now?" George was breathing heavily, his eyes bright with angry tears. "Alright then. Let's talk about how I can't look in a mirror, because every time I do I feel like I'm going to vomit. Or how my mum starts to cry every time I walk in a room. How, when I go to sleep, I find myself hoping for nightmares, because when I'm happy in my dreams, it's that much harder to wake up. How- "
"George.." Angelina was blinking back tears as well. "If you'd just talk to your family. Talk to Lee... They're hurting too-"
"YOU DON'T FUCKING GET IT, ANGELINA. They all sit there and they talk about how sad they are and they tell all these stupid little stories about F-Fred and things he did and things he said. And I have to be the one that sits there, just so they can flash a pitying look my way every time they say his name. And they tell all these bloody stories, without even FUCKING realizing that half the time they're talking about the wrong twin. He's DEAD, and they can't even bloody remember which one of us did what. They treated us like one person, and now they expect me to be fine living as half of one?" Tears were streaming down George's face, but he wouldn't let up. "They think they want me there and they think they want to talk to me, but they're just fucking kidding themselves. All I do is remind them of what's missing." It was silent for a moment.
"Told you you didn't want to hear it."
George started to walk away, but Angelina grabbed his arm.
"No." She met his stare. "Now I get to talk. I don't care how much you scream at me. I don't care how much you curse and spit and tell me I don't understand. I'm going to stand here and I'm going to take it, because as much as you think I don't, I want to hear what you have to say. But don't you dare start telling me that your family and Lee don't know you. You think that now that he's gone, you only matter half as much? Fred may not be here, but George is. And I know that every person in that house could tell me ten things that make George different. Give them a chance to."
"You think you understand, Angelina? You're exactly the same as all of them. You think you know me. But you DON'T."
His eyes met hers, their faces inches from each other.
"Is that what you really think?" Angelina leaned in further. Their lips were practically touching. "Remember your birthday? Our sixth year?"
George's face lit up with recognition.
"I knew." She whispered.
And then Angelina was gone, leaving George to his silence.
