Fell in Love Without You

Chapter 14: The Sweet turns into the Sour

The scene from last night continued to play over in my head as I got ready for classes. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about it all night, so I'd gotten very little sleep. I probably looked like crap. I cast a quick drying charm on my hair when I got out of the shower and left it down for once. I also applied a small amount of makeup to cover the fact that I'd not really slept at all.

I was mildly surprised to find Fred waiting for me at the bottom of the girls staircase. He jumped down off of the desk he was sitting on and smiled. "Good morning A.V" I greeted him. The smile did all sorts of things to my stomach and I wasn't entirely sure if I should actually eat breakfast.

People turned and watched us, waiting for the explosion from my end. Instead I smiled. "Morning Fred... Ready for breakfast?" I asked. He took my bag off my shoulder and nodded.

We exited the common room leaving behind some very surprised people, who were probably wondering if they were still asleep or had been drugged, or were part of some twisted prank and were now going to be covered in slime.

"Where's Annabelle?" I tried to keep my voice light as we walked. I didn't actually care where she was, I was just being polite.

"Don't know... still getting ready?" He shrugged. "I'm glad you came down first, means you can steal me away early" He winked. I rolled my eyes with a smile, ignored the butterflies and entered the great hall.

The reaction was the same as the common room, with people staring at us from all over. We sat down in front of Riley and Ginny and continued to make light conversation. I could tell he was trying not to make things awkward.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Ginny asked with raised eyebrows. I glanced at her as I reached for the cereal.

"What do you mean, Ginny?" I smiled. She exchanged a look with Riley as Fred laughed.

We got the same reaction from all of our friends as they filed into the great hall. Lee even went as far as hugging us both to show his joy over us being friends again.

"Freddy, you didn't wait for me" Annabelle pouted as she pushed her was in between us. I rolled my eyes into my cereal. She glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.

"That's because Avery came down first and I decided I needed some quality best friend time" He smiled at me over her head.

She looked from him to me and back again. "Really?" Her tone sounded surprised. "But I thought you weren't friends anymore?" She looked at me again.

I shrugged. "I guess we made up"

A smile brightened her features. "Well isn't that super!" She clapped her hands and smiled at Fred. When she turned to me however she narrowed her eyes.

I just stared. Underneath the girl everyone loved was a cold, evil, bitch, and I had a feeling she didn't liked me much.

The day continued after that and I was happy to say Fred and I were getting back to where we had been. I say getting back to where we were because Annabelle was still following him around and he really needed to make everything up to me.

But he was working on it. He sat with me in every class, joked with me like we used to and it started to feel like nothing had changed by the end of the day. Started to.

"Are you coming to Quidditch practice?" He asked eagerly, bouncing on his toes in front of me.

I glanced out of the window and saw that it was snowing lightly.

"It's snowing" I pointed out. He laughed and chucked a Quidditch jersey at me.

"Put that on" He ordered. "Come on... Annabelle sits in the snow and watched us train all the time" He said in a sing song voice.

"Hey! That's not funny!" I exclaimed, standing up and tugging the jersey over my head. It smelled SO good, I just wanted to bury my nose in it and die. But I didn't because that would be weird "She wouldn't do that because her perfect hair would get ruined" I smirked. He laughed and tugged on my arm.

I reluctantly followed him down to the pitch where he joined the rest of the team and I sat in the stands with Hermione.

"Are we crazy?" I asked her, gesturing to the snow falling around us.

She laughed and snuggled deeper into the Quidditch Jersey she was wearing. "Maybe a little, but it's what we do right?" She nodded down to the boys on the pitch. A small sigh escaped her lips.

"Does he know?" I asked her softly, following her gaze to the youngest Weasley boy.

"Does Fred?" She said back. "Of course they don't. They're Weasley Boys. Blind to anything unless you yell it in their faces and slap them" She laughed. "Don't worry... I won't tell anyone. I just notice the little things like that"

I smiled at her. I liked Hermione. She was a lot like me in many ways; smart and quiet but not shy and friendly to everyone... and she helped try and keep my sister out of trouble. I guess she also knew what it was like to fall in love without the other person.

I heard footsteps a short time later and glanced around to see a very rugged up Annabelle walking toward us. I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Hi Annabelle" I greeted.

"Hi Avery, Hermione... gosh it's cold isn't it?" she shivered. I glanced at Hermione on my other side and grinned.

"I dunno, these Quidditch jersey's are pretty warm... they've got a warming charm in the fabric. Quite lovely" I wrapped my arms around me and sighed. Annabelle looked at me and frowned. She glanced at the name on the back.

"F Weasley. Is that Fred's?" She asked lightly. I could see her eyes flashing from under her lashes.

"Yeah he gave it to me before he dragged me out into the snow to watch him practice" I shook my head.

"So you guys are seriously friends again?" She asked, staring out onto the pitch.

"I guess so... I mean I'm still hurt by some of the things he said, but he's my best friend... always will be" I followed her gaze out to the red-head laughing at the snow ball he'd just thrown at my sister. She wasn't looking too happy as she wiped the snow from her eyes. I smiled.

"I guess... But at the end of the day, it's me he likes and guys will always choose their girlfriend over their best friends" She said this in her usual sugar-coated voice, but I could hear the malice behind the words. "Maybe you shouldn't be too hasty to forgive and forget?"

I stared at the girl. I didn't know what to say to that. Like I said, I wasn't very good at standing up for myself at all.

And since when were they boyfriend-girlfriend? This girl is seriously deluded.

"HEY! GIRLS! WE'RE HEADING BACK UP TO THE CASTLE!" Someone called from the grass.

Annabelle shot me another look and stood, walking quickly away from Hermione and I.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Hermione as we followed behind her.

"That sounded like a warning to stay away from Fred" Hermione nodded. "What a bitch!"

Annabelle was standing by Fred when we got there, his arm around her shoulders. She shot me a smug look. "I'm super cold!" She shivered and turned toward him, her teeth chattering together. Fred hugged.

"So why are you stopping?" I asked loudly. Fred grinned when he saw me, shouldered his broom and walked away from Annabelle.

"Ange decided that because it's the last day of term..."

"and she narrowly avoided being unseated by the bludgers..." George interjected with a cheeky wink. Ange slapped his shoulder.

"It's better to just call the training off" Fred continued with a grin. The snow was melting in his hair, making it stick to his face. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were shining. He looked so adorable.

"Well I'm glad" I nodded. "I'm kinda cold" I bit my lip. He laughed and wrapped his arm around me. I threw a satisfied look at Annabelle who was glaring.

We started to walk up the hill as a group when a snow ball hit the back of Fred's head. We turned around and saw Roe grinning evilly behind us.

"Oops?" She said with a shrug.

"Oh this is war!" Fred laughed and let go of me. I took this as my cue to leave. I wasn't dressed for a snow ball fight. I heard the shouts of my friends as I started to walk away.

"And where do you think you're going?" I heard a voice behind me before two arms wrapped themselves around my waist.

"Ah! I'm going away from the snow!" I laughed, struggling to get away from my attacker. They laughed and spun me around. "No! Fred stop it! The snow!" I shrieked. He laughed and pulled me to the snow.

I rolled over to my back and laughed up at him. "Gottchya" He grinned down at me. He was leaning over me, practically sitting on top of me. My heart went into double time.

"Now I'm gonna freeze!" I scolded good naturedly. He smiled and brushed some hair off my face.

"I'll keep you warm, I promise"

My breathing almost came to a complete stop. His hands were surprisingly warm against my cheek, his skin slightly rough and calloused from holding the beaters bat.

It was a nice moment... until...

"SHE WHAT!" I heard Roe exclaim. I sat up and looked around for her. She was standing and talking to Hermione, looking very pissed. I raised an eyebrow and Hermione bit her lip.

Roe bent down and picked up a handful of fresh snow. "Hey Annabelle..." She called out.

"Roe don't!" I yelled. But it was too late. Roe had launched her snow ball and it hit the blonde square in the face. Annabelle let out a cry of shock and bought her hands to her face.

I scrambled to my feet and raced over.

"You leave my sister alone bitch!" Roe yelled, bending over and scooping up another fist of snow. George and Harry grabbed her arms before she could launch a full on assault.

"What the hell was that about?" Fred asked me, his eyes looking anxious.

I shook my head. "Nothing" I went over to Annabelle who was wiping slush off her face. "Are you ok, Annabelle?" I bit my lip. I may not like the girl but i did feel bad if she got hurt.

"I'm ok..." She nodded. Her hands were shaking as she dabbed her cheek. "My cheek hurts a little"

A large bruise was already forming where the ice hit her. I sighed. "I'm so sorry about her... she's a little..."

"It's ok... Don't worry about it" She waved her hands. She walked away from me and over to Fred. She muttered something and he nodded.

"Avery, I'm gonna take Annabelle to Madam Pomfrey... see you back at the common room" He paused and yelled to me.

"Fred COME ON!" Annabelle shrieked behind him.

I sighed and turned back to my sister. "Roe you shouldn't have done that"

Our friends were watching us closely, each extremely puzzled.

"No Avery, I did... because you don't stand up for yourself. She's a two faced BITCH and I've had enough of her" Roe yelled at me. "Fred is your best friend and she's being a manipulative little – "

"Roe, enough ok?" I held my hand up. "That wasn't necessary" She opened her mouth to argue but I shook my head.

I turned around and headed back up to the castle because I was starting to freeze.

"Hey Avery, there you are!" I heard Roger's voice calling out to me. I turned around and smiled.

"Hey... you were looking for me?" I asked.

"Yes? You and Fred are friend's again?" He asked, standing in front of me with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, we are... He took an Umbridge Detention for my sister to get my attention. I thought that alone deserved me to listen to him" I shrugged. "He apologised, admitted he was jealous of you and now we're working on it... Annabelle on the other hand can go die" I scowled.

Roger grinned at me "So everything's back to normal"

"Yeah I guess... except I now have another awesome friend" I punched him in the arm.

"Mm cheesy... Are you going home for the holidays or staying?" He laughed.

"Staying. You?" I asked shivering lightly. I was still dripping wet.

"Going home. My sister had a baby about a week ago so I have to spend time with the family" He beamed.

"Oh wow that's awesome" I smiled. "You better write every day!" I poked him in the stomach. He laughed.

"Of course... I better let you go, dry off and get warm... Have a good Christmas A.V... I'll send your present by mail" He gave me a quick hug and kissed my forehead. I liked that he treated me like a little sister. It was sweet.

I said bye to him and made my way up to the common room. Everyone was in high spirits because classes were finally over. It seemed like everyone was going home for the holidays, which was good because it meant my friends and I would have the WHOLE tower to ourselves.

I took a hot shower when I got to my room and then dressed in grey sweat pants and an over sized ROMANIA jumper that Charlie had given me. I flopped down on my bed and opened my book to read.

Angelina and Alicia burst into my room about twenty minutes later and threw themselves onto my bed.

"OK Now you HAVE to tell us what's going on!" Angelina exclaimed. "First you hated Fred, now you're back to being friends, then Roe attacks Annabelle and Hermione's saying she's a total bitch..."She paused to take a breath.

I laughed and set my book down.

"I guess you were right about him taking Roe's detention to get my attention" I shrugged. I relayed Fred's apology to them. "Turns out he was just jealous of Roger and took it out on me"

"He's such an idiot sometimes" Alicia shook her head. "Why didn't he just ask you to the dance instead of Annabelle?"

"Because he didn't even ask Annabelle!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah he did, she said – "

"She lied!" I exclaimed. "She asked Fred and then told us otherwise... there's something off about her"

"Maybe she was just embarrassed to tell us she asked him" Angelina shrugged. I frowned slightly and stared at her. Did she not just hear me say Annabelle lied to us?

"So what happened to make Roe go ape at Annabelle?" Angelina asked, ignoring my expression and stretching out across my bed.

"Well... She told me it's her Fred likes and that he'll always choose her over me... and that I shouldn't be too hasty to forgive and forget. It was a warning to stay away from him and I guess Hermione told Roe and you know how Roe is" I shrugged. Both my friends frowned and exchanged a look.

"I don't think she meant it the way you and Hermione took it" Angelina shook her head.

"Yeah I mean Annabelle's such a sweet girl, why would she be bitchy like that?" Alicia agreed.

I stared at my friends, my mouth dropping open slightly. They just didn't realise how bitchy Annabelle really was. Annabelle was so fake she had everyone thinking she was a saint when in fact she was the devil herself.

I was going to protest when I stopped. Alicia and Angelina spent more time with Annabelle than anyone. They were friends with her and nothing I could say would change their minds.

I sighed. "I guess so... But that's pretty much what's happened in the last 24 hours" I smiled.

"It's so good you and Fred are friends in time for Christmas... there'll be no drama over the holidays to ruin it!" Alicia clapped her hands in a very Annabelle like fashion.

I smiled. "Is Annabelle staying?" I asked.

"Yeah she is" Angelina nodded.

I sighed. Oh then there would definitely be drama.

Plea's Note:

Once again I'm really not happy with this chapter. I've been really sick lately and I think it's reflecting on my writing. Tell me what you think anyway. Your reviews are really the only thing keeping this going at the moment coz of my damn writers block.

Next chapter might even have a kiss or two ;)

xo

Plea