Sorry, I've been having a lot of computer troubles and my documents weren't working at all. But the good new is I've finished the story!
This is NOT the last chapter of course though, I still have a few more to sumbit before its the end. Oh gosh I'm nervous!
Hope you enjoy the chapter :)
Alicia looked out the window, yearning for escape. The dark, starless night sky looked back at her, mocking the way she felt. She turned and looked back at the subject at hand.
"I can't do this anymore!" Alicia sighed in exasperation. "Nothing I do is good enough!"
She held her throbbing head in her hands. Her stomach churned inside her uncomfortably. Why was this happening? After everything she had done…
"That's it! I'm done with you!" she cried. She shoved her History of Magic book to the floor after having read it and re-read several times without being able to remember anything. "I'm not learning anything from that blasted book!"
Angelina looked up from The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 5). "Why don't you relax for a little while then?" she suggested.
Alicia sighed and sat up, looking around her dorm room. "Where's Katie and Juliette?"
"Katie left when you snapped at her the second time, she's probably with Lee or something. Juliette's in the library I think."
Angelina turned back to her textbook as Alicia stood up, stretching her arms up above her head. "Well I'm going downstairs for bit. Are you coming?"
Angelina shook her head without looking up so Alicia headed out on her own. She stormed down the stairs hoping to find anyone to distract her. She tried not to think of George…she didn't want to get her hopes up.
When she got to the common room, she was startled to see that it was surprisingly full. These must be the procrastinators, she thought to herself as she scanned the room.
Her eyes instantly zoomed to the left and relief washed over her body. It wasn't hard to spot the twins, with there bright red hair. One of them was stretched out on the couch and the other was sitting on the floor leaning up against it. They were laughing loudly as if they didn't have a care in the world.
A group of forth year girls seemed to have gathered around them and were listening to them raptly with looks of fascination. Alicia glanced at them as she approached and they looked back at her with disappointed expressions.
She wasn't in the mood for a glaring contest. "What?" she snapped irritated, alerting the twins to her presence.
"Alicia," smiled the figure on the couch, which must be George. A welcoming sight considering she had just been studying for the past five hours. He looked even better then when she saw him the last time, and that was at least five days before.
She returned his smile and stepped in front of the fourth years as George sat up so she could sit down. She had planned on being angry with him but she just couldn't bring herself to. He was too adorable. She quickly went and sat down. "George! I miss you…I'm surprised you and Fred are actually somewhere I can find you."
George laid back down against her so that he was resting in her lap. "Me, too," he grinned, pulling her down for a kiss. Shivers ran down her spine. He groaned and pulled himself closer to her, lightly caressing her neck. She loved it when he did that.
Fred coughed loudly and Alicia grudgingly pulled herself away from George. She wondered if she was growing an unhealthy addiction to him. All this spending time away from him made her realise how much greater she felt when she was with him.
George gave Fred a look. "Fred, you could be in my position if you would just get it over with and tell her—"
"George!" Fred warned, glancing at Alicia.
George rolled his eyes. "What? I'm sure she already knows how much you like An—"
"We were just talking," Fred said interrupting, and turning to Alicia. "About what it could be like if Snape had a girlfriend."
George rolled his eyes again, but allowed the change of subject. "And how she would never have a creaky door again," he added.
Alicia resisted her two urges to ask what George had almost said and to kiss him again. She confusedly came back to the present and looked at Fred. "A creaky door?"
"Yeah," Fred chuckled, "She'd have a lifetime supple of grease from Snape's head—"
"—she could grease her house for days on end!" George finished.
Alicia smiled and grimaced at the same time. She shuddered. "That is disgusting."
George reached up and absently started caressing the side of her face. "Not as disgusting as what would happen if they decided they wanted to have kids."
"I can see the mini Snapes running around now," Fred said disdainfully.
Alicia felt like she was slowly drifting off as George continued run his fingers softly through her hair. It was Heaven. George was her own personal heaven. She honestly believed that she wouldn't be able to spend more than a few days away from him without going completely insane. That definitely couldn't be good.
"What have you been doing all this time?" Fred questioned, addressing Alicia.
"Hmm?" She said dozily. "Oh, I was studying."
Fred and George exchanged identical looks of confusion and George stopped caressing her. "Studying for what?" they asked together.
"Are you joking?" She said, looking back and forth between them. They continued to look at her strangely. "Ordinary Wizarding Levels?!"
"OH," they said, as if they only just remembered. "Those." George resumed stroking Alicia's face and Fred relaxed back onto the couch.
"Haven't you two studied?" she asked, looking at them incredulously.
They snorted. "No," they said in unison.
"What do you mean no?"
Fred and George rolled their eyes and said, "What do we need Owls for?"
Alicia scoffed in frustration. "For jobs maybe?! And could you guys stop doing that?"
They looked at her. "Doing what?" they said.
"That!" Alicia said.
Fred and George looked at each other and back to Alicia. "We can't help it," they said together in the same matter.
"Sometimes, we just get going and we can't stop," they said in unison. George looked at Fred and grinned. "Oops," they said doing it again. They laughed.
Alicia huffed and crossed her arms. She decided to change the subject. "Well what are you going to do if you fail all of your O.W.L.s?"
Fred snorted. Thankfully, just George answered this time. "We won't fail all of them, Ali—"
"—but thanks for the encouragement—" Fred added.
"We'll get a couple—"
"—But it's not a big deal if on the offhand chance—"
"—that we do fail everything—!"
"—In any case, we'll do the same thing—"
"—whether we pass—"
"—or fail," Fred said finally.
Alicia, who had closed her eyes rather then rather than trying to decipher who was saying what, opened her eyes once she was sure they were finished. "Which is what?" she asked.
The twins looked at her. "Nothing," they said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"It's not like we really need them for anything," Fred stated simply.
Alicia scoffed and looked at them back in fourth. "What?"
They both opened their mouths, undoubtedly to say the exact same thing, but Alicia spoke before they could say anything. "Forget I said anything. You both are completely mental," she said lightly pushing on George so he would sit up.
She stood up. "I'm going to go back to my room, back to my school books, where things actually make sense."
"You won't leave without saying goodbye, will you?" George said, giving her puppy eyes.
Alicia grudgingly leaned over George and gave him a chaste, upside down kiss. He tried to pull her back for a better kiss but she knew she'd never go back to studying it she allowed him. "Goodbye, George," she said squirming away from him giggling. She gave Fred's head a little rub, messing up his hair, and headed back in the direction or the staircases.
"Goblin rebellions don't make sense," George commented to her retreating back. Alicia rolled her eyes.
"Well maybe you should start a rebellion of your own," Alicia said before disappearing up the stairs.
And that was the last time Alicia really had the chance the talk to the twins. It was as if she wasn't trying or anything. It's just that she was always busy studying, and when she wasn't, the twins where out somewhere in the castle and she couldn't find either of them.
Finally, the night before the first O.W.L. exam, Alicia was pouring through her Potions notes. Juliette seemed to have fallen into an uneasy sleep, her Muggle Studies book open on her lap. Katie had long since fallen asleep, not having to worry about her Ordinary Wizarding Levels until the next year and was snoring softly.
Alicia's thoughts were once again floating to George, much to her ever growing frustration. She really couldn't stand being away from him. And that scared her. It was quite obvious he could stand being away from her. He didn't seem to be putting much effort into seeing her. She hadn't thought it could be possible for them not to run into each other sometime but apparently it was.
Angelina was muttering charm incantations to herself, but stopped to glance at Katie who had a peaceful look on her face.
"Look at her, sleeping there peacefully," Angelina said, interrupting Alicia's thoughts, not bothering to keep her voice down. "Rubbing it in our faces. Just wait until next year…then we can all go to sleep while she stays up studying. HA!"
Alicia chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Angie, why don't you just go to sleep?"
"I can't just go to sleep! I have to make sure I remember that the properties of a cheering charm and the effects it can have on your brain if it's used on you too—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know this already. You're not the only one taking these stupid tests you know," she said before Angelina started reciting the whole book.
Angelina laughed and set her book down. "Alicia," she said with a smile on her face. "I have to tell you something."
Alicia turned and looked at her wearily. "What is it?"
"I think I like Fred again," she said tentatively.
Alicia stared at her for a few moments before she slowly broke out into a smile. "Finally realised it have you?"
Angelina relaxed against her pillow and sighed wistfully. "He's different Alicia, he's more…I don't know. Just different."
Alicia laughed. "So when are you asking him out?"
Angelina looked appalled. "Alicia, are you mad?! I can't ask him out! Gosh…"
Alicia turned over and propped herself up on her elbows. "Well when he asks you out you are saying yes, right?"
Angelina frowned. "Who said we were going to go out again?"
"So you'll say yes?"
"No!"
"You're going to reject Fred?"
"No…Alicia!"
"Oh I'm excited! Now we'll both have our own twin! Oh and we can go on dates together!"
"Alicia I never said we were getting back together!" Angelina hissed frantically as Alicia began to give her knowing looks.
Alicia put her books aside and stood up, rolling her eyes as she headed for the door.
"Well you be sure to tell me what his kisses are like," she said smirking, closing the door as Angelina threw a pillow at her.
She went down to the staircase secretly hoping to find George there. Her heart plummeted as she scanned the common room. He wasn't there. Just like the night before. And the night before that…and the night before that…why was she still even hoping to find him?
The common room was empty except for Lee, who was drowsily flipping through what look like a pile of notes and jumped when Alicia came to sit down next to him.
"Lee! Oh, sorry," she apologized, helping him gather the parchment he had just dropped in his surprise. "Have you seen George?" she questioned, not bothering with small talk.
Lee put his notes down next to him and collapsed back onto the arm chair he was sitting in. "You just missed him," he said after yawning widely.
Alicia groaned in frustration and sat back in her chair. "What is he even doing out at this time of the night anyways?"
"He's with Fred. They're always up to something aren't they?" he sighed. "Just last week, Fred put Bulbadox Powder in Towler's pyjamas," he said, grinning at the memory.
"Kenneth Towler?" Alicia said, momentarily forgetting her annoyance. "So that's why he broke out in boils…Why would they do that? I like him, he helped me with my potions essay once…"
"Well that's probably why. And I think Fred overheard him saying something about how pretty Angelina is," Lee said, smiling a little. "Fred didn't take that so well."
"I haven't talked to either of them all week," she said huffily. "School's almost over! George and I haven't had a moment alone for weeks! Or and other kind of moment." Alicia vaguely wondered if George was seeing someone else…but that make no sense. He was always with Fred.
Lee shrugged. "Well maybe, you should just call it quits," he suggested.
Alicia's head snapped up and she looked at him. "What?"
"Well think about it. Like you said, school is almost over. Things don't seem to be going so well for you two. Do you really think you and George are going to be able to see each other this summer?"
Alicia thought about what he said for a moment. It was absurd, absolutely absurd. Ridiculous. Impossible! Life without George wasn't living at all! She paused in her thoughts. Oh no, she was obsessed with him. She really truly loved him…might even be IN love—no she couldn't think about that. If she didn't get a hold of herself she was going to put a strain on the friendship. She could ruin them all together! She tried to calm her thoughts once more and thought about what Lee had just said. He might have a point.
Lee continued when Alicia didn't make any move to attack him. "If you guys ended it now, it would make things a lot easier. That way, if either of you met anyone over the summer, you wouldn't have to worry about any 'commitment' issues or anything. And if not, you could just continue where you left off next year."
Maybe Lee was right. It did make sense. She thought about the way she had felt in Hogsmeade when she thought he was going to dump her. They had been going out for nearly five months. Maybe that was too long for a couple of fifth years. She was getting way too attached. "Don't you think George would be upset?"
Lee shrugged. '"It's George. He cares about you. Too much to let your relationship get in the way of what you were before. I'm sure if you do it when the timing's right he won't be too fussed. And the way things are going now, I don't know if you guys could survive a messy break up. It's always better to end things on good terms."
Alicia stared into the fire pondering what Lee had said. He probably wouldn't get too mad. Really, what's the worst that could happen…he cares about her…right?
"But you can't hurt him, Alicia. You'd have to do it at the perfect moment."
Alicia frowned. "I never said I was going to do it anyway!" she snapped. "And what do you mean 'the perfect moment'?" she asked curiously.
"Well you certainly can go snogging him and then suddenly say you should just be friends. You can't be all lovey-dovey and then do it out of the blue. He'd probably curse you into oblivion."
"For goodness sake Lee, it's not advanced ancient runes! I know George, it wouldn't be all that complicated. Not that I'm doing that! We're just talking hypotheticly!"
Alicia felt slighly shaken. What Lee said about them not lasting through the summer had really gotten to her. Would George meet someone else? If there were ever to be someone else would they be able to stay friends?
"Alicia, I'm serious. If you break George's heart, Fred will go balistic. And I won't be too happy either. You have to do things when the moment is right," Lee said strongly. He stood and began to gather his things as Alicia's mind began to race.
Maybe she was getting too attached. She should end it before it gets out of hand and one of them ends up doing something stupid. She really didn't want—well, whatever it is that they were, to get in the way of their friendship. Nearly falling in love with him, would definitely complicate the friendship.
Maybe the reason she hadn't seen him in so long was because he didn't want to see her. Maybe he was avoiding her and was planning to end it anyways. If she didn't get a chance to have a good conversation with him soon, she'd never be able to sort out her feelings. The thought of George not being hers was frightening.
But he's so sweet, part of her argued. She didn't want to leave her Georgie. She really didn't.
Alicia thought long and hard over the next few days. Her dreams were plagued with marrying George only to find out that it was really Percy, who then turned into a giant pulsating slug. Even worse were the dreams where George was kissing other girls in random corridors who laughed at her when she saw them. And worst still were the dreams were everything was perfect and George was madly in love with her as those dreams filled her with a false sense of hope.
And finally she came to a decision. She really did not want to lose George.
:D