Day Nine
Prompt: Lies
George glanced sideways at Capella. There was something bothering her, he could tell. She wasn't teasing him, she wasn't laughing. "Aren't you excited for the break?" George asked her. He noticed that she had been melancholy for the past week. He had been trying to get her to talk about what was bothering her.
"I guess so," she said with a non-committal shrug. She kicked a stone into the lake and watched the ripples spread out until they disappeared. "Do you ever wish you could stay at Hogwarts all year?"
"No." George answered immediately, shaking his head. "I have fun here. Fred and I have a lot of fun here," he said with a laugh. "But seriously, no. I need summer; I'd go crazy without summer." He dramatically staggered around, his arms outstretched and his eyes crossed. He grunted a little and then let his tongue hang out of his mouth.
Playfully, Capella slapped George's shoulder. "Oh, George. I don't want to leave because I'm going to miss you!"
"Ah, the truth comes out," George said as he raised his eyebrows. "You don't want to leave because you like me."
Capella looked up quickly. "What? I didn't say that."
"You like me," George taunted.
"Lies." Capella shook her head and turned away from George.
"You like me."
Capella picked up a smooth, flat stone and tossed it into the water to buy herself some time. Her face was flushed and she wanted to regain her composure before she spoke again. She cleared her throat. "Who told you that?"
George smiled secretively. "You like me."
"Who ever told you that is a liar."
"You like me."
"Stop saying that!" She turned to face him and looked at him for a few seconds. "Who told you that?"
George smiled. "You did," he said. "I was just teasing you. I didn't think you'd be so obvious."
Capella didn't say anything, she turned away from George. Her face was flushed again and she was trying to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. She hadn't wanted him to know she liked him. Cringing, she tried to brace herself for the barrage of jokes she knew were forming in George's head. This was the end of their friendship for sure.
They were both silent until George surprised her by slipping his hand into hers.