AN - Hope to get some reviews!

Chapter 8

Angelina woke in the morning to a bright mop of red hair in her face and a heavy arm across her back. She rolled over to read her clock and saw that it was still quite early. She decided to let George sleep a bit before waking him and went to take a shower. When she stepped out of her bathroom, he was gone from the bed. Minutes later when she had dressed herself and pulled her hair back from her face in a ponytail, she went into the kitchen. George stood by her coffee pot with his back to her.

"Thank god, I thought you'd gone and I was doomed to make my own coffee," she joked. George turned around and set a mug in front of her as she sat at the table.

"I can't take over half your mattress and snore like a chimney without paying you back with coffee," he replied. He sat across the table from her with his own cup.

"You know I don't mind. Being drunk makes it especially forgivable. I certainly wouldn't have expected you to suffer through another Floo trip to your own flat. It's hard enough to bear that sober."

They chuckled at the misery that they both knew was drunken Floo travel and drank their coffee. Angelina looked over at George and wondered that he didn't remind her more of his twin. It was odd that they looked so alike, and she'd had enough trouble initially telling them apart, but since she was maybe fifteen she'd always been sure which was which. She had always been sure it had to do with her feelings for Fred. Somehow he had stood out more to her; she always figured that if she did confuse one for another, she'd mistake George for Fred. But now she was looking at George, and for all the physical resemblance, it was clear as day that he was just George.

She glanced at her calendar and saw that it was now three months since they had begun spending time together. A revelation struck her, and before she could even think about it, she opened her mouth.

"Thank you for spending so much time with me lately," she said. "I've been incredibly lonely since the war, and I haven't exactly dealt with it in the healthiest of ways. So I really appreciate that you and I have become good friends again. You're a good friend, George. I haven't felt quite as lonely with you."

"I should say the same," he replied.

.

"Katie, drop it, please."

"But Ange, you can't not tell me anything! I'm your best friend! You're telling me nothing is going on between you two?"

"No! He is my friend! Is it so damn hard to believe that I am just friends with him? "

"Alright, alright, I'll let up. I think it would be good for you though, if maybe he was more than a friend."

"Katie, please. I know you want me to be happy, and being friends with George has brought me a long way. But please don't push it."

"Fine. I will admit you two have brought yourselves out of your shells quite a bit. I'm really glad to see you smile more these days."

Angelina smiled and sipped her tea. She was on her fourth cup. It was a warm afternoon in early June, and she and Katie had been sitting in a café off Piccadilly Circus for the past two hours. They had spent much of the time discussing Katie's recent engagement with Oliver and plans for their wedding. It was when the conversation turned to George that Angelina didn't want to talk much anymore. Katie had the absurd idea that she should become romantically involved with George, and it irked her more than anything. Katie was one of the lucky people who had someone to lean on after the war. Angelina hadn't had the same luck. She'd been alone for the better half of the two years since the war, and now that the second anniversary of Harry Potter's victory at Hogwarts had passed, she was finally starting to feel okay. It was thanks to her friendship with George, she'd readily admit that. Katie was convinced that they spent more time together than most couples, and that they ought to just get on with it.

Angelina was of a different opinion. She certainly couldn't fall in love with the twin brother of her first love. How on earth would that work out? She doubted that George had even thought about it. With a little encouragement from Ron, he'd really put himself back into the shop and was really raking in the money now. When they spent time together, he often fell asleep not shortly after eating dinner at his or her flat, so tired from helping customers all day long that he couldn't even keep awake. She never minded—she visited him at the store plenty and knew how busy it could get.

They had been spending time with each other since October, and now that it was June, they did see each other on a very regular basis. She had taken comfort in George as her friend, her one source of solace when she began to feel lonely and miss Fred. Since he'd spent the night in January after the Puddlemere match, it had become a regular occurrence for them to spend the night at each other's flats. The host would cook a meal and the guest would bring drinks. On occasion they spent the entire night just reading next to each other; other nights they played games and got into heated Quidditch discussions. He had quickly become her best friend and she his.

Angelina stared out the window of the café as Katie prattled on about whether she should get her wedding dress in cream or white. She responded that white would suit Katie's complexion better, but Katie continued to deliberate over the colors. She could never leave well enough alone; with Katie, there was always more to the discussion.