Forever Ch. 15

Gasping for air and laughing at the same time, we danced like maniacs for three more songs, although only one of them was actually fast. It didn't matter, though, nothing mattered so long as Fred and I could keep on dancing together. It was the most fun I'd had in a long time, and that was saying something, considering that I hung around with the Weasleys.

As the song ended, though, so did the fun. Fred's eyes suddenly lit up, but he wasn't looking at me, but rather behind me. Suddenly, getting a sour taste in mouth and hoping against hope that he wasn't looking at Maya, I turned around. As soon as I had, I nearly laughed in relief. Perhaps I wasn't exactly the prettiest girl in the room, but I did reckon that Fred thought I was better looking than McGonagall.

But he wasn't looking at McGonagall, I realized. He was staring at Ludo Bagman, who had just finished dancing with her. I frowned, the relief I'd felt just moments before disappearing as quickly as it'd come.

My confusion increased when he turned away from me and began to scan the dance floor. "Do you see George anywhere, Angelina?"

"No," I said, although I hadn't really looked. Was he looking for Maya, then? "Fred, what-"

"There he is," he said, cutting me off, though I wasn't sure if he'd heard me at all. "George! Over here!"

George looked up, spotted Fred and I, and immediately came over to us, Maya at his heels. "What?"

"Bagman," Fred said quietly, not looking at Maya or me. "Over there."

George's eyes widened. "Let's go."

"What's going-" I started, but, again, I was cut off, this time by George.

"Fred and I have got something to take care of," George said, his eyes still on Bagman. "Why don't you two get us drinks? We'll catch up with you later."

"George-" Maya began, but they were already gone. She turned to me. "What in the name of Merlin was that about?"

"I have no idea," I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. I was so frustrated with both of the twins, especially Fred. Only moments before, I'd been having the time of my life, but now...

I just felt so stupid and angry and ugly (I'd hadn't given a thought about what jumping around so much with Fred would do to my appearance). At least we had danced together, I supposed, but not really as a couple. We'd just been fooling around, like friends, and now it seemed as if we weren't even that. Did I even have friends anymore? Alicia was with Eric, probably having the time of her life. She hadn't even sat with us at dinner, but with the Ravenclaws. Lee was up in his dormitory, sulking because he wasn't with Alicia. Once, I'd thought he was stupid to miss the Yule Ball just because the girl he wanted to ask was going with someone else, but now I rather wished I could join him.

"Well, do you want to go get drinks, then?" Maya asked. She didn't look upset in the slightest, merely a little confused, but, then again, why should she? She and George hadn't danced like idiots. Her face wasn't flushed, her dress robes weren't wrinkled, and her hair wasn't falling out of her tight bun, like mine was. She was pretty as ever, one hundred times prettier than me, and I hated how much I cared.

"Sure," I said, still trying to keep my voice level. It wasn't Maya's fault that the night I'd been looking forward to for weeks had turned out like this. It had barely even started, and already it was a disaster.

"I really like George," she commented as we walked towards the table with the drinks.

"Uh-huh," I said, not wanting to disagree with her, although I wasn't exactly happy with her date or his brother at the moment.

"Well, I like both of the twins, actually," she sighed, "I really can't tell one from the other yet. They're so similar, you know?"

"Not really," I said, "If you get to know them, you'll see."

"Can you tell them apart?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, but I've been friends with them for awhile," I said, privately wondering how much longer that friendship would last. "Lee and Alicia can tell them apart as well."

"They're, like, identical, though!"

"Oh, well, yes," I allowed, "Appearance-wise, I reckon they could stump their own mother, though maybe not, knowing Mrs. Weasley." I'd only met the twins' mum a few times at King's Cross, but I'd heard enough stories about her to know that she didn't miss very much.

"Then how-"

"The way they talk," I shrugged, "I dunno, I can just tell. It's a bit hard to explain..."

"How are they different, exactly?" she asked, "I mean, they both goof off in class, they're both funny..."

I thought it was a bit odd how little she knew George, considering he was her date, but I let it pass. "Fred's louder, rowdier, more creative, and, well, neither of them are tactful,but Fred's even more tactless than George. George is, I dunno, a bit more sensible and... nicer, I guess." Fred was more like me than George was, I thought suddenly. We had pretty similar personalities. Once, I'd thought that that was a good thing; it was partly why I'd had a crush on Fred in the first place, instead of his brother. Now, I wondered if being so similar was a good thing afterall, at least for dates.

I didn't know if he'd ever really liked me romantically, and I wasn't sure if I liked him like that anymore either.

"You're so lucky," Maya sighed, and I could barely stop myself from snorting. Me, lucky? "I had to have Elizabeth check which twin was which before I talked to him about going to the Yule Ball."

"Can she tell them apart?" I asked, though I knew the answer was no. "You looked kind of confused when you came up to us, actually."

We'd reached the table now, and were pouring punch into four cups. I looked over at the twins. They were talking with Mr. Bagman, looking almost- angry? He was shaking his head, and now had walked away from them, toward where Harry and Ron were sitting with Percy. Fred and George move, but just stood there, looking frustrated.

"She asked Lee, like, casually," Maya said, but I was hardly paying attention. "And I actually meant-"

"Angelina!" Katie Bell came running up to us, looking flustered, interrupting Maya.

"What's the matter, Katie?" I asked, noticing Franklin wasn't with her. "Need some help escaping your date?"

She shook her head, "Well, maybe, but that's not- I just saw Alicia run out of the Great Hall, and she's crying her eyes out. She wouldn't tell me what's wrong, so I thought I'd find you."

Fred, George, Ludo Bagman, my appearance, and the drinks forgotten, I rushed out into the entrance hall, Maya and Katie right behind me.


Okay, I'm reallly, really, really sorry about how long it's taken me to update. I promise I'll try to be better. I have been writing other fanfiction, but for some reason, this chapter was hard for me to write. I must have tried to write the first paragraph about fifty times, but I just couldn't. Once I finally got those sentences written, though, the rest of it practically wrote itself. I will try to update in the next week.

Please review, especially if you like this story enough to favourite or alert it! I never withhold chapter because of a lack of reviews, but they do help to motivate me! (And sometimes, I'll even reciprocate.)

-Julia