I opened my eyes, I felt Fred under the covers beside me, though I could feel that he was further from me than usual, probably something to do with the fact that I was on top of the covers, though he had placed a blanket on top of me at some point. I could tell by the still dark room that it was early, though I wasn't sure how early I knew that it must have been before 6 o-clock for Fred not to be up yet, he would be fussing about the shop if it was any later. At first I didn't move, looking at the back of his head, where ginger hair stood up at odd angles with his hand awkwardly tangled in the mess.
Five minutes passed before I rose into a siting position, twisting my feet onto the floor to try and steady myself, I felt the rough carpet through my socks. Grabbing a set of clean clothes from the bag that sat beside the night stand, dressing quickly and making my way to the kitchen and turning the kettle on I felt a weary self consciousness. The water took a while to boil but it just gave me more time try and think, though when I went to pour the water I clearly wasn't thinking as I spilled the scorching liquid us my arm, running it under cold waster as quickly as I could. Trying not to make any noise as the skin began to peel under the stream of water from the tap, I mopped up the water after I had stopped wanting to cry out in pain, angry at the kettle that sat in a pool of now lukewarm water on the wooden bench. I then sat on the floor where the water had been, no drink and pouted, not wanting to repeat the previous feat. I had been burnt by a cup of hot liquid when I was younger, trying to help tidy up after my parents when a still hot and half full cup and "fallen" off the counter and onto the six year old me, which looking back on it was most likely accidental magic, but I wouldn't tell my parents that because it was a touchy subject as it was, they blamed themselves for the accident, and my mum blamed herself for my magic, because she couldn't very well blame the anonymous sperm donor.
By the time George had gotten up to see me sitting on the kitchen with a burnt forearm sulking on the kitchen floor I had been sat there for more than half an hour, he picked me up by my armpits and gave me something that was supposed to help with the pain, but I didn't feel any pain so why would I have it, he fed it to me despite my protests, wrapped my arm in gauze, and half-carried me back to bed, where Fred was still asleep. He pulled back the covers and pushed me onto the mattress, pulling it back over me and closing the door on his way out.
I lay on my side facing Fred, until he noticed a change and turned around to face me, eyes fluttering between open and not, arms wrapping around my waist and wriggling closer. He hummed contentedly as he fell back into a dreamlike state, wherever it was, it brought a smile to his face and his breathing slow to where I almost couldn't feel it against my skin. Like this he reminded me of a small child, curled up and sleepy, too young.
Running my hand through his still tangled hair, I felt myself sigh, content in a moment that wouldn't last as long as I wanted it to, not that anything ever would. Moving slightly, I began to braid his hair as best I could, resulting in small tufts of hair being twisted together haphazardly. We stayed that way for a time, until he began to wake up, and I combed out the small plaits with my fingers.
He didn't sit up right away, just stared at me with big brown eyes that looked like they held the secrets of the universe, all golds and chocolate melted together in such a small space. His gaze didn't feel invasive, but safe and welcomed in the small distance between us.
"Do you want to talk about what was up last night?" It was such an innocent question, one filled with concern and care, but one that also made my breath catch in my throat. The look on his face made it apparent that he had noticed it, but he didn't mention it, waiting patiently for my response.
My mouth became very dry and my tongue became heavy, both in an attempt to keep me quiet. "Well," cough "I, well me and Ang," cough again "we, I mean." Words weren't usually this difficult. I took a deep breath, one that was shakier than I had expected. "Sorry, I have just been snappier than usual lately. I'm fine, I just wasn't so good then, I'm better now." The lie hurt as it passed my lips, it felt like it was chipping away parts of my heart.
"Are you sure?" His tone was obvious that it had seen through the lie, but felt that he shouldn't mention it.
Forcing a smile onto my lips I just nodded.
"Yep."