Me, You, And The Sky | Fred Weasley

Chapter 16: The Near Touch

Feverish electricity. The living room was full of energy and life. A huge smile spread across my face as I gazed down on the room from the staircase, with Fred right behind me.

It was a small party, but there were quite a few new faces. Something that didn't necessarily scare me, but always made me a bit nervous.

I felt a hand take mine, and I looked back up to Fred who gave me a reassuring smile, telling me it was okay. Fred had that way about him; everything about him was simply contagious.

"I'll introduce you" he said as he tilted his head towards the group, urging me to follow him.

He dragged me behind him, as he led us to the group, with me stumbling slightly in his trail.

"This right here is the lovely Skylar Emerson" Fred announced with a proud smile as he shoved me in front of him, putting me on display to the two new faces.

"Hi" I added sheepishly with an awkward wave.

"It's a pleasure to meet you" said the girl with bushy brown hair as she stepped closer to me "I'm Hermione Granger"

I took her hand in a handshake and gave her my best smile. There was something about her that was so comforting to me. Maybe it was her warm grin or her light brown eyes, but she felt like an easy person to talk to if you intended on understanding her.

"Really, the pleasure is all mine. And by the way, I've already heard so much about you from all of them, especially how smart and beautiful you are from this little guy" I said as I nudged Ron, which made them grow two shades redder at my remark. What can I say, someone has to be the catalyst.

"And you must be Harry" I said, smiling at the raven-haired boy with glimmering eyes.

"That's me" he confirmed with a slight blush, "I- I like your accent"

I scoffed at this. I mean, c'mon, an American accent?

"I could say the same about yours" I said with a laugh.

"Brilliant" he whispered to himself.

The rest of the night went swimmingly. Hermione and I shared the common curiosity to learn new things, so we had loads to talk about. She also came from "muggle" parents, so I instantly felt connected to her. Harry was a sweet boy. He seemed somewhat shy, but every once in a while he would slip out a sassy remark that would make me laugh, confirming that he was merely just trying to get comfortable with me.

I also met Sirius Black, a very good friend of Uncle Lupin's. This man was entirely up my alley except when he was first introduced to me as a suspect for murder.

The fire blazed all night, warming up the room. Laughs danced around the room as drunken songs were sung to. We danced foolishly around the living room, carelessly and freely. We were drunk on living, and the infinite feeling it brought.

Suddenly, hands took mine, bringing them into his chest.

"Skylar! Sing with meeeee" Fred Weasley sang as he brought me over to the piano in the middle of the room. I had taught him earlier in the summer, and he had gotten pretty good at it.

He sat me down, practically on top of him. We adjusted our fingers over the keys, the familiar glaze of the keys calming me.

He softly pressed his fingers down and began to play.

Play City of Stars as you read. Trust me.

"City of stars
Are you shining just for me?" he sang gently.
"City of stars
There's so much that I can't see
Who knows?
I felt it from the first embrace I shared with you"

"That now our dreams may finally come true" I sang.

"City of stars
Just one thing everybody wants
There in the bars
And through the smokescreen of the crowded restaurants" We both giggles as I fumbled with the keys, accidentally grazing his hand.
"It's love
Yes, all we're looking for is love from someone else"
I sang as we looked into each other's eyes

[Fred:]
A rush
[Sky:]
A glance
[Fred:]
A touch
[Sky:]
A dance

[Both:]
A look in somebody's eyes
To light up the skies
To open the world and send it reeling
A voice that says, I'll be here
And you'll be alright
I don't care if I know
Just where I will go
'Cause all that I need's this crazy feeling
A rat-tat-tat on my heart

[Fred:]
Think I want it to stay
City of stars
Are you shining just for me?
City of stars

[Sky:]
You never shined so brightly

And then, the song was finished. It was just the two of us there. I didn't look at him. I didn't want to see that he was what I was missing. So instead we sat with fake smiles as everyone applauded.

The piano was enchanted to continue playing, and we fell back into the group, ignoring every instinct that pulled us back to each other.

Card games were played, and well, with this group, the games easily got heated. It appeared that everyone in this room had the same competitive nature, which was quite dangerous.

"I need a breather" Ron sighed as everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"The roof?" I asked to which everyone nodded their heads once more in agreement.

"I'll get the stash" George said with a smirk as he hurried up to his room.

We all walked briskly up the stairs and into my room, which now seemed quite small with the large crowd that occupied it.

I was the first to exit the window, and I just watched in amusement as each of them crawled out of the window, reminding me of the day I met the Weasleys and watched as they piled out of their car.

We brought out a few blankets and laid down side by side. I just stayed in between the twins. They were always who I felt most comfortable with. I watched as George expertly rolled up a joint between his slender fingers. He lit it carefully before placing it between his thin lips, before handing it over to me.

I forgot that I was still staring at George, not because I was necessarily attracted to him, but I more found him interesting to look at. Well, he clearly saw me staring at him, and of course, that was the perfect opportunity for him to poke at me.

"Wrong twin" he said with a cheeky grin.

"You're funny. Have you ever been told that?" I asked sarcastically, before taking a drag. I automatically felt my body relax, but didn't dare look at the twin that was staring daggers at me and George as I handed it to him.

Suddenly, everything was calm. I felt my body melt into the roof so nicely, and my breathing slowed. The stars had never shined so brightly. They danced in the sky in perfect constellations. The sky, like music, told stories in ways words couldn't.

I then felt fingers graze mine. Looking up, I saw the brown eyes of Fred Weasley. Goosebumps trailed along my body simply by meeting his gaze. Butterflies fluttered around my stomach. Fireworks exploded inside of my head. Normally, after these feelings errupted, we would shut down and ignore it, but this was different.

We just laid there, his fingers lazily grazing my hand as his deep brown eyes stared deeply into mine. Neither of us dared break the contact, because we knew that if we did, our time would be up. So we just indulged in this selfish moment, allowing our feelings back in. We were so close to each other, yet so far. The near-touch. There was something about it that was so alluring. The temptation, the built up desire. There was something beautiful about it, so we enjoyed the moment. The intimacy of the near touch and the anticipation for the future.