Trust Me // George Weasley

Chapter 3: The Date

All morning her eyes had been glued to the clock but time seemed to be going slower than usual. In an hour she would be off and then she would have a date. Her first date in a year. She was deadly nervous.
Anna had already called her best friend Alisa twice this morning, begging for permission to cancel the date but Alisa had told her no. She could of course just not show up but she was not like that. A deal was a deal and besides, standing someone up was mean and she did not intend to hurt George.
She bounced her leg under her desk and bit on one of her knuckles. The first date she had ever had was four years ago when she was still sixteen. He had taken her to the pier in Brighton, where she grew up. She had known Noah since she was ten so she was quite comfortable being around him, though the fact that it was a date still made her nervous. All afternoon they had hung out at the pier and on the beach. He bought her cotton candy, they talked for hours and they had even held hands. When he dropped her off at home again he had kissed her.
It had been a great date. For three years they had stayed together and then he cheated on her with one of her friends, well least to say they were not friends anymore.
"You know time will pass much faster if you focus on your work instead of the clock," Rita told her and peered at her from behind her computer. She looked up, snapping out of her thoughts. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks and she nodded.
"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, Rita," she muttered and turned back to her computer screen. For a whole year, she had not been on a date, kissed anyone, or even considered dating, and now she was going on a date again with a guy that she had seen twice. The only two things she knew about him were that his name was George and he had a twin brother.
"Give her a break, Rita. The poor girl's going on a date in an hour," Nico meddled himself into the conversation. "Now a little bird has told me that you haven't been on a date in a long while?"
"Who told you that?" she questioned and raised an eyebrow. Her break-up with Noah was three months before she had started her internship at The Gallery but she had never discussed her heartbreak with any of them, let alone the fact that she had not dated ever since.
"I mustn't say names," he replied and turned back to his computer screen. Her lips parted slightly and she shook her head. "Back to work, love."
"Nico! Who told you that?" she questioned him again, determined to find out. There was a grin on his lips and he turned to her once more. It was not a secret or something people were not allowed to know but she could not say that she was very proud of it either.
"Let's just say that I like to chat with your uncle," he said and shot her a wink. Of course, her uncle would have slipped up and mentioned it. He was as eager for her to get back into dating as Alisa was. She pressed her lips together and nodded before turning back to her computer.
The nerves struck again and she sucked in her bottom lip while trying to finish writing an email. Every Tuesday she worked from eight-thirty until twelve pm just so she could answer some emails and do some administrative work that she rarely had time for on other days. She worked four and a half days a week and to her, that was enough. This way she made just enough money to pay for rent and groceries and she had enough time to focus on her own art as well.

The last hour was the longest one yet but eventually, the clock struck twelve and she turned off her computer. Though she was excited to get to know the stranger from the street, her nerves were only getting worse by the minute. As she picked up her bag to go to the bathroom to change into a nicer outfit, she noticed the knot in her stomach.
She had never thought that she could get this nervous about a date. She walked over to the bathroom, contemplating her decision to get back into the dating pool. Maybe it was too soon? It had been a year but the break up had been rather hard on her. What if George was a creep? He had said yes to a date with her after she chased him down the street in her pyjamas which was rather odd. At the same time, he was really, really cute. A bunch of thoughts telling her not to go on the date rushed through her mind, yet she was getting ready for it nevertheless.
She pulled a white summer dress from her bag that had small flowers embroidered onto it and changed into it in one of the bathroom stalls. It was her favourite dress. It fell right over her knees and on the left side it was slit open. The sleeves were short and puffed up a little. Overall, it looked amazing. As she stepped out of the stall, she looked at herself in the mirror and spun around once.
She exchanged her trainers for a pair of black sandals with short block heels. She let her brown hair fall onto her shoulders and adjusted her make up in the mirror. She put on some lipgloss that coloured her lips rose red and then sprayed on a layer of perfume.
After she put her things back in her bag, she walked back into the office and knocked on her uncle's door. "It's me, Anna," she called through the door after hearing a 'yes?'. He called for her to come on in and she opened the door, poking her head around the door. "I'm off to my meet with my date now," she said. "Is it okay if I leave my stuff in your office? I sort of only need my tote bag. I baked muffins for our picnic and I brought a bottle of water with two cups. We didn't really discuss who brought what but worst case scenario we pick up some waffles at one of the food stands," she rambled. There was a grin on his lips and he motioned for her to step into his office and close the door.
"Let me have a proper look at you- Ah! Your favourite summer dress I see," he said and nodded in approval. She was really close to her uncle, had been since she was little. He introduced her to the world of art and she was incredibly grateful for everything he had done for her. He had taken better care of her than her father ever had. "Muffins sound great. You're going to be just fine, Anna."
"Thanks," she said and smiled a little at him. She placed her bag in the corner of the room and swung her tote bag around her shoulder.
"That George is one lucky guy to be taking you out. He better treat you right today or-"
"Yeah, yeah," she chuckled a little. "It's just a date." It was much more than to her. It wasn't 'just a date', it was her first date in a year.
"I know that you attached more meaning to it than 'just' a date," he said and raised his eyebrows. "But Anna, dear, it's good that you're going out with someone again. Even it ends up not being the best date ever, it's still a step in getting over Noah." He was right, it was a big step in the right direction.
"I know, uncle Liam," she said and nodded. "I really must get going now. I shall see you later today."
"Have fun, dear. Remember to have a good time, yeah?" he called out to her as she left his office again. She made her way out of the museum and took the Piccadilly line towards Hyde Park Corner. As if it were possible, the nerves in her stomach intensified with every second. She still had seven minutes to walk from the stop to the Statue of Achilles in Hyde Park where they agreed to meet up. As she made her way through the crowds of people all her doubts disappeared and she decided to just wait and see how it goes.