Learn to Love Again | George Weasley

13. Vanilla

"You look perfect."

The words leaving George's lips caused her heart to skip a beat. How was it so incredibly easy for him to consume her every thought? She was convinced he had some sort of secret powers that allowed him to burrow his way into her brain and live there permanently. How unfair it was that he made it so easy for her to forget why she was there at all.

As they stood on the spiral staircase up to his flat all she could think about was George, how impossibly gorgeous he was and how impossible it would ever be for her to call him "mine".

The sound of a door opening brought Eloise crashing back down to Earth, she wasn't there for George, she was there for Dhani. A moment of guilt crossed her mind, poor Dhani had no idea his date would be so hung up on another man when he had agreed to go out with her.

"Thank you." she smiled down at George politely before quickly turning and reluctantly climbing the rest of the way up the stairs to the flat. If she stood there much longer she wasn't sure that she would be able to convince herself to leave George's side.

At the top she found Charlie and Verity waiting in the hall for her, though it looked like they were in the middle of their own personal conversation with how close they were standing. The sound of Eloise's footsteps seemed to startle Verity slightly, who instinctively pushed Charlie away, probably wanting to avoid Eloise thinking anything was going on between the two. But luckily for Verity, Eloise's mind was so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she had no reason to care about what she and Charlie had been up to.

"Eloise! Oh, you are in for a treat. Dhani is a real looker." Verity teased as the nervous woman approached them.

"If he's a looker, what does that make me?" Charlie asked the petite witch with a raised eyebrow.

"Please Charlie, not everything is about you." Verity replied, rolling her eyes.

"I beg to differ, love." he said, leaning closer to her with a playfully flirty look in his eyes, knowing it would fluster her.

"Anyways!" Verity said suddenly, probably a little more loudly than she had intended, "We should get going and let you enjoy your night. Have fun!"

Verity quickly grabbed onto Charlie's arm to pull him towards the staircase, but before they were out of sight he turned back to Eloise, "Make good choices!" he called out, giving the girl a wink.

And then they were suddenly gone and she stood alone in the hallway outside of George's flat. The man she was completely infatuated with was just down stairs, and the man who could potentially make her forget everything was standing behind the door.

The choice seemed clear on paper, just open the door and enjoy your night, forget George and have fun. But in reality Eloise was conflicted, should she even be going on this date in the first place? Was it just one big mistake?

She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, attempting let go of her racing thoughts as the air left her lungs. After what felt like an eternity, she finally reached for the handle on the door and opened it up slowly to see a tall man with unruly hair and a bright smile waiting for her.

Something about his smile calmed her nerves almost instantly, she wondered if he was aware of his ability to put people at ease with a simple grin, or if it just came naturally to him.

"Wow." the word escaped Dhani's lips before he could even stop himself.

A blush grew on Eloise's freckled cheeks at Dhani's comment. He wasn't looking her up and down when he said it, he was looking right into her eyes. She wasn't just some object he was gawking at like a statue in an art gallery, she was a kind face, a shy smile, and all was hidden behind curious ocean blue eyes - he wanted to know more.