Across The Street || George Weasley

10 - good news, bad news

George's POV

"IS everyone fully clothed?" I hear Fred call out when he opens the door to our apartment above the shop. One look in his direction and I can see him covering his eyes as he crosses the threshold. I'm actually surprised he has the decency to cover his eyes. I would think he would love the opportunity to catch y/n half-naked. Godric knows, I love her body. 

"Y/N already left, jack ass." I laugh from my spot on the couch. 

"Good." He says, dropping his hands from his face and strolling into the living room. "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" He asks, prompting me to look up startled from the book I'm reading. 

After hanging out with y/n earlier in the week, when she started reading the first Vampire Diaries book out loud to me, by the time I left that night to head home, I was immediately hooked, so she sent me copies of all four books through owl post. And I've been sitting down every night to read them a bit.

"Why do you even have good news and bad news?"

Fred takes a deep breath. "Well, you know since you and y/n were hooking up yet again, I needed to find somewhere to go since it's Sunday and the Leaky Cauldron is closed, so I decided to go to The Burrow to see how Mum was doing and everyone else. Anyways, she asked me why you didn't go with me, and I may have accidentally slipped what you were doing."

I gape at him. "You told Mum that I was at home fucking a girl?"

"Not in so many words. I just told her you were with a lady friend."

I sigh, running my hand over my face. "You referred to y/n as a lady friend?"

"What else was I supposed to refer to her as? Your sex friend? Fuck buddy? Mum would've had a heart attack."

"Okay...so I'm guessing this is where you tell me the good news and bad news." I urge.

"Well, good news, Charlie is coming home for a few weeks to visit. He's arriving Friday afternoon. Bad news, Mum thinks this is the perfect time for us to come home for a weekend. The whole weekend, no work. And she wants you to bring y/n."

"Fuck, Fred. Seriously?"

He looks at me worriedly. "What part are you annoyed with? The part where we'll be closing the shop for the whole weekend or that y/n has to meet our family."

"The fact that we're gonna close for a weekend doesn't bother me. We make enough of a profit, it won't have an affect on us. It's y/n meeting Mum and everyone. I mean, we're just having sex. Does Mum think we're dating?"

"No." Fred shakes his head. "I saved you there and just said the two of you are friends."

I lean my head back against the couch and let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll go talk to y/n tomorrow morning and see if she's free."

*****

Y/N's POV

IT'S mid morning on Monday when Pansy is helping me unpack the newest book stock that the door rings, signalling the arrival of a customer. "Can you help the customer, Pansy?" I ask, still kneeling on the ground, sorting through the box of books that arrived this morning. 

"I would...but I think he would much rather see you." She says, prompting me to stand up and see George standing in front of the counter. 

"Hey." I smile. 

"I'm gonna go shelve these books." Pansy says, not so discreetly leaving the two of us alone.

"Hey." George smiles, but it's not his usual smile. There's a hint of anxiety behind it.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just need to ask you something. And I'm kind of nervous about it." He confesses.

My heart skips a beat. Is he going to ask me out? On an actual date? The idea causes butterflies to flutter in my stomach. I want him to ask me out, because over the past week, whenever we've talked and chatted post sex, I've found myself enjoying his company more and more. And not just because of his dick. 

"It's just me, George." I assure him. "You don't need to be nervous."

"You're right." He says, taking a deep breath. "I was wondering if you were available to come visit my parents with me this weekend? Fred accidentally told Mum I was spending time with a girl and now she thinks there might be something going on. Don't worry, he assured her we're just friends and I sent her an owl explaining that too but she still wants to meet you. I'm not entirely sure why, but it would be great if you could come. My brother will be home from Romania though, so that should take some of the attention away from you."

The butterflies in my stomach die. Friends. If it was just Fred saying it to his mum, it wouldn't be so bad. But George going out of his way to write a letter to ensure she knows that I'm nothing but a friends, stings a bit, and all hope I had for a potential relationship fizzles away. 

I don't know why I even had hope for something more anyways. He asked me out, I turned him down because I'm not ready for relationship and so we decided on sex. Just sex. Nothing less and nothing more. And here I am, getting sad over not getting more when that's what we agreed to in the first place. What I pushed us towards. 

But things feel different now. Ever since, I opened up to George about everything I went through and saw, I feel open to the world again. I actually feel ready to handle a relationship. Maybe all it took was talking to someone who wasn't paid to listen to me. 

"Sure." I agree, not sure what else I'm supposed to say. I can't just come out and confess my blooming crush for him and state that as a reason for declining. It would probably totally freak him out and make him run for the hills. And even though the whole 'friend' or 'just sex' thing is less than I want, it would hurt too much for him to leave me with less. 

"Great. I'll meet you here on Friday once you close and we can apparate together. Pack for the weekend." He says and with that he heads back out the door. 

Pansy is at my side seconds later. "What did George want?" She asks. 

"He wanted to invite me to his parents' house this weekend. To meet his family. So I'll need both you and Luna working and handling the store this weekend while I'm gone. Is that okay?"

She nods. "Yeah, that's fine. But, I thought you and George were just sex friends? Isn't meeting his parents more of a relationship thing?"

"Well apparently, it's a friend thing. Fred let something slip and now George has assured them that we're just friends. So meeting his parents and family is a friend thing."

Pansy reads my facial expression perfectly. "And you're not happy about that?"

I let out a sigh. "It's complicated." I say, grabbing a pile of books and carrying them to the back of the store. 

Pansy follows me. "It doesn't seem that complicated. You want more than just sex or just friendship, and you don't know if he feels the same."

"I know exactly how he feels. If he wanted something more, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to ensure his Mum knew we were just friends."

"You don't know that." Pansy accuses, still trailing behind me as I shelve the books. "He could just be nervous to tell you because he doesn't know how you'll react."

I whirl on her. "Have you met George? He has everything but nervous. The guy says exactly what he's thinking. So if he felt the same way, I know he would've said so. But he didn't, therefore he doesn't feel the same way."

"So, what are you gonna do?"

"The only thing I can do. I already agreed to go with him this weekend, so that's what I'll do. And when we get back, I'll end things."

"End things? Like end the just sex, and ask him for something more?"

"Pansy." I sigh. "I already know he doesn't want something more. So I'll just end things. Period. I'll tell him I don't want to see him or his dick again."