Elusive // The Weasley Twins

66. Deja Vu

George's hand immediately fell to his side, which was smart thinking on his part as Cosette was frozen in shock. She stared at her friends, her heart racing partially due to the literal surprise and the fear of almost being caught.

"What?" Cosette asked quietly, turning to look at George who was just as confused as her, if not more so. She turned forward again, meeting Hermione's eyes who stood front and center.

"Surprise?" Hermione repeated, but even she was hesitant to speak. "Honestly, we didn't think you'd be back for at least another hour or so, so not everyone is here yet."

"Hermione, I thought we cancelled the party," George took a step towards her, shielding Cosette from the crowd of people she certainly didn't expect to walk into. George quickly scanned over who was already in attendance and when he spotted a few who didn't have any knowledge of the incident with Lottie, he kept his mouth shut but raised his eyebrows, waiting for an explanation.

"Invitations were already sent out," she tried to reason with them, but looked directly at Cosette while speaking. "Setty, we just wanted to celebrate your birthday with you. We all love you and we-" Hermione took a sudden pause, wanting to be as vague as possible, "-we thought a party with the people who care about you would be fun."

Would be a distraction was more like it.

Cosette was still stunned. She barely wanted to leave the flat with George as it was, let alone spend the evening with a group of people.

"Hermione, you really-"

"Oh for fuck sakes," Nick interrupted George's scolding, stepping past Hermione and extending an unopened drink towards him. "It's a party, mate. Are you really going to send all of us home or are you going to loosen up and have some fun?"

This was a question for Cosette, not George.

Cosette was a little annoyed that Nick, of all people, had agreed to throw a surprise party for her especially after what happened only days ago, but she really shouldn't have been shocked. There was a good chance Nick was the one who talked Hermione into not cancelling it in the first place.

"It's up to you," George told her, glancing over his shoulder at Cosette who still seemed to be processing what was happening.

She really wanted to spend the night with George, but she didn't have it in her to turn everyone away. These were her friends, her family, and although a party was most definitely not what she was needing at this given moment, it was heartwarming to see that there were still people who cared about her.

Cosette worried that after her breakdown and fight with Lottie, her friends would start to look at her differently. And maybe that was the case, but they were doing a damn good job at hiding it.

"No, it's-" Cosette's gaze trailed off of George and towards Nick and Hermione, who seemed adamant on staying. "It's alright, really. I mean, it's a surprise party, right? Mission accomplished. I'm certainly surprised to see everyone."

Her apprehensive tone and worrisome expression on her face didn't go unnoticed by George, who was more than ready to kick everyone out if that's what Cosette wanted, but he wasn't about to do anything without verbal consent.

"Are you sure?" He asked, but Nick had already stepped forward again, patting his hand on George's shoulder and handing him the drink before taking a sip of his own.

"Happy birthday, Sets," Nick grinned from ear to ear and it wasn't long before music started blaring from the speakers in her living room. Nick conjured one of the drinks from the fridge and handed it to Cosette before she could even think about turning it away.