Déjà Vu

Chapter 14

~ Fred ~

He's tried to get Evelyn's attention throughout all of dinner, but nothing's worked. He's been doing it for the last few days, too, but he has failed to grab her eye for more than a moment, no matter how hard he tries. He'll look at her while they all laugh, hoping she'll look back and they can share a moment of shared laughter, he's kicked her foot underneath the table, he's even gone as far as to speak to her directly, asking her about their Ancient Runes assignment, but still. Nothing. She'd just answered quickly without even looking at him, quickly returning to her conversation with Hermione.

He can feel George's eyes on him the whole time, silently watching as he makes an utter fool out of himself. He hates the sheer sympathy that's radiating off of his twin and he tries to block the redheaded boy from his vision, instead focusing on Evelyn.

George isn't the only one whose eyes he can feel, though. Ginny's looking at him, too. She's trying to be subtle about it, he can tell, but he knows her too well to think that she isn't watching his every move throughout dinner. That's another thing that's been happening all week: Ginny's eyes on him while they're around Evelyn. He normally just shrugs it off and hopes that she won't say anything.

He hopes wrong, though, because when they're walking back to Gryffindor, she doesn't part ways with him to go back to her own room. She just keeps walking with him until they get to his and George's room, walking in without asking. George is in the library with someone for a project, so it's just the two of them.

"So," she says once the door shuts behind him, settling herself down onto his bed. "What's going on with you and Evelyn?" she asks bluntly, face expressionless.

He tries to keep his eyes from widening at the question. He's not quite sure if it works or not. "Uh," he starts, inwardly scrambling for an answer. "What do you mean?"

She rolls her eyes and sighs, obviously having expected this answer. "Fred."

He crosses his arms and leans back against the wall beside the door, deciding to play dumb. "I seriously don't know what you're talking about."

"You were a dick to her for a few weeks, and now you're suddenly the opposite. She won't tell me anything, but I know something's going on."

Fred blinks, keeping silent. He doesn't know quite how much she's figured out, and he's not going to give her more. He would hate to do anything to mess with her and Evelyn's friendship, and that would be a possibility if he came clean right now.

Ginny sighs again. "Do you like her or something?"

He opens his mouth to deny it, but nothing comes out. He doesn't quite know what to say, because Ginny's more correct than she knows. His silence seems to be enough of an answer.

"Fred," she says quietly, disappointedly.

"What?"

"She has a boyfriend."

He rolls his eyes. He knows. He's heard that enough times to last him a lifetime.

"I know."

She rubs her hands over her face as if this is distressing for her. "I'm just confused, Fred. What about the girl from the summer?"

He wants to laugh but doesn't. Ginny doesn't know how spot-on she actually is, and he wishes that he could just tell her everything. He doesn't want her to think that he's randomly trying to be some homewrecker, even if that's technically the truth. He still thinks of Nick as the homewrecker.