Just Like Home | Charlie Weasley

Chapter 15

"Not for good," Arthur reassured, shaking his head at his wife. "He should be back this evening. He just had some business to attend to."

George rolled his eyes. "Did he now?".

"What's got your wand in a knot?" Ginny whispered as she leant into him.

"Tell you later," he mumbled before stabbing his fork into a piece of potato.

Instead of wallowing in her pit of mortification and sadness, Eleanor decided to send an owl to Hayley to see if she and Fiona were free for dinner. To her happiness, they responded promptly and made plans to meet up at a lovely muggle Italian restaurant just the other side of the Leaky Cauldron. She decided that she would need a few drinks in an attempt to get Charlie out of her head, which was already proving much more difficult than she could ever have imagined. She wasn't sure what it was about the man she barely knew, but she knew she didn't imagine the instant connection she felt with him. Her wildest dreams couldn't have made up the spark she felt when he had kissed her, so she really had no idea what had gone wrong before it even started. His sapphire eyes, his fiery head of curls, the way his cheeks dimpled slightly when he smiled and his perfectly broad stature were burnt into Eleanor's memory, both consciously and unconsciously. She saw the damn beautiful man every single time she closed her eyes. It was laughable, really. It also hurt. Really fucking hurt.

George felt tense. His family eyed him with more caution than usual, Ginny trying desperately hard to distract him from whatever it was that was bothering him. The way he kept his gaze trained on the door and the fireplace for most of the evening, she thought he was keen to escape. But little did she know it was actually the opposite. He wouldn't be leaving until Charlie showed his face, until he was able to talk to him.

It was nearing 11pm when The Weasley's heard the floo network fire up in their lounge. They all turned to face the stone feature, watching as the green flames licked and spat until they died down to reveal a rather disheveled-looking Charlie. He let out a large yawn as he stepped out of the fireplace, ducking to avoid hitting his head on the low wooden beams. He greeted his family with a lazy hello, before he paused. He could feel George's eyes burning into him before he saw them, the feeling causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up.

"Are you alright, mate?" he asked George warily, stepping toward him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

George ignored his question, only narrowing his eyes at him before speaking. "Come with me," he demanded.

The rest of the Weasley's all gave each other questioning glances, but they all determined that none of them knew what was going on. Whatever it was, it was very out of character for George to address Charlie like that. Charlie, in his apparent sleepy state, frowned, but decidedly followed after his younger brother. George strode through the house until he reached the back door, stepping outside and taking a seat on the top step. The early winter air was brisk and fresh as Charlie followed him out and he shivered slightly, noticing that he probably should be wearing more than a thin cotton t shirt at the end of November. He silently seated himself next to George and waited a couple moments before deciding to speak.

"What's up?" he asked quietly, his eyes gazing out at the silhouettes of the trees and hills, dimly lit by the light of the moon.

"Why would you do that to her?" George blurted out. Instead of beating around the bush, he got straight to the point. "That was a real dick move".

Charlie's face contorted into confusion, turning to his brother with it written all over his face. "Do what?".

Turning to Charlie with a scowl firmly set on his face, George was baffled. "What do you mean 'do what'?" he questioned incredulously. "You stood Ellie up!".

It appeared at that moment that Charlie went through several different stages of emotion. Starting off with a rather blank expression, his eyebrows then furrowed deeply as though he was deep in thought. George watched with great interest as Charlie's face eventually paled and his azure eyes widened. He turned to George with a defeated expression. "What day is it?".

"What do you me– what day is it? It's Thursday!" George scoffed. He was very confused as to what planet Charlie was on right now. He was also beginning to lose his patience.

Charlie swallowed, dropping his head into his hands and running them anxiously through his fiery curls before staring blankly ahead of him. "It can't be Thursday," he murmured, more to himself than to George.

Hayley and Fiona eyed each other with slight amusement and a dash of concern as Eleanor put away yet another cocktail. They both knew how much of a lightweight she usually was, and they hadn't seen her getting purposely drunk for a long time. Not since her mother, anyway. Eleanor had barely touched her meal, opting for more of a liquid meal that evening instead. Once they had finished their meals, Fiona turned to her fiancée with a careful expression.

"I'm going to shoot off, I've got an early shift. You stay, yeah?". Her eyes told Hayley all she needed to know. She was leaving to give Eleanor the space she so clearly needed to unload with Hayley, and she was too kind to do it with Fiona still there. As much as Fiona and Eleanor got along and adored each other, it took a lot for Eleanor to be fully comfortable around somebody.

Once Fiona had left, Hayley scooted round the table to sit next to Eleanor. She turned to her with a soft smile on her face.

"Right," she said gently. "You need to tell me what the fuck's going on."

Eleanor's smiley façade dropped almost immediately. "It's stupid," she muttered. "Really, it's nothing."

"It's not nothing if its got you drinking enough for an entire quidditch team," Hayley offered, earning a small laugh from Eleanor as she slid her drink away out of her reach.

Eleanor huffed out a long breath, staring down at the table. "You remember that guy I told you about, the one you met at the bar with his brothers?".

Hayley nodded.

"Well he... He sort of kissed me, asked me out then stood me up?". Eleanor's voice went higher as she spoke, her statement almost sounding like a question that she didn't understand herself.

At her words, Hayley sucked in a sharp breath and instantly had murder written all over her face.

"But it's fine, it's whatever isn't it?" Eleanor added quickly. She knew Hayley wouldn't hesitate to hunt Charlie down and have his balls on a silver platter.

"No, Ellie, it's not fine!" she shook her head, hooking her arm around her best friend's shoulder. "You deserve so much more than that, and I am so sorry that happened,".

Eleanor nestled her head into Hayley's shoulder and allowed herself to be held. "I thought he liked me. At least a little bit," she muttered sadly.

"Oh, babe," Hayley sighed, wrapping her other arm around Eleanor. She only wished she could wrap her up forever, safe from the cruel world.