Miss Mischief ▶ George Weasley

Chapter Twenty-Six

George and Fred sat on the ground in the middle of the field across the road from the Burrow. All day they had been riding on their brooms as they hit a soccer ball back and forth with a baseball bat. It was a hot day at the end of June. They were bored and almost completely unsure what to do with themselves.

After they received Emerson's last letter, stating that she was bored out of her mind at home, George was tempted to steal his father's car again and bring Emerson back to the Burrow. Luckily he was talked out of that idea by Fred, who said that if he did that he would for sure be murdered this time.

His feelings for Emerson seemed to have increased during the time that they were apart. George missed seeing her smiling face and hearing her obnoxious laughter. He wanted to smell the coconut of her shampoo and the natural way that she smelled of orchids and vanilla.

Across from him, Fred knew exactly what George was thinking about. "You are truly pathetic, George," he laughed at him. "If you don't do something about this crush I might have to kill you myself."

George groaned and flopped backwards onto the grass. "What am I supposed to do about it? Tell her that I like her?"

"Yes!"

"You heard how it turned out for Oliver," George sat back up and looked over at Fred. "I'm not going to risk our friendship on the chance that she doesn't feel the same way for me."

Fred rolled his eyes. "You and Oliver are completely different, so don't you dare compare yourself to him. You're actually friends with Emery, best friends. You know everything about her. Oliver doesn't know dung."

George had to admit that he knew Fred was right. Oliver may have known the basics about Emerson, but George knew everything. He knew her favorite shade of blue. He knew that she hated Charms class and secretly loved Potions and was incredibly good at both. He knew she was thinking about being a healer after Hogwarts because of all the time she spent in the Hospital Wing. He knew that she hated the awkward wave of her hair. He knew that she wished her eyes were brown like her mother's. George knew so much.

But that's part of what scared him. Emerson was George's best friend. He knew so much about her. And he definitely knew that he was madly in love with her. He just didn't want to throw it all away if she didn't reciprocate her feelings.

That's what happened to Oliver.

"You see, Brother," Fred snapped his fingers to bring George's attention back to him. "Oliver liked Emery because she is pretty and smells nice and is just overall a great person. You like Emery because you have an emotional connection. Oliver gave her nice things but you actually did things for her. He bought her a snow globe and Quidditch gloves because he has money and didn't know what she actually likes. You made her a charm bracelet and went out of your way to put together an incredible birthday for her without spending a knut. George, you spent a week sleeping in the infirmary while she was in a bloody coma just so she wouldn't wake up alone."

Once again, Fred was right. George and Oliver were incredibly different. He couldn't assume that just because Oliver was turned down that he would be too.

"I don't know," George pulled up a chunk of grass from the field and threw it back towards the ground. "I know you're right. I think I'm just so hesitant because I know if she says no it could affect our friendship."

Fred gave him the benefit of the doubt and nodded. "That is the slightest possibility. At the same time, you and Emery are a lot closer than she was with him. And you aren't so fucking weird around her. That's probably why she said no to him. Oliver was just completely strange."

George laughed. "He was definitely weird around her, that's for sure."

"So what are you going to do?"

Laying back down in the grass, George sighed. "I think I'll just try and keep doing what I'm doing then. And then I'll tell her. She knows that she is important to me. I'd do anything for her."

"I know you would."