lost cause ϟ george weasley

019

"I NEVER LIT A MATCH WITH INTENT TO START A FIRE, BUT RECENTLY THE FLAMES ARE GETTING OUT OF CONTROL."

—

AVOIDING people and responsibilities happened to be a specialty of Arden's. Ever since the night George admit his feelings to Arden at the teashop she had steered clear of the redhead. George developing feelings was never something Arden wanted. It was exactly what she wanted to avoid.

On the other hand, George was beating himself up. Before, Arden only saw it as casual and harmless flirting but now that he had actually confirmed his feelings, she was iffy about the whole thing.

"You need to stop," Fred said nonchalantly, flipping a page of his textbook.

Classes had resumed and the two were currently sitting in DADA. It wasn't a place George wanted to be at the moment – Moody wasn't his favourite professor nor person. Yet he couldn't skip classes again or else he'd get a bad grade.

George raised an eyebrow, turning slightly to look at his twin. "I don't know what you're talking about." He lied.

His older brother raised his own eyebrows, a challenging smirk spread on his face as if he was saying, "oh really?"

"Okay fine," George groaned, setting his quill down. "I fucked up tremendously and I don't know how to fix it."

Instead of the usual advice Fred equipped George with, he just shrugged his shoulders, leaving the younger twin frustrated.

On another note, Arden was sitting in Advanced Arithmancy. The class was smaller than the others due to how difficult it was to even be qualified for the class, so Arden was easily picked out when she was unfocused. Thankfully, Professor Vector wasn't one to call students out. She just eyed Arden until the class was put to work and then she walked around the room to check on people's work and to ask Arden to stay after class. Arden had only ever been asked to stay after to discuss her amazing marks and future career plans. Nearly all her professors thought she'd do good in any work field.

So when Professor Vector asked Arden what was distracting her, it became a shock. A professor never had to speak with her about being distracted in class.

"Miss Gosse, this behaviour of yours is odd and unusual. Ever since the year started you've been acting strange. Is everything okay?"

The professor's question was unexpected and it made Arden think. She's been in Professor Vector's class before and the only difference was she now knew George. George clearly had an effect on Arden and was a factor in her behaviour change, but she couldn't tell the professor that a trouble making boy was the reason she was so off.

"Nothing's wrong," Arden smiled tightly. "Just a bit stressed and all."

Professor Vector nodded, a bit unconvinced. "Yeah, this year is pretty hectic with the tournament and all. But, Miss Gosse, I don't know you as one to be anything but concentrated so I hope you aren't upset with me for sending an owl to your father."

Knowing she couldn't change Vector's mind, she just shrugged before saying she needed to catch her next class. Arden's next class was Charms and there, she couldn't really focus either.

Charms was over faster than Arden had expected. She was still in her little dreamland so granted she wasn't paying attention to the time or lesson. However, she wasn't complaining and left the room quickly. She wasn't worried about falling behind due to the fact she was so far ahead, so she attempted to take a nap during her break.

George, however, had different plans for the two. He waited patiently at the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room, whether he was oblivious to the stares he received or he just ignored them was a mystery to Arden. Slowly, she walked up to him, a forced and awkward smile on both of their faces.

"Hi." George choked out.

"Hello."

They stared at each other for a bit before George cracked the silence. "Hey, I just wanted to formally apologise for my actions at the dance and at Madam Puddifoot's. I just thought–"

"It'd be like true loves kiss and the so-called curse would be lifted?"

George nodded, a sheepish grin creeping on his face. Arden rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"I don't want you to block me out just because we kissed and I said I had feelings. You're important to me and I don't want my hormones to get in the way of us being friends. I still want to help you. I want you to be able to love, Arden. And whether you want me around or not, I'm going to be here with you every step of the way. I won't give up until you have the ability to love like everyone else. Okay?"

The tall ginger was met with an unreadable expression from Arden; her eyes were wide and her lips parted slightly.

"Answer me so I know if you think I'm a huge creep or not." He pleaded urgently, looking desperate.

Still, Arden didn't respond. She stared at George before cautiously stepping closer. Then she suddenly threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, a quiet cry escaping her lips.

George pulled back to make sure the girl wasn't crying but was met with a teary-eyed Arden. Despite the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes, Arden was smiling softly up at George. She looked happy, and it made George feel all warm inside because he knew it was because of him.

"I'm sorry," She apologised, laughing under her breath. "It's just so unusual for people to actually put in that type of effort you know? My own father stopped looking for a way for me to love when I was ten. So knowing how determined you are just really means a lot. Thank you George."

This time, the Weasley displayed a soft smile on his face. He pulled Arden back into his chest, holding her tightly. A few students continued to glance at them, but the two of them were completely unbothered.

At the moment, it really did feel, as cheesy as it may be, like it was them two against the world. It was like them two fighting all odds, including natures forces itself, just for Arden to reciprocate George's feelings. And it felt pretty damn good to them.