chaos ~ fred weasley

10. talk to me

This gif is only kind of related to, like, one scene in this chapter. But Oliver Wood is fucking perfect so he gets a spot at the beginning of this chapter. Continue.

VEE'S POV

12:05.

The ticking on my watch is incessant and irritating, and I feel like it's driving me crazy. I look down at the clunky piece of metal and pull it off my wrist, throwing it carelessly onto the sofa beside me.

I reach up to touch my hair nervously. I considered going for a 'no-makeup' makeup look except I looked too, prepared. So instead I got into my pajamas- one of Lee's Gryffindor sweaters and a pair of shorts with fuzzy socks. My hair is down, and for about the millionth time in my life I resent my heritage, for giving me untameable curls. I still prefer it over straight hair, though- it's just a lot of work.

My legs are a little cold despite the warm fire crackling in front of me, so I pull out my wand from my sock and flick it lazily at the embers. Instantly my arm courses with power and sparks shoot out of the tip of my wand, igniting the logs in what I can only describe as an inferno. Gasping, I point my wand at it again and the flames instantly calm down to a manageable level.

I hear a loud exhale of breath and I whip around to see Fred leaning against the stairs, his eyes wide. "Bloody hell," he whistles, staring at the spot where the inferno was moments ago. "You can do that non-verbally?"

I shrug, twirling my wand in my fingers. "Lucky, I guess." I hastily tuck my wand back into my sock.

We lapse into an uncomfortable silence, and slowly he walks over and sits down, toeing off his shoes and crossing his legs. As soon as he sinks into the sofa, I try to subtly shift a little further away because I can smell him and it makes my heart beat faster than it should. He notices and looks a little upset, but I ignore it.

"So," I say, coughing a little, turning to look at him. "you started to say something earlier? When I was looking for Harry?"

He nods, looking away for a moment. For maybe the first time since I met him, he looks a little nervous. Scratching the back of his neck, he turns to look at me. His eyes are bright and flit around incessantly, and when they finally settle on me I feel calm and on fire at the same time and I don't know why. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

I nod, crossing my arms. "Sorry for what?"

He turns to look at me, raising an eyebrow. I raise one back, and he just sighs. "I'm sorry that I avoided you after we kissed in the closet."

All I can really do is nod for a moment, until I can string a sentence together properly. "... Okay. Look, I can't forgive you just yet, because you were kind of a dick, but I can't stay mad at you."

He grins, and in that moment he looks more like a puppy than ever before. I can't help but crack a small smile at this, and he pokes my cheek, leaning forward to do so. "there's that smile," he sings.

I laugh. What else can I do? I know almost immediately after I start talking to him that he is completely forgiven, but I'd still like to know why. "Fred?"

"Yeah, Aphrodite?"

"Why did you avoid me?"

Fred hesitates, and for a moment I think he'll deflect, but he doesn't. "Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"I wasn't sure if it was something you... wanted. I thought maybe it was a spur of the moment thing for you." It's clear he's uncomfortable telling me this, and I can't help but laugh a little.