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chapter four

BEAU

Fred Weasley is a tough cookie to crack, there's no argument there. I didn't even want to crack him, necessarily, just make him a little more enjoyable to be around. One minute he's insulting me and making me regret my career choices, and the next he's making blush in a really odd way. Mainly out of embarrassment at my lack of experience.

Not to say he didn't bring me some enjoyment, though.

The next few days were uneventful. He'd throw insults at me, I'd throw some back, but none were nearly to the extent of the cards he was dealing me. But every time I'd get close to him, I would get a whiff of his calming scent. I didn't want to seem creepy or be accused of any misconduct for lingering longer than the average person, but something about him just reminded me of home.

Not my home, of course not. My home was never nearly as comfortable or welcoming as how his room was set up. It was warm and inviting, despite his personality being anything but (sometimes.) I wonder how he became so hardened to the world when he has the amount of support that he does. I suppose a big family and mugs of hot chocolate don't make up for the fact that you were in a traumatizing accident and live your life everyday staring out the window; shutting out any emotional connection besides making jokes with your nurse and clamming up any time a direct question is asked.

My shifts got easier and easier, tending to my other patients who weren't nearly as difficult as Fred was sometimes. Most of them opened right up to me for their reasons of being there (which I never expected) or they were at least very kind and courteous.

George Weasley was almost exactly as I had anticipated, but it was still shocking nonetheless to see someone who looked so similar to Fred, towering over me and actually smiling happily that wasn't accompanied by a cocky look in his eyes. Or something much more sad, a longing for something that seemed too far out of his reach.

"Uh, hello. . . Beau?" He read my name tag and looked back up to me. "You must be new." I smiled and nodded my head.

"Yeah, I am. But I've been working very closely with your brother the past two weeks and I just want to say—"

"Oh, I know he can be a pain in the arse but—"

"No! That's not what I was going to say," I interrupted him "I actually enjoy Fred quite a lot."

"What?" He questioned, confused and with a cocked up eyebrow. Was it really so hard to believe that I actually liked this person?

"Um. . ."

"I mean, it's just that I've heard nothing but complaints from staff around here. Usually they're either trying to drop hints that I should bring him home with me or just flat out telling me that if he doesn't change his attitude soon they'll have no choice but to force him to leave." George admitted, scratching the back of his neck in awkward form.

"I. . . Okay. Well, he sure is excited to see you!" George smiled brightly and followed me as I took off towards Fred's room. When we arrived at his door, Fred was sitting in his typical spot, staring out the window.

"I can't believe he still does that." George commented in awe.

"What?"

"His wife. . . Er, ex. . . She takes a route back and forth to work everyday that passes directly by that window. He just looks out the window and waits for her to go by." The twin informed me, staring down at me with similar sad eyes to those of his brothers. They're devastatingly handsome, the two, and share some of the same facial expressions.

"Well, it was really nice meeting you George and I'm so glad Fred has such a great support system. I hope to see you again sometime soon." I didn't want to make things more awkward by sticking around for longer than necessary.