Waldosia/// George Weasley

Chapter 13

The room remained silent after her words. Babs, who seemed to know when and when to not push his best friend, stepped back and nodded in acceptance. Clover always had her own way of doing things, and he knew that when she was ready to talk about whatever this meant to her she would come and find him. However, Lee hadn't known her very long. And he was never one to hold back what he was thinking.

The blonde girl turned around and was beginning to walk out of the shop with a wave goodbye, when his voice called out one last thought.

"If it meant nothing to either of you than why can't you two hold a normal conversation for longer than 5 minutes?"

She stood frozen in her spot, trying her hardest not to think about what Lee was implying. It couldn't mean anything, not to him and certainly not to her. She knew George was already too much like her; too explosive, too burnt out, too raw. And people like her don't get a happily ever after, they don't even get a chance at that. Clover couldn't bring him, or anyone else for that matter, down that path with her. It's always been just her, and she knew that's how it always has to be. She was a sinking ship, and she refused to take anyone down with her.

"Because your arse of a friend is immature and doesn't know how to act after what happened," Babs noticed the panic behind Clover's face and defensively stepped towards Lee.

"Oi, watch it. That is my best friend you're talking about," Lee replied, his inner Gryffindor coming out to play.

Babs stared back challengingly, Clover watching at the two boys were now only breaths apart. His tongue found his inner cheek as his eyes scaled Lee's body. "Watch what? What are you going to do about it?"

A smirk fell on Lee's lips and he brought his face closer, "There are many things I would like to do...especially to you."

A moment of hesitation passed from Babs. Clover watched as he nervously swallowed before trying to respond, "I already told you, I'm not interested."

All she could do was stare with widened eyes at the scene before her. Her best friend's eyesight was softened and anxious, his stare bouncing anywhere that wasn't on Lee. His head was slightly bowed as he picked at his nails, all the while Lee was staring directly at him.

"Liar," Lee whispered, his lips hovering over Babs'.

And suddenly, Babs now was staring back at him. Not in determination or lust or bravery or courage, but rather in pain and fear and a touch of sadness. Clover understood more than she would've liked to after all these years of knowing the other Slytherin. Babs had everything he had wanted right in front of him, both literally and figuratively. It was right there, and God did he want it more than anything. But he couldn't, not when he grew up being trained otherwise. Lee was a boy and the small voice in the back of his head, the one that sounded awfully a lot like his mother, reminded him that boys could not love other boys.

He sent one pleading look at Clover and that's all it took for her to slip her hand into his and pull him towards the door to leave.

"See you later, Lee," she played the situation off by waving to him with the playful tone they always had with each other.

The brown-haired boy waved back in confusion as both Babs and Clover exited the shop. As soon as they left, Clover had turned to Babs with a worried expression and went to say something. But instead he shook his head and sadly smiled, "S'alright. It's always been like this, yeah?"

The two best friends exchanged a knowing look before parting ways. And not even a moment later, she had apparated into the warmth of the Burrow where she planned on showering away the days problems. After a polite greeting to both Molly and Arthur, Clover made her way up to the bathroom.

The blonde haired girl refused to let her brain wander as the water trickled down her body; she was too scared to see where it would run. Instead, she thought of how grateful she was for what the Weasley's had done for her. No, maybe she would never be used to the idea of having a family and having a home. But, Clover thought, this was as close  as she'd ever get to having that. Molly and Arthur had given her more in the few weeks of knowing her than her birth parents ever had. All too quickly, she felt guilty that this was something Linny never got to experience. And with that last thought, she finished her shower and redressed herself.

A knock sounded at the door as she was brushing her hair out, "Bloody hell, Clover. You've been in there for almost an hour. Hurry up."

"Ronald, you should know how to not wee in your pants by now," she echoed back without opening the door, "Wait your turn."

"Oi, I have very good control over when I have to wee or not," he argued and waited a moment before pounding on the door again, "But could you hurry up, I really have to go."

A few more minutes of silently controlled thoughts swam through Clover's head until another round of knocking sounded out. She grabbed her brush and her towel and threw the door open, "If you knock on the door one more time I will make sure your balls are chopped clean off, Ron-,"

"Sorry to disappoint, love," Clover's eyes snapped open to see not Ron, but George standing directly in front of her, his body leaning against the wall behind him.

She momentarily froze at the sight of him, the sight of his hands that had been on her body, the sight of his lips that had been pressed up against hers. But she quickly shook it off.

"Salazar, what is it with Weasley boys not giving anyone some privacy," she grumbled while walking around him and beginning to head towards Bill's old room.

"You're in our house, blondie. You better get used to it," he winked before stepping towards the bathroom door.

The realization hit him at the same time it hit her, and they both whipped their heads around to stare at each other. Clover's heart was beating in her chest; she was not ready to tell him everything. How stupid of her, she thought, for ever thinking she could keep this from him forever. She was living with his family, she knew she didn't have a lot of time before he would find out. But, she did think she'd have more time than this.

"Why exactly are you in my house?"

There it was, the one question she couldn't bring herself to answer. How could she tell him that she'd been living on the streets until his family took her in, all the while keeping it a secret from him? She inhaled quickly and remained frozen in her place. But if by some miracle, the moment was interrupted at the perfect time.

"Oi, you two," Ron appeared in the hallway they were in, "Dinner is ready. Mum says to come eat, we're all starving."

Clover cleared her throat and quickly walked past Ron, playfully slapping the back of his head to further drive the moment away, "And by all, you mean you, Ron."

When they got down to the table, Clover ignored the pair of curious eyes glued onto her and quickly took the seat that Harry would usually sit in, seeing that he wouldn't be at dinner today. The meal itself seemed to pass by agonizingly slow for Clover, who was still trying to dodge George's curious stare even as they ate. Once Molly had stopped insisting on everyone eating more, the blonde girl had tried to escape back into the room she was staying in without catching any attention to herself. She had made it to steps and placed her foot down on the first one. But suddenly, a hand had wrapped around her wrist, gently keeping her from leaving.

When Clover turned around and came face-to-face with a small-smiling ginger, she knew escaping was no longer an option.

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AUTHORS NOTE:

Here's a small lil filler chapterrrr. I'm so sorry I was only able to get out one update this week, it's been a rough few days for me.  Thanks for being so patient<3 Next update on Monday!!!

What do we think about Babs and Leeeee???