Waldosia/// George Weasley

Chapter 12

And when she turned back around, George was staring at her with a look so sad that it was familiar. It was like looking at a scratched record, knowing exactly when and where it would skip in the song.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled under his breath, "I-I...this just reminds me of...,"

George trailed off, and instead of finishing the sentence for him, Clover moved to sit next to him. His face softened as she turned her attention to him, gazing at him as if encouraging him to continue. And the blue swimming around in her eyes captivated him just enough that he did continue.

"The first time Fred caught me listening to this, he made fun of me shitless. Said I was a prat for listening to American music," he sadly laughed as he spoke, "But the git ended up falling in love with the band. It was one of his favorites before he...,"

She nodded before grazing her finger softly over the familiar list of songs on the vinyl cover as he trailed off.

"He must have good taste then," she playfully smiled and nudged him in the arm, "And I guess you do, too."

"You like Journey?" He asked in surprise, both at her response and at how he felt after mentioning Fred. It was nice getting to talk about Fred without making someone shift uncomfortably or get upset over him.

"There's nothing more satisfying than blasting muggle music from America in the Slytherin common room," she looked up at him and laughed, "You should have seen the looks I got."

George laughed, and suddenly there were no more lingering thoughts of Fred in his head. It was him and Clover, no one else. "Maybe all snakes aren't bad, yeah?"

"I told you," she pointed at him accusingly, both of them chuckling until the room fell silent again. For a moment, it stayed like that. Only slow breaths and finger tapping being heard.

George was thumping his finger against the outside of the vinyl, his eyes continuously falling back towards Clover. He couldn't understand how it was so easy around her, how they could go from mad to sad to playful to smiling to simply just talking without even meaning to. He thought about Fred and how he might've teased him for thinking so hard about this. And as soon as he did so, he regretted it. Because now his head was swarming with thoughts of Fred.

Clover was innocently watching George's facial expression change abruptly before her eyes. His soft eyes flashed with panic for a second, before he blinked away the emotion. He now was bouncing and his hand was scratching the back of his neck harshly.

"George?" She softly spoke while putting her hand over his to catch his attention.

His mind was spinning with the idea that he'd never get to hear Fred teasing him again, never get to accomplish their dream of having a bloody wicked joke shop together, never get to joke around with him, never get to pull another prank on anyone. No, George was alone now. It was just him, his thoughts, and the pitying stare of everyone around him.

But now there was a hand over his and blue eyes looking at him, not in pity or concern, but rather curiosity. Her eyes were like oceans of possibility, full with breaks from the pounding thoughts and distractions from the constant panic he lived in. And, George wanted to drown in it.

His hands moved to either side of her face and kept her eyes locked on his. He was scared of what might have consumed him if he looked away, and so instead he forced his thoughts elsewhere. Instead, he thought of the soft lips in front of him. The ones that had willingly kissed him back after he pressed his against hers. His mind ran wild again, but not about Fred this time.

After a few more moments of silence, he couldn't hold back anymore, "Why'd you kiss me back?"

"W-what?" She stuttered, her body tense at his touch.