Déjà Vu

Chapter 19

"Yeah?" she yells back down, not bothering to get off of her bed or open the door for her mother to hear her better.

"One of your friends from school is here!" her mother yells back up the stairs.

She frowns and sits up in her bed. Who would be visiting her? She had told Ginny that she thought they lived near each other (she knew that they did, really), but she'd never told her her address.

She leaves her room, frown ever-present on her face, and quickly jogs down the stairs to see who is at the front door. Her mom is holding open the door and standing in front of it, obstructing her view of the entryway, so she can't see anything other than her mother laughing at something they say.

She can't say that she's all that surprised when she walks up to see Fred on the other side of the door, but she still acts like she is. "Fred?" she asks while folding her arms over her chest. She's only dressed in pajama pants and a big t-shirt, so the wind from outside is cold against the skin of her bare arms.

Fred gives an awkward smile and waves. "Hey, Ev." He'd obviously dressed for the weather, wearing a pair of snow pants, a big jacket, and a beanie.

Her mom turns to her, a curious smile on her face. "Why haven't you told me about Fred, Evelyn? He tells me that you two are quite close."

Evelyn shoots Fred a look before giving her mom a fake smile. "I have. I told you that Ginny has older brothers, remember?"

Her mom rolls her eyes. "Well, yes, but you didn't tell me that you were friends with one of them. I told you to tell me everything," she says with a teasing wave of her finger.

Evelyn just laughs. She normally loves how open she can be with her mom. She loves that she can tell her everything, whether it's drinking at parties or hooking up with boys (which her mom bought her birth control for), but she doesn't appreciate it much in moments like these.

"You don't talk about me, Ev?" Fred asks with mock offense, holding a hand over his chest. "I'm wounded."

Her mom laughs, seemingly charmed by Fred. "Well, I'll let you kids catch up. I expect to be hearing more about you later," she tells Fred with a dramatic point of her finger.

Fred laughs that typical, adult-appeasing laugh that she's seen him use with his teachers one too many times. "I hope you do."

Evelyn waits until her mom leaves the room before she turns to Fred, a glare ready and loaded on her face. "What the hell are you doing here?" she hisses at him.

He is unphased. "I wanted to see if you want to hang out." He leans against the doorframe with one foot kicked behind the other, because of course he does.

She crosses her arms tighter around her chest and looks down to her feet, shaking her head with a frown still tense on her face. "No, Fred. I don't want to hang out," she says to the floor.

She can hear him sigh. "I thought you said that we could be friends. Friends hang out."

She doesn't uncross her arms from her chest when she looks up at him. He looks genuine, his face showing no signs of other motives, but she still doesn't fully trust him.

Maybe it's not that she doesn't trust him, but that she doesn't trust herself around him, but that doesn't matter much. She knows that if they spend time together in the place that they fell in love in the first place, something is bound to happen. She's confused enough about her feelings, she doesn't need to add anything more.

"I don't know, Fred," she says warily, shaking her head again. "I don't think it's a good idea."

"Why?" he asks, a genuine frown on his face. They hold eye contact for a long moment, Fred urging Evelyn to give him a reason and Evelyn urging Fred to give up. It's Fred who breaks eye contact first to speak, but he still doesn't give up. "I promise to keep my hands to myself and to keep the flirting to a minimum." He says it with a cheeky smile that sends involuntary butterflies down to her stomach.