If I'm Lucky {Fred Weasley}

Reaching the Boiling Point

Rolling my eyes, I let out a sharp breath, "Of course you were."

Her nose scrunched up as her eyes flittered over my face, "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I don't know. Just that you seem to spend all your time with him now. George and I hardly ever get to see you anymore," I retorted, growing increasingly annoyed.

"That's not true! What's going on with you lately?"

"Just forget it," I looked away from her, biting the inside of my cheek. I couldn't look at her, not with the way I was feeling. She still looked so damn good, and there wasn't a single thing I could do about it.

The tension thickened as she tossed her towel to the side and crossed her arms, "Well, can you at least give me a hint? In case you're unaware, I'm not a legilimens, Fred. So, don't expect me to be able to read your mind."

I scoffed, "Honestly, I can't believe you even have to ask at this point."

Charlotte groaned and lowered her head to rub her temples, "You know what? I don't have time for this. It's been a long night, and I just want to go to bed," She stalked past me and almost reached the stairs before I called over my shoulder.

"I just thought you'd have more respect for yourself. That's all."

Every muscle in her body tensed up as she froze at the bottom of the stairs. I don't know what made me say it. Something just came over me. Everything about to be said was going to hurt her, but I didn't care. I wanted her to feel the same pain she made me feel, even if she was unaware she was doing it.

My resentment over time amplified with every time I saw her and Cedric together, every night she didn't return to the common room, and whenever I saw her wear his stupid shirt.

All those nights that I laid awake in bed with thoughts of what they could be doing on their dates, at their late-night parties, during their detentions last year, and their meeting up over the summer only added fuel to the fire raging inside of me.

When Charlotte turned to face me, her mouth hung open, and her brows were furrowed. Offence evident on her face and in her voice as it rose in pitch, "Excuse me?"

"Don't act stupid," I spat, "You heard me."

"Oh, So that's what you think of me?" She stepped closer.

"It's what everyone thinks of you now!" I yelled, getting closer to her as well. My face just meters from her, "I've heard them call you every name in the book; Trollop, Scrubber, even Slag! If you don't believe me, just read today's article!"

I stalked over to the coffee table to pick up the Daily Prophet before thrusting it into her hands. She took it from me and started to scan over it.

As she read, I continued to attack her with my words, "Just look at the third page! Rita Skeeter talks all about you and Cedric! She has all these witnesses mentioning how you constantly sneak into the Hufflepuff common room to stay the night with him! She reported rumours of a secret pregnancy and said that Cedric entered the tournament mainly for the winnings to help support the baby! She even knows how you two have been talking about getting married and insists that it's to keep you from having the child out of wedlock!"

Charlotte bit the inside of her cheek as she read over the article. Something she always did when she was angry. She gave me the dirtiest look through her lashes as she crumpled the paper with a raised fist. Her voice rose louder as she shouted, "This is what you're so hacked off about?! This stupid article. Rita is just pissed at me because of something I said to her at the first task, and now she's spewing this trash to get back at me and to get back at Cedric for laughing! This is the same woman that tried to say that Hermione and Harry are dating! Oh, and her little 'witnesses' are just Draco's groupies!