CYNICAL, Fred Weasley - REWRITE

3. Regrettably...

"You're the star I look for every night, when it's dark you'll stick right by my side."
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Halfway through dinner, Fred was near falling off his seat and collapsing dramatically to the floor. No, he was not tired; He was annoyed. Joey and George were practically on top of each other, as expected. They weren't necessarily being gross but flirting constantly to the point of making Fred uncomfortable. Unfortunately, nobody else around them seemed to mind their flirting. In fact, they found it adorable.

It had been weeks since they last saw each other. So, fine. They were making up for lost time. Fred only wished they could have the decency to not make-out at the dinner table. He had to be grateful. If they weren't making-out at the dinner table, that meant they'd be making-out in the boys' dormitory on George's bed while Fred was trying to sleep and ignore them best as possible. In his experience, it's rather uncomfortable when the girl you have feelings for is in your brother's bed, rather than yours.

It was true, Fred had spent more than enough time longing after Joey. He knew it was wrong, and that he should've stopped as soon as Joey and George got together. Something about liking Joey Pierce made it incredibly hard to stop.

To anyone else, maybe she seemed like just another girl. Fred found it impossible that anyone could ever think that about such a beautiful human being, but then again, everyone has their own perception of beauty. And then again, if Fred and George saw Joey's beauty, then certainly other people did too. That was beside the point, Joey wasn't just some girl, she was the girl. The girl he waited to see run into class right before class started. The girl he waited to barge into the dining hall with her loud best friend. The girl he waited to dream about before he lay his head to rest every night, because at least in his dreams he had her in his grasps. Fred did so much waiting, and though it wasn't paying off, it didn't matter. He wasn't happy, but there was no better feeling than needing Joey Pierce.

"Fred?" The soft and feminine voice of Joey pulled him from his thoughts.

His head quickly turned to her. "That's my name, yes." He cleared his throat. Joey's eyes met his as gentle as a drop of water falling to a puddle. It made his stomach churn, and his face burn. He bowed his head slightly, letting his hair partially cover his face, and watching her through small gaps in the strands.

She smiled. "How come you dropped Divination?"

"How did-"

"George told me. I mean, we used to have a lot of fun, what made you drop it?" By "we", Joey for once meant just Fred and Joey, as they were the only Gryffindors in their year besides Kenneth Towler that bothered to take the class.

Truthfully, he dropped it because the only thing he learned in that class was how many freckles Joey had on her nose, how many eyelashes she had, and the slick way she would brush her hair out of her face. But to those who asked why he dropped it, he responded, "It's just a useless subject, really. An easy grade, but I like to be intellectually stimulated."

Joey rolled her eyes, grinning. "Since when do you care about your academics so much? Pranks are your pride and joy."

"Since Professor Trelawney gave me a month's detention for saying my tea leaves look like butt cheeks."

For just a moment, Joey simply smiled at him. He moved his hair out of his face because he needed to watch her smile. He smiled too. Her 23 freckles, so light that they were barely noticeable: like distant stars. Unfortunately, this moment couldn't last forever, no matter how badly he wanted it to.

"Angelina just splashed a goblet of pumpkin juice on Lee!" George interjected the eye contact, which Joey broke of course.

"What for?" Joey asked him, still grinning.