Aria's POV
Nighttime rolled around at the Burrow and everyone had just finished a hot, filling dinner made by the mother Weasley that could bring a grown man to his knees. I lay on the small mattress that I've been sleeping on for the past week, tossing and turning hoping that sleep would eventually claim me but my eyelids felt as if they weighed the same as cotton balls.
Ginny and Hermione were hanging out in Harry and Ron's room and the last thing I wanted was to be a fifth wheel so I made up the excuse that I was tired and wanted to head to sleep early. Most of my disinterest in socializing came from the Malfoy-related thoughts consuming me to the point where I had to isolate myself to deal with them.
I've been spending every free chance I get by any window hoping that Errol would come charging in with a letter in his beak from a specific Slytherin. Every now and then he would and I would jump out of my seat to open it until I read the name written on the envelope which always seemed to be of every Hogwarts student that wasn't Draco.
It sucked. I was trying so hard and he was just being a huge bag of dicks but what's new right? All I needed was a distraction but one never seemed to come.
My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. I sat up from my previous position and stood up to open the door, my bare legs brushing against the sheets. "Did you two get tired of flirting with your boyfriends or something?" I joked as I cracked open the door only to find Fred Weasley standing in front of it with an eyebrow cocked.
"Tired of flirting with my boyfriend? Never," he placed a hand over his heart, sarcastically mimicking offense. He's wearing a white tank top that complements his muscular arms and red plaid pajama bottoms.
I can feel the blood rushing to my face in response to the unexpected guess. His eyes travel down my body that was clothed in nothing but a white spaghetti top and lavender silk shorts that barely covered my ass cheeks. I immediately become aware of how exposed I am under his gaze and shift awkwardly.
"Fred...hey," I take a step back and allow him to come in. He sits down onto my mattress and leans back onto his elbows watching me as I awkwardly sit next to him.
"Hey. George is busy sending owls to his little girlfriend and the boys are talking to theirs in their own room so I'd thought I'd come in here and hang with you, I hope that's okay," he smiled.
"Yeah, of course!" Not like I was busy drowning in my hatred for a certain asshole Slytherin or anything.
"Nice uh pajamas, by the way, those are cute," he smirked, shooting a suggestive look towards my very revealing shorts. My eyes widen and I chuckle nervously, folding my legs underneath myself causing him to laugh. "Relax I'm just teasing, love."
I relax a little. "So how is that whole 'joke shop' thing going for you and Georgie? I hear you're planning on making it a reality soon."
"Ah, the joke shop yes. Honestly, it's going great, George and I have loads of great ideas for the coming future. Be prepared to be impressed!" He beams as he speaks about the thing that has been his and his brother's dream for since before I met them and I mirror him. Seeing his handsome face light up with passion is refreshing and makes me want him to never shut up about it.
A moment of silence took over us before he broke it again. "You know I've been seeing Errol getting sent out with letters in his beak a lot but every time he came back it would just be...empty," he tilts his head to get a better look at me.
"Weird..." I try to play it off with a laugh.
Fred begins to sit up straight so that he is face to face with me. "Is the git ignoring you?"
"What-"
"You know exactly who I'm talking about," he gives me a no-bullshit look, catching my false confusion causing me to sigh. "I don't know. I don't think he's ignoring me, just...having a tough time writing me back is all."
"Hm," I hear the slight condescension in his voice. All of a sudden I jump at the warm feeling of contact above my knee, staring down at his hand that's placed there. "Well if he is, he's more of an idiot than I thought," his thumb brushes in place once causing every nerve in my body to go into overload.
I should move my leg, this doesn't feel right, it shouldn't be happening. I try to convince myself that I didn't want this, but for some fucking reason I did not move. The sensation his touch sent throughout me kept my ass in place.
"No smart man in their right mind would ruin their chance with a girl as beautiful as you," his large hand trailed up from my leg to the side of my face, cupping it softly.
I was mesmerized as his piercing brown eye bored into mine, the warmth of his hand so gently ensuring my safety was such a new feeling, one that I've never felt before not even with Draco. No scratch that. Especially not with Draco. The vulnerability which this man was displaying to me was such a polar opposite to the angry, cold demeanor provided by Malfoy. The question was, which one was I craving.
At that moment I wasn't sure. One thing I was sure of though was that Fred Weasley was showing me that he cared, and Draco Malfoy wasn't.
"Yeah?" Was all I could manage to push out.
"Yeah. You are fucking beautiful Aria," he brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear in a manner which he thought I would break if he went too hard.
The sound of our combined breathing filled the room and before I knew it a pair of soft lips crashed onto mine, the smell of firewood and cologne filling my nose. One of Fred's hands was cupping my cheek and the other was gripping my waist. For once, no thoughts were overwhelming my head so for some reason...I kissed him back?
I moved my lips against his in a more hesitant rhythm and he took that as a sign to keep going. Slowly he began pushing me back against the mattress, pressing his body up between my legs. He groaned at my heat, the feeling of him through his pajamas causing me to pulse. That's when the thoughts came back, interrupting any pleasure I was feeling. All I could think about was Draco.
This is wrong, you shouldn't be doing this. My annoyance towards Draco is what allowed Fred to initiate the kissing but my moral compass is what would force me to pull away. As much as this hot-and-cold dynamic I have with Draco irritates me, one thing I wasn't was unloyal. We weren't official, hell we barely are an item but either way, this wasn't right, I could feel it.
"Fred..." I place my hand on his broad shoulder, lightly guiding him away from me. Immediately, he picked up this signal and pulled away. "Is everything okay?"
"We just...we shouldn't," I couldn't really find the words.
He feigned confusion when in reality he knew exactly where my inhibitions stemmed from. "It's about Malfoy isn't it?"
A pang of guilt hits me as I watch him prepare to get up from the position that he was in. "I like you I really do Freddie, it just isn't fair to Draco."
"No, no it's fine I get it," he says sincerely but I could pick up the tinge of annoyance in his voice. Not annoyance towards me, just at the situation itself. "You've made your choice, it's clear." He begins making his way to the door, brushing down his clothes that were slightly wrinkled and I quickly get up and follow him.
"Wait Fred," I call out before he can leave. "Are we good?" My voice is soft and hesitant.
He eyes me for a moment, conflict battling on his features before he gives in to how he really felt. Sighing, he places a comforting hand on my face with no romantic suggestion this time. He brings his face down from his tall height enough to plant a tender kiss on my forehead. "Of course, we're good my dear," he smiles sadly before stepping out of the room.
The sound of the door clicking shut throws me into a ringing, lonely silence. Before I am left to wallow in the pathetic thing that is my love life, I am startled by a loud thud against the window. Slowly, I stalk toward the source of the sound only to find an empty windowsill until Errol crashed into the glass pane once more.
"Oh my goodness," I roll my eyes as I hurriedly slide open the window letting the owl in. The bird gives me the envelope in his beak and gives himself a little shake to recover from the hard hits he just took, leaving a couple of small feathers to fall to the ground. "It's a bloody miracle that you're still alive. Are you okay sweetheart?" I give the clumsy bird a soothing pet to the head causing him to happily coo before taking flight once more.
I wouldn't be surprised if this damn owl was just a transfigured Ron.
Absentmindedly, I go to place the letter on Ginny's desk thinking it was probably sent from one of the girls' friends to them until I recognize the elegant signature sat on the crisp envelope. "Draco" It read. My body didn't know how to react. Was I excited? Relieved? Angry? Guilty?
I break open the pretty green wax seal and pull the folded-up parchment out. My eyes scan across his beautiful calligraphy that I loved so much, taking in every word that he wrote to me. I chuckle to myself at the names he called his father, names that I couldn't disagree with.
"Money does buy experiences but are those experiences really worth it when you have no one to share them with" That's a good point. You can give an animal everything it needs, but is it truly happy if it isn't free? From what I've witnessed over the years, Draco was a big shot at Hogwarts but when his family came around he cowered to a timid state, watching every single word he said, that was if he even dared to speak.
My heart stops at the very last words he signs off on. "I just wish you were here my Proserpina."
A warm feeling fills my entire body as he addresses me by the Latin version of my middle name. The only person who has ever called me by my middle name was my father who would call me Persephone.
What got me the most was the word before it, "My."