A loud crack outside of Fleur's kitchen door alerted her that Eloise had just arrived home. She didn't even have to check out the window to be sure, it was just after noon, so much too soon for Bill to be home from work yet.
As Eloise stepped through the door with a slight smirk on her face, Fleur dropped the dishes she was cleaning in the sink and quickly grabbed a towel to dry her hands before practically skipping over to her friend, anxious to hear everything.
"So it went well?" Fleur asked with a sing-song tone as she cornered her friend.
"Uh, well it went differently than expected." Eloise responded.
"What does that mean?"
"Well, George avoided me again-"
"C'est un idiot." Fleur muttered under her breath, interrupting Eloise.
"But..." Eloise continued with a smile.
"Yes?"
"Charlie offered to set me up with one of his friends."
"I'm sorry?" Fleur eyes widened and she nearly dropped the towel in her hands.
Eloise gave a nervous laugh, "It was so out of the blue, I told him I would think about it."
"Are you interested?"
"I am conflicted honestly."
"Let's talk about it then, sit, sit." Fleur pointed to the kitchen table as she lazily threw the tea towel onto the counter next to her and quickly made her way around to find her seat.
Eloise followed Fleur's directions and sat right across from her friend, who somehow looked both excited and skeptical at the same time.
"So, who is this guy Charlie wants to set you up with?" Fleur continued as soon as Eloise sat down.
"He said his name is Dhani and they used to work together at the Dragon Sanctuary."
Fleur just nodded, reserving her opinions for when she had gathered more information, "And why are you conflicted?"
"Well you've obviously figured out I'm interested in George. Even though I haven't said a word about him to you, you somehow always know."
"Elle, I have known you since you were eleven years old. It's not very difficult to tell when you are enamored with someone. I have seen crushes come and go over the years, and what I see with you and George is more than a little crush, that much is obvious."
A warmth grew over Eloise's cheeks at her friend's comment. Had it really been that obvious? Or did Fleur just know her incredibly well?
Eloise nervously cleared her throat before continuing, "Yes, well that's where the conflict comes in."
"The way I see it, if George is still ignoring you then he is an idiot who does not deserve your time or attention."
"Give him a break, Fleur. He's mourning his brother."
"All the more reason to not get hung up on him, in my opinion. Who knows when he will be ready for a relationship again? I don't want to see you pining after him forever when there could be someone else out there right now who is ready and willing to make you happy."
Although she hated to admit it, what Fleur said was exactly what she had been thinking since she left the store. Why should she hold out hope that George would suddenly take notice of her? For all she knew Charlie's friend could be her soulmate and if she didn't even humor the idea of meeting him she'd be left wondering what could have been.
"You're right. I'll write to Charlie tomorrow and let him know I'll go on the date." Eloise said with a smile.
Fleur clapped her hands together happily, "Oh, I am so excited! Don't worry about your outfit or makeup, I will figure everything out for you."
"Fleur, I'd like to have some input on how I'll look."
But Fleur simply ignored her friend as she rose from the table. Fleur practically floated across the kitchen and resumed cleaning the dishes, humming a song happily as she did so. Before she even had the chance to reply to Charlie, Eloise could already tell that Fleur was planning out every detail in her head as if it was her own first date.
It was clear that Fleur seemed much more excited and confident about this situation than Eloise. Her heart was conflicted, but that didn't mean she wasn't intrigued by the unknown. There's always a risk to taking chances, but the reward could be incredible. All she had to do before the weekend was try to push thoughts of George out of her mind, something that was much easier said than done.
-
The following Saturday evening Charlie was pacing the living room of the flat he shared with George, waiting for Dhani and Eloise to arrive. He had suggested that the couple to meet at the store for the first time in an attempt to be polite and create less pressure for them. Though Charlie wasn't much of a romantic, he did pride himself on making people feel welcome and at ease, it was a gift most of the Weasleys had.
George entered the main door of the flat with an annoyed expression, and his eyes sent daggers right at Charlie.
"What are you pacing for? The sound of your bloody footsteps over my head have been annoying me for the last half hour, I'm trying to get work done."
"Oh sorry mate, I'm just waiting for Eloise and-"
"Eloise? She's coming here?" George interrupted with a slight tone of urgency in his voice.
"Oh, well yes I-"
"What for?" he demanded.
"Well if you would stop interrupting me I'll tell you." Charlie said impatiently.
George sighed and crossed his arms, "Go on then."
"My mate Dhani is visiting his sister and her husband this week, and I sort of offered to set him up with Eloise."
"Sort of?" George pressed with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, sort of as in I definitely did set them up and they are both on their way here right now." Charlie said with a weak smile as he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck.
"You're kidding me."
"No, I-"
"And what made you think that was a good idea?" George interrupted once more, a scowl now prominent on his face as his jealousy grew.
"I don't know, she's nice, he's nice. I figured they'd get on. I thought I was doing you a favor."
George laughed darkly, "Me a favor?"
"You never want Eloise around. You're always avoiding her, so if they hit it off she'll probably bother you less. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Well, I mean I suppose." George mumbled as he ran his hand through his hair.
"I'm sorry mate, but you can't have it both ways."
"What are you on about?"
"You can't expect her to keep making an effort to get to know you while you always push her away. It isn't fair to her."
George groaned and rubbed his hands over his face, he knew Charlie was right but that didn't make his remark any less annoying, "Merlin, why do you sound so much like mum right now?"
"That's the biggest compliment in the world, dear brother."
The sound of a bell above the door downstairs interrupted the brothers' argument. The muffled sound of Verity's voice greeting the stranger was followed by a pair of footsteps leading up to the flat.
Verity had clearly not known that George would be in the room, she didn't know all the details of the situation, but she was smart enough to see there was tension between him and Eloise. If she knew he was up here she would have found a way to stall Dhani for a while, but he must have snuck past her when she was busy restocking shelves.
The shock of seeing him made her stop in her tracks and Dhani ran right into the back of her as a result, causing her to stumble forward through the doorway. Her sudden and clumsy entrance into the room was followed by a handsome man with wild wavy black hair, a charming smile, and warm brown skin who appeared to be a few years younger than Charlie.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Dhani chuckled as he gently grabbed Verity's arm to steady her.
"No, that was my fault. Well, you know Charlie of course and this is his brother George. I thought you were in your office." Verity remarked, simultaneously introducing George and questioning him in the same breath.
"I was, I just came up to have a word with Charlie." George answered before looking at Dhani.
As soon as they made eye contact Dhani offered his hand to George, "Ah, the infamous George! I've heard some wild stories about you from Charlie back in the good old days."
Though his accent gave away that he was American, his disregard for exchanging pleasantries and immediate familiarity was also an indicator that Dhani was from across the pond.
Part of George was hoping that he would be a jerk so he wouldn't have to be so worried about Eloise falling for him, it would have also been so much easier to hate him if he were an ass. But here he was with his natural confidence and charm. It was as if "strangers" wasn't a word in Dhani's vocabulary, he seemed like an easy-going guy who could easily become anyone's friend within a matter of minutes.
Of course Charlie wouldn't have set Eloise up with someone he didn't enjoy being around himself, but that didn't matter to George. All he cared about was that Eloise wouldn't end up liking him, and unfortunately for George, Dhani was an incredibly likable guy.
George grasped his hand and gave it a strong shake. Dhani's grip was firm but not forceful, he wasn't competing with George. To Dhani, George was just his friend's mischievous younger brother who he had heard numerous entertaining stories about. But to George, there was an unspoken rivalry building between the two, a rivalry for Eloise's affection. But it was a competition George knew he was already losing based solely on the fact that she had even agreed to the date in the first place.
"As long as they are all good stories." George responded with as genuine of a smile as he could muster.
"I do believe there was one about fireworks at school and a bitchy headmistress, that's a personal favorite of mine. Wish I could've seen it myself." Dhani said with a warm smile and a hearty pat on George's arm.
In any other circumstance George could picture himself being friends with Dhani. But despite how charming he was, George's dislike for him grew. He knew he had no reason for it beyond his jealousy. The idea of seeing Dhani and Eloise together entered his mind and he grew desperate to escape the situation before she arrived, he knew he needed to find an excuse to leave sooner rather than later.
He parted his lips to respond and excuse himself to get back to work when another bell chimed above the door downstairs. The sound caused Charlie and George to make eye contact immediately, it was as if they were attempting to discuss which one of them would be the one to go down and greet her.
George couldn't stand the idea of standing in his own flat witnessing Eloise fall into Dhani's magnetic pull. He could already picture Dhani commenting on her beauty and her inevitably blushing in response before taking his arm and disappearing into the night together.
Anxiety began growing in his body causing his heart to sink into his stomach and wave of nausea to wash over him, he had no other option than to be the person to go down to get her, it was the only way to avoid seeing them together.
"That must be Eloise! I'll go see." Charlie said with a sense of urgency as he tried to rush out of the room.
"No, that's alright. I was about to head back down anyway. I'll send her up." George assured him.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Charlie. Why wouldn't I be?" he said as confidently as he could.
"Oh uh, I just know you were busy so I-"
"Don't worry," he interrupted before turning to Dhani, "She'll be up in a moment. It was nice meeting you."
"Hey, you too bud! Hopefully you and I can grab a beer sometime, I'd love to hear all your wild stories straight from the horse's mouth." Dhani said with a kind smile.
"Yeah, maybe." George said flatly before turning to rush out of the flat, down the spiral staircase, and onto the sales floor once more.
There she was, as gorgeous as ever. Golden curls fell perfectly over her freckled shoulders and the blue dress she was wearing matched the color of her eyes so perfectly that it seemed to make them even brighter than George thought possible.
To George, it felt like she was moving in slow motion as she noticed him standing at the bottom of the stairs. The entire room blurred around him, but she was in clear focus, as if she was caught under a spotlight. A sweet smile grew on her rosy lips when their eyes met and she shyly tucked a stray hair behind her ear as she took a step toward him. For just that brief moment, it felt like Eloise had been waiting there for him to arrive and that he would be the one who would sweep her off her feet. It truly felt like he was in a dream.
But the reality of the situation was much different, the truth left a bitter taste in his mouth. She wasn't there for him at all, she was there for the man upstairs standing in his flat. The man who would inevitably whisk her away, charm her, and make her fall head over heels.
"Good evening, George." she said sheepishly.
It was clear that she was nervous. Though it was certainly because of the date with Dhani, George had hoped it might have been his presence that made her feel the butterflies in her stomach. He only hoped that was the case because his own heart was skipping beats as she looked at him.
"Hey, Elle." he breathed, his words coming out almost like a whisper.
Elle? It had just slipped out, he knew only Fleur called her that. No doubt being so familiar with her would have made her feel uncomfortable. Regret flowed through him instantly as he stood there in front of her, his entire body heating up with embarrassment at the awkward situation he created. But she didn't correct him, she didn't even seem bothered at all, she just smiled kindly.
"Sorry, that was awkward. I didn't mean to call you that, it just slipped out." George interjected, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.
"No need to apologize. Eloise can be a mouthful, I don't mind."
George let out a breath of relief. Eloise was far too kind and patient, and he was far too foolish. It could have been him taking her out this evening if he wasn't such a coward every time she came around. The urge to stop Eloise from going out with Dhani crossed his mind. What would she even say if I told her I didn't want her to go? But he knew it wasn't his place to make decisions for her or to try and prevent her from seeking out any potential happiness.
Charlie was right, he couldn't have it both ways. He had convinced himself that he was incapable of love after Fred died. No matter what he felt for Eloise, he knew he could never give enough of himself to her, he was too broken.
Even if he did try to be with her and be the best he could for her, loving Eloise meant that he could lose her. After everything that happened with the war, he couldn't deal with the fact that that was even a possibility. Never loving her would be less painful than having her and losing her.
He did everything he could to convince himself that they would never work and that she deserved much better than him. It would be hard, but he just needed to accept that and let her find happiness elsewhere. Happiness he could never give her.
George stepped to the side to allow Eloise to climb the steps as he gestured his arm up to the flat, "Dhani's already up there waiting for you."
Eloise took a deep breath, as she tried to round up all the bravery in her body that she could before meeting her blind date for the first time. George knew she had nothing to worry about, Charlie was right about knowing the two of them would get on well. After a moment Eloise took a few steps up the stairs past George before she paused to look over her shoulder down at him, his heart skipping a beat as their eyes met.
"Do I look alright?"
Without hesitation, he responded with what he had been thinking since he first laid eyes on her months ago, "You look perfect."
A/N: I'm so soft for George and Eloise omg
Also, if I ever mess up any French phrases, please don't hesitate to correct me. I took three years worth of classes but I am no where near fluent lol