More Than That

Chapter 5

After leaving the library, brooding on his walk back to his room, and taking a shower that may or may not have taken a bit longer than usual, Fred decided that he wasn't going to let whatever had just happened in the library affect him. At least not externally.

He and Sage had had a weird relationship for years, mostly friends but with a dash of hatred. 'Frenemies', as George liked to call it. The actual actions had normally been mostly one-sided, him picking on his younger sister's best friend and only getting glares and angry words from her in return. It was always fairly innocent, usually pranks that he used to play on his buddies at summer camps and things like that, but Sage had apparently decided to bring a whole other level into it. A whole other maddeningly frustrating level at that.

He had to admit, she had actually bested him this time around - it didn't sit quite right with him. He was always the one to come out on top of these sorts of things. He was never one to lose.

As he dried his hair after the shower and then wrapped his towel around his waist, he vowed that he couldn't let her have this; couldn't let her sit in the satisfaction. He wasn't going to let the small glitch in the library affect him, and he knew that if Sage could play dirty, he could too.

He walked out of the bathroom and into his and George's closet, dropping his towel and throwing on some pajamas.

"Sage came by earlier looking for you," George told him from his bed.

Fred thought for a moment about a possible reason why she would have needed him. He didn't really feel like trying to explain to his brother what exactly was transpiring between him and Sage, he didn't feel like George would get it. He and Sage had particularly competitive and stubborn personalities, and they were the only ones who he thought would understand the little game that they were embarking upon.

"Yeah, she needed to ask me something about herbology," he said and stepped out of the closet. It made sense, he and Sage shared that class and George hadn't taken it. It was one of the only classes that could be shared between different years, and it wasn't a required one.

George hummed as he watched his brother hang up his towel in the bathroom, looking at him with a look that told Fred he wasn't fully convinced.

"What?" Fred asked with his arms crossed, unamused.

George shrugged. "I dunno, you guys have just always been weird. I feel like there's something else going on."

Fred huffed out a laugh and sat down on his bed. "Trust me, there's not. I don't know what weirdness you're thinking of."

George shrugged and turned back down to the quidditch magazine that he was flipping through, dropping the subject of Sage.

"You going to Luna's?" Fred asked.

"Nah, not tonight. Her roommate's in and she has some more homework."

Fred nodded, grabbed the book that he had gotten from the library.

George and Luna had been dating for a couple of years at that point. They met in detention, George for a prank gone wrong and Luna for trying to set some of the magical creatures free. She had said that the nargles had told her to do it, but none of the staff believed her.

George always believed her musings though. Whether he actually believed in all her theories and stories or was just humoring her, it really was quite cute. They got along so well, rarely fighting and always quickly working it out whenever they did.

Fred was admittedly a bit jealous of their relationship. Luna's roommate was normally in her boyfriend's room so George and Luna were normally over there, but when Fred did spend time with the two of them it was almost sickening how cute they were. It was plainly obvious how happy they were, and Fred wanted that with someone.