Elusive // The Weasley Twins

24. Downhill

The pub was loud and crowded but it was a friday night so Cosette shouldn't have expected anything else. It took a few minutes until she was able to spot her brother towards the back of the place in the middle of a conversation with a guy she didn't recognize.

Nick did a double take as she stepped up to the table, certainly surprised to see Cosette here after all, but he was still happy to see her, "Hey Sets, grab a seat."

Cosette grabbed a chair from an unoccupied table and slid it over to join them. The man sitting beside Nick held out his hand to introduce himself, "Elliot McCoy," He had a very thick Scottish accent. "And who might you be?"

"Cosette," she smiled, "Nick's sister."

"Ah, so you know what it's like to be stuck with him?" Elliot took a sip of his pint, earning the glare from Nick. "I'm a Beater on the Falcons. Quidditch with him is hard enough but I can't imagine ever growing up with the lad. You, little lady, have my deepest condolences."

Cosette laughed, not having expected to have such a casual welcome. Elliot spoke like they were old friends catching up over a few drinks, but maybe that was just his personality.

He definitely looked like a Beater. Very broad build, large arms. The pint glass in hands looked quite small compared to the rest of his body. Cosette wasn't a huge fan of Quidditch but she knew that Beaters had to be strong. Fred and George had very strenuous workout plans that they followed while at Hogwarts in order to stay in shape and build muscle.

"Can I get you a drink?" Elliot offered, already standing up to head over to the bar. Cosette nodded and told him that a beer was fine and she waited until he had stepped away from the table to look at Nick.

"So," she sucked in a breath, taking a glance around the pub. "Where's Ben?"

"Funny you should ask," Nick raised his eyebrows as a very childish smirk spread across his cheeks. It was clear to Cosette that this was not his first drink of the night. "He left shortly after I arrived, sort of bummed him out that you weren't with me. I think he really wanted to see you."

She nodded, not wanting to be too disappointed, but that was really the whole reason why she came here. She needed a distraction from George but was also craving some sort of attention. Ben had already shown interest in her and from the sounds of it, he was still interested even after the rejection.

It made sense in Cosette's mind. If George was only with Lottie because she proved to him that she cared, why should Cosette settle for any less as well? She wasn't going to waste her time fighting for George to start giving a shit when there was already somebody who did care.

But he wasn't at the pub.

What was she going to do anyway? Would she have let Benjamin buy her a drink? Would she have gone home with him? Cosette wasn't thinking straight when she left the burrow, she was just desperate to be in the company of someone who actually wanted her.

"Are you ready to let me set you up on a date with him?" Nick asked, finishing off his drink and wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist.

"I think so, yeah," Cosette nodded again. "The sooner the better."

"Someone's eager," Nick teased, sitting up slightly. "Why the sudden change of heart, Sets?"

Cosette opened her mouth to offer a bit of an explanation but then promptly shut it. What was she supposed to say to him? She couldn't come right out and say that she slept with George or that he cheated on Lottie or that she called him Fred. The whole situation was messy and confusing and it wasn't something that Cosette wanted to talk to her brother about.