An Affair to Remember (Fred Weasley)

50) Ground Rules

Warning: Drug and alcohol mention

If Fred was angry before, it was nothing compared to how he was now. The thought of being stuck in this godforsaken cabin for a whole week without even being able to talk to anyone about what he was going through irritated him beyond anything. Of course, Adrienne was there too, it only made things worse. 

As far as Fred was concerned, he wanted nothing to do with her, he was too busy dealing with his own problems to even talk to her. He was thankful that there were two different bedrooms in the cabin, one for himself and one for the owner, Adrienne. He had decided that he wasn't going to step out of his room until completely necessary.

The sun had set barely a few moments ago, filling the cabin with a soft, blue hue. The stars twinkled outside and the moon was in its beginning stages of rising, merely a blurry white dot in the sky. Inside the cabin, however, was a much different affair. Adrienne was sitting on the couch while Fred was in the kitchen, irritably searching for a glass to fill water in. They hadn't spoken for hours.

After five minutes of Fred searching the cupboards for a glass, Adrienne spoke up "They're in the drawer near the sink"

"I don't need your help!" Fred snapped, slapping his hand on the kitchen slab. But two minutes later, he was pulling the glass out of the drawer and filling it up with water.

"Looked like you needed it" Adrienne shrugged. Fred sipped on his glass of water, ignoring her comment. Adrienne sighed, looking down at her hands, she had been picking on a scab near her fingernail and it had swollen and turned red, causing a slight sting. She leaned back in her seat, pretending to inspect her wound rather than paying attention to Fred.

In the meanwhile, Fred washed his glass in the sink. He could've used magic to do it but at the moment, he was willing to take anything that would distract him from the current situation at hand. After washing the glass three times, he dried it and put it back where he got it from.

"Fred if you're not going to say anything, you might as well let me talk" Adrienne finally broke the silence.

"You have nothing to say that is of any interest to me" said Fred drily.

"So are you going to spend this entire week in complete silence?"

"Yup" Fred said curtly, popping the 'p'.

"Look" she sighed, sitting up straight "I know you're mad at me, and you have every right to feel this way, but I don't think that means that you should ignore me entirely, especially if we're stuck together like this. All I'm asking of you is a few minutes to explain myself and then you can decide whether you want to hate me forever or not"

Fred closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, he walked up to the counter and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. Adrienne wondered what he was trying to do, she had expected another outburst but he seemed unusually calm. He made his way to the living room and sat on the seat furthest from Adrienne, "I think we should make some ground rules"

Adrienne raised her brows, wondering if she had heard him right "Excuse me?"

"Ground rules. So that this week goes by smoothly" he said, resting the paper on his lap and holding the pen in his right hand to get started.

"Don't you think this is taking it a bit too far? Surely we don't need ground rules to behave like adults, it's not like I'm going to declare a war on you" Adrienne chuckled in disbelief.

"Well I might, so can we get on with this please? I don't have much time to waste" he said. "I really don't know what you want me to say" Adrienne shrugged.

"For starters, our very first rule is no talking unless completely necessary" Fred said, penning it down like it was nothing.

"Fred this is ridiculous!" Adrienne raised her voice, she didn't realise how upset he really was. Unfortunately, Adrienne happened to be a stubborn woman, and even though she knew that she had wronged him, she couldn't help but feel anger bubble inside her chest.

"I mean it Adrienne, anything you want to add?" Fred asked impatiently.

"Alright then, if that's what you really want" Adrienne crossed her arms and tensed her jaw "Rule number two, we both make our own food, no sharing and no relying on each other for any of our meals" she said angrily. If Fred wanted to make rules, she wasn't going to go easy on him.

Fred gulped lightly because he knew absolutely nothing about cooking his own food, George was the one who'd usually handle that while he concerned himself with the cleaning, but he had too much pride in himself to say anything so he simply nodded "Alright then, rule three, under no circumstances do we share a bed. We've got different rooms anyway so it shouldn't be too hard"

"Agreed, rule four, we don't go to Oxwell together, I'm sure you wouldn't want to be seen with me there anyway" Adrienne spat. "Is that even a question?" Fred scoffed, writing down her condition.

"Rule five," Fred started "Dibs. Whoever calls dibs on something first has the right to have it, no negotiation"

"Rule six, we cannot be drunk together. This means no drinking on the same day, or smoking weed for that matter" said Adrienne. "You have weed?" Fred asked, curiosity laced in his tone.

"Yep, and you're not getting any" Adrienne smiled sweetly. Fred tongued his cheek in annoyance and took a deep breath before writing down her rule on the piece of paper. 

He read through the list, fixing things here and there and adding a few more of his own before handing it to Adrienne to read. Once she approved of it, he used a sticking charm to stick it on the wall near the window "That should keep us on track, I sure hope this week goes by quickly"

Adrienne huffed irritably, she couldn't believe any of this was happening. When Fred had first hugged her in the very beginning, she had truly thought that everything would be okay, but seeing how upset and angry he was now, she knew that there was no turning back for him.

Fred retreated back to the kitchen and picked up a banana from a fruit-laden wicker basket that was laying on the counter. He peeled it and started to eat, making Adrienne realise how hungry she had been just a few minutes ago. But now, after her discussion with Fred, she had lost her appetite and was in no mood to eat.

"Is that your dinner? That's barely anything!" Adrienne pointed out once he threw the peel in the bin.

"You're breaking the first rule already" he said, dusting his hands together. Truth be told, Adrienne knew that Fred couldn't cook to save his life, which is why he ate a banana instead. "Of course, the 'no talking' rule" Adrienne muttered.

Fred licked his lips, and without another glance at her, he disappeared through his bedroom door, slamming it harshly to enunciate his anger. Adrienne found it rather comical, but she was still angry nevertheless. She tried to remind herself that it was all her fault but when Fred didn't even want to give her a chance to explain, she didn't know how to keep herself at bay.

At night, as she lay in her bed amongst the sheets, she was wide awake, tossing and turning. But her train of thoughts was interrupted when she heard a distant creak of a door, then footsteps, and then the sound of the fridge opening. Adrienne tried to stop the smile that was spreading across her face.

Fred was hungry. And he didn't know how to cook.

'He brought it upon himself' she thought to herself, 'what with his stupid rules and all'.

If Fred wanted his rules, he could have them. She didn't have a problem. Because she knew that they would be much harder on him than herself.

Surely a few silly rules couldn't be that hard to follow?

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A/N:

I would like you to know that chapters from here on out or going to be much shorter than usual. I've abstained from writing long chapters because I tend to be burnt out once I'm done. Shorter chapters keep me more imaginative :)