Malignant ••• George Weasley

Chapter 54 - Stumbling

Juna stared into the black coffee she clutched in her hands, watching the few bubbles lurking on the surface of the liquid spin gently before popping. The ceramic of the mug was warm on her palms, comforting like a hug should be.
They had chosen a different cafe, further up the street from the one George and Charlie sat in. Juna just didn't feel like dealing with the staring, even though simply just seeing George made her heart pump rapidly.

"Juna?"

She looked up, realising she had been ignoring Elsie as she spoke.
"Sorry." She sighed. "This probably isn't what you had in mind when you made me promise to take you out for coffee, is it?"

Elsie smiled gently, placing a hand over Juna's.
"It's ok." Her eyes averted quickly, Juna could tell she felt awkward about what she wanted to say.
"Did you... want to talk about it? It seemed kind of intense, the conversation you had with the ginger boy."

"He's just a friend having some trouble."

"You seemed pretty intimate." Elsie glanced down at her hands that were now in her lap.

"You're jealous." Juna stifled a laugh.

She didn't mean to laugh, she did feel bad for Elsie having to witness today. It definitely wasn't the intention to see the Weasley's or have a heart to heart with one. It was understandable that Elsie felt left out and confused, but Juna wasn't versed in how to deal with such emotions from herself or others.

Elsie blushed. "I'm not jealous. I just..."
She paused, looking at Juna indignantly.
"Ok fine, maybe I'm a little jealous." 

Juna sighed, she thought as much. It wasn't a good sign. She had no intention of getting too involved with anybody else, not after what had happened. Perseus was still out there, wanting to land this curse on her that would make her essentially his play thing. He wouldn't hesitate to use somebody she got close to again.

When Juna hadn't spoken for a while Elsie piped up again, her tone edged with panic.
"That doesn't mean I think we are anything! I know that, um - I know that you don't want something like that." She stumbled over her words as she rushed to get them out, attempting to glaze over any damage she perceived to have been done.

"Elsie-" Juna cut her off. "Take a breath. I know what you meant. You're right, I don't... I can't be in a relationship. I really love spending time with you, you're so kind and beautiful. But I can't be anything more than what I am now."

Juna's eyes were earnestly looking into Elsie's. Maybe in  another life this could be something, but in this life, in this ridiculous, hard, fucked up life she had now - she was destined to be alone.

"I'm not going to talk anymore. I don't want to ruin what we have, if it means I can keep seeing you - I'll agree to be a booty call."
Her voice was mockingly somber but her eyes were playful and bright.

The two women laughed together, the moment sinking in. Juna never set out to break hearts, she usually didn't hang around long enough for that to even be a danger. Why was it that lately she had more potential relationships than she had had in her whole life?

"I have to go into work soon, but I'll call you later ok?" Elsie smiled.

Juna nodded, a twinkle still on her face as she watched Elsie stand. She leaned over, planting a soft kiss on her lips before exiting the cafe.
Juna watched her move with grace, swinging her hips knowing all eyes were watching. She watched her go out the door, cross the street, give a strange look to a man she passed...

"Damn it, George." She muttered.

Of course George was lurking around, trying to speak to her. Juna didn't move. They locked eyes across the street, she cocked her head to the side slightly as if to say 'what the fuck are you doing, please piss off', before looking away. She hoped he would get the memo and leave her alone. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. Out of the corner of her eye, Juna saw him stride across the road and enter the cafe, beelining toward her.