Catch Me, I'm Falling | Fred Weasley

Chapter 32

"So you all knew?" George looked each and every one of his friends in the face. They all looked down at their feet, embarrassed. He'd confronted them all. Ginny, Harry, Ron, Angelina, Lee, Alicia, and Katie. He'd made a beeline straight to the common room and interrogated them, only to learn what he least wanted to hear.

"You all knew and you didn't tell me?" George asked, betrayal washing over his features.

"It wasn't our secret to tell," Katie shrugged, seemingly the only one who remained unbothered. It seemed that she was always like that. It was a stark contrast to the averted eyes and embarrassed faces displayed by the others in the room.

"We're sorry, George," Alicia said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off.

"How come? How come everyone knew except for me? I was supposed to be the first one to know, wasn't I?" George asked, confusion blending into anger.

"If it makes you feel better, we all found out by accident," Angelina offered.

"It doesn't," George huffed.

"Come on, George. You'll have to forgive him eventually," Ginny said.

"There's only one way to do that," George said stiffly.

"No, please don't do it, George. There has to be another way," Ginny pleaded.

George shook his head, "Excuse me, I have something I have to do."

-

George found Fred sitting outside on the Great Lawn. When Fred saw his brother, he stood up quickly, scrambling to his feet.

"George," he said.

George only nodded his head, rolling up his sleeves. "You know how we solve these things, brother."

Fred nodded solemnly, knowing what was coming next. "Go ahead, I deserve it."

They made eye contact and Fred gave George the go-ahead. At his nod, George punched Fred in the eye. Fred groaned and reeled back while George shook his hand out.

"Feel better?" Fred asked.

"Much."

It was a tradition that the two had started when they were children. They'd almost always gotten along. But when the occasional argument arose, it lasted days. Sometimes it was screaming matches and other times it was brutal prank wars. It had gotten so bad that Molly had kicked them out of the house, vowing only to let them back in once they'd 'resolved their issues'.

So, the twins eventually developed a system. If one of them messed up or they got into an argument, it could be resolved with a punch. It was a terrible system. Ginny had tried thousands of times to help them come up with other ways to resolve things but her attempts were futile. To be fair, their system really did work. The twins rarely had arguments, and when they did, it was quickly resolved with no more than a bruise to show for it.

-

"What in Merlin's name?" Olivia looked at Fred's face in horror. "What happened to you?"

Fred shrugged. "It was nothing."

Olivia frowned. "Well, clearly not. Your face is the size of a watermelon and the color of rotting aubergine. Tell me, Weasley."

"I got into a bit of a- fight," Fred flinched as Olivia's hand came up to inspect his tender wound.

"With who?" Olivia was confused.

"No one. Don't worry about it, Sparks," Fred deflected. It didn't work. Olivia knew him too well.

"No. Don't tell me it was George." Fred's expression just about answered Olivia's question. "How? I didn't even know that was possible. You two never fight. And George? He's an angel. I can't imagine him ever doing something like this."

"It's a tradition. Don't ask." Olivia huffed at that. "Why do I have the feeling you came up with this," she muttered to herself.

"Well, I better take care of this," she mused. She grabbed a wet washcloth and dabbed the blood of Fred's face, willfully ignoring Fred's string of creative curses. She might have been a tad less gentle than she should have been. Olivia was angry, after all. Still, her hands moved with practiced ease. When Olivia was done, she handed him some ice to hold on it.

The two sat side by side on the cot in complete silence, staring off into space.

"You know," Olivia said. "Maybe you and I- maybe we're not a great idea."

Fred frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I can't bear getting between you and George," Olivia sighed.

"You're not. I promise. It's resolved," Fred reassured her.

"I doubt a single punch will fix this, Fred."

"What do you mean?"

"Whatever this is between us, it has to stop," Olivia said. She was afraid. Afraid of losing the friendships that meant so much to her.

"Ah, come on," Fred said, leaning with a sly grin, so used to always getting what he wanted. Olivia shoved him away and he blinked in confusion. "Wait, you're serious?" Fred was confused.

"Yes." He finally took a good look at her, eyes searching her in earnest. What he saw was resolve, but also...

"No, Sparks. There's something you're not telling me. I can tell. Out with it," Fred insisted. There was something she wasn't telling him.

"It's not as if there's anything real between us," Olivia mumbled.

"What was that?" He'd heard her, but he could hardly believe it. How could she think that? Didn't she see what she meant to him?

"Oh, come on. You joke around with so many girls. I'm just another one, aren't I? There's nothing real here. It's just fun. It's all just fun to you," Olivia accused, turning to the side and wiping away a small tear so he wouldn't see.

"What? No, that's not true," Fred insisted.

"But isn't it? Sneaking around like this is fun, Fred. But you don't actually feel that way about me. None of this is real," Olivia wiped at her eyes as if it could stop the tears from falling.

"Sparks-" Fred started, but Olivia wasn't having any of it. He knew nothing he would have said would have changed her mind in her anger, but he was still hurt.

"No," Olivia interrupted. "I don't want to hear it."

She left Fred there, sitting alone, heartbroken.