Just Like Home | Charlie Weasley

Chapter 14

A/N: so I noticed a few minor inconsistencies as I was reading through earlier. In some chapters, Charlie's eyes are described as blue, and then described as green in others. His eyes are BLUE. Don't know what planet I've been on up til now, sorryyyyy! If you spot anything else, please do let me know! This story was more of a little outlet for me, but has gained more popularity recently so now I want it to be as good as I can make it! Thank you for reading <3

The morning came around far too quickly. Though she'd barely slept, Eleanor willed the sun peering through the wispy morning clouds to go away. Sunlight meant day time, which meant her having to get up and do things. She'd never been 'heartbroken' before, and it would sound rather silly to say that she was heartbroken over last night's incident, but it had left her reeling. She didn't know how to be. Was she supposed to just ignore the issue, pretend it was fine and move on? Was she angry, would she need to confront him when, or if, she saw Charlie again? She was totally inexperienced with all things love and dating, so she honestly had no clue. All she knew was that she felt utterly mortified, there was a permanent lump in her throat and a weight in her stomach. The worst thing of all was that she would have to tell Darcie when she came in today. How utterly embarrassing.

When she finally peeled herself out of bed, much later than she usually would, she groaned at the state she saw in the mirror. Her hair was a mess of curls sticking out at every angle from her restless night, her eyes were red-rimmed even though she held in any tear that threatened to escape from her and she had rather large dark circles under her eyes. What a sight for sore eyes.

With a deep sigh, she dragged herself into the shower, turning it on cold to blast away her woes. Once she was suitably ready for the day in a pair of lightly-bleached mom jeans and a yellow striped jumper, she pulled her still-damp hair into a messy bun and traipsed down the stairs to her shop.

As she prepared for the day, Eleanor decided that the best thing for herself would be to throw herself deep into her work to avoid thinking about the red-headed man that sent her stomach whirring at a hundred miles per hour. As it was edging ever-closer to December, she decided to play around with some winter-inspired recipes to offer today. It worked for a short while, as she didn't even hear Darcie when she popped in through the unlocked door of the shop.

Darcie stood for a while, observing the brunette girl hard at work with flour strewn across her apron and chocolate specks dusted on her face, before clearing her throat to announce herself.

"Oh, Jesus!" Eleanor gasped, placing a flour-covered hand against her chest. "You scared me,".

Darcie giggled and stepped inside, fastening her own apron before turning to Eleanor with a sly smirk. "Soooo..." she drawled out before dramatically pausing. "How did it go?". Her voice turned into a high-pitched squeal as she asked, clapping her hands together excitedly.

Eleanor's shoulders slumped, the familiar lump appearing in her throat again as she was reminded. "Please don't ask," she muttered dejectedly, turning around to grab the sticky-toffee buns out of the oven.

Darcie's own heart sank as she observed the obviously upset girl in front of her. "Oh, honey," she sighed, grabbing Eleanor from behind and hugging her tight. "What happened?".

Darcie's soft, kind voice and firm embrace was all Eleanor needed to finally lose it. A few stray tears broke free from the barrier that had confined them for the past 12 hours. "He didn't even turn up," she shrugged in defeat. Darcie only hugged tighter. "I waited for over an hour, and he didn't bother to come,".

"What an absolute pig!" Darcie snarled as she released Eleanor, her heart aching as she watched her wipe away the tears from under her eyes. "I just don't understand that at all,".