Defining Secrets // Ron Weasley

Chapter Fifteen: The Power Of Lip Gloss and Unskilled Jealousy

Hermione's POV:

I no longer had my pink lip gloss.

I'd used the last of it up by now and neglected to realise it until the last possible second. My fingers tapped against the empty tube and frowned. I was beginning to like wearing it more regularly. I thought about maybe trying out a different one just to see what it would be like, but if I was going to keep up this charade it would be pretty pointless to get an entirely different gloss.

First, I toyed with the idea of asking El to come with me. But my insides twisted at the reminder. El and I were barely speaking. It wasn't like we were actively avoiding each other or we'd had some great big fight, but it sure felt like it. Although it was also good we weren't talking as regularly. I'm not sure what I would even begin to say.

Hey, so you know how Dean asked you to the ball and you said no? Turns out you either didn't at all or you'd changed your mind. Figured you could have at least told me. Why? Because I'm your friend. I thought we knew at least the bare minimum facts about each other. But I had to find all this out from Dean himself, not you. Yeah, kinda hurt my feelings.

I shook my head. It would be fine. The second I got to the root of the problem and confronted Elise about it, everything would be back to normal.

Scraping out the last of my lipgloss, I applied it and pressed my lips together, blending it in.

I was doing what I had to do.

So instead, I asked Fred to join. Although much to his dismay, this wasn't me asking him on a real date. But I had to keep on top of things. The more people saw us going on these "dates", the more they would begin to believe us as a couple.

I took a lip gloss from a row of pinks and reds, opening the lid to smell.

Fred scrunched his nose. "Not that one."

"And why not?" I asked.

"It has a funny smell."

"It's pineapple."

"Yeah, well, it smells."

I rolled my eyes. "It's supposed to smell."

"Like that?"

Fred didn't bat an eye at my sigh. "You have a look then. See if you can find something better."

"Okay," he grinned. "I will."

And he practically skipped off to do it. I groaned. Oh god, what had I done?

After fighting off Fred's mock sadness, when I'd explained to him that this wasn't a real date, we found our way to a small makeup boutique. It was tucked in a corner of Hogsmeade that not many people knew about, and despite not being much for makeup, I found it to be perfect. Elise and Ginny had been the ones to first introduce it to me, insisting on it really. For last year's ball. I quietly bit my lip.

But I was quickly brought back when Fred raced down the isle, forcing people out of his way and making a beeline for the concealer. I shook my head, continuing down my journey. Frankly, the choices were a bit overwhelming, but eventually I found a few contenders. I flipped them over to the bottom, eyeing the prices. Yikes. Some quiet nights when I went to bed, I could still see all those numbers flashing behind my eyes.

Oh crap. That sounded like something Fred would say. What is happening to me?

After another ten minutes of searching, and cringing at the sound of who I could only assume was Fred knocking over a stand of eyeliners, he sped back. And to my surprise, with a handful of lip glosses.