Who would have thought? [Chaennie]

Chapter 22

Jennie stepped into Bill’s place, glancing around the walls.

Bill must have been preparing for bed, as the room was only lit by a fireplace and a lone lamp in the corner of the room.

Jennie was immediately struck by how the apartment was entirely unlike what she had expected of Bill. She had expected something sleek and fashionable.

The apartment was more of a farmhouse style, that reminded Jennie greatly of The Burrow. It was small and decorated in a homely style. The walls, ceiling and floor were all made of a cheap wood. There was a simple threadbare couch and a small two-person table covered in a gingham tablecloth.

A vase of sunflowers sat on top of the table beside a basket of apples.

Bill seemed embarrassed.

“Do we have to do this right now?” Bill asked irritably.

Jennie noticed a large photo of the entire Manoban clan on a rickety bookshelf, beside a photo of Bill and Roseanne. The smiling Bill and Roseanne looped their arms over each other’s shoulders and waved out at Jennie.

“Yes, we do have to do this right now,” Jennie replied, turning from the humble decorations of Bill’s apartment to face him.

His red hair was loose and tumbling down to his shoulders, frizzy and wavy. He looked tired.

“Shouldn’t you be with Roseanne?” Bill asked gruffly, crossing his arms tightly across his chest.

“I will be, soon,” Jennie replied, “She’s in quite a state after her partial transformation. Absolutely exhausted. I’ve never seen her quite like it.”

“Not that you’ve known her long enough to know whether or not she has been that exhausted before,” Bill muttered acidly, before looking up in earnest, “I didn’t mean to make her transform like that. I didn’t even know she could.”

“After you got over making Roseanne feel bad for being a Veela and getting pregnant by a woman, I wondered what your issue was with me,” Jennie said, “You always seemed to have something nasty to say about me. But then I realized you were jealous and thought I was taking up all Roseanne's time.”

“Well, you are,” Bill replied, “I barely ever see her outside of work now. Then when I invited her for dinner, she insisted on bringing you.”

“She probably just wants her best friend and girlfriend to get along,” Jennie pointed out waspishly.

“Ever the know-it-all,” Bill shot back snidely, rolling his eyes, “I don’t know what she sees in you.”

“Well, you don’t have to know what she sees in me,” Jennie replied, her voice raising with her temper, “All you need to know is that your best friend does see something in me. I’m in this for the long haul and you need to get over yourself and find a way to deal with that.”

“It was always supposed to be me and Roseanne,” Bill replied sulkily, “We always had the same terrible luck in our dating lives. We had a pact that we would grow old together like miserable spinsters.”

“Touching, but don’t you think you should be happy she has found someone?” Jennie replied, putting her hands on her hips, “Someone who is going to look after her forever?”

“How do I know you’ll do that?” Bill scoffed, “How do I know you aren’t just infatuated with her looks like everyone else? That you won’t just leave her in the lurch with a baby?”

“I would never do that!” Jennie scowled, “Has she not told you about the Veela mating? How we connect?”

Bill shook his head.