Between the Cracks // 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓦𝓮𝓪𝓼𝓵𝓮𝔂

55. Secret Spy

Chapter 55: Secret Spy

The warm air of the shop welcomed George as he stepped inside, the echo of the shop bell still heard throughout the room. The outside was as dark as ever, and he subtly let his eyes move across the lit-up inside space.

Laughter was heard from the back of the shop, and George calmly set out towards the sound, unbuttoning his coat as he did so. Although he was still some distance away, his eyes soon captured the two people in front of him. Fred was standing by the edge of the couch, fiddling with the fabric and some loose thread as he went on about something – probably some story. Leigh sat in the couch, one leg crossed under her, laughing and giggling at his words, her books closed upon the table in front of her. They hadn't heard the bell ring, being caught up in their own bubble.

He subtly smirked at the view, soon making his way towards them. "Evening guys..," he trailed off, progressively unbuttoning his coat as they both acknowledged him. He glanced to the range of closed books on the table in front of Leigh. "Lots of studying, huh? Making us proud."

She rolled her eyes at the teasing comment, a comfortable smile tracing her lips.

"How did it go?" Fred asked, fingers no longer fiddling with fabric strings, but rather shoved in his pockets as he looked back at his brother.

"Went well!" George responded. "All's on track for January 7th."

Fred nodded at his words, and George continued, looking towards Leigh as if to invite her into the shop conversation. "Nice to have some new things planned after Christmas." He shrugged himself off his coat, instead holding it in his left hand. "Speaking of Christmas – I heard from–...someone...–"

"Every time he does that it's always Ron," Fred spoke, and George immediately looked at him unfavourably for interrupting him, before looking back towards Leigh with a polite smile.

"Ignore him. Chronically craves attention. It's sad actually," he spoke with a ridiculously straight face. Just as Fred was about to retort, George swiftly continued. "As I was saying. Heard you're spending Christmas in the castle. Wouldn't be more fun to spend a few days with us?"

The question left a moment of silence hanging in the air. Fred, facing George with Leigh now behind him, looked just as taken off guard as Leigh felt, and his eyes widened at George's offer. It was the first time he's heard of it, and his expression showed exactly that. George simply raised his eyebrow subtly with a knowing look, smirk growing on his face before he looked back to Leigh expectantly.

-

A bit later, back in the dorms, Leigh stood steadfast in front of the mirror, still going over the moment again and again in her head. Nova had just entered their room and immediately started going on about something which had happened in her last class with Terry. While listening, Leigh had no clue what to contribute with, and when she responded with a simple 'oh', Nova eventually turned to look at her.

"You seem awfully interested."

Leigh sighed, turned to Nova with an apologetic expression. "Sorry."

Nova took a few steps closer, reaching towards her things in the bathroom to fish out some make-up items. "What are you thinking of then?"

Leigh pressed her lips together as she glanced at her friend through the mirror. "Just the holidays."

Nova immediately groaned loudly, throwing her head back. "You're not second-guessing it, are you? You can't say no, Lizzie, are you seriously even considering that?"

Grumbling under her breath at the nickname, Leigh returned her gaze to her own reflection, probably seeing herself too close-up for her own good.

"Would you really rather be alone in this freezing castle than over with them? You're insane."