Don't fall in love with me- Fred weasley

10

"Do you need a hand Molly?" I question. It's our last night in the burrow before going back to school in the morning. Almost everyone has gone up to bed but I had been sat with the twins in the living room for the past hour.

"You don't have too dear," she smiles, cleaning the dishes in a heap in front of her

"It's my pleasure," I assure, moving to take a tea towel and dry the pots as she finishes them.

"See this is why she loves you more than her own kids half the time," Fred smirks, leaning on the kitchen table as George slips past him and up the stairs, calling a Goodnight as he goes.

"Oh hush Fred," she scolds lightly "Emily is just a well mannered young girl, maybe you'll pick that up from her one of these days," Molly adds as an after thought

"I'm well mannered aren't I babe?" Fred questions to me. Crossing the room and sitting up on the sideboard next to where I'm stood.

"Not in the slightest," I tease with a grin. Fred mocks offence, a large smirk plastered on his face as Molly watches the interaction with a fond smile.

"I hold the door for you, carry your bag, save you a seat next to me, walk you to class. I'm very well mannered," he rambles. Pulling me between his legs with ease.

"That's being a gentleman, not being well mannered," I tease. He rolls his eyes, pressing a kiss to the top of my head and groaning when I leave his hold to return to my job.

"You two never did tell me how you got together," Molly comments, her hands deep in the sink.

"We were at quidditch practice,"

"We were at the library,"

We exchange a quick look as we speak our answers at the same time. Molly looking at us in confusion at the obvious blunder. Fred is quick on his feet, crafting a story

"No, no, start at the beginning sunshine," he scolds

"Well five years ago we were on the Hogwarts express and-" I start with a smirk. He lets out a sigh, swatting my shoulder gently before turning back to his mother.

"We were at quidditch practice and Emmie here was all worked up about some potions essay due the next day. She was all stressy and when she gets like that she's impossible to talk too cause she barely listens to what you're saying. She gets all up in her own head and won't let anyone calm her down. Anyway, Oliver is going absolutely bonkers, so exasperated at her cause she's not listening or concentrating and she's so distracted she ends up leaning too far forward and she falls off the front of her broom," he begins to tell the story.

It's more detail than we've ever included, normally just a vague we both had feelings and confessed them one day, though we both knew Molly would never let us just say that.

What shocks me though, is that the story he is telling is real. He's explaining a day only a few before he asked me to be his fake girlfriend.

"My heart, Merlin mum, it just stopped. She's laying on the ground and I felt like I couldn't even breathe and I'm shoving through everyone to get to her. Wood tells me to take her to the hospital wing and she's just muttering on and on about this stupid essay. Meanwhile, I can't stop thinking about how scared I was that she was going to be properly hurt and I could have screamed, the thought of anything happening to her it terrifies me. So we get to Madame Pomfrey and she fixes her arm and puts it in a sling and she tries to get her to stay the night in the hospital wing, she'd had a nasty fall yknow? But this one just won't listen. She demands to be allowed to leave and go do this ridiculous essay," he continues the story, his eyes trained on me as I blush slightly at how ridiculous it sounds now. Molly looking between the two of us with a large grin.

"So we get to the library, her arms in this sling, so she's dictating the potions essay to me and I'm writing what she tells me too. She's all focused and she does this cute little nose scrunch when she's focused. I'll be honest, it hits me like a tonne of bricks. I'm in love with her. She just looks so beautiful and I know I'd do anything to keep her happy and god, it's stupid now, but I was so distracted I ended up writing the word love and I just realise, I've got to tell her," he's talking so casually.

I can't help but wonder if it's true, not that he's in love with me but that he had written it. He had left a dark crossing out in the essay, scribbling over if so much you could never work out what the mistake had been, a contrast to his usual one line crossings out.

"So I tell her and she tells me she likes me back, who can blame her? And we've been together ever since," he grins happily. Molly cooing at the story and pulling me into a tight hug as Fred shoots me a wink over her shoulder.

In reality it was that night in the common room that he had first left me. We always sat next to each other, opposite George and Lee. He had abandoned his usual seat and sat next to Angelina instead, Katie taking the place next to me. It had caused a few weird glances from the others, a sympathetic glance from George who knew of my crush. I had felt cold without his presence by my side all night.

**

I lay on the mattress on the floor, staring at the ceiling in the dark room and listening to Ginny's heavy breathing, clearly all ready fast asleep.

The gentle knock at the door is followed by his whisper "Emmie? Are you awake?"

"Yeah," I call back quietly. The door is pushed open and Fred walks in, looking slightly apprehensive.

I smile gently, patting the mattress next to me as he lays down next to me.

"That was close earlier," he whispers quietly

"Yeah. Nice job covering it up so quick," I return. He spares a glance at the sound asleep figure across the room, lit up by the moon through the thin curtains.

"Angelina wrote to me," he speaks into the dark room. It feels like someone's hand is around my heart squeezing it. It feels physically painful.

"That's great Fred," I whisper. Edging myself away from him ever so slightly. He doesn't say anything else, but he reaches for my hand and grabs it, squeezing gently.

"It's getting late. I should go," he announces, maybe five minutes of silence later. He sounds like he doesn't really want too.

"You can stay. If you want," I whisper out. He grins in the glow of the moon, burrowing under the blankets on the bed and wrapping his arms around me, pulling me closer to him.

"I'm exhausted," he admits quietly "barely been able to sleep without you. Got so used to it at your house," he adds, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

"I love you," I whisper, not really sure why I feel so compelled to say it, wishing with my while heart he knew I meant it. Wishing it wasn't falling on deaf ears. Wishing he loved me like I love him.

"I love you," he returns easily. For a second, as I close my eyes and he pulls me impossibly closer I allow myself to pretend. I had been doing it more and more recently, giving myself a chance to pretend any of this is real. It's probably my biggest downfall.