Gas Gummies
The Halloween Hogsmeade trip took place two days later, and Leigh found herself trudging beside Nova on the path down to the village. Nova hadn't been this excited in weeks. Apparently her crush, which she hadn't spoken to at all until now, had finally acknowledged her existence. Adding to that, she got to know he didn't have a date to Hogsmeade. She never planned on asking him herself, but just knowing he wasn't dating anyone filled her with joy.
Leigh walked by her side quietly, listening as she gushed about Terry Boot, the Ravenclaw, just like she had done over a month prior.
Leigh gnawed at her lip. She had no particular shop she wanted to visit today, and was planning to just follow Nova wherever she wanted to go. As long as she didn't have to be dragged into Puddifoots. That's where she drew the line.
Rather than Puddifoots, Nova started dragging Leigh in another direction. Her feeling of relief was, however, cut short as she realised it was in the direction of a particular joke shop.
"Come on Nova, what would you ever need from a joke shop?" Leigh asked, hoping Nova would somehow realise her mistake and turn around.
She turned on her heel, giving Leigh a slight glare as her index finger came up to point against a spot to the right side of her nose. "Something to help with this," she responded grumpily.
Leigh pushed her lips together. She did briefly remember some form of pimple vanisher on the twins' products list, and figured this is what Nova was after. Leigh looked uncertainly towards the orange building, then back to her friend. Nova rolled her eyes.
"Don't be a coward," she huffed impatiently. "Just come with me. It's just gonna be a second. Just...hide somewhere or something if it means that much to you."
Leigh grimaced. She wasn't going to hide and she certainly wasn't a coward.
Five minutes later, inside the shop, she found herself crouching slightly behind a shelf, trying to look inconspicuous. Nova had rushed off towards the WonderWitch section, leaving Leigh to fend for herself in the jungle of friend groups lingering around every corner. None of the twins were to be seen, until she heard the familiar voice of George Weasley on the other side of the shelf she was hiding behind, speaking with a costumer.
"Gas Gummies, new for this year! Which, well, you might guess, makes people fart uncontrollably. A bit childish perhaps, but believe me, after a few seconds of that McGonagall will let you out of that classroom, I guarantee you that!"
Leigh frowned disapprovingly. She peeked around the corner, watching as the group of costumers, a bunch of young boys, nodded impressively, high fiveing each other. George was already out of sight, probably having rushed off to help someone else after he pointed them towards the till. The coast was clear. Or so she thought.
She turned on her heel, planning to walk deeper into the shop unseen, and immediately almost walked face first into someone's chest. In front of her a tall form was standing with their arms crossed, looking down at her with a look of suspicion. Their irises followed her every move, taking in the view of her crouching behind the shelf by the products.
"You shoplifting, Conway?"
Her gaze moved up from the floor towards his face, registering his black trousers, the white dress shirt, and the rolled up sleeves exposing his forearms as they were crossed upon his chest. Fred's voice was strict, but that faint gleam in his eye gave him away, and his frown soon eased into a smile as he captured Leigh's startled gaze. He suppressed a smirk and gradually moved to lean against the shelf at his side.
Leigh, stunned, didn't know what to say as a blush rose up on her cheeks. Fred noticed and instead spoke up once more.
"You have been avoiding me." He looked at her curiously. His hair had grown a bit, still framing his face and now starting its' journey curling itself down his neck.
"I haven't," Leigh responded quickly. Too quickly. She brushed some hair from her face, absentmindedly guiding a strand behind her ear as she took a step backwards. A sense of deja vu hit her briefly.
Fred raised an eyebrow, unimpressed with her answer. "Yeah you have, I haven't seen you for weeks. Thought I wouldn't notice?" The corners of his lips turned upwards in a grin. It was true, and Fred couldn't help but wonder why.
She bit her lip, averting her gaze and letting her eyes travel across the room. The space was crowded, and there was a long queue lining up towards the till. "Seems like you've been busy enough. By the looks of it the shop is going well."
Fred chuckled quietly, catching her eye. "Don't try and avoid the topic by charming me." He uncrossed his arms and instead shoved his hands down into the pockets of his trousers. A twinkle appeared in his eye and his smile widened. "But yes, the shop is going amazing."
Leigh nodded, expecting nothing less. "That's good." She returned Fred's smile with a smaller, more awkward one of her own.
The tension rose between them, and Leigh shuffled awkwardly, opting to look towards the shelf by her side and starting to fiddle with a packaged item, pretending to read the back of it yet not registering a single word. He looked at her, amused. He wasn't walking away, as she perhaps had hoped he would.
"So?" He spoke again, and she briefly glanced up at him before focusing back on the item in her hands. When he, again, received no response, he followed her gaze down to her hands, scanning the item she was holding and looking at intently. "You seem really interested in those Gas Gummies, Conway, didn't know that was your thing. What are you planning on getting out of?"
Her face flushed pink, and she groaned quietly under her breath as she flipped the box over in her hands, seeing the name of the product she had been pretending to be engrossed in. The green letters of the item name stared back at her. For a second she considered leaning her forehead against the shelf beside her and acknowledging defeat. Shoplifting Gas Gummies - is this how it all ended?
She placed the item back on the shelf in embarrassment, remembering his question. "This conversation," she half-jokingly mumbled under her breath, albeit loud enough for him to hear.
His eyebrows shot up at her unexpected words. "Okay, ouch."
"No! I didn't mean it like that– Sorry, that was a bit too rude," she apologised, and he laughed softly. "I've just been busy and there hasn't been anything about the project, so..," she trailed off. She couldn't state the truth, could she?
"Did I say anything wrong? Last time?" he suddenly asked, and his signature grin slowly reduced in size as he awaited her answer. He didn't normally second-guess himself, but the question had been nagging at him more and more as the time passed. He was far from an expert when it came to feelings, and it wouldn't surprise him if he had been clumsy with his words, despite attempting not to be.
Her eyes widened as she realised what he was getting at, and her lips immediately parted.
"No," she quickly responded, almost reaching out to touch his arm in the process but stopping herself in her tracks. "No, you didn't." Quite the opposite was true; she found herself having trouble finding anything he did wrong that night one month ago. Everything which was wrong had to do with her own reactions.
"So what is it then? I thought last time was fine?" His tone was quizzical, and the slight smile on his face returned. While he seemed relieved, he still studied her intently.
"It was fine..," she mumbled.
"Is it just the crying?" He asked, and she felt her cheeks heat up at the reminder. She looked towards the space where the couches were placed in the far end of the shop; where they had spent most of their time last time she was here.
"...Sorry about that," she murmured quietly, confirming his suspicions. Her mind screamed at her: Yes. Yes, it is the crying. And...the other thing.
She heard him let out an airy, soft chuckle, almost in relief, before he spoke again. "I thought we were over the crying. The crying's fine," he met her gaze with an obvious look in his eye. "Besides, you're supposed to teach me to cry, remember?"
The reminder was added in an attempt to coax a smile out of her, and he seemed to succeed when she finally turned to look up at him fully, a small, bashful smile making it's way upon her face. She rolled hey eyes slightly. "Yeah, yeah, I do remember that."
"Good," his signature grin was back cladding his face. "Don't stay away so long this time, will you?"
She parted her lips to respond when instead another voice was heard before she was able to, calling Fred's name from the top of the stairs. Fred looked up towards the sound with an annoyed expression.
"Give me a minute!" He replied, before his eyes returned to her. "Sorry about that," he added sheepishly. "Work calls, but again, honestly, the crying is completely fine. And you know, you can pop by whenever. If you want someplace silent to study or read or something, just come by. Yeah? Me or George will be here so just knock."
Leigh was surprised by the offer, but nodded in response.
"Fred!"
He rolled his eyes as the second shout reached his ears. "Alright!"
He looked back at her again, starting to slowly walk away. "See you around, yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Not another month?"
She laughed slightly, shaking her head. "No, not another month."
"Okay, good!" he replied before delivering a final smile her way and making his way towards the stairs. In the corner of his eye he saw her straining her neck to look for her friend before turning to walk out of the door and into the late October air.
He smiled slightly to himself, a smile which was soon wiped off as he saw not only George, but also his younger brother waiting for him.
Ron stood at the top of the stairs - angry. It was always laughable seeing him angry, he was like a furious little puppy. One faint slap and he'd fall down like a bowling pin.
Fred reached the two of them, looking at them both, but most predominantly Ron, with a confused gaze. "Hey what's up, everything alright?"
Immediately Ron replied. "No everything's not alright!"
"Uh okay–" Fred's bemused words were shortly interrupted by Ron, who started to go off furiously, poking his finger into Fred's chest too many times to count as he rambled on.
He explained that one of their products had apparently caused a mess at the castle, scaring students and targeting one, unsuspecting one in the process. Ron's agitated ramblings would normally have been hilarious, but hearing about that unsuspecting student, and that the student in question was Leigh, completely suffocated any form of amusement from the situation. Hearing Ron recount what she experienced, imagining the toll it took on her, made the two twins share a look, before continuing to look at Ron with a straight, slightly pained expression as he went on. After countless minutes Ron's words seemed to run out, and he ended the rambling with a short but poignant "she does not need that right now".
"We'll remove it from the shops right away," George quickly spoke what the two of them had silently agreed.
Ron seemed to be taken off guard by their lack of resistance, shuffling on his feet slightly. "Oh you will?" Ron looked from Fred to George, his weight changing from his left to his right foot and then back again. They nodded. Ron mirrored their movements, still looking between them uncertainly. "Uhm, okay. Good."
He nodded to himself, turning on his heel before walking off down the stairs. The twins stood in place, watching him.
After a second Fred's voice tore through the silence. "Let's agree that that is the only time he raises his voice at us without getting smacked."
George stifled a chuckle, gaze still following Ron, seeing him reach the bottom of the stairs and make his way out the shop. George nodded. "Agreed."