A/N: This was my entry for MeTheDumbBlonde's contest like forever ago, but i decided to post it up for fans of 'A Life I Almost Knew' could read it. Plus, it won third place. It must be pretty badass. :D 

I sighed dreamily with my head on my chin. Work was pretty slow that day, and Fred hadn’t come in yet. I mean, he wouldn’t miss a chance to see little old me, now would he? I mean, we did share a moment the other day when I had to see him because of a work issue. I couldn’t find him at his own apartment, but I had a hunch that he would be at Gabrielle’s. Oh boy, did I hate her. Her and Fred had been friends for a long time, but I could sense that Fred liked her more than just a friend. The way he looked at her…well, it just broke my heart. The worst part was that Gabrielle didn’t seem to feel the same way. It just hurt to see my Freddie hurt. Well, he wasn’t my Freddie, but we were soul mates. I just knew it.

No one had ever made me feel the way Fred Weasley has. I had boyfriends, sure, but no one could put butterflies in my stomach the way that he could. He was the nicest, funniest, most handsome man I had ever met. His smile made me weak at the knees and every time he hugged me, I would just melt in his arms. He had taken me out to lunch more times than I could count, and he never made me pay for myself. I would protest of course, but he would just laugh at me before making me put my money away. That day at Gabrielle’s apartment was one of the best days of my life. Maybe not for my mortal enemy, but for me it certainly was.

I had apperated right into her apartment. I didn’t think that it would work because most witches and wizards ward their houses against intruding guests. I didn’t even have time to think about how lame Gabrielle was for not warding her apartment because I had landed right on top of someone. That someone, once I realized who it was, took my breath away. I couldn’t help but smile. I then blushed because I then realized that I was lying on top of him. Our legs were entangled and our faces were just three inches apart. I could feel his warm breath on my face as he smiled up at me.

“oh, h-hi,” I stuttered, still not recovered from the surprise of dropping in on him, literally.

“Verity, what are you doing here?” he asked, smile still in place.

I planted my hand on either side of his body and lifted myself up. “I wanted to see you. I looked in your apartment, but you weren’t there so I decided to come here, where…Gabrielle lives.” I seethed at her name.

“How the hell did you get in here?!”

I turned to see Gabrielle standing in the doorway. A smug smirk appeared on my face as I stood the rest of the way up. I couldn’t believe that she was screaming at me. If she would’ve guarded her house better, then I wouldn’t even be in there, but oh was I having the time of my life pissing the hell out of her.

“Apperating, you know, you should really protect your house a bit more, who knows what could happen.” I let a devilish crackle escape from my lips before turning back around to Fred. “Could you come to the shop? I need your assistance.” I added peacefully, my back still to Gabrielle so I took advantage of that and gave her the middle finger. I know. It was childish of me, but it did look like I was the one winning. Besides, she was a complete bitch.

“Oh- okay, I’m coming,” Fred answered me but not looking at me.

No, he was looking at Gabrielle. How could he be looking at Gabrielle when he had just smiled at me? I wish that he would just forget about her because she was never going to give him the time of day. She was a complete waste of time, but she was also my greatest competition.

“Are you coming, Poppit?” he asked, still looking at Gabrielle but had produced a childish grin. The same one that always made my heart flutter.

She had paused, looking as if she had to contemplate whether she was going or not. “Of course, anything for you, Fred!” she then gave him a wink before walking out of the room.

I narrowed my eyes. I knew she was doing it just to get revenge on me. She hated me just as much as I hated her. My reasons were probably different from hers, but it still meant the same: we were never going to be friends. Ever. I looked over at Fred, who was as red as a cherry.

“Shall we go?” she entered the room with an impish grin plastered on her face before shoving her shoulder into me – rather hard too I might add.

We arrived at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes in no time at all. I really didn’t care about the shop. I had applied for the job to get closer to George, but he soon got with Orianna. I then realized that Fred was my soul mate when he took me out to lunch the first time. The way that he really listened to me and the way that he treated me just like the gentleman I had always dreamed of being with made me realize that he was the perfect match for me. He was no match for my first boyfriend, who didn’t know how to treat a woman. I still had the scars from that relationship – and I mean physically not mentally. I was lucky to make it out alive.

“Hey, Lee, how’s our shop doing?” Fred said to Lee Jordan, who was behind the counter, before walking over to the WonderWitch product stand to help the endless, drooling teens.

“Yeah, it’s looking good, a few sales here and there,” answered Lee, resting his arms on the counter and his head on his shoulder, gradually shutting his eyes.

I then ran to the back to the back room to make sure the products were ready for use. It wasn’t long before George came back to help me. He started talking about what cute thing Orianna had done earlier that day. He said something about having told her that Fred liked Gabrielle. My head shot up. That meant that Gabrielle knew about Fred liking her. That’s why she had pulled all those lame moves back at her apartment.

“Verity,” called Fred as he came into the back room, causing George to leave us alone. “I have a very important question to ask you.”

I looked up at him with a smile. “What is it, Fred?”

He sighed. “Would you like to attend my brother’s wedding with me?”

I was so shocked. He was asking me to go with him to Percy’s wedding? He had been talking about it with George around the shop for awhile, but I had never thought in my whole entire life that he would ask me with Gabrielle still in the picture.

“What about Gabrielle?” I asked, sneering at her name.

He shrugged. “What about her?”

“I thought for sure that you would be asking her,” I said, looking down at the box of ‘Nose Bleed Nougat’ that was in my hands. “The way you were looking at her today told me everything.”

“Verity, are you jealous?” he smirked at me with a laugh.

“What?” I looked up at him. “No!” I had answered too quickly though.

“You’re so jealous, Ver. Don’t worry there’s enough of this Ginger to go around, and this Ginger wants to take you to the wedding. Please, Ver?” I looked up at him to see that he was sticking his bottom lip out looking like the saddest puppy-dog I had ever seen. “It would mean the world to me, Ver.”

Every time that he called me ‘Ver’, his very own nickname for me, I just couldn’t help but smile. Besides, how could I say no to a face like that? A very handsome face that pained me to see any sadness, even if it was playful, on that face. So, I nodded.

“I’d be happy to attend Percy’s wedding with you, Fred.”

“You know I love you. Don’t you, Ver?” he smiled and pulled me into a tight hug.

I took in his fabulous scent. I just couldn’t get enough of Fred. He was some weird obsession that I had and couldn’t get rid of. I just needed him to realize how much I needed him. I bet that he needed me just as much as I needed him. As I watched him walk out of the room, I realized that the wedding was the perfect opportunity to make him see that we’re meant to be.

“What are you still doing here?” George asked me, snapping me out of my trance. “I thought I told you to go home a long time ago. What are you? Some kind of work-aholic? Verity,” he smirked, “go home.”

I nodded. “Alright, I’m going. I need my beauty sleep anyway.” I joked, grabbing my bag from the hook under the counter.

“Aww, Verity. You don’t need it. You’re plenty beautiful already,” he laughed. “But do get some sleep. The wedding is tomorrow, and I know for a fact that Fred wouldn’t want to take a date that looked tired.”

I smiled at his goofy face. “I won’t look tired. Promise!”

“See you tomorrow,” he waved before heading back up to the apartment.

The next morning, I awoke with a smile on my face. It was the day that I was going to make Fred see that what I have been feeling this whole time, and he’ll know that I’m right. He’ll forget all about Gabrielle, who didn’t even deserve him because she was a complete bitch. She had no respect for anything real and it was tearing me and my true love apart.

Since there was a dress code, I decided to go with my slinky read dress that fit around my curves perfectly. I fixed my hair up in a perfect twist and let a few curls frame my face. I put on red lipstick to match. I had to admit that I looked pretty good. I just hope I looked better than Gabrielle.

“Wow, you look,” Fred’s mouth was literally hanging open when I opened the door, “amazing.”

I smiled and looked down at his dark blue tux, which made him look even more handsome than he already was. “You don’t look too bad yourself,” I smirked.

“Are we ready, Madame?” he offered his arm to me.

I smiled. “Yes, I am more than ready.”

We arrived a tad early, but that was to be expected. It was his brother getting married after all. Everything at the wedding was beautiful. My breath was taken away by all the flowers and the be marquee that was at the entrance. When Fred and I get married, which I know it will happen, I want my wedding to look just like Percy’s and Aubrey’s.

“Beautiful,” I whispered.

Fred looked at me. “Just like you,” and then he smiled, but the smile didn’t make it all the way up to his eyes.

I sighed, and the time went on. We waited and waited before someone finally came to tell us what was going on. Turned out, Aubrey just left the wedding, and she wasn’t coming back. Fred left me right away without a second look back. I understood though. It was his brother that had been left at the altar after all. I then noticed Gabriella following, so I did the same. I needed to show that I was there for Fred, just like Gabrielle had been all those years ago. We stopped and I watched Gabrielle read a letter. Everyone was wondering why she would’ve left. Percy - I assumed it was Percy – could be heard sobbing. It was heart breaking how much something could hurt. He needed someone who could be there for him. This Aubrey sounded like the worst person ever. People around me were talking about what the same thing I was thinking, only nastier.

“Shut up!” screamed Percy, I think. “Just shut up!” he yelled at the masses of people. “JUST GO AWAY!”

“Erm…nothing to see here people! Shit, Percy, calm down!” said a red-head, who I assumed was another of the Weasley brothers. I couldn’t see over everyone to even see Percy. I just stayed back.

“If you could kindly make your way out of the marquee and back to your houses that would be lovely,” said another red-head. How many brothers did Fred have?

“Oh my…when I see that girl again, I’m going to rip her to shreds until there’s nothing but her puny little carcass lying on the floor,” said Orianna, Gabrielle’s best friend.

“You didn’t have to describe everything in so much detail did you?” George said, smiling at her as he and Fred made their way over.

I entwined my arm with Fred’s and set my head on his shoulder. He stiffened a little at my touch, and I didn’t like that at all. Why couldn’t he just forget about Gabrielle? A girl that could love him with all of her heart is right here for him. It was me that he belonged with.

“She deserves it, the whor-“ Orianna didn’t get to finish the sentence because George had kissed her mid sentence.

Me, Fred, and Gabrielle stood there in the awkwardness. I then decided to turn to Fred and run my hands on his chest. I was there for him. I stared up into his beautiful brown eyes, and instead of seeing a smile in them, they were dull and unenthusiastic to my touch. I smiled up at him, and he smiled back, but once again, it didn’t make it up to his eyes. I then ran my hands down his arms, trying to get a reaction out of him. He sighed overdramatically as if he was unimpressed by me. I glanced over at Gabrielle with a smirk on my face. If I wasn’t going to impress Fred, might as well have a bit of fun at it, right?

“Freddie,” I lengthened his name and tugged on his hands.

“Oh, do I really have-“ I didn’t give him time to answer before dragging him out to the dance floor. If I wanted him to realize that we were meant to be then we needed to be alone.

His hands placed themselves perfectly on my waist and my arms were wrapped around his neck. I smiled up at him, but he was looking in another direction. I turned my head and saw that Gabrielle was dancing with her date. I sighed and turned back to Fred.

“Fred,” I said, grabbing his attention. “Have you ever given thought to us?”

“Us?” he looked down at me just repeating my word.

I nodded. “Yeah, us.”

“What do you mean…’us’?” he looked up in the direction of Gabrielle before looking down at me.

“You know, us. Me and you together. We would make a perfect couple,” I smirked up at him.

He then smiled down at me. “You know what? I actually have. You and I would make a pretty great couple, wouldn’t we?”

I took in a deep breath. It was actually happening. “Verity and Fred,” I whispered and stopped swaying.

I stood up on my tip toes and directed my lips straight with his. At first, he wasn’t leaning in but with a quick glance up, he finished the gap between us. It was happening! I was finally kissing Fred Weasley. He was finally starting to realize how good I was for him. He was good for me, and I already knew that. Our lips seemed to move in perfect sequence as it went on. I smiled into the kiss knowing that we were finally making our way to being together.

“That stupid son of a-“ said a male voice that seemed close.

“Who are you aiming that at? It’s Verity’s fault, not his…” I knew that it was Gabrielle’s voice as soon as the sound hit my ears, and it made me so angry.

I broke off the kiss and pushed Fred away before stomping over to her. She was not getting away with putting me down any longer. I was finally getting something that I wanted. I was finally getting the love that I needed. She didn’t understand. I’m pretty sure her family was well put together and her life was just so perfect. Well, up until her mum died. Me, on the other hand, had to always work for my happiness. I never ever got anyting that I wanted. When I wanted a dad, he ran out on my mum and me. When I wanted a mother, she had to work all the time and passed away as well. When I wanted a boyfriend, I got one who thought it was okay to lay is hands on my in an aggressive manner. My life was so hard, and she didn’t have a single right to ruin anything when I had exactly what I wanted.

“You obnoxious, foul mouthed, little cow!” I yelled. “If only your mother was here to see what a repulsive bitch you have grown into.” I stopped for a second and a smirked planted itself onto my face. “Oh wait, your mother can’t be here, can she?” I started giggling and expecting my fingernails. “Serves her right.”

I had no idea why I was saying totally bitchy things. I know that I was finally tired of it. I was finally tired of people like her taking exactly what I wanted. She was the type who got everything that she wanted. Well, I was going to make sure that she didn’t get what she wanted that time. I looked up to see her fist coming my way. I didn’t get a chance to avoid it. She got me right in the jaw, which cracked on contact. I fell back from the force of that well placed blow.

“You go, love!” shouted her date. “That was brilliant!”

“All right, I have had enough!” I heard Orianna yell. “George, time for plan B”

I sat up and looked around. I expected Fred to be right there by my side, but he was being dragged out by his brother. He was yelling for him to let him go, but it didn’t happen. Tears penetrated my eyes as I watched him not giving a real fight. We were meant to be. Was that kiss all for nothing? I thought I had felt something in that kiss. I tasted blood in my mouth, but I didn’t care. Some of the other guests were asking if I was okay when I got up, but I just nodded and pushed my way through them. I found Fred with Gabrielle soon enough. The sight broke my heart in two.

“I love you, Fred,” she said to him.

Wait? I thought she didn’t even think of him that way. She had never shown that she had any feelings for him like that in all the time that I’ve known her. I watched as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Their lips were almost touching.

“You have no idea how much I needed to hear that,” he smiled down at her.

“Oh would you shut up for once in your God damn life!” she shouted before they were in a lip lock.

I started sobbing even harder. I looked around into the strange crowd where I knew absolutely no one before heading for the marquee. Once I was outside, I apparated to my apartment. How could I have been so stupid? Gabrielle and Fred were perfect for each other. They even looked perfect together. I was never going to have that with Fred. We were not meant to be, and that shattered the broken pieces of my heart even more. He was the first man to treat me like a gentleman. Well, until that day. He lied to me the whole time just to make Gabrielle jealous. I felt somewhat used, but how could I even put it past him when I did the same thing at the party? It had succeeded. Her jealousy built up before she let it all out on my face. Who was I kidding when I said that I was going to make sure that she was not going to steal Fred from me? He was never mine to take in the first place, and I hated that.

The next day, I made my way over to the shop. It was closed, but George was up in the apartment. He probably had taken Orianna back from the wedding for all I knew, but he answered the door just fine for me.

“Verity?” he asked. “What are you doing here?”

I sighed. “I can’t work for you anymore, George.”

“That’s ridiculous. Is this because of what happened yesterday? You have got to understand that Fred didn’t mean to do all those things to you. He’s just a love drunk fool that would do anything to get his hands on the girl he wanted. Sorry it wasn’t you,” he grimaced at the last sentence.

I shook my head. “You don’t have to apologize, but I do have to quit. I can’t work for someone that I had felt so strongly for. It would break my heart to just see him walking around happy and knowing that I had absolutely nothing to do with it.”

“But you did. You were the reason that Gabby realized she was in love with Fred. Everything that you did pushed them together, don’t you see?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I want to hear, George. Listen, I’m going to go. I can’t work here anymore, okay?” I nodded, backing away.

“You’re going to come rushing back here for a job! Mark my words, Verity. You’ll be back,” he shouted after me as I walked down the Alley and around the corner.

I leaned against the side of the building that was there. Tears slid down my cheeks. What was I going to do now? Where was I supposed to work? I had not a clue what my next move was. Fred was clearly out of the picture. What was a girl supposed to do?

“Excuse me?”

I looked up to see a guy. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t pin down where I had seen him before. I sighed as I slightly smiled at him. He was probably going to ask me if I could go cry somewhere else, like in private like most normal people.

“Why are you crying?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Long story.”

“How about you tell me all about it over a nice cup of tea? We are standing right outside a café,” he smiled at me. “My treat?”

I nodded. “Sure. Why not?”

 He opened the door for me and even pulled out my chair when I went to sit down. I was surprised by how polite he was. He was even a step up from Fred, who never opened the door for me. Another sign that we weren’t meant to be. I smiled at him and thanked him.

“You look very familiar,” he smirked at me. “You wouldn’t happen to be at a wedding last night, were you?”

I slowly nodded. He was at Percy’s wedding? How odd that he had seen me there. Perhaps I had seen him there too and just don’t remember him that much. He smiled with his perfect teeth showing. It melted my heart to see a genuine smile, and it was directed at me!

“What’s your name? I’m sure it’s just as pretty as your face is.”

How perfect was that line? Too perfect.

“I’m Verity,” I smiled at him.

“You’re Verity?” he asked, a little shocked. “You don’t look like her when you’re in tears, you know?”

“I am perfectly sure that’s not true.”

He shrugged. “Maybe it’s not, but for me it is. Still don’t recognize me?” he asked, raising an eyebrow up at me.

I racked my brain. Who had he had been with at the wedding? He was too cute not to be remembered. Then it hit me. I knew exactly who he was. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t recognized him. It should’ve smacked me right in the face as soon as I saw him. I guess was a tad too upset to recognize him, but he didn’t seem like the same guy who had told Gabrielle she was brilliant for punching me.

“You were there with her,” I smirked. “Gabrielle.”

He nodded. “And my name is Kade.”