Sweet as a Strawberry

43 ~ Sweet as a Compote

a/n: a lot of you were talking about supernatural in the comments last time and i literally have no idea what you guys are going on about lol. what's the inside joke? i've never seen that show before, but don't kill me for that bc i'm giving you this chapter!! happy new year and happy holidays, i hope things are going marvellously for you all :)

dedicated to Firelight26 for the precious banner she made me :) she made another one as well, and that one was adorable as well!!

Chapter 43: Sweet as a Compote

I felt my expression twist into shock and a little bit of fear when I realised exactly who it was that Ginny was on a date with.

Ginny looked between me and Rick suspiciously. She had never met Rick, and she didn't know about my experiences with him because I wanted to forget that it ever happened. He never made me feel anything, and I'd never even kissed him! Plus, we were in Year 11 when we dated, so it wasn't even anything serious.

"H-hello Rick," I stuttered. My fingers clenched Ben's arm until I was pretty sure I was cutting off his circulation, but he didn't move. In fact, he had gone completely still.

"Do you know him already?" Ginny asked. I couldn't ever hide anything from her, and I didn't know what to say. I looked at her with wide eyes, pleading with her, and she shook her head in confusion. "Rick, you know Ben and Charlie already?"

"You could say that, sweetcheeks," Rick said, his voice grating on my ears just enough for me to shudder and press myself nearer to Ben. There was literally nothing outwardly wrong him, but the memories and the feeling I got from him were enough to make me want to curl up and cry.

Ginny scowled. She'd never dated even a halfway decent guy, and I always wondered why she did it when she didn't like them. Whenever I asked, she would say she was just having a wee bit of fun. "Shut it," she said severely. "And give us a moment."

She grabbed me by the arm, but since I was already completely attached to Ben and kind of in a daze, it took a good while for her to separate us. "Lottie-" Ben started. I looked at him with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows, and he frowned at me.

Sorry, I mouthed, and followed Ginny to the back. I felt bad about leaving Ben with Rick, but he could definitely handle himself. Actually, I was more worried that he would knock the lights out of Rick than I was that Rick would try anything with him.

"What was that about?" she asked as soon as we were out of earshot. Her hands came up to grip my shoulders, and her scowl deepened.

I smiled weakly. "What was what about?" I asked, as if I had no idea what she was talking about.

"You are the worst liar, idiot," she snapped. My smile widened, and I was about to laugh when her withering look stopped me. "You and that ugly moth know Rick, don't you?"

"I-I would say..." My heart thumped, and I focused my eyes on a stain on the back wall. "Yes," I finally admitted. "Yes, I know him."

Ginny let go of me and ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head. "That weird energy in there, I don't get what's going on. Did he do something to you?" Her eyes widened as if she had just thought of something, and she took hold of my shoulders again. "Oh god, did he do something to you, Charlie? Just tell me, okay? Say the word and he's dead-"

I ruffled her hair and grinned nervously. I didn't really know what to tell her. "A few years ago, we dated, that's it," I blurted out. "In Year 11."

Her worried scowl smoothed out, and she grinned back at me. "Oh, that's it?" she said brightly. "Thank God, that means it'll be easier for dump him faster."