London Calling (Fred)

[greatmanking]

Muggle studies hadn't really covered enough in Fred's opinion. He knew that there was only so much that one class could cover, but given what he knew about now it seemed to be a little wanting. That's why he'd always liked places like this Museum that gave him a good place to start in learning about muggles had done and created. Despite all the negatives like wars, violent revolutions and terrorism the muggles had changed so much, while Wizarding culture seemed to have stood still. It was crazy. But still fun nonetheless. And a lot of the places were free, so all he had to do was either find out if there was an aparation station within walking distance, or figure if there was a bus route going there instead.

Fred smiled as Avalon went on about money, nodding in agreement. Compared to muggle money, wizard money was definitely cumbersome and slightly annoying. But definitely not changing in the foreseeable future. But the system kind of worked right? So why knock it? Well, a lot of reasons. Damn it Weasley focus on what's happening right now, you can debate the changing of currency later. Right now you should be focusing on the lovely lady beside you, and what she's having a look at. Why must you be so easily distracted? Well, there is a per... WEASLEY!!! Right getting back on track.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Right?" He commented in response to her comment about wizard currency not changing to much.

As they reached the sort of art area, Fred found himself intrigued once again. The first time he'd seen a muggle painting, he'd gotten himself in a lot of trouble. Turns out you weren't supposed to poke them, or touch them in any way, to see why they weren't moving. Once he'd been told that muggle photos and paintings didn't moved he'd been somewhat amazed but had come to accept it over the years as a fact of life for muggles. And they certainly made up for it with television and movies.

"At least you're not poking them to see why they're not moving, like I did when I first saw a muggle painting. I got in a lot of trouble for that I can tell you."

He wasn't surprised when they moved quickly past the abacus paintings. He'd never really understood their purpose either. The painters seemed skilled enough but he didn't know why they would do such a thing. But whatever, it was the museums choice to exhibit whatever they wanted. If they wanted to show these abacus paintings then all power to them.

"I do come here a lot. But not because it's free, though that helps. It's more the fact that I like learning about muggles and what they've managed to achieve without magic, and what wizarding culture could learn from them. I've got a few favourite places around London, a couple more museums, the National Library which is always interesting, some pubs, bookstores and music shops, and I even like hanging out at a shopping mall if you could believe that."

[avalon]

You like the book stores too? Me too. I would preetty much read just about anything you know. That is just how I am, I guess. I like to read both fantasy and non-fiction but .. it just depends and it's amazing what some people consider fantasy when it's something that actually exists.

They walked through the museum, and she enjoyed it. Looking at all the different things and finding herself and her attention captured by this and that, here and there they would stop and she would read every little plaque. Every little blurb, and some areas you pushed a button and a voice talked to you about different things. They finished up with the whole building, and headed back out, she didn't really need anything from the gift shop and she didn't know what she would get anyway so she passed it up all together figuring that she would get other momentoes to help remember the day from other places. She wouldn't forget the museum, anything with a wealth of knowledge like that would be remembered.

Do you think we could go to the shopping mall? My mom tends to order our clothes from the shops on the Alley, so, I don't get to go to places like the mall. Some of the girls at school talk about it, and I'd really like to go.

If he agreed she would beam brightly up at him and she would snuggle into his side and walk with his arm around her waist instead of in her hand. A bit more intimate but she was really liking Fred. And she really liked that she could make a move like that, putting herself closer to him, without the fear that he would ridicule her. so far, no matter what she did, he didn't seem to mind at all. She was glad that he was more than willing to just let her be herself, and let her take a chance when she wanted to. That meant something to someone like Avalon that was rejected too often.

Avalon was looking at the city. Watching the people. The cars. Everything. She was watching how the lights changed color on some sort of timer to let people cross the walk ways and for cars to move across the road. She watched as air planes flew over head to the airport that wasn't too far away. She watched people on bicycles, and kids playing in the parks, she saw mothers and children walking and shopping and talking. It was like a completely different world. Parallel to the world that she lived in with Fred and her mother and brother. With the people she knew at school, and the people that she spent all her time with. Similar and yet different.

So, I had a question. It's gonna be kind of weird. But as popular as you are, I figured that you would most certainly already have a girlfriend. Why is it that you seem so single?

[greatmanking]

"There's nothing wrong with a good book, but sometimes you've got to out and experience life." Fred offered Avalon a warm smile. "'Cause sometimes it's better then a book."

Fred always enjoyed the museum no matter how many times he visited. Mainly because they occasionally changed the exhibits and that he always found something he'd missed the last time he was there. Not that he'd actually admit to something this being fun to the general public. A Weasley other then Grandpa liking this kind of muggle thing would likely cause a shock wave or two in the wizarding world. Fred didn't understand it, but that was that. Still not many, if any, wizards came out here so he was fine. And besides he had someone to share it with which was always a good thing. No, it was an excellent thing. Yeah, excellent.

"A girl wanting to go to a shopping mall? Why am I not surprised?" This was said in jest, and with a cheeky smile on Fred's face. He didn't mean to offend in any way. "Sure, why not? I could do with checking out a few things myself."

Avalon seemed to be opening up. At least in Fred's opinion. When they'd first me she was a babbling mess, but she seemed a lot more relaxed now then she had been. She still had a long way to go, but she'd made a start. It was a good thing that he was a generally relaxed kind of guy and liked to let people do their own thing when they were around him. So long as they weren't being mean or hurting anyone deliberately to a degree, Fred would let a person be themselves. And it seemed that Avalon was definitely one of the good people. Not that he'd actually had any doubt in that regard. If anything he had a thing for being able to tell the good from the bad. Possibly a stay over from his time as a prankster, as you really needed to know who to prank, and who not to prank.

A small smile stayed on his face as he watched Avalon watch the world around them. He kept an eye on where they were going of course, as he directed the both of them towards the closest mall that he was aware of, but still. It was an awesome feeling, being able to show someone the world that he'd come to inhabit. He wasn't fully integrated, but he had a fair idea of what he was doing, and what did what. And it was so different from the world that he had called home for so long that he had yet to find it all boring himself.

Fred raised an eyebrow at Avalon's question about him being single. It certainly was an interesting one indeed. "As I've said, popularity seems to fade somewhat when faced with the real world. And since most of the girls I dated wanted me for my popularity, they just faded away. Except for the fan club of course, but I try not to pay to much attention to them."

Then he thought he'd go for it, and ask a kind of weird question himself. "Why, are you asking me out?"

[avalon]

He seemed willing to take her to the mall and for that she was grateful. She knew that it probably wasn't the place that most guys were all excited about going to. It was pretty much a girly place but that didn't mean anything. She was kind of excited to see what it was all about. As they walked and talked he said that most of the girls that were after him were just for his popularity and his name. They faded fast because dating someone wasn't the same as having their status and it came out quickly that you weren't really interested at all. She knew that was how it was, and she didn't much care for those kinds of girls.

If she ever did start dating Fred she knew that she would have a whole lot more friends and enemies and they would all be because of Fred and not beause of the kind of person that she really was.

Then he dropped the question on her which made her face light up bright red like Christmas lights as they continued to walk. It was all she could do to keep herself up right at the moment and continue walking without her knees going out underneath her.

I uhh... I uhh... I would.. I mean... if I thought you would say yes.. I would.. I mean... I don't know I've never actually asked anyone out you know.. I mean.. or .. or anything. I don't.. well anyway.. I would be interested... you know... if like.. you were. But I would't want to force it and.. and I wouldn't want you to think I was some.. fan club girl.. cuz I'm not... so I don't want you to be like.. thinking that or anything. I ummm...

Avalon stopped walking.

She looked up at Fred, and moved them so they stood in the alcove that was the entrance to some apartment building or another. So that she could talk to him in private for a moment so she wasn't rambling on the street like some linatic. That was the last thing that she needed right now.

I mean.. would you? Be interested I mean. You.. you're a great person, I have so much fun around you. But, I don't know if I am the kind of girl you would want to be with you. That's only something you can say. So... ummm... what do you think of.. of me?

[greatmanking]

Well, Fred certainly hadn't been expecting that response. He knew that they'd clicked exceptionally well for a couple of people that had just met, but he'd attributed most of Avalon's awkwardness to the fact that she wasn't the most sociable of people and that she didn't get round much. But to find out that she actually liked him, it was definitely a surprise, and he wasn't easily surprised that was for sure. It looked like that his sense of humour had unintentionally sent him off in an unexpected tangent once again. He would've detest it, if it hadn't had such an interesting affect on his life and made it a lot less boring.

Now all Fred had to do was sort out the feelings in his head quickly enough so that he avoid any unfortunately awkward silences or miscommunications. She'd just spilled her guts out and he didn't want to ruin the moment. Especially given what had been rattling round in his head.

He tried to offer Avalon a confidentish smile as she stumbled through what she was trying to say. Normally it was a bit of a put off for Fred, when girls stumbled like that. But that was mainly 'cause they were either fan girls or in love with the idea of dating Fred Weasley rather then actually dating Fred Weasley. It all got really complicated and socially awkward to be honest. But Avalon wasn't one of his fan girls. She was just a girl that seemed to have fallen for Fred because he was Fred. That was definitely a first. A definite first indeed.

He let her pull him into the entrance of some apartment building. He was kind of glad it wasn't his own. Or at least he didn't think it was his own. But he really wasn't paying attention.

"This is what I think.." Murmured Fred as he pulled Avalon and kissed her like he'd kissed anyone before. In typical Weasley fashion he'd made a snap decision, and he was going to stick to it. Even if it wasn't the best one at the time. But as he kissed Avalon it just felt so right, and so amazing that how could it be wrong?

[avalon]

She stood there.

Heart out there.

Waiting to be completely crushed. Fred Weasley could have anyone in the world that he wanted. He didn't need a girl that liked him a great deal but that didn't mean he would like her back. She was still in school, she was still very shy when it came to many things but around Fred she was learning how to really come out and say what she wanted. The problem was, when she did that she was also putting herself up there to be crushed more than normal. Giving him the chance to let her in or shut her out. There was nothing she could do, she had said what she could say, done what she had not really wanted to do... but, she was out there, he now knew that she liked him and that was the way that things were. She wanted to be his girl. Now she just had to wait for his response.

He began to speak, but he didn't finish the statement because he suddenly leaned forward and kissed her. She gasped, as she saw him coming in, but it happened much too fast for her to make any movements. Not that she wanted to. When their lips met, she tingled. From her head to her toes, her body came alive with the little butterflies rolling through all her blood vessels and feeling the amazing sensations of being so nervous and so happy at the same time. Avalon's arms slowly rose and placed her hands flat on his chest. Tilting her head to the side just slightly, as her lips allowed him to kiss her. She loved the way it felt. To be kissed. Not because she had forced him to but because he apparently wanted to kiss her, and she was loving this.

When the kiss broke, they were standing there, in the alcove of some building staring at one another. Avalon was quiet, and yet somehow completely calm. Her blue eyes were wide as she stared up at Fred Weasley the boy that had just kissed her on the streets of London. She wanted another, but she also wanted to save it for later when she could just let herself go and she didn't want to get too greedy. Nor was she an easy type of girl. A slow but beautiful smile slid across her face and she looked into his eyes and then a little squeak came out as she hugged him. Arms around his neck, and her body pressed into him for just a moment getting a fantastic hug from him after their first and hopefully not last kiss.

Gently, she pulled back.

I think, that sufficiently answers that. Avalon bit her lower lip but she couldn't stop smiling. Every time she tried, her cheeks popped back up again. Her jaw was cramping up a little bit but she still could't stop. I'll be your girl, if you'll have me, Fred.

She never used his last name. Not because she didn't like it, but because it wasn't about his last name for her. It was all about Fred and who he was. It was one thing to care about him, and another thing to care about his name. She only cared about the first. He could have been named Ben Button for all she cared, so long as his personality was the same.

Lets go shopping then, shall we? she whispered softly as she slid her hand down to his and let their fingers intertwine before they headed back out to the busy London streets with a smile that wouldn't leave Avalon's face.

[greatmanking]

So this was kissing? Real kissing. For once Fred could actually see why it was so popular. It had been something of a snap decision, but he was glad he'd made it. It definitely sorted out the feelings he'd been so confused over. Had most certain like liked Avalon Remmington. He wasn't sure if he loved her, or if he even knew what love was yet, but there were most certainly strong romantic feelings there. But that wasn't understood until after the kiss had been broken. Because as the kiss continued Fred felt like he was walking on sunshine, like he'd drank a cauldron full of pepper up potion combined with the cheering spell. In short he felt amazing. Bloody amazing.

He'd wrapped his arms loosely around Avalon as they kissed, he'd let them hang loose after the kiss was broken. He could wait to do that again that was for sure. And again. And again. But he also didn't want to crowd Avalon. In the few moments before her smile started Fred wondered if he'd done the right thing, but the smile told him that he had and he was glad. With his feelings sorted it was excellent that they were definitely reciprocated. The hug was definitely a natural one that he was happy to return.

He was slightly disappointed when she pulled back. He would've been happy to have had continue them holding each other like that. But still he was returning the happy smile that had become a fixture on his girlfriends face.

Yes. Girlfriend. Each that Fred Weasley Fan Club! Beat that...

"Yes, I will most definitely have you, Avalon." Fred brushed some loose hair out of her face. Avalon actually looked quite beautiful when she smiled. Something she seemed to be unable to stop doing, which he could understand completely. He was having trouble with himself. Not that he wanted to stop.

He didn't answer Avalon's whispered question as he followed her back to the busy London street. The world was beginning to look a lot brighter as he returned her leading her towards the Mall. To be honest, he was beginning to doubt that he would be able to let AValon go at the end of the day, but right now he was content with holding her hand, smiling like a cheesy maniac and wondering how he'd be able to get a kiss out of his new girlfriend...

[avalon]

And so she had a boyfriend.

Avalon had never really thought this would happen. Much less, with someone like Fred. But, she had honestly thought she would be one of those old spinster women that had a million cats and didn't have anyone else. But sometimes she sat back and thought if someone like her mother could get a man and get married and have children then she figured that it could happen to anyone. And her father, while he had been handsome, was a complete and total dork much like his daughter. So she knew there was hope but there were timesd that she got self conscious and she just knew that it was never going to happen. She would grow old alone and that was merely that.

But Fred had apparently seen something in her that most people didn't, and she was glad that he had given her a chance. They had spent quite a b it of time together since they had met a few days ago. With her working at his shop that certainly seemed to help out with them spending time together, but she was glad that the chemistry she had felt was felt by the both of them.

On the streets, she still couldn't stop smiling. It was like she was under a spell or something even though she knew that wasn't true. Or perhaps instead it was the spell of being into someone like she was with Fred. She wasn't ready to call it love, it was definatly something though. She was excited to figure it out together.

They finally, arrived at the mall, and the automatic doors slid aside for the pair as they stepped in. They were hit with the warmth of the internal heater allowing the building to be nice and warm considering how cold the streets of London were. Avalon shivered for a moment as her body adjusted from the cold to the heat for a moment as her blue eyes took in the massive building that was filled with wall to wall stores and some places to sit down and eat if one got hungry. She was kind of overwhelmed not sure where they should start. She didn't expect to visit every store or anything, but she wanted to visit a couple at least and just see what things were about.

Wow. I'm kind of not sure where to start.

So, they just started to slowly walk down the main isle that the stores were branched off of. There were large stores, and small shops. There were little carts on the main isle that sold various things, and there were people everywhere. Every few moments her mind would wander back to Fred, and his kissing her, and wondering how she could work on getting more of that. She knew they were supposed to see that moving picture story tonight, at some point. But she knew she would probably be much too shocked by the whole thing to be into kissing. But maybe not, she was pretty sure that kissing Fred was going to take over everything else in importance.

It was nearing lunch time too, her stomach told her, so she knew they probably wouldn't be in the mall for long. But just walking in here made her really happy. Just seeing how it was set up, and the muggles buying clothes and accessories. Shoes and sunglasses. Purses and bags. All kinds of things. She didn't plan to actually 'go' shopping today, for that she would have wanted to bring her own money. Even if they were now together, she wouldn't want him buying her clothes because she knew they could get expensive and that wasn't fair to him. So she wasn't actually going to go into the stores with the intent on buying anything.

Oh look! This place has a sale!

It was a large store, that sold little bits of everything for men, women, and children. Including a tiny section of accessories. But the large signs in the windows spoke of -Up to 50% off- so she figured that it couldn't hurt to go in and look. They stepped in, the music was a bit loud for her. But she walked with Fred through the different racks that held all kinds of she supposed 'trendy' clothes.

[greatmanking]

So, Avalon was his girlfriend.

Or at least Fred hoped that she was his girlfriend. Sure he'd kissed her and he'd agreed to have her, but did that mean they were going out. For all his experience with the fairer sex, he actually hadn't actually learnt to much about the art of dating. Actual dating that is. Not that so called 'dating' that he had gone through during his time at Hogwarts. This was going to be a learning curve for him at least. And a very pleasant one at that. Hopefully he didn't screw it up or anything. Maybe it might be time to talk to Roxanne and get some advice. He definitely needed that.

The time the two of them had spent together had helped considerably. Even now they seemed to just be able to flow, with the change in their relationship status from 'ambiguous' to 'dating'. Obviously Avalon so more to Fred then just his reputation and his last name, something that many of his former 'girlfriends' had never been able to get past. It had been a frequent sour point in his relationships. But that wasn't important. He'd finally found someone who liked him for him and not for anything else.

Fred paused for a few moments as he stepped into the mall. He had always found the experience of the changing temperatures between the outside world and that of the mall to be an interesting and unique one. He shivered slightly but then moved forward. The mall kind of reminded him of Hogwarts in a way that it brought so many people together, and as such had adjusted quickly. But the amount of stores that it contained still amazed him.

"I guess it depends. Are you looking for anything in particular or do you just want to browse?"

Fred was more then happy to follow Avalon as she travelled through the mall. He gave her a reassuring smile to let her know he was here for her if she got overwhelmed by it all. He knew it could all be a lot to take in and he wanted to be there to help her through it if he could. And the good thing was if she found a couple of bits and pieces she wanted then he could by them for her, even if she did promise to pay him back for it later.

"Ah, sales. A girls best friend." The observation was made with good humour.

The store in question was a reasonably popular one. He'd even picked his trench coat up from it as there was a small rack of them in the men's section. He only half looked really as his eyes kept returning to Avalon. Damn did he have it back. "See anything you fancy?"

[avalon]

Avalon was so happy. This was certainly the best day of her life thus far. As they walked into the store, she couldn't help but be more than happy to just stare at Fred when she had the chance. He was very handsome, but that was only part of his charm. His other charm was his personality and that smile that he shot at her from time to time that just melted the heart in that special way that made her yearn to do something to make it happen again. They seperated slightly, but only by a rack, he on one and she on another that was filled with the clearance and sale items that the store had advertised in the front window. Still, she found her eyes kept staring at him. As her hands moved through the different items of clothing, she found that she would suddenly realize she was staring at Fred and have to refocus.

Maybe it was good thing he didn't still go to Hogwarts she was sure she would never get any studying done if he was in her classes. Or around to soak up her time because he is who she would give her time to if she had the chance.

Refocusing on the rack in front of her she came to a lovely teal colored dress. Slightly darker in shade, it was a lovely dress. Had long sleeves and it was made of some sort of stretchy fabric that would probably mean it would fit no matter what her size was. It had a little tie over to the side of the waist area and would probably fall to her knees. She thought about how nice it would be to wear this tonight to the movie. If they eneded up at his place after lunch like he had mentioned earlier. She would like to wear something really pretty, and it wasn't really fancy or anything. But it looked comfortable. Her necklace would go with it. The only problem is she wouldn't have any good shoes, she was wearing a comfortable pair of tennis shoes, they wouldn't go with the dress. But she supposed if she did buy it somehow... (even though she didn't have any muggle money on her.. maybe she could borrow from Fred) ... she could always wear the dress on another date. now that they were together, there would be several of those.

She needed to talk to him about showing up at Hogsmede from time to time for the months she was away at school so that they could see each other when her class went off to Hogsmede for the day.

Yeah, actually I found this. What do you think?

She stepped away from the rack with the lovely dress and pressed it up against her form for a moment. Her blue eyes looked up at Fred as she held the dress up against her. She thought it would probably look good. And look better ON her than just in front of her. But she wasn't sure if he would want her to try it on or not. She'd never been shopping with anyone other than her mom before.

I like that trench coat. I think that would look great on you. Especially here, in London. Avalon blushed, but she meant the compliment and managed not to look at the floor while she said it to him.

[greatmanking]

Fred was in a pretty good mood himself. He'd managed to score a girl that liked him for him, who was actually quite intelligent from what he'd seen at the store, and was actually quite good on the eyes. And when she had some confident in her she was definitely amazing. He couldn't help but keep looking up from the rack of on sale stuff at Avalon. It was like magnets or an accio spell or something. If wasn't careful he was going to bump into someone or something and cause a bit of trouble, but that wasn't important. His girlfriend was. At least in his opinion.

And to be honest, he was glad that their coming together hadn't happened at Hogwarts, or Hogsmead or anywhere like that or they would've had a fair few people throwing up at stink. Many of them would've been expecting Fred to find someone 'more appropriate to his station in life', or some crap like that. In all fairness, all they would've done is ruin what was otherwise a perfect moment between them. At least now their relationship had a chance to develop. And Fred was definitely interesting in seeing where it went.

Fred smiled happily as Avalon showed off the dress. It really did look like her kind of thing. Not that he was an expert, but still. He liked to think his opinion counted somewhat. At least with Avalon.

"Not to bad. It'd look even better on you though." Heck he even blushed a little bit with that comment. Which was definitely unusual for the always confident Fred Weasley. But his girlfriend did seem to have that kind of effect on him, and he was loving it really.

"Thanks." He blushed a little himself at the compliment. Most wizards usually wondered why he would wear such a weird piece of muggle clothing. "It's actually a rather useful piece of clothing.

[avalon]

Should I try it on then?

She bit her lower lip. When he seemed to give her an affirmation she headed off to the room so that she could try it on. That way maybe he could see it on her and like it even more. She didn't have muggle money o her so anything she bought she would have to borrow from him and she would need shoes, but she wouldn't mind giving him wizard money in return for it if they could ever figure out a decent conversion rate.

Inside the changing room, She took off her sweater, scarf, and jeans and set them to the side beside her bag. She pulled the dress on and wrapped it around her tying it with the little bow on her left side. She tied it well and looked at herself in the mirror. It was cute. Hugged her frame a lot better than most of the stuff that she wore, accenting her chest. But flowing free around her hips so the skirt wasn't tight and it stopped just slightly above her knees.

It was't expensive either, at least she didn't think it was.

She stepped out of the dressing room to see if Fred was close by and could give her his opinion. She still had on her owl necklace, and it lay softly on the bare skin of her chest that was shown just a little bit with the cut of the dress but nothing bad was showing she was still completely modest. She bit her lower lip and she gently tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked up at Fred with those pale blue eyes of hers.

What do you think? Does it look nice? she looked down at herself for a moment. I wonder if it would work for the movie thing tonight. I'd have to get some shoes though.... my tennis shoes won't work for this. But I guess I could do that and wear it another time.... but I didn't bring any money either. But it is really pretty huh?

[greatmanking]

Fred waited patiently for Avalon to get changed and return. It had looked quite good on her when she was demonstrating it, but how would she look when she was actually in it? And why did have in the throws of anticipation? This definitely wasn't normal him at all. But this whole situation wasn't really normal him, so there you were.

Considering it was on the sale rack it shouldn't be to expensive if she wanted to buy it. With that thought, Fred face palmed for a few moments, she didn't have any muggle money. But he did. So if she wanted to get it, then he was going to have to get it for her. Hopefully he had enough to cover the dress, lunch and the movie later. Still, if he got creative, he was sure he could manage it all. Fred was a Weasley after all, the family was creative in their own ways. He just hoped that it applied to money as well as pranking and being a close nit family.

Fred had taken a spot near the dressing rooms, having done the whole "taking a girl clothes shopping" thing before. He'd kept a respectful distance so it didn't look like he was crowding her, but close enough that he looked interested in what she was doing. The main difference between now and the times he'd done it in the past, he actually was interested. As she stepped out of the dressing room, he couldn't help but stare for a few moments. Normally he would've let out a wolf whistle, but she definitely made the dress look good. And the owl necklace really helped set it off.

After he recovered, a smile crossed his face. A confident smile that usually seemed to be infectious to those that it shone itself upon. "It looks great. Really great." Was all he could say on the subject. "Tell ya what, if we can find some shoes here, we can get them along with the dress, if not then it's just another excuse to ask you out on another date, isn't it?" Not that he actually needed an excuse, mind you. But still. He was definitely liking the dress. Whenever she did get round to wearing it, Fred was definitely going to have a hard time taking his eyes of her. He was having an exceptionally hard time doing that now. "As for the money, hopefully I can cover it."

[avalon]

Avalon blushed.

Being under the attention of Fred like that, the way his eyes were wandering over her and the way that her dress fit made her both uncomfortable and blush at the same time. But she didn't feel so uncomfortable that she wanted to turn away or shrink inside herself, she just wanted to not look into his eyes as he looked at her that way. She bit her lower lip and finally looked up. He seemed surprised by the dress and how it looked on her which made her smile under the blush as she was pleased that he cared so much that it looked nice. She really wished that she could wear it tonight, and next time they came to London she was going to have to make sure she got her hands on some muggle money.

I don't know, I don't want you to spend all your money. We have plans, and I don't really have a way to pay you back. I could probably figure out the conversion rate though, and give you something.

He told her that they could see if they had shoes that matched and maybe they could get both and they would be able to still have enough money for something to eat as well as go see the movie. Hell if they had enough for the movie she could probably use magic in her bag at his place and make them snacks to eat while they were in the movie. She figured that so long as no muggles saw her it would be fine and in his apartment no one but him would see. So she could take care of a few things, at least she thought so but she wasn't really that sure.

Okay, well lets see if they have anything, I'll change back into my clothes.

She went back in the dressing room and if Fred was going to buy her the dress then she was certain that he must have liked it. She certainly had and she hoped that if she got it and she could wear it tonight there would be more of that kissing stuff. She bit her lower lip as she pulled the dress off and put it back on the hanger. She got her normal clothes back on and she came back out with the dress over her arm as she reunited with Fred and they went over to the wall where there were shoes. There was a large table that had all kinds of shoes on clearance as the sale signs had boasted in the front.

Hey look. Take an extra 50% off already marked down items. That means this dress and the shoes will be cheaper than the sticker

She looked through the shoes. She would have loved boots, and had some at home but there wasn't much she could do about that. But there were a cute pair of black ballet flats with little silver beads on the top by the toe. They were on sale for what was apparently a very good price considering all the tiny pink stickers that covered the box. Cheap was good and they were her size.

Lets go see what all this adds up to, shall we? If we need to, I don't have to get either of them. I would rather go to the movie with you than, have this dress. And I will find a way to pay you back, I really will.

They walked over to the front. And they handed the clothes over to the cashier who began to scan them and sure enough true to the signs they were even cheaper than the stickers said they were. She bit her lower lip and waited until the cashier pushed the total button and it came up cheaper than she ever thought. Her eyes shifted to Fred.

What do you think?

[greatmanking]

Fred offered Avalon a smile in the hopes that it would calm her down slightly. From what she said, she hadn't had a boyfriend before. Which explained why she got so nervous. But still, he wanted her to feel comfortable around him. At least while they were establishing their relationship. Despite their dual enthusiasm, things could still go either way and he didn't want to unintentionally ruin anything 'cause he was being a typical boy. But that wasn't to say he hadn't enjoyed the view. Avalon did cut a decent figure in that dress, he was happy to say. Not that he really expected anything less.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure we can figure something out. So relax, and we can worry about it later, okay?" He offered as a way of trying to calm her down and allay her worries.

Hopefully his creative accounting skills would work. He figured he had a number of snacks at his flat that he could probably sneak into the theatre if they needed to scrimp on that. Hopefully Avalon wouldn't mind that. Not that she actually knew much about muggle movie theatres. But still he wanted to make a good first impression, as she seem so excited about going to see a movie. It was kind of cute actually. Add another plus to the things Fred like about Avalon category then.

Fred nodded at Avalon's idea of getting changed and having a look, still smiling. Sounded like a good idea. He couldn't help but watch her disappear back to the dressing room, his eyes occasionally drifting down to her butt.

Okay so sometimes he could be a guy. If the could get away with it.

Anyway. Once she came out again with the dress over her arm, he followed her to one of the tables. Fred left the looking to Avalon figuring that she knew what she was looking for.

"Sometimes you've just got to love these boxing day sales."

He smiled again when she picked out a pair of shoes. It would be interesting to see how they looked in combination with the dress. On Avalon Fred was sure they'd look awesome, but still. It made him wonder if he still had that make up stashed in his bathroom from one of his ex-girlfriends.

"We'll just have to wait and see won't we?" He put to Avalon with one of his confident smiles.

As the teller rang up the two items Fred found one of her hands and gave it a squeeze, hoping that some of his calm would seep into her. As the total came up, he couldn't help but give a small whistle. It was definitely cheaper then he thought it was going to be. Doing some quick mental calculations in his head, the Weasley Wonder figured that he'd still have enough for a reasonable lunch and the movies, so long as they didn't splurge to hard on either.

"I think I might be able to afford that, and everything else we want to do today." He admitted confidentially. Removing his hand from Avalon's for a few moments, he dug into one of the pockets of his jacket and pulled out his muggle wallet. It was a simple bright green number with the image of Warner Brothers on it. It had seen a few years use, and was packet with British muggle money. He counted out the appropriate amount, and even a few coins and handed it to the cashier.