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A risk worth taking

Summary:

“I’m sorry…” he breathed out into her hair, starting to rock their bodies in the rhythm of the music.
“What for?” Elle asked, looking up at him. She almost wanted to smile. Here was standing Fred Weasley, handsome as ever. “For breaking my attempts to try and move over you or for making me want to get drunk, so I would do a very bad attempt to try and move over you?” her voice was quiet, just for him to hear.

Notes:

Hello! This work is one of the prompts I made for myself for writing, when there was too many things on me and I had to just relax. It's a modern au, because I wanted to try something new.
I used my original characters, that I will use in a story, I'm going to write (unfortunately in my mother language). All the prompts are featuring the main character (OC), so if I will publish another promopt, which I might, please consider that. It's usually only drabbles, however.
Anyway, I hope you will like this story and won't run away just because of the original characters ;)
Also! Some of the ships may not be according to you expectations, but I really feel it this way.
Shoutouts to my beta reader @lucalucova!

Work Text:

            There are many types of days. Good days, bad days, days like any other. The interesting thing, however, is like any other day can change to be a good one or a bad one. Karielle wasn’t really sure, which one as it, yet. She was sure, she was about to find out very soon, though, considering the fact, that her roommates made an appointment at a club. Which meant, that all four of them went out, danced, sang, drank and maybe got some. Oh wow… How perfect! All of her roomies were taken and there she was, still bitter over a breakup…

            It was a long day for Elle. Right now, she was really questioning herself, if journalism was the best course to ever take on. Why couldn’t she just take something easier? For example, Melanie was studying arts. It must be very relaxing just throw a paint on a painting! Rosie was using only her head for studying psychology! The best thing is, therapist can sit in an armchair all day! Or Gloria! Singing and dancing on a stage! Alright, yeah… This one probably wasn’t the most relaxing either. Looking at the dark-haired girl when she came this afternoon, she looked like a zombie. Pretty much like Elle.

            They had still two more hours to get ready for the club. It pained Karielle to get anywhere right now. She was running all around the school today and then to her work, where she had to do things. Being drained of energy was too soft to say. She was damn devasted! Then again, relaxing in a club and thinking about other things than school or work could be nice.

            Stepping out of the showering corner, she looked at the mirror in the bathroom. Her strawberry blonde hair was wet, water dripping down her body. It was also damp, she could already imagine the pain of brushing it. She loved her hair but she had a hard time fighting it to tame it. And it was only wavy! Her green-blue eyes were shining and thin lips smirking in some wicked way. She paused at her slightly bigger nose than average. She really blamed her father for this thing!

            Well, at least she felt refreshed. She put on her underwear and a bath robe. Clothes were the last thing on her mind at the moment. Right now, she had to pay extra care to her hair and then to her face.

            In the kitchen, Rosie was preparing a diner. It would be a very unwise idea to drink on an empty stomach, after all. Her blonde hair was tied into a very loose bun and her clothes were saying, that she was still far from being prepared. Just like Elle, thank God. On the other hand, there were Melanie and Gloria. Those two were like divas, competing over who would be prepared first and who would wear better clothes!

“Oh wow, there couldn’t be less competition.” Elle said aloud, drying her hair. Three pairs of eyes landed on her, which made her raise her brows. “See something you like, ladies?” she grinned.

“I see, something I don’t approve of, actually.” Melanie took upon herself to answer the question, eyeing her best friend skeptically. How she is still not be prepared!?

“Suddenly a thing we agree on!” Gloria called out, only to be playfully glared on by Melanie, who started laughing a moment later, dark curly hair falling into her face.

“There is still two hours!” Elle groaned, rolling her eyes.

“Two hours till we get to the club, not two hours to get prepared.” Gloria said, arranging her brown hair in a mirror in a small hall. Her hair being the longest of them all, it could be found everywhere! That’s why, she was the last one to shower, to actually clean up the hair behind her. Well, usually… “Count it on, hair, make-up, diner…”

“I don’t think any of the boys would really mind us being a little late.” Karielle chuckled, tilting her head to the side for a better access of drying her hair.

“Not our boys…” Rosie has spoken up for the first time, ever since Elle entered the kitchen-living room area.

“Who did you invite?” the strawberry-blonde asked, her heart stopping for just a second, realizing the worst possible outcome.

“We didn’t invite no one, really. It was the boys, who were inviting people. We don’t know, who else will be there.” Mel shrugged, walking over to the kitchen counter, peaking at the diner in a pot over Rosie’s shoulder.

“If he will be there tho, you have to face it. You know there is still something between you two.” Rosie said, asking a rather complicated question after. “Why did you even break up?”

“Because it wasn’t working out.”

“You say that, does he say the same?” Gloria finally looked at Elle again, but it wasn’t only her, the other two pairs of eyes too.

“He did.”

            Did. A past tense. It was a little over six months, since she broke up with Fred Weasley. She could remember it like yesterday. It was a rather silly breakup really. Them being in a really bad argument, because of playing a ‘game of honesty’. What started as a fun thing, led to another thing and things had gotten worse. Much worse than expected. Both of them revealing dirty secrets, that should have been kept secrets forever. First, it was Fred having a fling and then it was Karielle, saying that she had no boyfriend. A mess like hell, if you asked her. So yeah, this was the most complicated reason of their breakup.

She never told anyone, what has happened and from what she had seen, Fred didn’t either. Nor probably even to his twin brother, who is more to Fred than anyone else. Elle had brother as well, she was very close with him. Closer than other siblings were that she knew. But couldn’t tell even him. It broke her, however.

It was bitter. She cringed at her own thoughts, walking to her bedroom, she shared with Melanie. All of them had agreed that if Gloria and Melanie were in the same room, it would probably be like a nuclear bomb fell down. Karielle opened her closet, looking at the clothes, but not really thinking about it. Her face was rather blank. Her mind, trying to find a solution if she bumped into a certain red-head, what would she do?

“You know… This is not how you pick your clothes.” she heard from the door and looked to see Melanie, leaning against the door frame. “Let me choose something. I will do your make-up and the princess will make your hair.”

            Melanie didn’t wait for an answer, because she took it as granted. The next thing, Elle knew, the dark-haired woman was pulling out a yellow dress out of the closet. It was rather seductive and pretty much sexy. Karielle knew she liked the dress, she bought it in a spite of flame, saying she must have it, but never wore it since. This would be the first.

            Mel herself was wearing a beautiful green dress, even her hair was already tied into a high ponytail, even with her very curly hair. A white jacket was already waiting to be worn on her bed by the wall.

“Hm, let me see… This yellow dress is absolutely gorgeous! How did I not know about this before?” Melanie asked, practically devouring the dress with her eyes. Glancing back to the closet, she pulled out a black leather jacket. “Girl, you are going to absolutely rock this!” she grinned.

            So Elle’s preparations began. Melanie sat her on a bed and took extra care doing her make-up. Even though, Karielle had to tell her at least dozens of times not to overdo it, because even though she liked to put on a little bit of a make-up, she wanted to look natural as much as possible.

            As soon as her best friend was done, putting whatever she put on her face, Elle wanted to check herself in the mirror but before she even stood up from the bed, Gloria came rushing into the room, her red dress contrasting with her pale skin.

            It was taking certainly longer doing Elle’s hair. Gloria had to dry it up, brush it, so she could work with it and then working with it… Merlin knows, what was she doing. While being in the room, the two had began a small conversation about their day. The brunette making sure not to ask anything she would regret later, thankfully, this one knew, when a certain topic was taboo.

“Alright, girls! The diner is ready!” came a hushed voice from Rosie and then closing the door, probably from their room. “I’ll join you later!”

“Perfect, we’re all done.” Gloria announced with a smile.

“Seriously, why didn’t you help even Rosie?” Elle asked, standing up from the bed, finally, and walking to a mirror in the bedroom. She had to say the girls made a really good job! She was looking great and it was still her.

“Because she has already everything prepared, the blue dress on her bed. Melanie helped with her make-up before you came home.” Gloria rolled her eyes, leaving the room to give Elle the privacy to dress up. “Besides, she always is the fastest to get ready.”

            After the diner, all of the girls went to the club. It wasn’t that far, so they really didn’t have to take a taxi or a subway. Actually, it was only few streets away from their apartment building. The music could be heard from the outside. Loud and powerful. Just at the entrance, there were familiar face, such as Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood from their university or Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were on the break from their military training. Elle didn’t think, she would see these two tonight.

            Walking through the entrance door, after two bodyguards checked their IDs and let them in, Karielle saw flashes of lights, mostly blue, purple and green, sometimes yellow. Ironically, her favorite. The dance floor was down the stairs, from just one look could anyone tell, that tonight, the club is nicely packed, but not enough for it to be suffocating. Just perfect.

On the other side, across the dance floor was placed a huge bar in black color. Behind the door were two men and two girls, all of them in black and white. It was kind of funny, actually. One guy had a white top and black shirt, while the other had it the opposite way. One of the girls a white top and the other a black top. In a way, it was really unique. Karielle really liked it.

            Moving through the crowd inside, the strawberry blonde spotted other faces, she knew like her cousin Harry and his girlfriend Ginny, Ron and Hermione, also one of the twins. If one of the twins was near, the other wasn’t that much far.

Elle took a breath and tried to quickly find the people, she was searching for. Those were, sadly enough, boyfriends of her roommates. Oliver, Hugh and Jason.

“Found them.” Melanie said loud enough for each of the girls to hear her and led them to a reserved table, near the bar. Something Karielle would surely need through the night, if she’ll see him.

            Once they all reached the table, which was obviously theirs, every couple started to greet each other. Some way too intimately for her liking, that’s when she decided to abandon her leather jacket with them and go for a drink. A strong one, if possible.

            When she got to the bar, she ordered a tequila. Elle even didn’t know why, it wasn’t a drink, she usually drank. Her usual drink was a beer, on special occasions, it was a white wine. She remembered a time, she loved red wine but it changed rather quickly. Downing the tequila, she sat down on a stool, ordering one more shot.

            Karielle was never much of a drinker, she actually tried to make sure that everyone got home safe. Some people may call her a mother hen for that mother. She guessed, she started to act like that, when she found out from her doctor, there is not much of a chance of her getting pregnant, because it could put her life in a risk. And she loved children. Meaning, she started to care for every person she cared for. Including the person next to her.

            Fred was standing three stools away from her, not noticing her just yet. He was talking and laughing with his longtime friend Lee Jordan, plus some other chicks around them, trying to get close to their personal zone. Karielle always saw these types of girls as pathetic ones, right now, however… A decision of drinking more than two shots of tequila would be appropriate.

            Few more shots of the drink and Karielle was already feeling tipsy. How long were they here, half an hour? Oh well, this started greatly! She was looking at now empty class and took a deep breath. Yes, this might be her limit. She was feeling great, however, flirtatious even. She could see herself with a first guy she visually enjoys.

“One more glass?” the bartender asked, smiling at her, his eyes sparkling. Elle looked up. Oh… A guy I visually enjoy… she pondered. Tall, muscular, dark hair, green eyes, tanned. Yummy!

“I don’t think I can hold much more alcohol…” she shook her head, smiling back. “But I would like a cola and offer to exchange my name for yours.” she winked, grinning.

            The guy cocked his brows, amused. He wasn’t scared off, however, not at all, he was all for it, really. He turned around to take the cola and opened it, glancing at her every few seconds.

“The name’s Marcus.” he said, pushing the bottle with a straw inside towards the girl.

            She took it without saying anything first, quickly sucking a little on the straw to pull the liquid up and into her mouth. Marcus, however, could imagine something else. Well, what could it be?

“My name is Karielle. Nice to meet you.” she said, offering her hand for a handshake, Marcus took it but instead of shaking it, he leaned down and kissed the knuckles of her fingers.

“My pleasure.” the man said, never leaving her eyes with his. Only this gesture was enough to rush some blood into Elle’s cheeks. Okay, this guy could be fluttering, she had to give him that.

            Karielle was having a great time, chatting with Marcus, with him often leaving for couple of minutes to take in orders from other people. The strawberry blonde haired was very much enjoying herself, actually. She didn’t think, she would have so much fun, but apparently everything was possible.

            Suddenly she felt eyes on her, she wasn’t sure, if it was only one pair or more, but she definitely knew, where it was coming from. Three stools away from her. A good five meters apart. Elle’s heart was thumping hard, but she made sure not to even look that way, concentrating on Marcus, instead and his flexing muscles. Nice view!

            The moment the bartender came back, he leaned across the bar counter to whisper something to her ear. What it was, though, she didn’t know, because there was someone pulling at her to get her away from the guy before her. Big hands grabbed gently her waist. She didn’t need to look to know.

“Sorry, man, I believe this one is taken.” Fred said to Marcus, who laughed bitterly.

“Oh, really now? Interesting, because from what I saw, you were sitting over there just a second ago, chatting with other chicks.”

            Elle could almost see them in a fisting fight, she turned around to look at Fred, whose jaw was clenched. She didn’t know, but it was somehow attracting her. Looking from Fred to Marcus and from Marcus to Fred, she waited what was going to happen, because all of a sudden it looked, like they didn’t see her at all. Oh damn…

“I believe it’s none of your business.” the red head said through gritted teeth. “Or is it now, love?” he looked at Elle, but the look on his face wasn’t as bitter as the words.

“But it is. You see, I was here talking with Karielle and I was just about to tell her, that my shift is finishing soon and well, you know. Maybe get some, because damn…” Marcus’s eyes darted down Elle’s body, a sly smile appearing on his face.

            Fred was getting ready to strike, the girl knew, she placed her hand on his chest to push him gently back. When his eyes fell on hers, she just shook her head a little. She had no idea, what she was doing, but one moment, she was paying in big bills for her drinks, and the other she was leading Fred across the dancing floor. She didn’t even glance back at Marcus.

            On the dancing floor, she looked around. Everyone was dancing. Elle almost felt like it too, but looking at the tall men in front of her, she licked her lips slowly and thought about what to say. That action, though, seemed to move something within Fred, because soon his arms were back around her waist. He pulled her closer, so her head was resting on his chest. Quarreling right now wasn’t an option, but she had no idea what he was doing.

            At that moment, a slow dance music started playing. It was like right on cue. Karielle looked around, being too smart to actually think it was just a coincidence. And there it was. Of course, Lee Jordan would be a DJ here! Why was it even surprising anymore? Near Lee, on the dancing floor, there was Hermione and George dancing, together with Harry and Ginny and Ron with Lavender…

“I’m sorry…” he breathed out into her hair, starting to rock their bodies in the rhythm of the music.

“What for?” Elle asked, looking up at him. She almost wanted to smile. Here was standing Fred Weasley, handsome as ever. “For breaking my attempts to try and move over you or for making me want to get drunk, so I would do a very bad attempt to try and move over you?” her voice was quiet, just for him to hear. When saying this, she couldn’t bare to look at him. She was feeling embarrassed admitting, that she was aware, that a fling might not have a been the greatest idea, because she knows really well, that she gets attached to people quickly.

She moved her hands to settle it behind his neck, so it wouldn’t look awkward when so many people left the dance floor for couples. Speaking of couples, her roommates and their boyfriends were dancing too. Interesting thing was, that no one really paid them any attention, or they were just very good at hiding it.

“Both, I would say.” he hummed, it also sounded really arrogant and Elle really fought the urge to roll her eyes.

Why did she love him anyway? Oh yeah! Because it was him. She just loved him. Even now. There was always something about him, even when they broke up, she just felt something for him. Besides sexual attraction, which was always there.

“Why do you still care, Fred? It didn’t work out.” she asked, perhaps because she wanted to believe that Fred wasn’t just possessive. Perhaps, he still felt something for her, like she felt for him.

“Why do you still care, Elle, then? You know, there is still something between us.” he said, this time softly. Not a bit of arrogancy anymore. It was like if they were six months ago, sitting on his bed in his apartment, cuddling and saying each other sweet nothings. Cliché, right? Cliché, it was. But what wasn’t a cliché when it came to relationship?

            Anyway, he was right. There was something between them. But she wasn’t sure, what exactly was he getting at. There were many things between them. Many kinds of attraction.

“Too much between us…” she murmured, almost sounding like giving up. Almost thinking the worst again.

“Positive things also…” he said back, looking down at her, searching for her eyes. When he caught them, either of them refused to break the eyes contact.

            Karielle didn’t now, what got into her, but she tiptoed and kissed him, slow short kiss. When she pulled away, it was her turn to search his eyes. He thought faster than her, however, kissing her once more this time more passionately and deeply. When needing a breath, Elle pulled away, her hand running through his hair.

            Both of them were suddenly aware of what they are going to do. Or more like what they might do. Realizing, they might always have some bad blood between them, both of them agreeing on falling into a relationship again, just through a communication with eyes and their body language. Both knew it was a risk. A huge risk. The damage this decision could make would be brilliantly large, maybe not being able to be repaired again. This could turn out to be very tragic, toxic or beautiful.

“This could hurt.” she whispered, knowing it all too well. She was, after all, very cautious of everything for her feelings not to be hurt.

“I know.” Fred replied, tilting his head, pulling her a bit closer to him. Their bodies pressed against each other. His hand wandering just a little bit under a hem of her dress, caressing her bare skin. His pupils dark with desire.

            Watching all these changes within him, Karielle could feel the changes within her body. She was slowly losing herself in him, to his touch, to his look. To everything.

“There may not be a way back. Once we will cross the line completely, you know, it’s all or nothing.” she said, trying to be very firm with this. Because she really didn’t want to have just a fling with him and then be broken hearted again.

            Fred leaned down to her neck and slightly exposed shoulder, kissing the skin, licking it and nipping on it. Elle closed her eyes, tilting her head, feeling the desire increasing in the pit of her stomach.

“It’s a risk worth taking.”

            The slow song stopped playing, being switched with a loud and faster one again. Lee was really getting bored with the slow dancing songs. He probably did it only for Fred to take on the chance. Many people came barging back onto the dance floor, few couples leaving it. But it didn’t change a thing between those two. Fred and Karielle. They were still in the same position and at the same intensity as before.

            Fred stopped kissing Elle’s neck, instead he started gently sucking on it, which made the girl tug at his hair, making him groan and suck harder.

“And no hickeys!” she said, her voice breathy.

“You really know, how to steal away guy’s guilty pleasure, love.” he murmured into her neck. His hand that was still on her waist, sneaking from the hem of her dress to her neck slowly, his fingers only ghosting over the skin. It was incredible, how this could be arousing, Elle had to bit onto her lip not to moan loudly. The moan quickly escaped, however, due to the hard suck on her neck caused by his lips. “Guys love to mark their girls.”

“Oh yeah?” she asked. “Ever thought that girls like that too?” she opened her eyes a little, staring at him through her lashes.

“Would you mind showing me? I remember something… But I’m not sure I remember it correctly.” he grinned down at her.

“Oh, you’re lucky, I got my nails done just yesterday…” she smirked at him, winking.

“Now, you really must show me!”

            Fred would have scooped Karielle up into his arms and held her bridal style, if there weren’t so many people around. She even forgot all about her jacket or her friends, however, she was sure, that they already knew, what was going on, where is she, who is she going to be with and that they might not be waiting for her with breakfast in the morning.

            Tonight, it’s a time for a risk worth taking! All or nothing!