Reputation

Chapter 14: Reputation

Summer 1994

Age 16

"What the hell happened to you? How did you manage to injure every single one of your toes?" George asked, gazing incredulously at his friend's sandaled feet. They were walking down the street next to the park in the village, bored and searching for entertainment. The sun had just set, leaving the clouds in the sky livid.

Annie wiggled her blood-red toes within her shoes. "It's called nail polish, dufus."

George smirked. "They look positively gory," he praised her. "Since when did you get so girlie?"

"Some of us mature as time passes," she retorted.

Fred laughed. "You'll have to excuse my brother, Annie. George still thinks all girls have cooties."

"Shut it! Like you know any better," George said with a forceful shove to his brother.

"Actually, I've recently discovered a few things girls are rather useful for," Fred answered, stumbling a step before righting himself.

"Watch it, Fred. Don't make me defend the honor of my entire sex," Annie warned him jokingly.

Something about hearing Annie say that word made George want to giggle. He smothered that embarrassingly immature feeling immediately with a quick swallow.

"No offense intended, I assure you," his brother said, patently lying. "Girls are excellent at lots of things. Better than me at loads of stuff – like school for one. Or wearing skirts." For emphasis, he knocked at the back of Annie's own rarely seen but currently exposed knees with his foot, making them buckle.

That is unusual, George agreed silently. Instead of her typical jeans, Annie was wearing a skirt made of denim, pleated in a style vaguely similar to the girls' uniform skirt at school. This one looked better, though; a bit more stylish, in his opinion. The ones at school were absolutely dreadful.

"This list had better get a lot longer, and quick," Annie threatened Fred, brandishing a fist in his direction. "And should not be limited things like cooking and cleaning, if you know what's good for you."

"But you're really good at those things, Annie. You have loads of domestic talents. What's wrong with that? Nothing to be ashamed of," Fred taunted her in a smarmy voice.

Annie halted, planting her feet. "I'm better than you at just about anything you care to name, Fred Weasley, including standing up to pee," she huffed, hands on her hips.

"Ha! How about kissing, then?" Fred dared her.

Annie rolled her eyes disdainfully, then started walking again. "Grow up."

"Like you've ever," George chimed in as well. Where is all this rubbish coming from? What's Fred on about? he wondered. They'd always ribbed each other about every little thing, but never about... kissing.

"You don't know everything about me, George," Fred snapped, clearly annoyed with George's lack of support.

George snorted in disbelief. As if....

"For your information, I have kissed a girl, which is more than I can say for either of you two gits." Fred folded his arms, getting defensive. He sat down in a swing with a huff.

"Why would I want to kiss a girl?" Annie asked, purposely misunderstanding him.

Fred stuck his tongue out at her for her mockery.

"In your dreams," George taunted, nearly at the same time. He's lying! he thought with confidence that was beginning to waver slightly.

"Actually, it was in the library... last spring. With Allison Stewart," Fred boasted.

"Bullshit! She's a seventh year!" cried George. What the bloody hell is he trying to pull?

"I know mate! I was a bit shocked myself! She just... sort of... cornered me. Said I was really cute...." His brother smiled with the memory of it.

"When the hell did you ever set foot in the library?" protested George, suddenly nervous. He wracked his brain to think of any significant span of time they'd spent apart during the last school year. Since when were they keeping things like this a secret from each other?

"Doesn't sound as if there were any reliable witnesses to this supposed kiss. How convenient for you." Annie added, sounding rather dubious herself.

"Don't be jealous, Annie! There's plenty of Fred to go around. I'll still be your first, if you like," Fred teased smugly as he let go of the chain and reached out to take her hand. He puckered his lips like a dying fish.

Annie shoved him away roughly, making the chain rattle and Fred chuckle. "You're nearly a year too late, dork," she informed him. She strolled casually over to a merry-go-round nearby, spun it forcefully, then hopped on.

Annie, too? George was getting increasingly uncomfortable with this conversation. It was extremely disturbing to think his twin brother and best friend had spent the last year snogging people without his knowledge. And he had... well, he had not. "Are you still running, Annie?" he asked, attempting to redirect them.

"Yeah," she answered, sounding eager to change the subject as well.

"Away from all the boys, obviously, George," Fred baited her.

Annie smiled at Fred with dangerous sweetness. "I can sure as hell outrun you."

The hairs on the back of George's neck stood up at the knife-edge tone in Annie's voice as she challenged his brother.

"Care to prove it?" asked Fred with all the machismo he could summon.

But George heard the slight hesitation in his brother's voice and was willing to bet Annie did, too. He smiled in anticipation of the imminent battle. This promises to be entertaining.

"Name the time and place you can stand to be humiliated," she taunted him without reservation, throwing down the gauntlet.

"What's wrong with here and now? Unless you're chicken..." Fred replied coolly.

George could see Fred knew he was trapped with no escape and was coasting on bravado alone at this point. A part of him was hoping Annie would teach Fred a lesson – he nearly always deserved to get taken down a peg or two, after all. But he felt a little traitorous, taking so much enjoyment from watching his brother squirm.

"Nothing at all," Annie said with a confident shrug. She began to remove her sandals, which were unfit for running.

George was momentarily distracted by her red toes now standing out against the green grass. Her feet looked far too small and delicate to be up for the challenge. He and his brother were wearing trainers, after all. Doesn't quite seem fair, really, he thought with a tiny pang. Then again, Fred gave her every chance to back down. Typical Annie not to do so, though.

"First one to reach the far end of the park – that sign over there – wins," she said.

"That far?" asked George, slightly concerned. It went without saying that anything Fred did, George was expected to do as well. Plus, family honor was at stake now, and even though it was all in fun, George wasn't about to leave his brother without a second for support. He and Fred would definitely have an advantage in a sprint, he reckoned, but over longer distances....

"Winner gets what...? A kiss?" teased Fred, presumably attempting to make her think twice about the dare.

"Why would I reward the loser and punish the winner?" she cried, hands on her hips.

George laughed nervously. Though exactly why he felt nervous at the moment was unclear to him. Why does he keep banging on about kissing tonight, anyway?

"Ouch! Okay, just for bragging rights, then," Fred said with a laugh. "Ready?"

Annie nodded, accepting the terms of the contest. All three of them toed an imaginary line.

"Steady?" George asked.

Annie looked over at him and winked. "GO!" she yelled.

The three of them flew across the flat expanse of the park. Fred and George's equally long legs carried them farther per stride, but Annie's strength and training kept her neck and neck with them the entire way. She forced them to run flat out, that was for sure.

There was no clear winner by the time they reached the finish line. All three doubled over, sucking in air for several minutes before they were able to speak again. At which point they started laughing.

"You know... kissing isn't... so bad.... You should... let a boy... catch you... sometime..." Fred teased her as he struggled to breathe.

"Oh, I know... it isn't.... It was just... the idea of... kissing you, Fred," she giggled.

George bellowed with laughter. "Good one, Annie!" He held out his hand to her, and she high-fived it gently.

Annie started walking back to the starting line to collect her shoes. The boys quickly caught up with her, taking turns bumping her with their shoulders into the other one. She shoved each one back in turn. Both boys kept on walking slowly as she paused to put her shoes back on. Afterward, she jogged a few paces to catch up, then launched herself with a leap up onto Fred's back.

"Argh! A little warning would be polite," he complained as he caught her knees with his hands to support her weight, stumbling for a moment.

"Suck it up, wimp. She can't be that heavy – she's barely four feet tall," George teased his brother.

"Shut up, George!" Annie complained. "I'm five-two now!"

"It's not the weight – it's the force of the impact," Fred groaned, then yelped as his earlobe was pinched.

"Isn't that a pretty picture," called out a female voice from a picnic table a short distance away. It was dripping with venom, unfriendly to the utmost degree.

"Excuse me?" Annie turned toward the voice, easing herself down off Fred's back. She squinted into the darkness, trying to make out the source of the malice in the dimness, and took several steps forward.

"You heard me, slag," snarled the voice.

Annie recognized the girl now: a particularly stupid one from school had been seated at the table and was rising from it threateningly. She was tall and solidly built, but otherwise unremarkable. Annie had heard through the rumor mill that this one had had a big crush on Geoff last year, but she had never spoken a direct word to her in her life. At the time, Geoff had made it clear to anyone who would listen that he was uninterested.

Annie took several more steps closer to the table. She had completely forgotten the fact that anyone else was with her. Nothing registered apart from the threat emanating from the girl in front of her.

"Care to say that to my face?" she answered in a soft, threatening voice.

"Run yourself through all the boys at school, have you? Casting yourself about for something new? You disgusting whore," the girl baited Annie malevolently.

Annie felt hot blood gush out of her gut and into her limbs – and had little motivation to subdue it at the moment. Perhaps some of those vicious school rumors about her, the dirty looks launched her way, might be avenged tonight.

She noticed a few other girls rising to stand near the big girl. She hadn't realized before that there was a group of them at the table. But Annie didn't care. No matter – collateral damage, if they're stupid enough to get involved.

Her breath was coming in rapid gulps, oxygenating her blood for the imminent attack. Her mind emptied of everything but the immediate battle to come. Her muscles tensed as she shifted her weight slightly to the balls of her feet in preparation to spring. Her hands curled themselves into fists, throbbing with the craving for impact. She took several more steps forward, ready to engage the enemy.

Annie was startled by a hand on her arm that suddenly yanked her backwards.

"Now, now, ladies. Let's all be civil, shall we?" warned Fred, standing a few feet to the left side of her.

"Step off, Annie. She's not worth it," whispered George, maintaining his grip on her arm. He turned his back on the group of girls strategically arranging itself and faced her instead, standing firm between them.

"I'm gonna to put my fist through her fucking teeth!" Annie shouted as she ducked her head around him, glaring at the girl. She pushed back against George with her arms, forcing him to take a step backward.

"You and what army, bitch?" the girl retorted.

"You're the one with the army, you bloody cow!" Annie spat back at her.

She kept trying to get around George, but he continued blocking her with his arms and body. She didn't want to hurt him, but if he didn't get out of her way soon....

George was now having some difficulty restraining his friend. He and his brother had learned a long time ago that there was some strange reserve of strength she could tap into when angry, and he realized she was definitely connected to it now. "Annie! Leave it!" he hissed quietly, reluctant to get much more physically forceful with her.

"Let go of me!" Annie snarled at him in a whisper. Frustratingly, every time she got one arm free, the other one was captured. Against her wishes, he had forced her to take several steps backward at this point. "I'm warning you, George...."

"Lovely manners with a face to match," growled Fred toward the big girl as he took a few steps backwards to help George restrain Annie's nearly murderous rage. "Pleasure to meet you. See you next Tuesday, all of you."

"That's right," the girl called out after the retreating trio of friends. "You'd better get that slut out of here! She won't be in any state to fuck you if I get my hands on her!"

Annie screamed and clawed at the body between her and her prey, finally breaking free of George's grip. In the instant of freedom that followed, she stumbled for two steps, righted herself, then lunged toward the insulting girl, sneering with pleasure at the look of shocked fear that crossed her intended victim's face. She roared in triumphant anticipation as the girl panicked, taking several quick steps backward, then fell on her backside.

Fred grabbed her from behind just as Annie was about to pounce, pinning her arms and dragging her away from the confrontation. Kicking and howling, Annie spewed threats and epithets at the girls who now stood stunned and speechless. Working together, the brothers managed to turn her around, each firmly holding one of Annie's arms, and marched her out of the park between them.

"Damn, Annie! What the hell was that?" Fred demanded once they were seated in a chip shop a few blocks away.

They had all three been silent during the walk away from the park to this place. George had just set a basket of food and some drinks on the table, then scooted himself into the booth as well. Annie sat between them in the back, staring with sullen anxiety at the table.

"Just a few of my charming schoolmates," she answered bitterly, biting her lip. She felt sick to her stomach, which was roiling full of a cocktail of nervous worry and adrenaline. What must Fred and George think of me? What if they believe that girl?

"Leave her alone," George ordered his brother. This is who Annie is forced to go to school with? They're as bad as than any Slytherins! he marveled.

He thought he could see tears beginning to well up in her eyes and had no clue what to do if she started to cry. Other than run back to the park and murder that herd of horrid girls, that is. He shook off the thought of them and returned his focus to his friend. He couldn't remember when he had seen her this upset. Not in a long time, at least.

They sat quietly for several minutes. Neither boy had any idea what to say. Fred began munching on the food.

"I'm not like that. What she said," Annie said quietly.

"Of course you're not!" cried George, astonished she could entertain the notion they could think something like that about her. They'd known each other for more than half their lives at this point. He granted he might not know much, but he reckoned he understood what a whore was, at least, and Annie was the furthest thing from it. The idea was utterly preposterous.

"Don't be ridiculous," added Fred dismissively. After a moment, he continued. "You're so cute, I bet all the girls at school are jealous of you," he said as he gently punched her in the arm.

Annie snorted at Fred with his mocking smirk. "You're so full of it...."

"Don't take my word for it, then. Isn't she cute, George?" prompted Fred with a grin.

"Cute as a bug," he agreed, laughing cheerfully. Smile, Annie, he encouraged her silently. Shake it off, mate....

"A cute little cockroach," Fred teased, using his arm to deflect a retaliatory slap to the head from Annie.

"I was thinking more along the lines of dung beetle," George laughed as he caught the playful fist she threw at him in his hand.

"An adorable little bloodsucking tick," sang Fred, quickly spinning his legs from under the table, out of kick range.

"The most charmingly annoying mosquito," George said as he swatted her pinching fingers off his arm.

Annie giggled. "Both of you can kiss my..."

"Have a chip, will you?" George interrupted as he tossed one at her head.

Annie caught it in mid-flight with her mouth and smiled.