It's Better If You Do

"I don't know how on earth they come up with such things," murmured Rose as they looked at the famous London Eye; the ferris wheel was over four hundred feet tall, with oval compartments and glass lookouts that offered a three hundred and sixty degree view to see the the city.

"Well, they need some adventure, I'm guessing," Fred replied, smiling knowingly at her.

She smiled wryly at him. "That's different. Muggle contraptions such as that are not reliable. They break down, the glass could break, and another large number of things that would result in death. No thank you."

Fred raised his eyebrows and remembered how she had rosen to the challenge earlier; smiling wickedly, he said lightly, "You're just scared."

Sure enough, she turned around in the feet directly to face him, and growled, "I am not."

"I bet you couldn't get in it. You'd be way too chicken." Fred challenged.

Her eyes darkened, and a grim smile pulled up the corners of her mouth. If he was being honest with himself, it scared him a little. But, he didn't have much time to think about that, because she jerked him to his feet, grabbed her wand from the waistband of his jeans, turned and he gasped loudly as the familiar sense of apparation came over him. They were standing at the end of a line, and above them was the London Eye. She looked up at him defiantly, and he shook his head, grinning. "You're really something."

The red spilled across her cheeks, but not as much as it had been yesterday. She smiled, and said loftily, "You're not too bad yourself."

Laughing, he wanted to hug her, or kiss her; something. So, he settled for her hand, since it was only the second day he'd known her, and he wasn't sure how well she'd take his fowardness. Rose smiled softly at their hands intertwined, and moved forward as the line moved. She'd prove him wrong, and he'd realize though she was small, she was capable of being a dare devil, too.

"So," she turned to him. "Are you afraid of heights?"

"Not at all. George and I were beaters on the quidditch team for five years. You can't be scared of heights when you're keeping bludgers away," He paused. "That was on the one annoying thing about the TriWizard tournament: no quidditch." Fred grimaced dramatically, and Rose laughed.

"I've never played quidditch," she admitted quietly. "I'm too clumsy, and our parents never thought it was too safe. Bellamy's never been athletic either, so it was just sort of a moot point."

He jaw dropped, and his eyes bugged out a little. "No quidditch?"

She pressed her lips together to hold back laughter, and repeated, "No quidditch."

"You don't even pay attention to the Quiberon Quafflepunchers?" Fred asked, sounding like a small child losing his teddy bear.

"Who?" Rose asked, with a shocked laugh. He hung his head in defeat, and she reached up, patting his hair gently, surprised at how soft it was. "Awww, it'll be alright."

"I need to teach you. George and I will teach you the rules, regulations, and how to play. Clumsy you may be, but we'll fix it," he said firmly, a fevered glow in his eyes.

"Alright," she laughed, growing more and more fond of Fred. "You can teach me."

They smiled at each for a moment, both quite happy with the way things were going. There hadn't been any tension, and they were learning more and more about each other. It was, all in all, a pleasant day so far.

"Excuse me, sir? Do you have a ticket?" a voice asked, snapping them both back to reality. He had strolled down the line, and was giving them a rather disdainful look.

Rose tapped his arm, and shook her head, and then smiled charmingly at the bored man, handing him a galleon. His eyes widened almost comically, and she winked, "It's a private tour."

He nodded quickly, and said, "Right. Well, here," The man gestured towards an empty capsule, and they walked forward, both grinning, while they listened to the angry protests of the people in line behind them. Rose and Fred laughed loudly as soon as the doors shut, almost choking after a moment or two.

"Oh my- That was the funniest thing ever." Rose wheezed, wiping tears of mirth off of her cheeks.

"Did you see his face? It was priceless." Fred agreed, finally able to catch a breath, grinning widely.

Smiling proudly, she said, "I must have surprised him with that money."

He snorted, knowing the real reason. With her hair in a messy state that was cute and sexy, her legs long and shapely in the shorts, and the scoop neck of her shirt... he shook his head. She was utterly beautiful. She gave him a questioning look, to which he shook his head.

She shrugged, and turned to the glass and was slightly taken aback at how high they already were. Biting her lip, she took a few timid steps toward the window, ready to jump back at any moment. He watched her, smiling tenderly.

"You alright?" he asked softly, ready to come behind her at any sign of distress. She shook her head quickly, and he walked up behind her, looking out at the city. The higher they got, the more of the sky they saw, and it looked as if all the clouds had been scrubbed away, leaving the sky a clear, bright blue that reminded him of summers at the Burrow.

Rose was in another country entirely, thinking of laying out on the green grass behind her house, reading a book and chatting back and forth with Bellamy as her sister tried in vain to get a tan. That was how she had gotten her freckles, and it caused Rose to smile everytime she looked at her.

Inching closer to the edge, she pressed her hands lightly to the glass, looking down. She gasped, "It's so small. Everything looks like toys, and the people like beetles."

Fred gave a chuckle. "They do. It gives you some perspective. Shows you that you're just another one out there. If you don't make your story big, then you'll just be forgotten."

She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. "You and your standing out."

He lightly touched her cheek, and said, "Well, some of us don't do it naturally like you do."