Hiding won't hide it, smiling won't hide it, like I ain't tried it [Gabrielle, closed]

It was midday and Charlie could hear the drops of rain bouncing off of the window in his room. He was staying at the inn until further notice, and had paid for the entire week, there was no way he was staying in Danielle’s house. Even if it was offered, sleeping in a house with a baby would have been a nightmare. Not to mention he or Dani probably would have killed each other at some point. Charlie was lying on his bed, heads behind his head, stretched out. He wasn’t sure what to do, he had spoken to Danielle and Alec and seen Matthew. Charlie was so proud that he had inherited the metamorphmagus gene, he would teach ‘Matty’ all sorts of tricks. He didn’t particularly like his nickname, Matthew was alright but ‘Matty’ was just something he could imagine a grandmother calling their 30 year old son. It was cringe worthy.

Charlie shot up from the bed and swung his feet round and onto the floor. He didn’t know what he would do, but he would at least go out and walk around for a bit instead of staying in this stuffy room all day. He picked up his mahogany wand and glanced out of the window. He used to feel like he knew Woodberg like the back of his hand, it had changed a lot since the last time he was here. There was a new place called ‘The Highland’ there was nothing like that around when he was here and all of the people he used to know had moved away or passed on their business to someone else, or their sons or daughters. It was a shame, like he was out of his comfort zone and didn’t know where to start. Thankfully something was the same, the Amorcya mansion was still there, shockingly. Gabrielle and Michelle were great friends with Danielle.

Gabrielle was always off limits to him, it was a shame if he would have had the chance Charlie would’ve loved to have some sort of relationship with her. On the outside she seemed this hoity toity little rich girl but underneath all of that she was a funny, smart, beautiful and would be one day as successful if not more than her mother. She was everything he wanted and more, but it was a total no go area. Gabrielle had the label of ‘Sisters hot best friend’ it was annoying. Although it would be good to pay her a visit, hopefully she would be in, it was a weekend and she would either be at her house or Danielle’s probably. As he was walking out of the inn, the owner called him back and gave him an umbrella. Charlie thanked him and walked outside, putting the umbrella up he looked around, there wasn’t many people around, probably mostly muggles by the looks of it. He walked briskly through the rain, his wand stashed in his jeans back pocket, hidden underneath his jumper. As he passed ‘The Drunken Elf’, the mansion came into sight and he stopped. How was Gabrielle doing nowadays?

Charlie stepped up to the door and gave a sharp knock, if Janette Amorcya answered the door, he didn’t know how she would react. Danielle had affected everything more than she knew.

It was lunch time, and Gabrielle had ignored the several calls from her mother, telling her that lunch was ready. She was currently lying on her bed, listening to the rain pound against the roof. She could hear her mother calling up the stairs again, but still chose to ignore it. The truth was (and Janette Amorcya was probably unaware of this) that Gabrielle was actually extremely annoyed with her mother. For two reasons. The first was that Janette had found it necessary to wake Gabrielle up at the crack of dawn. The youngest Amorcya twin hadn’t even gone to bed until all hours of the morning. The second reason was that whilst Gabrielle had been sleeping, Janette had taken it upon herself to come into her daughter’s room and pick out an outfit she deemed “appropriate” for house wear. Gabrielle was, of course, wearing the outfit her mother had chosen, if only to avoid a fight. But Merlin be damned if she was going to go and have lunch with her mother and pretend that nothing was wrong. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Gabrielle listened carefully as the footsteps came closer to her room, coming to a stop outside her door. “Miss Gabrielle, Miss Janette has requested you join her in the dining room...” Gabrielle rolled her eyes.

“What, my mother can’t come and get me herself? She has to send one of the maids to do it?” Gabrielle asked as she pulled open her bedroom door to see the maid. The maid looked rather nervous. She must be new. “I am just doing what Miss Janette asked me, Miss Gabrielle...” Gabrielle rolled her eyes. “You can tell Miss Janette that I will not be having lunch with her today.” This made the maid look even more nervous, but Gabrielle ignored it as she closed her bedroom door again. She strode across the room to her bed again and sat down on the edge. After thinking for a moment, Gabrielle leaned forward and reached under her bed, pulling out a pair of shoes a moment later. She pulled the shoes onto her feet, and stood up. After a quick fix of her hair, Gabrielle grabbed a handbag off her dresser and walked back over to the bedroom door. She pulled it open in time to hear a sharp knock at the front door. Gabrielle rolled her eyes as she made her way to the stairs. She reached the top of the stairs just as her mother opened the front door. “Charlie! What a pleasant surprise...” Gabrielle heard her mother say.

Gabrielle frowned. Charlie? Who was Charlie? “Your sister not with you? I suppose she wouldn’t be, what with having to look after that child of hers...” Gabrielle detected a note of disapproval in her mother’s voice, and all at once she knew who the woman was talking to. Gabrielle hurried down the stairs as fast as she could without tripping on her heels. She jumped the last three steps, and turned towards the door. “Charlie!” she practically shouted, running to the door. Janette barely had time to step out of the way before Gabrielle had thrown her arms around Charlie’s neck.

As soon as the door began opening Charlie could feel his heart beat speeding up. A loud boom in his ears until he saw Gabrielle's mother greeting him. He could've sworn his heart stopped from the sheer terror of having to meet her once again. “Charlie! What a pleasant surprise...” Charlie smiled a little nervously, he hadn't planned what to say when Janette answered the door. What could he say? Sorry that my sister screwed her life up but don't worry she's not having an influence on Gabrielle in any way. “Your sister not with you? I suppose she wouldn’t be, what with having to look after that child of hers...” Charlie cringed, there was the first blow, like a stab in the stomach. Wonderful. This was what he was going to have to put up with for a while he may as well suck it up and get used to it.

"No. She's busy I'm afraid. Matthew is occupying her time for the moment. Would it be alright to-" All of a sudden Charlie heard something come thundering down the stairs at an alarming rate, screaming his name. A blonde blur leapt towards him and all he could do for a moment was simply smile. Gabrielle. She hadn't changed one bit. Well, apart from growing up a ton she was pretty much the same. Still as beautiful as ever. Probably just as off limits as she was before he left, if not more so due to the recent events his family had become involved in. Gabrielle had thrown herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, his arms were wrapped around her waist, hugging her. "Hello Gabrielle!" He paused for a moment and then seemed to realise how close they were in front of her mother.

Charlie gently pushed her away with a grin on his face. "What have you been up to then? Not so little anymore are you!" He looked her up and down with a smirk, she definitely was his sisters hot best friend. Charlie wouldn't miss her in a crowd, she would stand out from everyone else. He turned towards Janette, "I'm sorry for the embarrassment Danielle has caused the school and to her friends. My parents are trying to make the best out of the situation though." He looked at Janette sincerity in his eyes, he couldn't imagine what Janette thought of Danielle now. She was such an embarrassment and he was having to apologise for her.

"Gabrielle, do you want to wander about Woodberg with me? Go to the beach or something? I'm still getting used to everything, it's changed alot since I was here." Charlie smiled at Gabrielle, perhaps she wouldn't be so off limits anymore, hopefully.

Charlie smiled, and watched as Gabrielle spun round in front of him. Definitely not little anymore. She was gorgeous. 'Sister's best friend. 'Sister's best friend!' He chanted in his head, hoping it would sink in. Would she ever stop being so attractive to him. He heard Gabrielle gagging at his apology, he tried not to roll his eyes at her behaviour. That was something else to stop him from thinking about her in that way. Gabrielle was rather immature when in certain situations that was entirely inappropriate. “Oh, Charlie. It’s so kind of you to apologise for your sister’s mistake”, Charlie shrugged, tilting his head. 'Mistake?' He thought that was a bit harsh. “I am impressed that Danielle chose to remain at school, however. She was always such a smart girl. I am glad she is not letting this ruin her life.”

"Of course she would. She's a smart girl who loves her child and wants the best." Charlie nodded, "Dani couldn't ruin her life with that cute little sprog, you should meet him Janette, I think you'd fall in love. I think some people are just made to be parents. Don't you? I've seen some parents just leave their children all the time, they need to make that committment and I think Danielle just fits the bill. She may be young but I've seen her and she's a great mum" Charlie smiled, talking in that sugary sweet voice. He just couldn't help getting annoyed at that comment, Danielle was still his sister and he had to stick up for her. Who else would?

Gabrielle grabbed his hand and they walked out of the door. “Ugh, that... that woman!” Charlie laughed, hearing Janette shouting something behind them. "She's certainly a difficult woman!" He noticed her walking faster and faster, Charlie continued at the same pace. She could wait for him if she was going to walk ridiculously fast. Suddenly Gabrielle spun around and kept walking, backwards this time, “And you! Could you be a bigger suck up towards my mother? Merlin!” He scratched his head trying to think of the right answer. It would look so much worse if he had just barged in and dragged Gabrielle out without a word to her mother. "Gabriellel, people like your mother well. Just imagine what she would have said if I was completely rude to her. She probably wouldn't have let you go out with me. I'm meant to be making the family look a little better, not worse. One child having a bit of a problem is enough for now, they don't need someone being rude to all the people with an influence on the island. That'd be brilliant."

He caught up with her, grabbing her shoulder to spin her back around the right way. "Sorry Gabrielle. It's just all politics. My parents want me here to make this all look better for them. They're really embarrassed."