BEEP BEEP BEEP
"Uhnnn..." I moan as I smack the alarm clock soundly. I roll over and sigh. The bed is too warm to leave at this time in the morning. A few rooms away, I could hear the sound of running water. I sigh again and fall back to sleep.
Minutes later, I hear the sound of the door swishing open.
"Oi! Katie! You gunna get up or what?" I hear a male voice ask impatiently. I moaned into my crème colored pillow. The owner of the voice, with a towel wrapped loosely around his waist, padded over to my bed. He reaches out a lanky callused hand and places it on my blanket-covered shoulder, shaking me gently.
"Come on, Kates. You gotta get up and go to work," he said in a half-whisper.
"Mhnnmm, dun wanna," I moaned, shoving myself face first into my pillow. Sure it was a little hard to breath, but I really didn't want to get up.
"If you don't get up in the next 5 seconds, you'll regret it," the voice said menacingly. I huffed and sucked in air through my pillow, my breathing becoming a bit shallow.
"5...4...3...2.........1. Don't say I didn't warn you," the voice said. I tensed in preparation, but nothing came. I exhaled blissfully and turn my head to the side, facing my window.
Suddenly, I'm drenched in water, and I start thrashing about on the bed wildly.
"What the bloody hell is the matter with you?!" I screamed.
"Just making sure you got up," the voice said coolly. I have my eyes screwed shut, as my long wet bangs are plastered to my face. I ball my fists on my sides, and started to shake angrily.
"I was going to get up! But NO! You have to pour a freaking bucket of water on me! What is your problem?" I seethed. I am in no way a morning person, if you haven't guessed.
"No problem, just making sure you get to work on time. Now if you excuse me, I'll be getting dressed now," he said. My eyes fly open, and I see the retreating towel-clad rear of Oliver Wood.
I, Katie Bell have been living with Oliver Wood in the same apartment as roommates for about 2 years. Oliver is the official Keeper for the Puddlemere United Quidditch team, but he wanted to live simply, trying to discourage his fame from getting to him. I, on the other hand, work at a small boutique with my life-long friend, Alicia Spinnet. My other friend Angelina Johnson couldn't take all the girly girl-ness that the boutique offered, so she chose to be a trainer at the local gym.
"I'll get you for this Oliver!" I yelled, raising my wet shirted arms, then dropping them to my sides. I sigh and stalked into the bathroom.
The mirror was foggy, and there was a puddle of water near the edge of the shower. I hung up the wet towel that lay on the floor, and turned to my side of the bathroom. In the blue-toned bathroom, each roommate had their own side. Each side had a towel rack, a stainless steel bowl sink, and a mirrored medicine cabinet, and a series of drawers.
I opened up my medicine cabinet, and pulled out my toothbrush and some facial scrub. From the drawer on my left, I pulled out some toothpaste, floss, and a hair tie. I pulled my damp hair back from my face, and tied it loosely in a bun. I slowly began my daily regimen; 'slowly' being the operative word.
Toothbrush in mouth, I poked my head out of the bathroom door. I could see Oliver puttering around in the kitchen down the hall. I smile against the brush and padded into the kitchen, my sweat pants swishing softly as I move. Oliver had a grey Puddlemere muscle shirt on and he too wore black sweats. He was currently slaving over a hot skillet, making himself some scrambled eggs.
I looked around from behind him. Emptied and cracked egg shells sat near the sink, and to Oliver's left, the carton of eggs lay open. Oliver turned to get a plate from a cupboard, and saw me standing there, hot pink toothbrush in hand. Oliver smiled and pulled out an extra plate.
"Want some?" He asked, motioning to the eggs with a spatula. I nod vigorously and put my free hand to my stomach to emphasize my hunger. Oliver smiled and cracked open a few more eggs. I close my eyes, taking in the scent of the eggs frying and the sound of said eggs sizzling on the hot black pan.
I soon taste the toothpaste taste starting to fade, so I make my way leisurely back to the bathroom. I spit out a wad of frothy green foam and pick up a blue ceramic cup, filling it up with water, then taking a sip from it. I swished the water around in my mouth and spit it out. I splashed my face with water and began scrubbing my face with the cleanser.
"Breakfast is ready!" Oliver called down the hall. Being the multi-tasker that I am, while still scrubbing my chin and cheeks, I yelled an affirmation back. I cupped some water in my hands and splashed my face free of soap, and toweled my face dry. I stopped in mid towel. My towel was wet.
"OLIVER!"
I stormed into the dining room which conveniently shared a room with the kitchen. Oliver looked up at me innocently, his brown puppy dog eyes shining brightly. Oh Oliver...wait, no! I'm angry! Angry!
"What?"
"Quit using my towel when you shower! You can wash your own towels if you're that desperate!" I said huffily as I sat down opposite her roommate. Oliver forked a piece of egg and stuffed it in his mouth quietly. He eyed me while I shook some salt and pepper on my eggs. Apparently Oliver noticed I seem irritable this morning...
"What does it matter? You shower at night. Your towel is always dry by the time you need to use it," Oliver said in his own defense. He rose from his seat to grab some toast that just popped up. He added it onto the tall stack he had already made and sat back down.
"But it's the principle that counts! I don't want all your sweat remnants on my towel!" I said, watching Oliver dump two slices of toast on my plate. Ever my older bro. I pick it up and munch on it, looking at Oliver angrily.
"But there's no sweat on the towels. I mean, I just got out of the shower, so I'm clean!"
"Like I said before, it's the principle of the thing!"
Oliver shook his head as he downed some orange juice. He glanced at the clock and stood up.
"I'm gunna go. Don't want to be late, now do I?" Oliver asked, placing an extra emphasis on the word 'late.' He set the crumb-covered plate in the sink and washed his hands. I'm still looking straight ahead, angrily crunching the toast between my teeth. Oliver rolls his eyes like he always does, and smiles to himself. He rested his hands on the back of my chair and bends down.
"Have a nice day, Katie," he said, kissing me on the side of the forehead. I tried to stay angry, but I just can't fight the small smile tugging at my lips. Hey, you wouldn't be able to either! Man, Oliver is too sweet for his own good.
"Bye Oliver!" I called after him as I hear the door close.
To many, it would seem like Oliver and I definitely have a crush on each other, but us two roommates were nothing more than that – just roommates. Sure there had been a little chemistry between us in our final years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but there has been nothing but friendship since. My friends however, refuse to give up hope on us. Silly girls. Hmm. I wonder if the Weasley's are in on this too...
"Hullo, Katie!" Alicia called to me from behind the register. I closed the door loudly, the bell above my head tinkling softly. I removed her light jacket and placed it on a hook near Alicia's hand-knit scarf.
"Hi, Ali," I reply as I rotate my neck, hearing and feeling a few cracks as I did so. Man, I love cracking things. Makes you feel all nice and loose...
"How're you this fine morning?" Alicia asked. I eye her, then eye the pink mug in her hand.
"Woke up on the wrong side of the bed...And just how many cups have you had young lady?"
"...Three," Alicia admitted, blushing a light pink, which conveniently, was the color of the mug she was holding. I shake my head and laugh. Alicia is such an addict.
"So, what about you? Waking up on the wrong side of the bed?" Alicia asked, trying to steer the subject away from her caffeine addiction.
"I wasn't willing to wake up, so Oliver poured a bucket of water on me," I say, hoisting myself upon the counter and proceeding to sulk about it. Alicia laughed herself silly, then turned serious.
"My question...where did he get the bucket?" Alicia asked, following her question up by humming the Twilight Zone theme. I turned and chucked a pen at her, but Alicia dodged it easily.
"Oh I dunno...he IS a wizard after all," I said sarcastically. Honestly, sometimes Alicia is so dense...but then sometimes it's just an act. I rip off two pages on their day to day calendar and look down at the day.
"I hate Mondays," I sighed. Wow, I sure do sigh a lot.
"Oh cheer up, darling. We're getting a new shipment today!"
"We are? I didn't know that..." I frowned. I'm usually the one to inform Alicia that a shipment was coming in. Alicia smiled and shrugged, then looked at the clock. It was 8 AM, time to open. I looked up as well, eyeing the clock. Alicia and I exchanged looks and jumped for the door. I jumped off the counter top and Alicia hurdled over a box. We slapped each other's hands away, vying for room.
"Hah!" I cried out triumphantly as I flipped the sign in the window of the door from 'Closed' to 'Open.' It's always a small competition 'tween me and Alicia to see whose faster. Alicia frowns, but I think she decides that I needed the small triumph to keep me from getting too grumpy. It's been known to happen.
"Want a cup?" Alicia asked, holding up a half-empty coffee pot. No one ever came around the store that early, so it was basically free time for us girls. I nod without looking up. Alicia poured the dark coffee into a light grey mug, and set it down in front of me.
"Whatcha looking at there?" Alicia asked, craning her neck over my shoulder to see. Two pages were taken up with one picture of a hot, topless brunette, posing and shifting slightly, smiling and winking occasionally.
"Oliver?" Alicia asked incredulously. Apparently, she never knew Oliver had such a nice upper body, for her mouth opened slightly in awe. I turn and see Alicia about to drool all over the magazine. I bring up a finger and pushed her mouth closed.
"This was from a photo shoot he did a little while ago," Katie explained, flipping to the cover. The cover had a picture of Oliver, and two men neither Alicia nor I recognized, shifting around, smiling cutely. To the side, under the name 'Quidditch Weekly' there were a few teasers. The largest one, in bolded red font read, 'Top 20 Sexiest Quidditch Stars.' I flipped back to the centerfold of Oliver, and scanned over the caption.
"Puddlemere United Keeper Oliver Wood is quite the young man. He's the youngest, highest paid Keeper in Puddlemere history, but he's quite the modest mouse. (AN: Dumb, I know I know) He lives in a one floor flat with one roommate, living in a somewhat Spartan style. But for his raw talent and dashing good looks, this Scot comes in at number two," I read aloud. I guffawed at his rather prestigious title. Great, now he'd have women crawling all over him, trying to bed him right and left. I sneer in disgust. That's just what I want; a bunch of floozies hanging around my apartment, treating me like shit. Not to mention having to find panties hanging from the ceiling. I shudder at the thought.
I idly turned the page to see who held the number one spot. A tall, thin blonde boy holding a towel around his waist with one hand and ruffling his wet blonde hair with his other smiled innocently at the two girls. I frowned.
"Oliver is cuter than him," I say, turning to Alicia. Alicia grinned like the Cheshire cat.
"Oh shut up Alicia. I don't think about him that way," I said to Alicia, who just looked at me, her eyes flashing.
"But still, quite the honor," Alicia said aloud. I murmured my agreement. Then a loud tap interrupted us. Two sets of eyes snapped up to see a rugged face at the back window.
"Boris!" Alicia greeted the unshaven man. The man walked in, carrying three boxes stacked precariously on top of one another. He set them down with a large huff. I look fondly at the Russian Squibb bending down next to me. Boris righted himself and flashed a toothy yellow smile.
"'Ello there Kehtie," he said, his accent nice and strong.
"Hello Boris, what have you got for us today?" I asked politely, following him out to the truck parked in the deserted alley behind the store. Boris shrugged and picked up a clipboard, handing it to Alicia. I pulled out my wand from the back pocket of my jeans. Jeans- whoever created them...genius.
"Wingardium leviosa!" I say, thrusting my wand out at the boxes. The heavy looking boxes rose like feathers into the air, and followed me inside the back room. Boris grunted as Alicia handed the clipboard back to the man.
"Bye Boris! See you in a few weeks!" Alicia said, waving energetically as Boris got inside his truck and backed out of the alley. I closed the door behind her, locking it securely. Alicia and I picked up a few boxes and brought them to the front by the counter where the magazine lay open. I linger a bit, staring at Oliver's lean, muscular form.
"He's cute, isn't he?" Alicia prompted, giggling slightly.
"I suppose," I admit as I tear open a box and pull out a few garments.
"You suppose? What are you blind or something? He's absolutely gorgeous!" Alicia exclaimed, dropping a box haphazardly by my foot. I shoot her a glare but she's busy working her fingers under the edge of the box.
"Alright, he's nice looking," I agree as I take out some hangers and began to hang the skirts up on a nearby rack.
"So...You feel anything?"
"What?"
"You know...Do you have any feelings towards Oliver?"
"I don't have a crush on him, if that's what you mean," I say harshly as I picked up another wooden hanger. I hate it when people ask me that. Just because we're roommates doesn't mean we're intimate with each other!
"Oh but you should see you two when you're together! You look so cute together, not to mention your personalities match each other perfectly!" Alicia exclaimed. I snort, remembering our fight over the towel earlier that morning.
"Oh come on, you know I'm right," Alicia chided me. Suddenly, a small tinkling came at the door. I thanked the Gods silently as we rose to greet the customers.
Hours later, I hung up a different sign. I played with the hands of the miniature clock until it said "Be back at 2," Alicia looked down at her wristwatch. We had a little over an hour and a half for lunch.
"So where do you want to go?"
"We can grab a bite at the Puddlemere club house," I suggest.
"Oh, and if you happen to see Oliver there..." Alicia said, grinning.
"Shut up, Alicia. Let's go get Ange," I said before apparating with a small pop. Even if I wasn't there, I could just see that Alicia grinned wider and apparated after me.
Angelina looked up from her client to see Alicia and I appear near her desk. She waved at us and held up five fingers, meaning she'd be there in five minutes. Alicia nodded and I looked around. They had remodeled. I see a small bamboo tree in one corner, looking a bit out of place, and I can't help but snort. Going for the Feng Shui look I see.
"Can I help you ladies?" A cool male voice came from behind us. We jumped at the sound and whirled around, facing a large, toned man, who was smirking seductively.
"No, just waiting for a friend," Alicia mumbled as they started to turn around again. I looked down at his exposed arms. Ew, vein arms! Gross!
"Well, if you need any help or if you have any questions, my name is Caleb and I'll be right over here," he said, backtracking to a cluttered desk. I rolled my eyes and turned around while Alicia smiled politely.
"Oi, sorry, was with a client," Angelina said as she jogged up to us
"S'alright. So you wanna head to the club house for a spot of lunch?" I suggest. Angelina nodded and followed Alicia and I into an open area. We all concentrated and promptly disappeared.
We popped up in the middle of a semi-crowded room. I looked around and I can feel my eyes widen in happiness as I sprint over to a window-side table. It was the last one left in the room. My two friends followed me over, talking idly about their days and their jobs. We seated ourselves in the plush leather chairs around a square mahogany table and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window.
Blue robed men flew about on broomsticks, hurling balls of various sorts at each other, while two flew above the rest, looking around for the snitch.
I cheered softly when Oliver dove and returned the quaffle with the end of his broom. Alicia and Angelina looked at each other, small smiles playing across their features. They better not say anything fresh!
"So what can I get for you ladies tonight?" a familiar male voice asked. We turned to see the familiar face of our favorite waiter, Marty.
"Hi, Marty! How are you?" Alicia asked beaming. The casually dressed waiter smiled back. He was pretty decent looking, although it was common knowledge his girlfriend was the bartender. I think everyone was afraid to make a move on the lad for fear of being poisoned from their drinks. So we just threw back the line and hoped we'd catch another 'fish.'
"I'm fine and yourselves?" He asked us. We all agreed that they were good.
"Hmm...I'll have a coke," Alicia said. Angelina stared at her for a minute before saying she wanted lemonade.
"I'll have a margarita," I said. Marty nodded and left the table.
"Alcohol this early?" Angelina asked incredulously. I looked over at her and narrowed my eyes.
"It's Monday. Monday's aren't my day," I growled as I looked back outside, focusing on Oliver.
Sorry it took so long to post guys. I just wanted to finish this before I posted. Sooo....HERE IT IS. My goal for this story is to get 200 reviews, so please guys! Tell a friend and review too! Happy reading!
BTW- A BIG thank you to my girl Phyreprincess who kept me going. Thank you!!!!
Love,
English-Foxlette
Also, You know I don't own the characters and stuff right? ;-)