Beneath the Mask, by Amadah
Katie - age 21.
Disclaimer: -cries- Unfortunately Harry Potter and his friends are not mine, but J.K Rowling's. Not even Oliver. :( But you knew that already.
CHAPTER ONE: Raining on Sunday
I parted the curtains to take a quick glance outside – still raining. Not that I really had to check when the sound of rain drops pattering upon my window was perfectly audible. I let out a sigh and allowed the curtains to fall back into place as I made my way to the small living room of my apartment, where I sunk into my squishy little couch. It was Sunday and tomorrow I would be returning to work. I hated how I always seemed to waste my free time, but I simply couldn't find anything useful – or even fun – to do. I looked miserably around the room and hated myself more; empty beer bottles seemed to litter the floor and a few half empty ones consumed the space of my tiny counter, along with numerous packs of cigarettes. My trash was overflowing and dirty dishes dating to almost a week ago still sat in my sink.
Disgusting. Yet I could never manage to summon enough will to get off my ass and do some work around here. I glanced at the simple digital clock – a gift from a Muggle relative – on the wall and saw that I must have slept in; it was almost noon. Wondering what time Doug must have left my bed and apartment, I was a bit shocked to see a 50 lying on the coffee table at me feet. I scowled at the money. So was I becoming a prostitute as well a drunk? I knew perfectly well that I most likely would never see his face again. A one-night stand, I guess. If possible, I sunk even deeper into the couch and closed my eyes. What the hell was wrong with me? There seemed to be a new man in my bed every other night, most which I never learned their names.
I was a whore. Simple as that. And I certainly wasn't proud of being known at a local club for getting my shag on. Well, it was my mask that was known for it actually.
The Corrupted were pretty much a secret – though it had plenty of members – society hidden away in Riverford where people could go and party any time they wanted, since it never closed. Everyone wore masks and rather then having their reputation attached to their face and name, it was the mask we used for that. If someone wanted to wear a different mask, no one would know who it was. Usually people stuck to just one though, including me. I was one among a rather large group of what we called Regulars; those who regularly came to the Den. The Den was the location where The Corrupted met to party and whatnot. I guess you could just call us a big group of sluts and druggies wasting time, but there were plenty of what we called Casuals: those who would come and drink only one beer, only dance with one partner. And as long as you knew how to be in one of these types of clubs, no one would get hurt, as it was a fairly dangerous place. No matter how seemingly innocent it appeared from the outside.
The Den was where I was headed now. Though I had to admit, it wasn't nearly as much fun in the daylight as it was during the dark hours of lovely night. Pushing myself up from the couch, I retrieved my mask from it's usual spot beneath a floor board – The Corrupted always encouraged the idea of hiding your mask, should you run into a bit of trouble with the Ministry. Riverford was a Wizarding city, but a lot of the same laws that applied to Muggles went for us as well. The Corrupted didn't want to chance being discovered due to the carelessness of it's members.
My mask was actually a bit simple compared to some of the highly elaborate ones people wore to the Den. It only covered the top portion of my face – leaving my nose, lips and chin exposed – and it was gold in color but also sported small, black feathery designs. The areas around the holes for my eyes were lined with white glitter, and protruding from the top of my mask was a bundle of long, black fluffy feathers. After setting it aside for the moment, I went into my closet and slid on a strapless dress. It was cream-colored, dusted with multicolor polka dots. A pink ribbon lined the waste of a shirred bodice and the dress wasn't too short, reaching me knees. I felt comfortable in it, thought it certainly wasn't your standard clubbing outfit; then again, The Corrupted wasn't as much a club as it was a, let's say, gathering of acquaintances. Then add the beer, the music, the masks...And there you have The Corrupted. The name itself was merely for fun.
After applying a modest layer of lipstick and having a quick round with the hairbrush, finally I fit the mask to my face. Briefly I inspected myself in the full length mirror that was hanging somewhat awry upon the spine of my bedroom door. My mask definitely clashed with my dress, and if I had been going anywhere but the Den, I would've cared. As it was, no one of The Corrupted gave a damn about clashing colors. If anything, they favored it.
Just then I heard a faint pop and instinctively ripped the mask from my face, tossed it aside, and turned to the fireplace where I was not surprised to see the head of my friend Jenny, floating within the flames.
"What's up?" I said quickly, hoping she hadn't seen anything. She was also my partner at The Bellsong, the shop where I worked, and she lived a couple doors down from me.
"Hi. A few people just came knocking at my door looking for you. They had the wrong address I guess, but I told them where to go," Jenny told me. "I hope you don't mind." Strange, I thought. I couldn't think of anyone who would be looking for me.
"Did they tell you who they were?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound anxious. Jenny shook her head, but grinned.
"No," she replied, her teeth flashing against her tan skin, "but I must say, the guy was extremely handsome. Two girls were with him."
I was definitely stumped.
"Well thanks, but I just have no idea who – " I was interrupted by a knock at the door. Jenny nodded and disappeared with another pop. Still wondering who in the world it could be, I proceeded to answer the door. My jaw dropped.
"Hello, Katie," Said Angelina Johnson. All I could do was gape like a fool at the three people standing before me: Angelina, Alicia Spinnet and Oliver Wood. I glanced at him and instantly averted his eyes. I felt as if someone had dumped a freezing cold bucket of water on me. The Oliver Wood. The Oliver Wood that I hadn't seen since Hogwarts. The one I had crushed on for all of my teen years, the one who I had granted my virginity willingly to, only to never speak to him again.
Yeah. That Oliver Wood. Surprisingly enough, that little incident seemed to resemble my entire life right now.
"Hello, Katie... this is kind of weird standing here with you not saying anything," I head Alicia say. Suddenly I fell back into reality.
"Erm, sorry about that," I said hastily, feeling like a complete and total moron. "What are you doing here?" Nice job Kate, I thought wryly. I was doing a great job at achieving the manners of shit.
"Well not that it's bad," I added quickly. I wasn't sure if that was a lie or not. I decided it was.
"We're paying you a surprise visit, of course," said Angelina, seemingly unaware of my discourtesy. I forced a smile and thought, not for the first time, what the hell is wrong with me! These were my friends that I hadn't seen in ages, yet all I could do was ask them why they were here and feel annoyed that my trip to the Den would be delayed, if not cancelled.
"Well – well it's wonderful to see you," I said blankly. Yup. Definitely the manners of shit. Much to my embarrassment and vexation, I noticed the three eying my outfit. Alicia's face split into a grin.
"Going somewhere?" She asked, though what she really meant was quite obvious: Do you have a date or something?
This time my smile was real; I couldn't help it.
"No, I am not going on a date, Alicia Spinnet," I said in an exasperated tone of voice. Angelina giggled.
"So you always dress like this, eh? The long-time tomboy Katie Bell now lives in a dress," she said jokingly. "It really doesn't look that bad though," she added on a more serious note.
"Thanks," I muttered, feeling rather embarrassed that my friends seemed to be evaluating me. I glanced at Oliver again, who still hadn't said anything. It looked as though he was finding his hands very interesting indeed. He doesn't look that bad either, I thought approvingly. That still didn't change what I felt towards him. And what I felt towards him was far, far from love. Probably closer to hatred on my love-hate bar. Probably on hatred.
"So...want to show us your apartment?" Said Angelina tentatively, as if sensing the shift in my mood.
"Uh..." I thought of my huge heap of dishes, dirty clothes, and overflowing garbage can – as well as the beer bottles and cigarettes that trashed the floor. What would they think of me when they saw the mess that was my life? My thoughts sped up and suddenly I blurted out, "well I just had a party so it's kind of messy right now..." What a lie. I had already lied to my friends twice within five minutes. Alicia waved her hand as if to discard the fact. "Really, Kate. Since when do we care about a little mess?" I gave an inward sigh. There wasn't exactly anything I could say to turn them out.
"Alright then..." I stepped aside and allowed them to pass me into the apartment, making sure to avoid eye contact with Oliver. I could understand why Alicia and Angelina might come. But why him?
I felt like dying after seeing the utterly shocked expressions on their faces at the sight of all the alcohol and cigarettes.
"What exactly did you do at this party?" Angelina wanted to know, stepping over a couple of bottles and seating herself at the small chair beside the couch.
"Made a mess," I said with a forced laugh, trying to keep things on a more humorous side.
"I see that," she said after a moment. Silently I thanked merlin that she had left it at that and carried myself to the couch, closely followed by Alicia and Oliver. We barely fit, and luckily Alicia sat between Oliver and me.
"What brings you three to Riverford?" I wanted to know – I also spoke quickly, because I was afraid of answering their questions. Finally Oliver spoke.
"Quidditch," he said simply, looking me in the eye. I confined the urge to shudder under his gaze and turned away.
"Puddlemere United is coming here to practice," Alicia informed me. "So that obviously explains why Angelina, Fred and Oliver are here. George and I just came along for the ride, I suppose."
My head jerked up.
"Fred and George are here too?" I loved the idea of seeing the jocular twins again. Recalling something else Alicia had said, I added to Angelina, "and you and Fred are on Puddlemere United? I didn't know that!" Angelina arched her eyebrows.
"You didn't? Hell Kates, where in the world have you been? I suppose you haven't heard about Alicia and George, either." I must have looked panicked, because Alicia put her arm around my shoulder and said, "no worries, hon. We understand you've been busy."
She had no idea.
"Well, what's the news?" I said with genuine curiosity. The smile on Alicia's face at that moment looked so incredibly happy and wonderful that I wanted to cry.
"George and I are engaged," she said cheerfully. I gaped at her. George and Alicia? George committing to marriage? Two of my best friends in the world. Engaged. I was absolutely speechless. Shaking my head, I managed to finally say, "Alicia...that's wonderful."
After a while the conversation – much to my dismay – turned to me.
"So Katie, have you been in any relationships since we last saw each other?" Angelina asked with a grin. I thought about lying, but decided it would be rather pointless to make up a fake boyfriend for myself.
This time I looked directly at Oliver.
"No," I said, stingily, "they all leave after warming my bed for a few hours."
Thank you very, very much for reading this. I'm incredibly sorry it's so awful, I'm no writer you see. All of this was written on mere impulse, so you'll have to forgive me for my lack of creativity and skill. I'd greatly appreciate if you reviewed with any helpful comments, and unless everyone absolutely hates it, I'll be writing more soon.