So, this was originally for the OTP Competition, but I never finished in time for that due to business and moving into college and all that. However, as Halloween is fast approaching, and I'm procrastinating hard on an essay, I just couldn't help but finish the fic I'd started. Below is the prompt, but it's really just for me. Hope you guys enjoy it!
4. I accompany my little cousin on halloween to go trick-or-treating but you won't open the door although I know you're at home and stinkin' rich so I plot a revenge plan with all the kids from the neighbourhood AU
WC: 3,057
Katie Bell got along with almost everyone. She was very happy to befriend anyone who wanted to be friends, and she loved to meet new people. She was friends with her football team, members of opposing football teams, school mates, adults, younger children, practically anyone who wanted to know her.
But always, ever since she was little, there was one boy she just couldn't be friends with. And that boy was Oliver Wood.
3 years her senior, he was arrogant and condescending whenever he was around her. Though their parents were good friends, due to belonging to the same bridge club, he had never wanted to be friends for no other reason than because she was middle-class and he was filthy rich. It didn't really help that he went to her rival school.
But today, she hoped it would be different. It was her little brother Davie's favorite holiday, Halloween, and her Mum and Dad were letting them go over to the really rich neighborhood to trick-or-treat. Even though Katie didn't really want her little brother tagging along with her, she and her friends had agreed that having a little kid there would make it easier for the seventeen year old girls to get candy.
Katie glanced in the mirror, checking her costume out to make sure it was perfect. She and her friends were going as the Spice Girls, and she was dressed as Baby Spice, because she was the youngest in their senior class, being barely seventeen. She adjusted the top of her pink mini dress and tugged at her ponytails.
"Katie! Come on, let's go!" Angelina called from below. She took one last look at her reflection, slipped on her white boots, and hurried down the steps. Davie was waiting downstairs in his Harry Potter costume, a little stuffed Hedwig pinned to his shoulder. His bag was decorated with the Hogwarts crest.
"Katie! Don't forget to stop by the Wood's mansion. Diane and Robert are going to be at the party with us, but they said Oliver would be there. Make sure you stop by and say hi, alright?"
Katie groaned as Davie cheered. For some reason, he loved and admired Oliver Wood, even though the older boy never paid him any mind.
"Mum, what's he even doing back from university?" Her mother simply smiled and ushered her children and their friends out the doors.
"Be back by 11!"
"Yea, yea, Mum, whatever," Katie grumbled. "And I thought this Halloween was going to be great."
Alicia and Leanne looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Katie. We know how you feel about him. But cheer up, at least when you see him again you'll look totally hot. He won't know what to do!"
Katie blushed. She recalled that horrifying experience the last time she'd seen Oliver Wood - her mother had insisted on bringing her along to dinner at the Wood's mansion, even though Katie had just been picked up from football practice and was still dressed in her workout clothes. Her mum had said it would be fine, that they would simply want her company, but she'd been the least dressed person there, and Oliver had stared at her all night with a disgusted look on her face. To make things worse, she'd had a severe allergic reaction to the shellfish and had broken out in hives. The night had ended with her parents rushing her to the hospital after stabbing her in the thigh with her Epi-pen.
It wasn't her favorite memory, to say the least.
But that had been three years ago, when she was a freshman, and now she was a senior in high school and much more grown up.
She could be adult about this.
"Stop worrying, Katie! You're hot, we're hot, and for the moment, your little brother isn't annoying. It's Halloween, live a little!" Angelina said, pulling Katie along down the street. Her energy was catching, and soon the five girls and Davie were hurrying happily down the street, towards the nicer neighborhood of Godric's Hollow.
"Davie, it's ten o'clock, let's start walking back. You've got more than enough candy, and I'm sick of walking in these shoes," Katie said, tugging on her brother's hand. Her white boots, once adored because of how long they made her legs look, were now the bane of her existence. Her bag was heavy with treats and her hair was beginning to go flat from the moisture of the evening air.
"But Katie, we haven't made it to Oliver's yet! He's expecting us!"
Katie groaned. She had been hoping they could avoid this. Her friends were long since gone - there'd been a party a block back being hosted by a mate from school - and while she didn't begrudge them for preferring the party over her brother's company, she wished she didn't have to deal with Davie on her own.
But he was being insistent, so she sighed and trudged further down the street. They could see the house in the distance, it's upper lights bright against the dark Halloween night.
"Come on! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Davie cried impatiently.
But when they got to the door, there was a crowd of kids clamoring for candy, and no answer. The lights were on, the doorbell had been rung multiple times, but no one was coming.
"What's going on, Katie?"
Katie was confused. She knew Oliver was home - her parents had told her that, and besides, when scanning the upstairs windows, she could see him sitting in his room at his computer. So why wasn't he answering the door? It was Halloween. If he didn't have any candy, he should've turned off the lights. Not doing so was rude, plain and simple.
"Katie, where's Oliver?" Davie asked sadly, looking forlorn. Katie's heart went out to him - it wasn't his fault he idolized Oliver so much. He had no older brothers to idolize, so he turned to the next best thing. The look of hurt on his face was too much for Katie to bear, and her anger boiled over.
"I think he's being a little prick right now," she said loudly, and she turned to the other kids still knocking on the door. "And we're going to have to show him we deserve our treats. It's time for a little trick!" she said, and the kids cheered. She motioned them all to huddle around her, and when she had their attention, she spoke.
"Here's the plan," she started. "Everyone's going to fill up some bags with dirt, bugs, worms, anything gross and disgusting you can find. Just use one of the treat bags someone's given you, leaving the candy out, obviously. You've got five minutes. Can you all do that?"
The other kids nodded, but Davie turned to her and frowned. "What are you going to do with all the bags?"
Katie grinned. She had a perfect idea, but she didn't want to give it away yet. "Don't worry about that. Just fill up the bags and leave the rest to me!"
It took the kids just over six minutes to fill up their bags. Quickly, Katie dropped her bag of candy by her brother's feet and tucked the ten bags of bugs in her small purse. She tread carefully through the side garden and put her hands on the trellis that led right up to the bottom of Oliver's window, pushing down to see if it was stable. She assumed it was, as Diane had definitely told her once about how she'd punished Oliver for sneaking out down it once, but she wanted to be sure before she started climbing.
"Katie, are you sure?" Davie asked with wide eyes. His sister merely grinned, held a finger up to her lips to silence him, and started climbing.
Halfway up, she was thankful for the workouts she'd been forced to do in football practice, for it was a difficult climb, especially in white heeled boots and a strapless mini-dress. She finally reached the bottom of his open window and peeked into the semi-dark room.
It was empty for the moment, which she was thankful for. She could here a shower running in the distance, which was perfect. His room was surprisingly clean and orderly, and his walls were decorated with sports posters for the rugby team Puddlemere United. There were trophies lining the top of his desk, and books on chemistry and physics on a shelf.
It was odd that though she'd known Oliver Wood practically her entire life, this was the most she'd ever known about him. It made him seem almost likable. She couldn't have that.
She tiptoed as quietly as she could over to his bed, looking for the best place to stash her arsenal. She was leaning down to check under the bed when the lights flicked on and a voice came from behind her.
"Who in the bloody hell are you and what are you doing in my room?!"
Katie spun around. To her dismay, there stood Oliver Wood, dressed only in a towel and hair damp and messy. She couldn't help but think how attractive he looked without a shirt on. She could tell he'd earned all those rugby trophies.
"Oliver... um, hi?"
"Wait... Katie Bell? What are you doing here?"
She blushed. "You didn't answer the door." She slowly slid her purse to sit behind her back so he couldn't see the bags of bugs she'd been ready to dump around his room.
"So... you climbed up my trellis."
She nodded.
He raised an eyebrow as he scanned her outfit. "In that outfit? Shoes included?"
She nodded again and began to prepare herself for that judgmental look.
Surprisingly, he simply shrugged and crossed the room to his dresser, pulling out a shirt and tugging it over his head. "Alright. Where's Davie?"
"Down below... but wait, you aren't mad at me?"
He gave her a skeptical look. "Why should I be mad at you? I mean, it's a little weird, but you're a friend of the family. At least it wasn't a total stranger. Though I'm still confused as to why you needed to see me so much that you climbed my trellis in six inch heels."
She flushed angrily. "I didn't come to see you! Why would I ever want to do that?"
"Then why did you climb up to my window?"
"I and the rest of the neighborhood kids were trying to play a trick on you! So I climbed up here to dump bugs in your room."
Oliver stopped and stared, then burst into laughter. "You were going to put bugs in my room?"
She showed him her purse, and he stopped laughing. "Oh god, you were serious. Why would you do that?"
She huffed. "Oliver Wood, it's Halloween! Your lights are on, you're very obviously home, and you aren't offering candy. That's just rude! If you want to be antisocial and not see anyone on Halloween, then at least turn your lights off so no one comes knocking at your door. And don't leave your windows open, someone might come climbing in."
The light, joking face she'd just seen seemed to drop away and was replaced by the cold, condescending look he usually wore. She watched as he grabbed a pair of pants, motioning her to turn around. As soon as she did, he spoke. "I'm not celebrating Halloween this year. It's a stupid holiday for children. You're good now, Baby Spice."
She glared as she turned back around. "Why are you even home then, Oliver? Shouldn't you be at school getting drunk off your arse and playing rugby like the arrogant berk you are?"
"Me? Arrogant? What about you, with your nose stuck in the air all the time and your constant attitude of wanting to be anywhere else but here? You always look like you're smelling something bad. Either it's you you're smelling, or your face got stuck in that position."
"Jerk!" she yelled, taking a step closer.
"Bitch!" he yelled back, and now they were nose and nose, yelling at each other's faces.
"Why the hell would you come back? No one here wants to see you, especially not me!"
"You're the one who climbed through my window! And I don't want to be here! If I had a choice, I'd be far away, but no, now that Da's sick it's Oliver this and Oliver that and Oliver come help me I can't bear this alone!"
Katie froze. "Robert's sick?"
Oliver nodded, his face falling and seeming to age in those few seconds they stopped yelling.
Her heart immediately went out to the boy in front of her. She noticed the shadows under his eyes and the tired look he wore on his face. "Oh, Oliver..."
"I don't want your pity, Katie. What's happened happened. There's nothing you can do about it."
She looked down, touching his hand comfortingly. "No, but I can apologize. I'm not sure why we've never been friends. I... I'm sorry if I ever made you think I couldn't stand you. And I'm sorry for ever thinking you were arrogant and mean. You aren't."
He laughed weakly. "Thanks, I guess. You're not so bad yourself. I mean, you..." he trailed off, looked down, and swallowed, taking a step back. "I'm sorry. Anyways, you can leave through the front door this time. I won't make you climb down the trellis again. Thanks for not actually putting bugs in my room."
"Um, what?"
He opened the door.
"Oliver, what is going on? One moment we're screaming at each other, and then we seem to be getting along, and now suddenly you've changed your mind and you want me out! This is why you're always so damn difficult to be around! It's so frustrating! I never know where I stand with you," she said, crossing her arms and glaring. "What, do you not trust me or something? Because I will not tell anyone if you want to talk. We can even keep pretending we can't stand each other."
He ran his hands through his hair impatiently. "No, it's not that, I trust you, I just- It's just that-"
"Oliver, just tell me what's wrong!"
"It's just that I don't trust myself!" he burst out, flushing. "You in that dress and those boots, I just... I don't trust myself. You need to go."
She stood there, looking shocked. "Angie was right."
"What?"
"Angie told me you acted so brusque with me because you thought I was cute but didn't think I was old enough. I never believed her, but she was right. You want to kiss me, don't you?"
He blushed even further, but she merely stepped closer and looked at him carefully. He was avoiding eye contact, standing with the door in one hand, clearly expecting her to leave.
"Why don't you, then?"
"I-What?"
"Kiss me. You want to, I want you to... Just do it." She reached out and smoothed out a wrinkle in his shirt, finally making him look at her. He slowly let go of the door, letting it swing shut with a soft click, brushing her hair out of her eyes carefully before leaning in slowly and pressing his lips to hers.
She could tell he had experience, for the kiss felt amazing, and she leaned into it easily, slipping her arms around his neck as he pressed her back against the wall. His hands rested comfortably on her hips as they deepened the kiss, easily moving from "a kiss" to "snogging".
They broke apart at the sound of the doorbell, and Katie realized with a start that she'd been up here much longer than she planned.
"Davie," she breathed, moving back and looking at Oliver. "Crap, I forgot about Davie!"
He raised his eyebrows. "You left your little brother outside all this time?"
Katie nodded and pulled the door open. The doorbell was ringing again, and the two of them ran downstairs to open it.
It was, in fact, Davie.
"Katie, what's been taking so long? Oliver, I'm sorry if she was mean to you, she's been acting crazy all evening and she didn't even want to go and she only came because she had to take care of me. I-"
"Whoa, kid, it's fine. You're sister and I were just... talking," he said, awkwardly shifting on his feet. Katie blushed.
"Why don't we go home, Davie?" she asked, checking her watch, realizing with a start it was already 11:15. "Um, thanks, Oliver... for everything."
He nodded. "If you have to go, don't worry about it. But, I mean, you can stay if you want. My parents aren't back yet, which means your parents aren't back yet, so... if you wanted to... besides, don't I owe Davie some candy?"
Katie glanced at her brother, whose face was shining with delight at the prospect of candy and spending time with his idol. "You know what, Mum and Dad probably wouldn't mind. Just this once."
Oliver grinned back, the happiest smile Katie had ever seen adorning his face. "Great! Come on in!"
And with a quick text to her parents to explain the situation, Katie stepped over the threshold, towards Oliver Wood.