A/N: Hi everyone! This oneshot is written for the 'Can You Write A Romance?' Challenge from Dear. Dark. Destiny (without the spaces) Title: Too Annoying To Love?
Enjoy reading this and please leave a review!
Summary: Alicia is completely annoyed by Lee, who has used multiple methods of irritating her for the past two years. She is prepared for another year of endless pestering, but maybe her seventh year will be different?
Rating: T
Word Count: 2476
Publishing Date: 31th October, 2010
"Please love, I don't want you to fight in this battle," my boyfriend says to me. It is a hard decision for some, maybe, but I know that I want to fight next to my friends, to defeat You-Know-Who.
"I'm going" I say determined. The look in his eyes takes me a couple of years back, to our final year at Hogwarts...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Start flashback*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I was sitting in the Gryffindor common room with my best friends and fellow Chasers, Angelina and Katie, doing my Transfiguration homework.
Suddenly the Weasley twins and their friend came in, talking about some prank, no doubt there. You have to understand, I think their pranks are funny and quite clever and such, but sometimes they are just annoying.
Especially their friend and partner in pranks, Lee Jordan. That boy really doesn't know when to leave a girl alone. And with a girl I mean me.
And there he comes again, to irritate me, of course.
"Hey Alicia!" he said brightly, plopping down next to me.
"Hi," I mumbled back and pretended to be interested in my textbook.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm writing an essay for Transfiguration."
"Oh, okay."
We sit in silence for approximately three minutes, and by then I have almost finished my essay.
Then Jordan starts poking me in my side.
"Jordan! Will you stop that!" I glare at him. He just ignores me and continues. That's when I've had it.
"Why won't you leave me alone!"
With my worst glare pointed in his direction I gathered my stuff and left for the library. Honestly, he's always finding ways to irritate me! Why can't he go on and annoy somebody else?
A couple of days later I walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. As I sat down next to Angelina, I noticed a look between Katie, Angelina, Fred and George.
"What?" I asked them suspiciously, narrowing my eyes at all of them in turn.
"Oh, nothing," Katie answered all innocent looking.
"Right," I didn't believe them, but decided to just eat my breakfast.
Jordan arrived a few minutes later, and again the four of them shared a look.
"What's wrong with you four?" I asked, frustration evident in my voice.
They looked at Jordan simultaneously, who blushed.
"So you know what this is all about Jordan?" I demanded from him.
"I have a first name, Alicia," he said, hurt.
"I know, I know, but we aren't exactly friends so I don't know what gives you the right to call me by my first name." This had actually bothered me for a while.
"Oh. If that's what you want, I won't call you by your first name anymore." Now he definitely sounded hurt. And Angelina, Katie, George and Fred glared at me as if I had done something terribly wrong.
I sighed. Even though I may very much dislike him, I don't like seeing people hurt it´s in my ability to make it better.
"Fine, you may call me by my first name."
"Really? Then you have to call me by my first name, too!"
"Alright... Lee," I smiled hesitantly at him, which he returned with a broad grin.
At the end of the week, I was absolutely sure that Angelina, Fred, George and Katie knew something I didn´t.
Usually Angelina and I would pair up in class, Fred with Lee and George with his Ravenclaw girlfriend. But now Fred always asked Angelina to be his partner, before I could have a chance to.
So I ended up with Lee. In every class!
When I complained about this to Angelina, she just told me that she was very happy that Fred finally seemed to like her, so if I was a good friend, I wouldn´t whine about Lee. I shut up about it after that.
In the first week of December, the announcement for a Hogsmeade trip was put up in all the common rooms. Fred has asked Angelina, so Katie and I were planning on going together.
However, a Hufflepuff boy from her year unexpectedly asked her to accompany him on a date. Now I was the only one left without a date, so I wasn´t sure if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade after all.
Of course, I still had to buy gifts for Christmas, but I could do that another time.
I was sitting in the library, humming a bit and staring out the window when somebody snapped their fingers in front of my face.
"Whoa!" I jumped and almost fell off my chair. Then I saw the person who took me by surprise.
"Lee!" I snapped at him. "Why on earth did you do that?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! You just looked so spaced out, I couldn't resist," he grinned at me.
I sighed. "What do you want?"
"Nothing, why do you immediately assume that I want something?" he tried the 'innocent-look'.
I just stared at him until he slumped his shoulders and said: "Okay, so I heard from Angelina that you are going to Hogsmeade all by yourself tomorrow?"
I frowned. "Why do you care?"
"Well, I was planning on going alone, as well, so I thought... that maybe..."
"We could go together?" I finished for him. He nodded.
"As a date?" Why did I have to ask that? It would be a lot less awkward if I had just kept silent.
"Not if you don't want to. We could just go as friends?" he asked me, his voice full of hope and blushing a bit.
I pondered his question for a while. I could recline his offer, and go to Hogsmeade alone, not go at all, or I could accept, and spend the day with a boy who was starting to become a good friend.
"Fine, I will go with you," I exhaled, "but only as friends." I could at the very least give him a chance, couldn't I?
"Great! Shall we meet at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning in the Entrance Hall?"
"Okay," I smiled at him when he took his leave. I had a date. Which wasn't a real date. Just great. I groaned and dropped my head on the table.
At 10 o'clock the next morning I walked down the stairs and saw Lee there waiting for me. I hesitantly came up to his side and responded to his greeting.
We began walking to Hogsmeade in silence, but after a few minutes we started asking questions.
By the time we finally reached Hogsmeade, we had learned loads of new things about each other.
We talked about our families, favourite subjects, food, colour, music and our friends.
I began to realize that it was quite odd that Lee and I weren't friends before now, because our closest friends were also friends. We always sat with the same group during mealtimes but we hadn't really talked since the end of fourth year, and even before that we never got along well. I wonder why...
Lee first took me to Honeydukes where I bought way too much chocolate and other candy. Lee wanted to pay for my purchases, but I declined.
"This isn't a real date, Lee. Although even if it was, I am more than capable of buying my own things, but thanks for the gesture."
Once outside, he gently grabbed my hand and when I raised my eyebrow at him questioningly, he merely smiled in answer. I had to admit, it felt really nice having his warm hand hold mine. I felt my cheeks become pink and yelled at myself in my head for thinking such things.
We spent the rest of the day in a similar fashion, going from shop to shop and stopping in the Three Broomsticks to have lunch.
We spotted Fred and Angelina in Zonko's, George and his girlfriend in the Three Broomsticks and Katie and her date in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. Lee almost begged me not to ask him if we could go in there. I had fun teasing him about it for a while, but eventually I told him that I would never set foot in that dreaded Tea Shop again.
We were wandering aimlessly through Hogsmeade when an important question suddenly popped into my head.
"Lee?"
He turned his head towards me. "Yes?"
"Why ehm... why have you constantly annoyed me for the past... two years?"
His face fell. His eyes darted around, but they never focused on me.
"I just... thought it would be funny to irritate you?" he said, more as a question than as an answer.
I slowly processed what he just told me. Funny! He thought it was funny to annoy me! And here I was, becoming friends with him!
"You thought it was... funny to irritate me to no end?" I said, my voice dead calm and without emotion. I saw Lee gulp before answering me.
"Well, basically... yes."
"I can't believe you!" I yelled at him. I turned around and began walking to the castle at a fast pace. I heard footsteps behind me, so I turned around once more and screamed at Lee.
"You'd better not follow me! And we aren't friends!" I almost ran back to Hogwarts.
That night I told Angelina and Katie everything that had happened. So, after fussing over their dates, we now discussed my fight with Lee.
When we were finally done talking it was very late so we fell asleep quickly.
The following days I avoided Lee at all cost. If I couldn't pair up with Angelina I asked a nice Ravenclaw, Grace. In the Great Hall, Katie and I sat down far away from Lee. Angelina had to sit with Fred of course, but the two of us sat somewhere else.
At the end of the week, I finally realised that I missed Lee. I missed being his partner in class, our conversations... I even missed his annoying habits! When these feelings didn't lessen with time, on the contrary, they even grew worse, I had to face it.
I fancied Lee Jordan. And we weren't on speaking terms. My life just got a whole lot worse.
I persisted in ignoring Lee for almost a month. I wasn't the only one who had noticed how miserable Lee had been, so after some negotiation from the twins and my best friends, I finally answered his morning greeting.
"Good morning."
He looked up at me in shock, his mouth dropped open. Our four friends were smiling at each other and said: "It's about time!"
Lee beamed at me and I smiled back. I was still angry about the annoying me thing, but I could at the very least speak to Lee again.
Besides, it is very tiring, ignoring someone for almost a month.
I sat down next to Lee and hugged him. He froze in shock but quickly hugged me back. I leaned my head on his shoulder and sighed. This felt really good, like I belonged there.
I blushed at my thoughts and quickly let go of Lee. He looked slightly disappointed, exactly the way I felt, but I grabbed some pumpkin juice and tried to force my cheeks to return to their normal colour. I don't think it worked, because I caught the knowing glances of Angelina and Katie and I turned even redder.
Meanwhile, Fred and George were looking at the whole display amused. They whispered with Lee from across the table while my two best friends interrogated me, also at a low volume.
They told me that they knew that I fancied Lee and that he fancied me back. I didn't believe them. Why would he annoy me to death if he liked me?
I ignored the sinking feeling this thought caused me and continued with my breakfast.
A week or so later, Lee cornered me in a corridor and asked if I wanted to speak with him, privately. I followed him in an empty classroom and sat down on a desk.
Lee was standing with his back to me, and I nervously wondered what he wanted to speak to me about. Had he noticed that I liked him? And he wanted to tell me that he didn't like me back?
He didn't talk for a while longer. This is so awkward.
"Alicia, I..." he faltered.
"Yes? You can tell me, you know." I smiled at him.
He hesitated for a while longer. I couldn't stand seeing him like that any longer so I got up and hugged him. He put his arms around my waist and we stayed that way for a long time. When we broke apart, Lee seemed a lot calmer, so I went back to the desk I sat at before.
"Alright. You see, I lied to you." His face showed a conflict of emotions that I didn't recognise.
"You lied to me? Why? And what did you lie about?" I asked confused.
"When you asked me why I had annoyed you for so long," he replied, still not looking at me.
"Why did you do that?" I wondered.
"Because the truth is rather embarrassing," Lee said, blushing, "but I want you to know it now anyway."
"Okay..." I said slowly. What was happening in here?
"You see, the truth is... I've liked you for a long time now Alicia," he rushed through the last bit.
Wait, he liked me? Me?
"You like me?" I blinked. "But why did you always pester me then?"
"Because I thought it was the only way to get your attention! Obviously I was mistaken," he mumbled.
He looked me in the eyes for the first time, and I couldn't look away. His eyes were brimming with... kindness? Affection? Should I tell him that I liked him, too? Well, now was a good a time as any, I suppose.
"Lee, I... fancy you too," I told him, my lips turning up in a smile.
His answering gaze was so radiant, so happy. I couldn't resist. I walked up in front of him, never breaking his gaze, and pressed my lips upon his.
It was a soft, chaste kiss and it didn't last very long, but it surely was a first kiss to remember.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*End flashback*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lee had asked me out a couple of times, before asking me to be his girlfriend. When I accepted, the look on his face was almost the same as it is now.
I want to kiss him one more time before the battle, so I hug him and he presses his mouth against mine. His tongue touches my lips, and I open them. We move in synch for a while and when we finally have to break apart due to lack of oxygen, he rests his head against mine and says:
"I love you, Alicia."
"I love you too."
As we Apparate together, I fiercely hope that we will both make it out of this alive.
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