Hey to all readers! Another KBOW oneshot! A simple story, and not a hilarious one, but I think it's sweet. I hope you all find it like that too!
I solemnly swear these characters are not mine. And that they are up to no good.
One year ago, Oliver Wood had acquired a new habit. Not an obsession mind you, like Quidditch, but a habit. He has simply picked up the practice of looking at Katie Bell. Catch him on a good day, and he might admit he was staring, not just looking.
He didn't know how it started, but it did. And it has continued since. One day, bored at History of Magic lesson (who isn't?), he had just coincidentally turned to look in the direction of Katie Bell. And he liked what he saw.
Her.
Katie Bell was a chaser on his Quidditch team. She was very smart, pretty much acing all her classes without much effort (unlike him). To the horror of Snape, she had topped his Potions class easily without any competition. She was excellent at chasing too, often leaving many oppositions eating her dust. And of course, she was very pretty too.
This was a fact that Oliver had grudgingly admit. He didn't like to think any of his team mates as 'pretty' or 'gorgeous'; it made him look as if he was not serious about the game. But the more he look, the harder he found it to deny how good looking she was. And he certainly didn't want to face the wrath of the male population of Hogwarts by saying she was ugly: It was totally untrue.
Katie Bell had soft , long blond hair. The exact same colour as the golden snitches that he took out during practices for Harry, his seeker, to catch. Often he would go back to the broom cupboard after practice, just to caress the golden snitch, admiring the way it glistened in the sun. Just like the way Katie's hair did.
It was lucky she usually sit by the window. Oliver could then see the sunlight dancing on those golden strands of hair, and she absentmindedly twirled her hair, making her look even prettier.
He liked the way her green eyes seemed to light up when she smile. The green in her eyes reminded him of the Quidditch field. In fact, he was certain they were of the same green. How many times had he stared at her eyes while she was sitting at her desk in class? Yes, he was very certain.
And her cheeks were very red too. Her blush resembled the shade of the Quaffle he usually played with. It was a brilliant, bright red.
There came to a time where Oliver didn't know whether Katie reminded him of Quidditch, or Quidditch reminded him of Katie. He was startled by this realisation, and wondered long about it. Quidditch and Katie had certain similarities. He tried to figure out which reminded him of which, but it confused him too much. Soon, he gave up, and just simply fell back to admiring Katie.
The line then, between Quidditch and Katie, were a blur.
So then on, he looked forward to History of Magic lessons, where he could stare at Katie's green eyes and enjoy the way the sunlight fell upon her golden hair, never imagining that the faint tinge of red on her cheeks were caused by him. She was shy, after all.
He like the fact he could link Quidditch to Katie. From those months of looking at her, he was always able to read out her thoughts. Katie Bell often gaze out of the window dreamily during lessons, staring at the endless plains of green grass. He knew right then, she was dreaming about playing Quidditch, flying around on a broomstick. Whenever a Quidditch match was coming up, she would play around with her hair, twirling those blond strands around her second finger repeatedly. She would bite her lip occasionally, and frown lines would start to form on of her forehead. This was a sign of nervousness.
Strange enough, these little movements often reflect upon Oliver's mood himself.
Mostly though, he could read out non-Quidditch- related thoughts of her. When she was upset, there would be look of sadness in her eyes, and her hair would often fall to the front of her face, as if to shield her tears away from the gaze of Oliver. Whenever she toyed with her white-coloured eagle Quill, it was an indication that she was having trouble. Troubles, usually rooted to either friendship or boys. He knew all that, simply, by looking at her.
But he knew he had to break that habit soon.
He remembered walking with George one day to Potions when suddenly Katie walked passed. Katie had gave them a really wide smile before heading to another class, and he was left staring at her back, thinking how pretty she was when she smiled. Especially at him. When he turned back to George, he saw the redhead looking amused.
" Mate, you better grab her fast before she finds another one," George had said.
"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.
"Oliver, everyone noticed how much you stare at her. It's fairly obvious to me and the rest of the world that you are completely in love with Katie Bell." George replied matter-of-factly.
It hit him right then. That he liked her.
It dawned upon Oliver that Katie was distracting him too much. He was getting caught up too much in Katie's affairs and trying to help her. He knew far too much about her then she would probably like, and was absorbed completely in trying to understand her. Staring at her would soon become an obsession. No, he had to stop fast.
Worst of all, he realised, that Katie would probably find out about his habit really soon. And he didn't want her to know about this.
And so, he attempted to stop looking at her.
He forced himself to stop staring at her in class, but instead resorted to writing half-hearted Quidditch plays on his parchment. He willed himself not to think about her, and had resorted to listen to Professor Binns, hoping that soon he would be in a stupor like the rest of his classmates. Anything, just to stop noticing her.
Sometimes though, he couldn't help it. He allowed himself to take a little peek at her. He noticed lately, that she had taken to playing with her eagle quill again. Her brows were furrowed, and she distractingly twirl her quill every once in a while.
He told himself not to bother.
As soon as the bell rang one day, he jumped up and immediately left the classroom, trying to avoid her. He even took the long way round to his next class instead of the direct route, walking down three flight of stairs, along the hallway, walking across a deserted corridor and turn round the corner, all just to...
Meet directly into the beautiful green eyes of Katie Bell.
Funny ,he wondered, I thought I stopped staring at them already.
There he was, standing at the deserted corridor, all alone, looking down to meet the gaze of Katie Bell. He didn't even want to know how it would look to other students if they passed by, since George already told him how the entire school (except perhaps Katie) knew about his infatuation oh her.
She just stood there, raising her eyebrows at him
"Are you done avoiding me yet?" she asked.
" What, I wasn't even..." He tried to deny, but halfway he seem to realised it was useless.
" Are you done avoiding me yet?" She asked again, this time her voice softer and more tender, " Because I'm miss you already."
With that, she just raised herself up to his height, pull him into a hug, and kissed him.
Oliver no longer had the habit of staring at Katie from faraway in History of Magic class, because he sat beside her now. He no longer had to look at Katie for a long time and read her thoughts, because she would tell them to Oliver. Quidditch and Katie were no longer a blur, but a clearly defined line.
Quidditch reminded him of Katie.
Katie was no longer a habit. Another similarity between her and Quidditch now: They were both his obsession.
At long last, he was done.
He knew, she was done denying her feelings too.
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