I do not own Harry Potter and all that good stuff. And this was Written for a shop on Gaia. Thank you and enjoy, no cookies unless you review, thank you.
On a non important day, quiet like the one right now, there was a girl with pale blonde hair sitting in front of an ornate fireplace, head tilted over her books as she held her quill in one hand, poised above the paper. Her delicate features were scrunched in concentration as she looked over all the words that had began to run together. Her blue-grey eyes closed shut, clenching tightly near the bridge of her nose and she exhaled deeply, trying to relax her mind and her body. She was overly stressed and it did not help that her mind kept trailing back to the Quidditch field just outside the castle.
Her eyes cut over to the black night sky and she sighed heavily, trying to shove the thoughts from her mind. She would have to live without the wind in her face, the adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her school work was too far behind and it was just a consequence she would have to suffer. She never wanted to quit the team, but she was one howler away from being forced off by her parents and that would never do.
The pretty blonde was about to turn back to her books, but a sound cut her off as she was greeted by a bush of long curly black hair that could only belong to one person. Her friend Liz Trandors had decided to interrupt her studying yet again. Liz's features were dark; her face round and there was almost always a smile on her lips. She was known to talk to anyone just because she was so friendly, but at times it could be annoying.
"Hey Jackie, what are you studying on?" she asked, her long black finger tapping the book that was currently positioned in the blonde's lap.
Jackie sighed yet again and nearly rolled her eyes, just ready to get rid of Liz as soon as possible. "Charms…" She knew if she kept her answers short and sweet she would get off the hook faster and get back to her much needed study time.
It wasn't as if she really wanted to study, what sort of charms would you use during a Quidditch game other then defense spells anyway? She was more of the rugged type, one to get dirty if there was a chance to. Despite her small frame and near porcelain like facial characteristics, she could play as hard and as well as any boy.
She would give anything to be able to feel the wind in her face, the smell of fresh dew on the ground for morning practice, instead of sitting holed up in the stuffy commons room, letting her brain turn to mush from over thinking. Studying was a waste of her valuable practice time. If only there was a way for her to combine the two, then everything would be perfect, but sadly no one had been successful without a few singed hairs or broken bones throughout the years.
Jackie was brought out of her thoughts though as the painting door swung open to reveal a tall, lanky boy with messy brown hair. His molten chocolate eyes were scanning the room, a hidden anxiety lying deep in their depths as they landed on Jackie. His long strides led him to his friend and he plopped down unceremoniously onto the table, scattering Jackie's papers.
"Johana, what's this I hear about you leaving the team?" His eyes were sharp as he looked over his long time pal.
The two had practically grown into the best of friends during the Quidditch practices and games. Even though one year split them, Jackie a fourth year and the boy a fifth, they had looked over that and became fast buddies. It was just that little strain on their relationship that was known as budding feels or hormones if you will. They had both been attracted to one another from the beginning, it had just never had a chance to grow into something more.
Jackie hung her head and snapped her book shut. "I have to. Mum will make me leave if I don't pull up my grades Oliver, you know that." Her eyes were tired and her demeanor reflected how she felt. She was slightly slumped and her eyes drooped at the edges.
"Grades are nothing Jackie!" Liz cut in, grinning brightly as she stood up, her hair bouncing as she went. "You can pull them up and keep your spot on the team as well! I don't see why you couldn't! You're a bright girl and you can find that balance you need in your life. Maybe you should practice this technique I heard about. It comes from Japan and its called Fung Shoo or something like that. Its supposed to help with balancing out your life or something…" Liz's large brown eyes peered down at Jackie as she grinned brightly. "What?"
"How did you say all of that with one breath?" The chaser asked, looking up at the girl with her mouth slightly agape.
Liz just giggled and shrugged. "Practice I suppose… Well I must be off…" She waved and flitted up to the girl's dormitory, grinning like a sly wolf.
"Well… that was… Normal I guess." Oliver had quirked his eyebrow up, looking at Jackie, before he moved his seating arrangements and took Liz's spot next to her on the couch. His larger frame left a smaller amount of room on the plush space and he was closer to Jackie then before.
His brown eyes narrowed a little as he looked over the tiny pale features of her face. It could have been taken for menacing or even a glare, but Jackie knew he was just thinking as he scrutinized her with his piercing gaze. "Don't try to change the subject." His voice was deep and smooth, almost like a velvet blanket draping over her shoulders. "You're not getting out of it that easily. We can work out something to get your grades up." His tone had become softer, more caressing to coax her into a deal.
"Work what out Wood? I have to bring them up and it won't happen over night and you know that," Jackie said sharply. She was upset that she would have to quit the team, not towards her crush that was trying to help her out. The blonde was just a jumble of all kinds of emotions at that moment and she wanted nothing more to grab her broom and head out into the night.
Oliver smirked and lightly tapped his fingers on his knees in thought. "Perhaps I could… work out something. I have been a year five before you know."
"Yea, that's no new news you wanker." Jackie decided to settle on a subtle glare at the older boy as she crossed her arms over her chest, the book lying forgotten in her lap.
The keeper of the Griffindor gave her an eye roll and then smiled a little wider. "What if I could help you with it?"
"As I've pointed out, you can't help! Not unless you want to take my punishment from my mom for me," Jackie said her tone mocking and a little demeaning.
Wood just shook his head and laughed. "No, I could start helping with your homework, doing some of it after practice and in the mornings. I know how you like to wake up early to go flying; you could just come down here and get me to help."
"Wait… what do you mean by help?" Jackie's eyes narrowed skeptically, her instincts telling her that something about this proposition wouldn't sit right with the teachers or her parents at all.
"I can do some of your work and you can have enough time to make good grades by studying and stay on the team! It's a win-win situation!" Oliver grinned widely and waved his hands in the air excitedly as he explained his idea a little more thoroughly for her.
"What about your O.W.L.S?" She asked immediately, her gaze turning just a little too sharp. Jackie was not one to let others suffer because of her own mistakes. If anyone was going down over this, it would be her and her alone, no one else.
The boy just shrugged and smirked a little, grinning somewhat. "I think I can handle the work load. O.W.L.S isn't going to be all that hard anyway since I've actually studied through school, unlike some people I know." He smirked and gave Jackie a knowing look as she gasped and threw a pillow at his face.
"Shut up!"
"What! You know that you how stressed I get!" Wood just shrugged off her explanation and smiled widely. "But… you would really do that for me?"
Jackie's pupils were slightly widened as she watched him, searching for anything that would refute what he was going to say. There was nothing there. It was a genuine interest in helping her to achieve and stay on the team. "Of course I would. You're my best friend Johana and nothing could ever change that."
A small smile played on his lips and only one thought flashed through Jackie's mind as she watched him. It would definitely compromise their friendship if she acted out on the impulse coursing in her veins. The book fell from her lap and she slowly inched forward, her lips quivering in anticipation. Was it just her imagination, or was he leaning in too?
"I would owe you a million…" She mumbled softly, her breath puffing softly over his face as she spoke. It smelt of peppermints and a little twang of orange.
It was only a millisecond before it happened, but it felt like a lifetime to Jackie. Their lips met half way in a soft, gentle kiss that was innocent enough. It was chaste, lips softly bumping and brushing to send shocks of electricity down their spines. The wall had been brought down and all it took was a soft, little kiss.
When they pulled apart, Oliver had a crooked smile plastered on his face and he softly touched Jackie's cheek with a careful hand. "You owe me nothing Jaxs…"
There was a meeting of gazes and they smiled at one another, meeting again in another soft kiss. But Jackie knew she needed to get to work, so she gently pulled back and pointed out the fact that had just flashed through her mind and sighed softly when they both pulled books into their laps. It just seemed like she would get everything she wanted. Her Oliver and Quidditch.