I apologize for the late update anyone who might be following this story. Unfortunately I was busy and got really bad writer's block. Hopefully it's gone for good for awhile.
Also I've noticed I've been making the mistake where i call Angeline Alicia and Alicia Angelina, hopefully i caught all of that
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or anything in the harry potter world
Katie stood there in shock until Hermione Granger bounded up the stairs muttering obscenities and ripping up Fred and George's advertisement that Katie and Alicia had just passed. Having enough sense to stay away from the angry bookworm, Katie slipped into her own dormitory and went to her four-poster bed intending to start on the charms essay she had.
The thing was though, by the time she had her charms book out and a roll of parchment and quill ready the last thing she felt like doing was her homework. Alicia had just told her she was a good kisser, who the hell gave a shite about charms homework when Alicia pretty much said she had enjoyed kissing her in the closet. She was relieved she had closed the drawings of her four-poster bed because she must have looked like an idiot smiling widely at an empty piece of parchment.
For the first time in a long time she felt optimistic, and her charms homework lay untouched as she got comfortable in her bed staring at aimlessly at her curtains and day dreaming for an hour or two before she finally nodded off to sleep.
x x x
The optimism did not last very long. Monday morning she saw Fred and Alicia sitting very close and laughing at something they were reading in a magazine. Occasionally Fred's hand would touch the small of Alicia's back and Katie could have sworn Alicia shivered. It was enough to make Katie want to crawl back to bed and sulk. But, she had double transfigurations today and knew she needed to eat something if she was going to get through that, so instead of taking her standard seat next to the Weasley twins and Alicia she went to Angelina who was sitting away off by herself immersed in a book.
When Katie saw the title, she had half the mind to try and stomach through Alicia's giggles as Fred told jokes, but she did not feel like she could fake a good mood convincingly. The way Angelina was muttering and flipping through the pages of her quidditch strategy book told her Angelina would not be attentive enough to notice her mood.
Katie took the seat next to her without a word and grabbed some oatmeal and a piece of fruit.
"How're you feeling?" Angelina asked with mild interest as she creased a page in the book and set it down.
"What do you mean?" Katie asked confused.
"You're nosebleed."
"It stopped," Katie said with an eye roll. "In case you couldn't tell."
"You sound just as irritated as me," Angelina said picking at her fried eggs. "You look like shite too."
"Thanks a bunch Angelina," Katie said as Alicia let out a furious giggle down the table. "What about you, you look stressed."
"I just don't know how Oliver did it all these years."
"C'mon, give us some credit we're a good team."
"I know we are, but Ron. . . practice was a disaster the other day. If it keeps on like this-"
"It won't Angelina trust me. It's only his first practice he'll get better-"
"And if it doesn't," she snapped. The egg she was poking with her fork, oozed as yoke broke.
Katie sighed. "We're a good team Angelina. We'll win the cup again."
Angelina grumbled. "How do you know?"
"Because Harry's a good seeker, Fred and George are good beaters, and we have three fabulous chasers."
"You're forgetting. . ." Angelina trailed off.
"You're right, we also have an amazing captain."
Her fellow chaser snorted. "I think the team hates me already."
"No, we don't," Katie said firmly taking another bite.
"Please, Fred, George, and Alicia sat far enough away from me this morning."
"You and Alicia have been friends since you both got sorted into gryffindor. She doesn't hate you," Katie replied pointedly.
"You always have such a high opinion of her," Angelina said in an irritated voice glancing at her watch. "Anyway I have to go I left my arithmancy charts in the dorm."
Katie did not even bother with a bye, as soon as she left she scarfed down her remaining food not wanting to Alicia to hail her over to come sit with them. The last thing she wanted to see was an apparent budding romance. . .
"You don't look too good today," a voice from behind her said.
Katie did not have to turn around to know that it was Leanne. "I've been getting a lot of that this morning," Katie said swinging around and grabbing her book bag off the floor.
"You want to walk me to the herbology greenhouses. Tell me why you look so down this morning."
"You know why I'm down," Katie said shooting a furtive glance at the couple down the table.
"I meant details. . ."
"Yeah, I'll walk you."
Katie got up and slung her bag over shoulder and walked out of the great hall with Leanne with the peculiar feeling that a pair of dark eyes were watching her on her way out, but she never turned around to confirm that.
"I heard you ate a quaffle Saturday," Leanne said trying to keep herself from smiling.
Katie scowled. "How did you hear that?"
Leanne shrugged. "You weren't at dinner Saturday night. A bunch of slytherins were very vocal about your first day of practice."
"I bet they were," Katie said through gritted teeth. As cranky and reckless as she had been this morning she got a welcomed mental picture of her smashing her fist into the face of that pug-faced slytherin girl, whoever she was.
"Anyway what really happened?" She lowered her voice and said in a conniving tone, "Did you tell Fred off and then he threw a quaffle at your face?"
Katie snorted. "Not quite. Ron threw it at my face by accident."
"So that part was true. . ." she said in an amused way.
"Anyway I ended up going to the hospital wing after the twins gave me something that made it worse. I swear my nose had shriveled up, like a prune."
"It looks like it's back to normal now."
Katie sighed, "It is. . . You know Alicia brought me some dinner in the hospital wing. Walked me back after. . ."
Katie could have rolled her eyes at how absolutely thrilled Leanne looked. "Details!" she demanded.
"Well, her date with Fred went splendid," Katie scowled again. "I don't even know why they didn't even do anything. The way she was going on and blushing about it you'd think she'd have gotten laid- but she didn't. They barely even kissed apparantly. . ."
"I don't understand, that's good that they didn't-"
"That's what I thought at first before I started thinking about it!" Katie interjected. "But if she's that happy just spending time with him then she must really like him." Katie kicked a small stone out of her way as the greenhouses came into sight.
Leanne shrugged. "I guess that's a valid point."
"And then you know what she says," Katie said continuing to get angry. "She tells me I'm a good kisser, and then goes in her dormitory before I can even put a word in- I mean the nerve. . ."
"She told you that?" Leanne asked surprised.
"Yeah she even winked, but then she looks all happy with Fred the next day. . . it's like, I don't even know what to make of that. Obviously she wants Fred not me."
Leanne sighed. "I don't know. It sounds like she's just teasing you."
They made it to the greenhouse where students were already piling inside. Katie knew if she was to make it to transfiguration on time she would have to leave now- she was not in the mood to be scolded by McGonagal. "I have to go now," Katie said glancing at her watch. "See you later?"
Leanne nodded, "Hey meet me in the library after dinner. I need help with that charms essay that's due tomorrow."
Katie nodded and with a quick wave she started to make her way up to the castle. She was barely on time for class and just got out her quill and parchment before McGonagal started lecturing, but she could barely pay attention. What Leanne said was true- Alicia was teasing her. In the closet, in the hospital wing, and when she told her she was a good kisser. Did Alicia know about this little crush and just liked watching Katie squirm. Katie tried to think of her behavior during these moments, maybe her face was not as blank as it should have been. Maybe her expressions told Alicia everything she needed to know, but then why would Alicia play along with it? Was she still trying to use her to attract Fred? Or, was it part of some sadistic game of hers, maybe she just wanted to see how much she could take before she cracked. Or, maybe it was completely innocent and Alicia was just joking and trying to make light of the night in the closet so Katie did not take it too seriously.
Or, a voice in Katie's head thought timidly as she watched her professor transfigure a wooden chair into a sheep, maybe she likes you. Maybe, just maybe she's trying to see if you like her back. . .
x x x
By the time lunch came she was still unsure about Alicia's motives. The only thing she knew for certain was that Alicia had motives. Leanne was completely right in that she had been teasing her, and Alicia had to know what she was doing these past few days. Now all that was occupying Katie's time was why Alicia was toying with her. Not that she all that much minded being toyed with by her. . .
"You look like you got a million things on your mind. Thinking about me again?" Katie nearly jumped out of her seat, spilling some of her creamy pasta on her lap.
"Fuck, Alicia," she said trying to get her heart rate to return to normal. There just like that! her conscious pointed out loudly, Who the hell goes up to someone and says things like that?
Alicia giggled as she took a seat next to her, taking a goblet of pumpkin juice and filling her plate with cold ham and bread, and eyed Katie as she was wiping her hands off with napkin.
"Here let me," Alicia said grabbing her wand. She lazily did the charm that removed the stains from her clothes leaving Katie's robes looking good as new.
"I would say thanks, but seeing how this was your fault to begin with. . ." Katie trailed off with a smile.
"I'll just consider us even then," Alicia replied with a smirk. "Anyway, what's on your mind, you never answered my question."
"Yes," Katie said twirling the pasta around with her fork. "Yes, I was thinking about you. More specifically," Katie continued as she saw Alicia's eyes narrow suspiciously, "our quidditch team."
Alicia snorted. "Don't tell me all you think about is quidditch now, you'll be worse than Angelina."
Katie laughed lightly. "I'm more worried about taking more quaffles to the face."
Alicia nodded, "That's a noteworthy concern."
As if on cue Hermione, Ron, and Harry walked past them to get seats farther down the table. Harry, in particular, looked extremely agitated and menacing. "How much you want to bet that Harry's going to get detention again this week?" Alicia asked after the trio had walked far enough down the table to hear. Apparantly, she too had seen the look on Harry's face.
"You're going to have to find another sucker to take that bet. He has Umbridge this afternoon. I won't be surprised if he gets detention for another week."
"Angelina would flip her lid."
And, she did.
x x x
After she finished eating dinner trying not to think about how miserable Angelina would be at practice Friday since Harry had gotten detention again, she met Leanne at the entrance to the great hall and the two made their way to the library. Charm books in hand they made their way to the tables towards the back where no students were save for a couple of first years, and unrolled their parchment to start on their essay.
"What's wrong?" Katie asked as she watched her friend stare at the parchment with a blank look on her face.
"I have no idea how to start this essay," Leanne replied. "I can't pay attention in that class."
"And why not?"
"Jameson sits in front of me, remember?" Leanne said with a sigh. "Merlin, the things I would do. . ."
"You still like that guy?" Katie said with a frown.
"Hey, don't make that face! He's a really nice guy, and he's good looking-"
"If you squint your eyes," Katie teased with a malicious grin. "He has an egg-shaped head"
"It's not that bad-"
"Not if you squint your eyes."
Flustered but slightly amused Leanne threw her parchment at her friend. "And what would you know about guys. You tend to prefer something else."
"You're forgetting I feigned liking guys for years and years. Besides I can still tell if someone is attractive or not even if I am not attracted to them-"
"But you've always been more critical of men," her friend said pointedly. "Women get a free pass for some reason."
"Well," Katie reasoned logically, "Women have boobs."
"Alicia doesn't," Leanne mumbled with a Weasley-like grin on her face.
"Yes, she does! They're small but. . . I mean they're there. They do exist."
"Have you ever seen them?"
"Well, no. . ."
"Tell me how do you share a locker room with someone for four years and not see that?"
Katie blushed and muttered something unintelligible.
"What?"
Katie sighed and looking like she would rather not say it, muttered through clenched teeth, "I feel bad looking. I mean, wouldn't you feel bad?" Katie continued after Leanne did not say anything.
Leanne shrugged, "If Jameson's slong was open to my viewing I probably wouldn't feel too bad."
"Ick, I got the grossest mental image right now," Katie gagged as Leanne grinned.
"I'm just being honest with you my friend. I would probably look and any guilt I had would leave my mind once I saw it."
"It's different though," Katie argued. "Guys would expect girls to look if they shared a locker room and it would be the same vice-versa. Alicia doesn't expect me to look. . ."
"Sounds like a free pass to me," Leanne said with a mischievous grin.
"Please be serious."
Leanne sighed. "Look, maybe she does expect you to look. Maybe you don't hide it as well as you thought."
A seed of panic swelled up in Katie. "What?!" she demanded loudly enough for Madame Pince to shoot them a nasty look. "What do you mean?" she whispered loudly wary of the librarian's habit of kicking people out. "You had no idea until I told you."
"Well, I mean I wouldn't have called you out on it, but there were signs. . ." Katie could only imagine the expression on her face, but whatever it was Leanne tried to calm Katie down in a hurry. "I mean not very obvious ones, only those closest to you would have noticed if they did at all- and maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I just notice it now because I know."
"What are my tells, Leanne?" Katie asked dangerously.
"I know you've kissed boys, but you really lack interest in them; you have the tendency to tease and flirt with girls more- it's not excessive!" Leanne added quickly as Katie looked ready to defend herself, "But you do flirt. . . and sometimes you look at Alicia. . ."
"What am I supposed to do close my eyes when I talk to her?" Katie quipped sarcastically.
Leanne rolled her eyes. "You stare at her from the across the room, or table, or quidditch pitch when there's no other reason for you to look other than you want to."
Katie scowled and Leanne frowned. "Like I said," Leanne continued, "no one probably notices. Look, don't get ma-"
"I'm not mad!" Katie snapped as she started throwing her things in her knapsack.
"Clearly. . . Let's just forget about this and do some homework-"
"Fuck Charms," Katie growled as she threw her bag over shoulder.
"Where are you going?"
"Getting a boyfriend," she replied sorely leaving her perplexed friend behind.
