A/N: I am so sorry for the delay. I've been spending the majority of my summer trying to get an internship. I had actually meant to make chapter 4 and 5 the same chapter but decided to split them up, so I'm about halfway through the next chapter, hopefully that will make up for the shortness of this one.

Choices

Chapter 4: Hung-Over and Hapless

Charlie slowly opened his eyes and was met with nothing but a blur of reddish orange. He shut his eyes again and re-opened them so that the moving colors solidified into the Weasley's living room ceiling. He licked his lips, and the action let him know just how parched his throat was. He stared at the ceiling for several minutes, before he was nearly overwhelmed by the urge to cough. Swallowing that urge he sat up and immediately felt pressure on his temples. He moved to press his hand against his forehead but suddenly realized it was lying underneath a large quilt. He suddenly felt ashamed. Getting drunk and passing out in the living room was one thing, but the unexpected arrival of the quilt meant that someone had placed it there and Charlie really wasn't setting a good example for his siblings.

Once his headache subsided a bit Charlie slipped the quilt off his shoulders and unsteadily got to his feet. He moved toward the stairs and climbed several flights until he reached his room. There was still a pretty good chance that his siblings hadn't seen him, which allowed Charlie to breathe a bit before sitting down on his desk chair. He breathed in and out a few times before placing his head in his hands and his elbows on the desk.

When he began to feel somewhere close to normal, Charlie stood up and began to move toward his bed. However, before he'd even taken a step, he noticed a scrap of paper lying on the floor. He vaguely remembered having a piece of paper in his back pocket, and realized it must have fallen out when he sat down. He picked it up and opened it. He stared at the very first line: Oliver Wood's address. He sat down again as his mind was suddenly thrust back into last night. He remembered entering the bar, meeting Oliver, ordering drink after drink, hanging around with Oliver's drunken friends, Oliver taking him home, kissing Oliver…

"Oh fuck." He whispered.

That had happened? He'd actually made out with Oliver?

The events of last night replayed themselves clearly in his head.

"I'm drunk."

"I know."

"Don't leave me."

Charlie's cheeks burned at the embarrassment of it all. He'd been acting like an idiot the entire night while Oliver remained calm and composed. He was furious with himself. Why couldn't he for once act his age? He constantly lectured himself on acting like an adult yet here he was neglecting his familial responsibilities, getting shitfaced, experimenting with his sexuality like some hormonally-driven teenage boy.

"Fuck." That brought him right back to what happened between him and Oliver last night. What was he supposed to do? Should he owl Oliver? What would he say? His eyes suddenly grew wide as a horrible thought wormed its way into his brain. Did Oliver want whatever they had to continue? An even more pressing question was did he want it to continue?

Charlie tried hard to concentrate on the kiss from last night. While it was hazy it was obvious to a non-sloshed Charlie that he had enjoyed it immensely, but everyone enjoyed kissing right? Charlie shook his head, laughing at himself. This was ludicrous, they were both blokes! Charlie shouldn't even be considering this anyway.

With that in mind Charlie handed to his bathroom to take some pain potion for his head, have a piss, and rinse out his mouth.

Upon completion of those tasks Charlie headed downstairs to find his entire family eating breakfast.

"Oh good you're awake. You seemed to be out cold when I saw you earlier." Molly said in a cheerful voice, but Charlie could hear the disapproval in her tone.

He sat down in between Percy's fiancé and Arthur, unsure whether to be happy or sad that it was his mother who had found him passed out on the couch. Upon her roughly thrusting a plate of bacon into his chest he decided to be ashamed.

As if sensing Molly's mood the men at the table began to eat more rapidly.

She kept a steady glare on Charlie as he looked down at his plate and tried to avoid her eyes. Once he'd finished his bacon she asked, "So what did you do yesterday Charlie? None of us remember you coming home last night."

Charlie scratched the back of his neck looking shamefaced and then said, "I went out for a drink and ran into Oliver Wood."

Molly's stern expression was immediately replaced by a fond one. "Oh Oliver! I always liked that boy, how is he doing?"

Charlie set down a forkful of potatoes and swallowed since the entire table appeared to be listening to the conversation. "He's playing for Puddlemore United now. He plays keeper." He added for those who didn't know Oliver. "They're doing really well right now. They're in the middle of a Tournament and they just beat the Wasps which has put them in the Finals. Oliver's really excited because this is the first time he's been to the Finals, and if they win their next three games they'll win the title of Best in the League. He really wants the Championship trophy. Apparently it's called Riseman's trophy after the first goblin who-" He faltered.

Charlie's entire family was staring at him in shock. He looked back at them quizzically. "What?"

It was Molly who finally spoke. "It's just we didn't think you were all that into Quidditch anymore."

Charlie shrugged, picked up another forkful of potatoes, swallowed, and then said, "I'm not, but Oliver loves it naturally and he's my friend so I took an interest." His family looked even more incredulous than before.

A long silence passed before Arthur finally spoke. "Well then you should invite him over for dinner tonight."

Charlie's heart soared and plummeted simultaneously. This couldn't be happening to him. He wasn't ready to face Oliver! Oliver's chocolate brown eyes suddenly flitted through his mind and he whimpered. He wondered if that was what dying felt like. Before Charlie could give his family a panic-induced refusal Molly was already clapping her hands and exclaiming that she would make a casserole.

Charlie's brain was in overdrive. He thought he had time to figure out what he was going to say to Oliver, now he only had until the end of breakfast when he was sure his mother would force him to send Oliver a letter inviting him over. He sighed. He shouldn't be thinking about Oliver anyway. Mentally forcing his thoughts away from Oliver he glanced around the table. Most of his family members appeared to be engaging in private discussions with one another although he heard more than one of his brothers asking one another if Charlie was sick. He turned to his left and eyed the woman Percy was apparently planning to marry. She was a beautiful woman with ivory skin and a head full of black curls, although she wore an extremely unflattering pair of glasses. Well if he was going to take an interest in his family he had to start somewhere.

Charlie tapped her on the shoulder. "Um Amy right?" He asked.

"Audrey." She replied, looking more amused than disgruntled.

He blushed but pushed past his mistake. "Right, um would you tell me about yourself?"

A loud noise behind him let him know that his father's elbow had fallen off table due to his shock. Percy was staring at Charlie slack-jawed, and his glasses fell off of his nose onto his plate. He didn't appear to notice.

Audrey seemed unperturbed as she began to speak about her job as a liaison between the Department of Magical Games and the Magical Creatures Department, which Charlie hadn't even known existed until now. As she spoke about how she first met Percy, Charlie chanced a glance at George only to find him staring intensely back at him. They held one another's gaze for less than a minute, and then George gave him a small wink before turning to talk to Bill. Despite his confused feelings and concern about Oliver, that morning Charlie felt a peace like never before wash over him.

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