A/N: *Hides behind chair* I know, I'm horrible. I'm sorry. Thanks so much to my reviewers for letting me know that you think I really need to be nicer to my characters :P or something along the lines of that. Don't forget to REVIEW!
TheFredWeasleyMonster: I will be fixing it... and soon. Not this chapter and probably not the next one but soon. Promise.
LilyLunafan622: Yes, we will see a little of the inner workings of Wood today (in a way), and more later too. And also, I've been thinking that maybe when I finish this story, that I write it from Oliver's view too? Yes? No? Maybe?
Darke Wispers: The point of 'breaking your heart' now is so that it can be all nice and good by Christmas! Or just slightly after- not sure if I'm posting on Christmas. Yes, I will listen, but only because you logged on just for me. Only for that reason, okay? :P
Disclaimer: Does JKRowling update this fast with her books? No. Why is that? Because they're actual books. Duh.
Chapter 7: Living
I woke up the next morning and everything was perfectly fine. Or for a second anyways, before I remembered what happened yesterday. I groaned, and got up. I heard someone walk out of the bathroom.
"Oh, good, you're up Katie. I was just coming to wake you up." Alicia said. I gave her a look.
"You're stupid." I stated. She looked confused.
"But Katie... I wake you up every day."
"We both know that's not what I'm talking about." I said, grabbing a pair of shorts and a cut-off t-shirt.
"But-"
"Where's Leanne and Ange?" I asked, not really feeling like talking about it if she was going to argue.
"Leanne went down to breakfast already. Ange went to go help Fred so they could get... to get ready today." She said. When she was about to say George's name, she looked torn between extreme sadness and regret and just a little anger.
"It's okay to say his name, you know." I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.
"Not if I don't want to fall apart. I was being stupid and irrational and I was so dumb for breaking up with him just like that. I miss him. Already. But he probably hates me now, and would never want me back, so I've just got to suck it up and live with it. I made a mistake, the worst mistake of my life, and now it's time to live with the consequences." She said. Strangely, that last line sounded familiar. I wonder if I sounded like that too... I can't believe I didn't just say something.
"Well at least you came to the conclusion you were being stupid." I said. She opened her mouth to protest, but I cut it again.
"And you may think he hates you now, but you should know, it's far from that. Now, I am going to go enjoy my Sunday breakfast. Would you care to join me? After I brush my hair?" I amended. I'm sure my hair looks horrible.
"Not if you're sitting with him." She said, looking heartbroken. Stubborn girl!
"He's my friend. So, yeah, I'm sitting with him." I said. She paused, and I stared at her, waiting for her reaction. She sighed.
"I'm just going to go eat in the kitchens. Get a head start on studying, you know?" She asked half-heartedly. I nodded.
"If that's what you want." I said. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded. She walked out the door and I sighed. Time to go tell George. I walked down the girls' stairs, and walked up the boys' stairs and found their door. I heard a bunch of noise coming from in the room, so I knocked. No one heard me, so I knocked again. And again. After three, I just opened the door.
"Hey guys, ready... What are you doing?" I asked. I had walked in the door to see a flustered Angelina pulling a shirt over George's head, and a red-faced Fred pulling shoes on George's feet. Fred stood up and looked at me.
"He didn't want to get out of bed! He just wanted to lay there and mope around! So, being the good friends that we are, we clothed him and are sending him with you to go to breakfast." Fred said. I rolled my eyes as Ange huffed, and they both left the room.
"Great Hall. She's in the kitchens." I called after them.
"Okay!" I heard them yell back. I looked at George, and he still sat there, unmoving.
"Come here." I said, grabbing his arm, trying to pull him to the bathroom so we could wash of his face. There were still tear tracks on it. But it didn't work because he didn't budge. I glared at him, then decided to go get a washcloth instead. I put it in his hand, but he still didn't move. I sighed, and then proceeded to wash his face. When I was done, I smacked him in the face with the towel. Still nothing. I sat down next to him, taking his hand.
"How are you?" I asked him.
"Living." He relplied in a monotone.
"She admitted she was stupid and wrong for doing it, you know. And that it was the worst mistake of her life. She won't do anything to get you back though, because she thinks you hate her now." I said, not really expecting a reaction, but hoping just the same.
"What if I do hate her? What if she was the worst mistake I ever made? What then?" He asked, squeezing my hand. I tried not to look relieved.
"You don't though. I can see it in your eyes. And plus, what guy acts like a zombie over some girl he supposedly hates? The only mistake you made with her was being friends with me, and somehow, if you weren't friends with me, I'm sure that would have happened sooner. She just needs some time to cool down, and realize that she still loves you." I said.
"Loves me? She loves me?" He asked, hope lighting up his face. I nodded.
"She hasn't admitted it yet, but I'm sure she will." I said, positive about it. He nodded.
"Okay, so breakfast?" He asked. I couldn't help but smile. Of course he would want the food first. I nodded, and he held out his arm. I took it and we walked down to the common room together.
"Isn't today just lovely?" He asked sacastically. I laughed.
"Yeah, after you get past all the heartbreak, crying, and unhappy friends, it's just peachy." I said. He smirked. My day got even better when Oli- Wo- he wasn't down in the common room. Or in the Great Hall either. We sat down across from Angelina and Fred. Leanne was sitting with some of her Ravenclaw friends. Both of their mouths dropped open, and bacon literally spewed from Fred's mouth.
"Close your mouth there, Bro. I'm pretty sure the bacon won't taste good with flies." George said. I laughed, but the other two still sat there dumbstruck.
"But how... what... why... what... when... what... where... what... Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" Fred asked, pointing a finger accusingly. I laughed. He turned to me.
"You were supposed to get him down here! How come you have his look alike?" He asked, looking slightly crazy. Ange still hadn't said anything.
"Who says I'm a look alike?" George asked with a smile.
"Because my brother was lifeless and sitting on a bed like a lump!" Fred yelled. There weren't enough people down here to cause a scene, but people were starting to look.
"Fred, calm down." I said, looking around. He took a deep breath.
"Okay. Explain." He said, putting his fork down.
"Well... I just told him about some research I did." I said. It wasn't exactly a lie.
"Really?" Asked Ange. I nodded and glanced at George, and he was eating like there was no tomorrow. She shook her head.
"I just don't get it." She stated. Fred blinked a couple times.
"Well it's your job to watch him today, okay?" He said. I nodded.
"Sure, but why does he need a babysitter?" I asked.
"Because if he goes comatose again, we need someone to snap him out of it." He said. I shrugged.
"Okay." Truth is, I was going to stay with him all day anyways. I may not know that much about tough break-ups, but I did know about needing someone there. The other two got up and left. I didn't ask where they were going, because it really didn't matter.
"So what are our plans for today, master?" George asked. I smiled.
"Well if you didn't have anything else planned, I was thinking we should go swimming in the Lake." I said. It was really nice out today, and I hadn't been swimming in forever.
"To the Black Lake it is then!" He yelled, striking a 'heroic' pose. I laughed.
"To our rooms first." I said.
"To our rooms first!" He yelled. Laughing, we made our way back to the seventh floor and to the Fat Lady.
"Password?" She said.
"Fortuna Major." George and I said at the same time. We high fived, and ran to our separate rooms. I know the others said not to leave him alone, but I knew he wouldn't be going back anytime soon. I changed into my only swim suit, a blue and white polka dot bikini, and threw on my clothes again. I grabbed a towel, and slipped on my flip flops. Just as I was walking down the stairs, I almost ran into Alicia.
"Don't go to the lake." I told her. She nodded, and I hugged her fast.
"It's gonna be okay." I said. She nodded, slower this time, and I walked past her. I waited for a minute, and then George came running down the stairs. Thank Merlin. If he had been here sooner, he would have seen her and then... well, I don't know what would happen.
"Two of my friends might come out later." George said. I nodded, smiling. His friends were funny and weird, especially Lee.
"Oh, and I have a better way than walking to get there." He said. He walked over to the balcony doors, which were open because it was a nice day. He pulled out two brooms from behind the curtains on either side of the doors. They were older versions of the Cleansweep, but they would work for what we needed. We both walked out on the balcony and mounted our brooms. We pushed off, and then made out way to the Lake at a leisurely pace. We were flying side by side, and I was just taking in the day's beauty when George said something. I nodded, not really hearing him.
"Really?" He asked. My head snapped towards him.
"Wait what?" I asked, scared slightly by the mischevious grin on his face.
"Oh nothing..." He trailed off. I stared at him for a second, shrugged, and looked down at the water, approximately twenty feet below us. I was about to say something when I felt something run into me. I started to tilt sideways, and I grasped frantically at the broom, trying to get a good grip. But I couldn't find one, and I started falling to the water below. I expected someone to try and catch me, but no, I fell right in. The water was cool, but not freezing, and it felt amazing. I kicked my feet, and slowly I resurfaced. I was about to start cursing at whatever hit me when-
"CANNONBALL!" And something dropped in the water next to me. I screamed, and paddled away from the spot. George popped up out of the waves and bubbles with a grin on his face. I wanted to yell at him, but couldn't help smiling.
"GEORGE FABIAN WEASLEY!" I screamed, while trying to stay afloat. My clothes were soaked, and heavier in the water.
"KATHERINE MARIE BELL!" He yelled back. I smiled, shaking my head, and swam to the shore. I got out and stripped, hanging my shirt and shorts up on my tree. I tossed my flip flops over there too. George got out, grinning, and put his shirt up next to mine.
"Lookin' good, Bell!" Someone yelled from behind us. I turned, and Lee was standing there waggling his eyebrows.
"Hi, Lee." I said, waving.
"Who's the other friend that might come?" I asked George. He shifted. No...
"You didn't." I said in disbelief. He smiled innocently, or as innocently as he could, while inching away from me. I glared at him.
"You're overreacting. He might not even come. I just invited him." He said, and then turned around, running away.
"George!" I yelled, starting to run after him. I heard a splash somewhere behind me and assumed that Lee had gotten in the water. George spun around all of a sudden, and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder.
"GEORGE!" I yelled, pounding his back with my fists. He just laughed. He started to go out in the water.
"PUT ME DOWN!" I yelled. He smirked.
"Gladly." He threw me out farther in the Lake. My head popped up again and I tried glaring, but ended up smiling, and laughing. I swam out further.
"Lee! You should help me!" I yelled at me. He smiled, and pretended to think about it.
"I'm coming my fair maiden!" George yelled. Lee looked at him and yelled,
"No, man! I'm helping her!" I laughed as they started going back and forth, racing out to 'save' me.
"You guys are such dorks!" I yelled at them. They both paused.
"We know!" They yelled back at the same time. I laughed. After they got to me, we all headed back to the shore. We started drying off and Lee turned to me.
"So I hear you had quite the day yesterday." He said. I looked at him.
"Understatement of the year." I said.
"What did Wood do about it?" He asked.
"Yeah! I never heard about that either." George said. I sat down, and the others followed.
"That's just it. He didn't do anything. Just said 'don't do it again.' I wasn't kicked off the team or punished or anything. I don't get it." I said.
"He probably didn't want to upset the team by getting a new chaser." Lee said. Thank you!
"Someone else with my philosophy!" I said, high-fiving him.
"He also happens to be attached to this chaser." George said. Lee nodded. I glared at him.
"Why does everyone always say that he likes me? He doesn't!" I yelled. They rolled their eyes.
"Okay, fine he hasn't admitted it yet." Lee said.
"But he did come talk to me this morning. That's why I invited him. Told him we'd be out here all day." George said. I looked at him.
"What did he talk to you about?" I asked, curious.
"He asked if I had known anything about what you had planned. I said, 'you really expect her to get Polyjuice Potion on her own?' He looked at me and just said 'I wish you hadn't done that.' But he asked about you. If you were okay." He told me. I looked at him in suprise. I decided to let the subject drop.
"What about you? What are you going to do about Alicia?" I asked him. He looked down, playing with the sand at his feet. Lee looked at me.
"What happened with Leesh?" He asked. I looked at him.
"I mean, I kinda wondered why we were hanging out with you today instead of her, but I didn't really think about it." He added. I sighed.
"She broke up with him last night." Lee's eyes widened. He looked at the ground too.
"You know what I'm gonna do, Katie? Live. I figure that when life gets tough, you're still breathing, still alive. But you really just gotta keep living life like you would any other day." George said. I nodded. It was wise advice. Not exactly what I meant, but wise all the same.
We decided to go to the kitchens for lunch, and then back out to the lake, spending all day there, like George said. We swam, we built sandcastles, we talked we fought, we played 'rescue me' again, and then decided to watch the sunset. We all sat, leaning again the tree, watching the horizon on the other side of the Lake. We watched as the sun disappeared in hues of pink, orange, yellow, and purple. It was amazing, and it was beautiful. Wood never showed, but I guess that could be expected. I looked down, both hands clasping one of the guys' and then looked up, the last ray of sun disappearing.
"Thanks, guys. For the best day ever."