Fear of Falling
The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven
John Milton
Chapter 10
'How can I be in two places at once?' Katie found herself asking Helena as soon as she arrived in her, otherwise empty, dormitory.
'Why do you need to be in two places?' she replied casually, not moving from her bed where she was currently reading the latest edition of Witch Weekly. Her eyes didn't venture off the page as she spoke, so if it wasn't for her question, chances are that she wouldn't have acknowledged Katie's presence.
'Because I made plans to study with Cullen on Wednesday, and Oliver's just told me to keep Oliver free, and I don't know what I should do; study with a friend, or go out with my boyfriend!' Katie said in one breath, them calmed down a little. 'Help me . . .' She fell dramatically onto her bed, causing Helena to put down her magazine and address the problem at hand.
'Well, that way I see it, there's three options; study with Cullen as planned, and risk Oliver getting angry, as well as most likely jealous, and risk ruining your relationship – that is if Oliver will get angry over something so stupid. Or, you can go with Oliver, making him happy, but Cullen might lose some repeat in you and think of you as Oliver's puppet; ready to drop everything on his command.'
'And the third option?' Katie asked, a hint of hope in her voice.
'Don't do either. Neither will be ecstatic, but chances are that they will both be at least satisfied because you're not spending the night with the other.'
'So my choices are "A", keep Cullen happy, but risk looking Oliver, "B", keep Oliver happy, but risk Cullen losing all respect in me, or "C", spend the night alone?'
'Pretty much.'
'My life's messed up!' Katie signed, and rolled over on her bed only to find herself sprawled on the floor, her body aching from the impact of her fall. A small groan was let out before she decided that she didn't have the strength to get up – after all, it had been a mentally tiring day.
'Or there's option "D"!' Tania chimed from above me.
'How much did you hear?' Katie groaned, rolling over to get a clear view of Tania towering over her with a grin plastered over her face.
'Enough!' she simple stated with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
X
Wednesday morning came quicker than Katie would have liked, and she soon found herself waking up to a stream of sunlight rushing in through the windows as Tania threw the curtains open.
'Good morning!' she said in a singsong voice, directing her greeting Katie, who was now seeking refuge under her bed covers.
'Leave me alone!' Katie moaned, burying herself deeper into the bed.
'Get up, Katie!' Tania ordered – her tone of voice said that she was not to be messed with, but nonetheless –
'Why should I?' Katie shot back.
'Because it's "D Day"! Now I want to see you up and dressed within the next five minutes.'
'And if I'm not?'
'Then I won't hesitate to do it myself!'
Needless to say, Katie chose the first option.
X
'I still don't see why this was necessary,' Katie muttered half an hour later. She ran a hand through her carefully curled golden brown hair, which now, thanks to Tania, fell into perfect ringlets, inspecting them in the mirror.
'Don't you touch them!' Tania almost growled. 'And it's all part of the plan; it'll save you doing your hair later. I like to call it "Time Management".'
'Then what's with my skirt?' Katie asked, trying to pull her skirt down for the umpteenth time that morning to make it look more like a skirt and less like a belt.
'What's wrong with it?' Tania challenged, knowing well that Katie would not dare answer back this time.
'Nothing . . .'
X
'Katie?' Fred chocked as the two girls sat down in front of them for breakfast. He surveyed her up and down before she sat down, his eyes lingering on her just a split seconds longer that they should have. She noticed.
'That's my name!' she replied happily, choosing to ignore the look he gave her and she grabbed an apple from a bowl of fruit nearby, which earned her a smile from Tania.
'What happened?!' George asked bluntly, spraying half of his mouthful of pancakes across the table; some habits never die.
'What do you mean?' Tania challenged, jumping to Katie's defence quickly.
'That she looks very nice today,' he replied cautiously, waiting for Tania's look of approval at his answer before exhaling the breath he didn't know he had been holding.
'Has Helena already been down?' Katie asked, looking around for her friend.
'Yeah. She just left before you arrived; said something about finishing homework in the library,' Fred replied.
'Morning,' a groggy quidditch captain greeted as he slid into the bench between the twins. 'Good news; no torture session tonight.'
'Aww, thanks Oliver!' Fred exclaimed mockingly, enveloping Oliver in a large, bone crunching hug, which seemed to be inherited from his mother.
'That's nice of you, Oliver. What's the occasion?' George said with an over-exaggerated wink, which succeeded in causing Katie to turn a shade of bright red that any Weasley would be proud of.
Oliver, however, merely chuckled, casting a quick glance in Katie directing which seemed to answer George's question. His eyes quickly darted back to Katie, lingering on her for longer than she was comfortable with.
'Something wrong?' she asked innocently with a small, almost childlike smile.
'No. . .' he stuttered. 'Nothing wrong.'
She couldn't help but laugh at his lack of words, and her friends joined in with her. It was Oliver's turn to turn bright red – a feat not easily achieved.
'Err . . . Katie, can I talk to you,' Oliver finally managed to say. 'Outside.'
The couple walked side-by-side out of the Great Hall, and out through the main doors. It was a chilly morning, and Katie made a mental note to scold Tania for the lack of warm clothes she allowed Katie to wear.
'You look . . . different?' he started, unsure of how to word it, as he lead her towards a large stone not far from the shores of the lake. He laid his outer robes on the stone, before the pair sat down.
'Thanks?' Katie replied. 'I'm guessing that that was supposed to be a complement.'
'I think it was,' he said quietly, and it seemed that he was deciding how to approach the subject he wanted to talk about. 'Did you notice the attention you got when we walked out – male attention?' he asked her, his voice cracking a little as he did so.
'No, I can't say I did.'
'Well there was some – a lot.'
'Jealous?' Her question was supposed to be innocent, but judging by how his brow furrowed as she spoke it had been taken as anything but.
'Jealousy? That's what you think my main problem is, at the minute? Okay, I will admit that it may play a minor play, but for the most part it is a problem that is a bit more serious, and a lot less mental.'
'Less mental?' she questioned, before thinking over what he had just said. 'Oh!' she exclaimed a few minutes later, her eyes lighting up in understanding before her cheeks became tinted in pink for the second time that morning. 'Shit! I'm going to kill Tania!'
'So I'd be right in guessing that the outfit this morning was of her doing?' he asked, receiving a curt nod as an answer. 'Remind me to thank her later,' he told her with a mischievous smile.
She hit him playfully on the arm, pouting like a four year old and crossing her arms across her chest to show her disapproval at his comment.
'Don't do that, Katie,' he exclaimed, looking away from her. 'It's torture in its finest form.' His tone softened as he spoke again. 'Are we still on for tonight?'
'Of course,' Katie replied, laughing as if it was the most pointless question in the world.
'Good, because I have something special planned.'
'That's good to know. See you at lunch, I guess,' she said, standing up and starting to walk away.
'Oh, and Katie!' Oliver called after her.
'Yeah?' she called back, spinning around to face him.
'In case I don't see you, could you do me a favour an let Tania dress you for tonight?'
Right! So I posted a little later than planned, but I posted nonetheless xD
Thanks to my wonderful reviewers;
Cinny75
cinroc
freshwaterplimpies
ashley
KristyT23
So I was going to add more, but then I thought that I should post it and put the rest in another chapter, because it seemed like a good place to stop there. Reviews anyone? A virtual hug for anyone who pressed that little blue button xD