A week before my first big match, Oliver and I decided to give our parents a visit back home in Middlesbrough. We called to let them know we were coming, and when we arrived, Oliver's parents were over at my house, and my dad was grilling on the barbeque.
We greeted everyone and excused ourselves to quickly unpack. Oliver followed me back inside the house and upstairs to my room where I threw my bag down in a corner and flopped back on my old bed.
"Looks exactly the same as it did the last time I was here," Oliver commented. He glanced around at the dark green walls covered in posters and banners with everything from famous quidditch players to muggle bands and movie stars on them.
"Maybe because the last time you were here was also the last time I was here packing to move in with you?" I threw a pillow at him, but he caught it easily and threw it back.
"Don't be a smart ass. I figured maybe your little brother would have come in here and destroyed everything."
I smiled as I thought about nine year old Dylan. He was outside playing on the swing set my dad had built for me on my seventh birthday when Oliver and I had arrived at the house. He jumped down and ran over to me, wrapping my waist in a big hug.
"Did you bring me anything, Katie?" he had asked, looking up at me with his big blue eyes.
I pulled from inside my travel bag a large sack from Fred and George's shop. Dylan's eyes grew wide; he knew of and was quite fond of the twins and their inventions.
"He won't get hurt with any of that, will he?" my mom asked. She, also, knew the twins.
As I lay on my bed thinking, I realized that Oliver's sister, Wendy, had not been outside with the others. Wendy was a fifth year at Hogwarts, and quite popular at that. Even when I had been attending, she had never liked me.
"She's probably at home being 'too cool' to come to a barbeque with old people," Oliver explained after I asked him about her.
We left my house and walked next door to Oliver's parents house. Oliver turned the handle of the large oak front door and called out, "Wendy?"
We both stepped inside the quiet parlor. As the front door closed with a click, we heard from somewhere upstairs, "Oliver?"
"Wendy?"
"Oliver?"
"Wendy?"
I kicked Oliver's shin and smiled. He snickered and I followed him upstairs. At the top of the landing stood Wendy. She smiled at her older brother, but as her eyes sought me out, she frowned and started tapping her foot.
"Katie," she said with a nod of acknowledgment.
"Hello, Wendy." I drummed my fingers along the railing of the stairs as I waited for the siblings to finish talking to one another.
"So why aren't you out there with mum and dad?" Oliver asked. He opened a door to his left, his old bedroom, and threw his bag inside before closing the door back.
"I have some friends over from school who are spending the week with me. We didn't want to go outside." Wendy blew some of her knotty brown hair away from her face.
"Who are you talking to, Wen?" came a voice from Wendy's opened bedroom door at the end of the hall. "Your brother?"
"Yes," Wendy replied. "Oliver's here."
"Yeah right," came the response from inside the room. We heard shuffling, as though people were moving about and standing up, and three heads poked out from inside the room.
"Oh my goodness!" one of the girls squealed. She was extremely pretty, with long, bright red hair, and big, bright blue eyes. She squeezed between the other two girls that were standing in the doorway and sauntered over to us.
"Oliver, this is Elaine," Wendy said, introducing the two. Elaine stuck her hand out to shake Oliver's, and as their fingers touched, the girl pulled Oliver into a hug that squeezed all the air out of his lungs.
Elaine smiled and looked up at Oliver. "Me and the girls... we didn't believe Wendy when she said you two were related. We've all just transferred over to Hogwarts within the last year and we thought it was some lame story she told us to get us to like her, but now I know it's true! My goodness, I can't believe I'm holding the Oliver Wood in my arms! Do you know how much I absolutely love you? I would kill to have your children!"
Elaine stood on the tips of her toes and leaned forward, her lips puckered, and tried to give Oliver a kiss. He leaned back and broke free from her grasp, grabbing me in the process.
"Elaine! Have you met Katie yet? This is Katie Bell," Oliver said. He stood behind me and pushed me toward the girl, almost like an offering to keep her away.
"Oh, Merlin! Katie Bell! Did you know you're practically the prettiest female quidditch player of all time? I think you're much prettier than Brenda Long, that seeker for the Appleby Arrows. If I were a guy – or a girl who likes girls – I'd totally have a crush on you!" She grabbed my hand and shook it roughly. "Oh wow! Where did you get your dress! It's so cute, I love it!"
I scratched the back of my head nervously. "Uhh, thanks," I said and smiled.
"Well girls," Oliver said, tugging on the back of my dress. "We're both going back next door, so I guess if you're going to stay in here-"
"Oh, of course not!" Elaine said. "We'll all go back outside with you!"
Wendy looked as though she were about to say something, but instead followed her friends with a grim expression on her face.
When we returned to my backyard, we all seated ourselves around the picnic table. Oliver was the first to slide in, and as I stepped over the bench to sit beside him, Wendy bumped me out of the way and took the place herself. Oliver shrugged at me, and I sat opposite him between Wendy and Elaine's other friends. One was named Tiffany, and one Jane. My mum and Mrs. Wood put plates in front of each of us, just as if we were still small children, and finally our parents sat down to eat with us. Dylan sat by himself out by the swing set.
"I'm so grateful you took our precious Katie in, Oliver," my mom said. "I know she wanted to get away from us old folks after she left Hogwarts, but I really didn't want her living by herself. And I hope what I've been sending you every month was enough to cover at least half of your rent."
"It's no problem, Mrs. Bell," Oliver replied through a mouthful of food. I kicked his shin under the table and he glared at me.
"Well, Katie will be able to pay for her own place, now, won't she? I mean, she'll be making millions playing for Puddlemere." Everyone turned to look at Wendy as she spoke. "I bet she'd be able to find some nice apartment over in... in France or something, and I'm sure she'd be able to find a flatmate. I'd even help her look for a place."
"Nonsense, Wen," Oliver said. "Katie's staying with me, aren't you, Kates?" He looked at me expectantly.
"Um, well, she does have a point..." I started. Honestly, the thought of moving out had never crossed my mind, and now that it had, I was almost scared to think about it.
"I enjoy the company," Oliver said, seriously. "Of course, if you're ready to move out, then..."
"No! I mean, no. If you like the company." I blushed as I noticed all eyes were on us. Wendy was shooting daggers at me with her eyes, and when I felt someone stomp down on my toes under the table, there was no doubt in my mind that it was her.
Elaine broke the silence by asking Oliver some silly question about how much he worked out each week. I was too busy thinking about things to pay attention.
Why wouldn't Oliver want me to move out? The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. He liked his privacy, especially when he brought home girls, and with me gone, he'd have his freedom to do as he wished without having to worry about me in the next room. Hell, he'd even be able to invite people over to spend the night because he'd have a spare bedroom! He wouldn't have to worry about making sure I was eating right or falling off the balcony trying to reach my fly-away hat while he wasn't there. Sure he said he liked my company, but with Claudette over five days out of the week and quidditch practice the other two, he didn't really need me around.
I glanced up at him across the table and he was looking at me expectantly. I looked around at everyone else, and realized they were all looking at me, too.
"What?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. Oliver snickered.
"I've just asked you the same question about five times, Katie," he said.
"Oh." I blushed again. I was going to have to do something about that.
"Just forget it, it wasn't important anyway. At least not as important as whatever it was you were thinking about."
Everyone else went back to chatting with each other, but Oliver stayed quiet. He studied me for a long while, and then I felt his foot nudge mine. He hooked his tennis shoe around the back of my ankle and lifted my foot up. He grabbed it and placed my heel on his knee under the table, letting my flip-flop drop to the ground. I was about to ask him what he was doing, but then I felt him start to massage and I almost moaned aloud.
If you've ever experienced a foot massage, especially one by someone who has nice, strong hands, then you know it's probably the best feeling in the world. Angelina and Alicia swear up and down that foot massages have nothing on sex, but I haven't gotten that far, so I'll stick to what I know.
I slouched down in my seat and rested my chin in my hands. I let my eyes flutter closed and enjoyed the feeling of Oliver's thumb pressing in to the sole of my foot. I shuddered as he touched a sensitive spot.
"What is wrong with her?"
"She looks like she's just had really good sex."
Oliver burst out laughing and dropped my foot. I opened my eyes. The sky was noticeably darker, and the "grown-ups" had already left the table and were across the yard talking by our fish pond. I wondered just how long I had been sitting there in complete bliss.
"You're such a freak," Wendy said and stood up. She turned in the direction of her house.
"Hey, Wendy! I have a great idea!" Elaine shouted to the retreating girl's back. Wendy stopped and turned around. "Why don't we ask your mom and Katie's mom if Katie can stay the night over at your house! Don't you think it would be fun! She could tell us all about quidditch stars and... and Oliver!" Elaine leaned over and nudged him in the ribs.
"I know all about Oliver," Wendy said, sounding hurt.
"Yes, but you're just his sister. Older brothers don't tell anything to their little sisters! But Katie lives with him. She's his best friend! I bet she knows all the dirt on him! C'mon, what do you say!"
Wendy seemed to plead to her friend with her eyes, but finally gave up. "Sure, why not. But I doubt Katie would want to spend the night with us little girls."
"Oh, for Merlin's sake, we're only two and three years younger!" Elaine reached across the table and grabbed my hands in hers. "Katie, wouldn't you love to have a girl's night with the rest of us! Oh please oh please oh please! It would totally make my summer vacation!"
Tiffany and Jane were eagerly nodding their heads up at me.
I sighed. "All right?"
Sorry for the wait! So the next chapter will be their little sleepover... which I might get done tomorrow night... but we'll see.
To QueenieKai, and anyone else, I guess, I made an AIM name and a GoogleTalk name you guys can IM at if you ever feel like meeting me or whatever. LOOK IN MY PROFILE FOR MORE DETAILS. Haha, that sounds like a commercial.
Gwenhyfer - it's funny you say that about Oliver and Katie kinda blowing things out of proportion when they fight. Now that you've brought it up, I definitely see it. But to be honest, I just write it the way I would act in those situations, and I suppose I do tend to overreact a LOT. So in a way I guess I don't really realize I'm doing that, and I'll try to keep my eye out for it if Katie and Oliver get into another fight. Thanks for your input!
And also... I wrote a little one-shot called "Thanks for the Film" if any of you haven't read it yet. It's a stupid little story about what happened on the snowy day from the pictures in chapter 10.
And finally... my excuses for not updating as quickly as usual! (Beside the writer's block that I definitely had..) You guys can stop reading now if you're bored out of your mind, lol.
So last Tuesday I went to the Warped Tour here in Raleigh. It was pretty awesome. I'm not much of a hardcore/emo/whatever else kind of music there is at Warped Tour fan, and the people who go there dressed in all black kind of scare me! (No offense if you guys dress like that! Just know that if you ever want to steal candy from me you'll definitely be able to!) But I do LOVE PARAMORE and He Is Legend (although HiL don't begin the tour until later this month... stupidheads) and I got to see the beautiful lead singer of The Academy Is up close and personal, so it was all good.
Wednesday I got a new kitten. My friend found him on the side of the road and couldn't keep him, so now he's mine. It's almost like having a newborn baby in the house because all of my other cats and my dog hate him, so I have to stay up constantly to watch him and make sure no one else kills him while I'm asleep. And then there's the whole fact that he's hungry all the time... ugh!
Guess what I named him. Oh yes. Guess. Go on.
You're going to think I'm a loser, but the name fits him PER FECT LY.
Oliver.
Actually, to be totally honest, it's Oliver Wood, however the Wood is silent, so people won't think I'm a loser when I call his name. But you don't know that it's silent when I'm typing, so I could get on here and say, "Yo guys, I slept with Oliver Wood last night," or "Oliver Wood totally licked my face today" or "Oliver Wood loves me."
I swear I'm the most immature, loserish 18 year old girl you will ever meet.
3 new pictures.