--
Life:
My life slowly began to work its way back into a routine—even if it was a boring one. Much to my annoyance, I was awoken every single morning at the crack of dawn as Oliver climbed out of bed for practice. I never thought I would grow to hate his love of Quidditch more than I did during my fourth year, but it turns out I was wrong. At least during his maniacal captaincy, I wasn't awoken before the birds…
Well, okay, there was that one time.
The logical thing to do would be to move into Ben's old room, but I can't bring myself to do it. Although I wouldn't admit my dependency to anyone, I've grown quite attached to the feel of Oliver's warm body next to mine.
After about a week of these early morning disturbances, I confronted him. Although he promised to be quieter, it made little difference. It turns out I can sleep through anything except Oliver. The slightest movement from him and I'm wide awake.
I take to getting up with him after another hopeless week and it just becomes a habit. For the first time ever, I actually don't mind waking up while it's still dark outside. We normally have a cup of coffee together (or at least I have a cup of coffee—Oliver still hasn't taken to such a blatantly American tradition), and I go back to sleep after he leaves.
This isn't to say, however, that it's the most pleasant experience in the world. Some habits are hard to break and our conversations consist of a lot of grunting on my part. I don't know what it is, really. Maybe my vocal coordination is aided by sunlight…
After he leaves for practice, I slip back into bed and normally don't wake up until noon. Angelina stops by on the rare occasions that she doesn't have training (although I have noticed that her schedule seems to be a lot more lenient than Oliver's), and Leanne does the same when she's not busy. Mallory's over more often than anyone else considering that Ben's at these grueling practices also. But, unlike me, she seems to have a life outside of her boyfriend.
All in all, I'm not sure how well I'm adjusting to living with Oliver. It's almost as though I'm living alone half of the time. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration. I'm still seeing him as much as I was before, but without Ben here to entertain me everyday, I get bored.
Don't get me wrong, Oliver's being perfectly fine to me. In fact, I think he's enjoying this whole situation. He's very conscience of the fact that I'm alone a lot, and he heads home straight after practice. I complained about that once—told him to go spend some time with his own friends. He told me that he would when I do.
One morning in early February, I look out the window to find that a blanket of snow covers the ground. It's actually been there for weeks now, but I was just too distracted to notice it. I love winter. Maybe I'll slip outside a little later, when Oliver's here to keep me warm.
I'm surprised when I hear a knock at the door. I know for a fact that Angelina, Leanne, and Mallory are all busy, so I head to the door with my heart beating fiercely. These days there's no telling what to expect on the other side.
I peek through the curtains to see Charlie Weasley standing on the mat. I groan audibly before opening the door.
"You've got to be kidding me," I say, letting him in against my better judgment.
"No, not really," he counters, pushing past me. "But I need to talk to you and I know that Oliver's at practice."
"Charlie, please just give up," I groan. "This is getting ridiculous. Why can't you understand that Oliver and I are happy together?"
"I do!" he laughs, as if it's the most absurd suggestion in the world. "Do you have any food?"
"I don't know," I answer honestly. He just shrugs and heads towards the kitchen. "What are you doing here, then?" I ask as he begins digging through the cabinets.
"I don't know…I just didn't want to leave things the way we did," he says, turning to face me. "I'm sorry I was rude to you and Oliver. I just have a hard time letting go and in my head you were still mine." He gives me an apologetic smile and I can't help but return it. There's just something about Charlie—much like with Fred and George—that makes it impossible for me to get mad at him.
"I was never mad at you," I assure him as he finds some crisps hidden in the cupboard. "I just don't like you questioning my relationships."
"I know. And I'm sorry." We stand there in silence for a few seconds while I try to decide whether to let him stay. It seems rude to kick him out now, but I'm almost positive Oliver wouldn't approve.
"So, what do you do here alone all day?" he asks me.
"Nothing really," I admit. "I was thinking about trying to get my old job back, but—"
"Don't go back to the Daily Prophet," he instructs. "You'd just be digging your own grave."
"Yeah, exactly," I agree. "I just get so bored here, you know?"
"I would imagine that it gets a bit lonely."
"That's not what I said," I can't help but add and to my surprise, he laughs.
"You're one of those people who can't share their feelings, aren't you?" he laughs. "Being lonely is nothing to be ashamed of."
"I know," I say quickly. "But I'm not."
"Sure. Well, why don't you work at the joke shop? It will give you something to do and I'm sure Fred and George could use some help."
"You really think so?" I ask, taking a seat at the kitchen table. Strangely, this idea has never occurred to me.
"Yeah. They're definitely short-handed. Verity quit after the…incident. Plus, I'd feel better about you working there. As much as Fred might not think so, you're safer with him than here alone."
"You know, that's actually not a bad idea," I muse.
"See," he says, "I do have good ideas every once in a while."
Charlie and I sit there just talking a lot longer than I expected. It felt like that first time at Bill and Fleur's wedding again—uncomplicated by all of our mixed emotions. I did, however, lose track of the time.
This means that, quite simply, when Oliver arrived home around five the first thing that he saw was his girlfriend having a very amiable conversation with a guy who had just recently professed his love for her.
Damn. I'm in trouble now.
"Oliver!" I cry, jumping up from the table. That's right, Katie. Act guilty. "Hi."
"Hi," he replies, and even though he tries to hide it, I can see the anger and frustration built up in his eyes.
Charlie stands up also. "Listen, Oliver, we were just talking. I felt bad about the other night and—"
"I honestly don't care," Oliver interrupts him, staring straight at me the whole time. Great, this is apparently all my fault. "Would you two like me to leave so you can continue talking or—"
"I was just leaving," Charlie quickly intones.
I look into Oliver's eyes and he stares back. Neither of us makes eye contact with Charlie as he brushes past us and out of the room. When he slams the front door shut on his way out, I jump.
Oliver just continues to stare, that same hurt expression in his eyes.
"Oliver, what do you want me to say?" I whisper, scared of what he's about to do. He doesn't answer. "I'm sorry," I finally continue. "But Charlie was telling the truth—nothing happened."
"It doesn't change the fact that he was here, Katie!" Oliver says angrily, storming past me and into the kitchen.
"He just showed up—what was I supposed to do?"
"Tell him to leave!" Oliver cries, turning around to emphasize his point. "Hell, you didn't even have to answer the door in the first place! You obviously had some desire to talk to him."
"That's not fair," I argue, now getting angry myself. Oliver just rolls his eyes before using his wand to heat up some leftover pizza. In his anger, the pizza catches fire and he swears as he puts it out using magic. "Oliver, come on," I beg. "You know that Charlie and I are friends."
"It doesn't change the fact that he's in love with you. Every time I see you two together, I get flashbacks of that night at Leanne and Cullen's wedding. And I hate that."
"Well, that's not my fault, Oliver. I lived with you for months while you were fucking Jaiden. Do you not think that that was a bit hard for me? There's not a damn place in this house that doesn't remind me of you and her!"
He's silent for several seconds and I can tell that my comment only served to make him angrier. He's obviously not in the mood for the blame to be put on him.
"I'm sure you have plenty of girls who are friends," I say, calming myself down slightly.
"Yeah, but I don't bring them here. And I'd appreciate it if you'd offer me the same courtesy. It's not your house after all—I'm the one paying the damn bills!"
His words sting, but I'm determined for him not to know how much it hurts me. "Is that really how you feel?" I cry. "Because if I'm using too much electricity for you, then I can just leave."
"Katie, that's not what I—"
"It obviously is, Oliver. If you want me out of here, just tell me. I'd be glad to go!"
"Really? You'd just leave that easily?" he yells. "I'm that forgettable."
"Well I have to admit that you are making it easier," I retort.
"Dear God!" he cries, rubbing his head in annoyance. "When the hell did you get so damn frustrating?"
"I don't know; probably around the same time that you got that stick jammed up your ass."
He stands there in silence for a minute and I'm about to apologize for taking it too far when he laughs. He continues laughing as he sinks down to sit on the floor in front of the sink. "What are we even fighting about?" he asks, looking me in the eyes.
"I can't remember," I answer, joining him on the floor. "I think it had something to do with Charlie."
"Ugh," Oliver groans. "I hate him." I laugh lightly, snuggling closer to Oliver's side and resting my head on his shoulder. He rubs my hair for a few minutes and I almost fall asleep right then and there, I'm just so comfortable. "I'm sorry I'm never here, Katie. I'm trying so hard."
"I know," I say. "Listen, I think I'm going to try to get a job working at the joke shop. It'll give me something to do, you know?"
He groans, but I feel him nod. "You're not looking for my permission," he says and it's not a question. If there's anything that Oliver understands about me it's the fact that I make my own decisions.
"No, but I do want your opinion."
"I don't want you to do it," he says without hesitation, "but I know that I can't change your mind. It hardly matters, anyway. Fred's never going to let you after what happened to Alicia." I purse my lips in frustration. "It's his call, Katie."
"Fine," I agree. "So, how was practice?"
And there on the kitchen floor, he is instantly dragged to some other place. Some place where it's just him and Quidditch. I swear if it was possible for a man to have sex with a sport, Oliver would have found a way to do it by now. Sometimes I just feel like I can never compete with the game that takes up all of his time. An insane jealousy, I know, but Quidditch will forever be his first love.
I just watch Oliver, his face lighting up as he talks, and I can't help but remember why I first fell in love with him. There's just a passion about him that I could never imagine having myself. When he sets his mind to something, there is no way that he's not going to get it.
But has he ever set his mind to us? To making this relationship last? I can't help but think about what our future together looks like.
Can I imagine us still being together years from now?
As Oliver continues talking, I find my answer. There's no part of me that wouldn't want to be listening to this same drone years from now. I would never get tired of hearing Oliver tell me about his day, no matter how insubstantial it might be.
I can see myself, maybe in the not so distant future, with a wedding band on my finger and Oliver right beside me. Hell, I can even picture kids and those were definitely not in my plans just a few months ago. Being with Oliver has changed me more than I ever imagined that it would.
And it scares me. Because unlike back at Hogwarts, this feels real. School romances have a short shelf-life, but this has potential to really last. This has potential to satisfy me for not only weeks or months, but for years. Forever.
Is forever real? Is it even possible to have a love that spans that amount of time? Because I want it—so bad. But I'm not sure I'm ready for forever just yet.
All I know is that I love Oliver. And that's enough for now.
I interrupt Oliver's psycho-babble by kissing him deeply. As if he was expecting it, he kisses me back without question.
"I'm sorry for saying that you were frustrating," he says after a while.
"I'm sorry for saying you have a stick up your ass," I reply. He laughs once more.
"I just get jealous sometimes, Katie. I can't help it. And I swear I'll make up all of the time that I can't be with you. I have tomorrow off, so we can do something, okay?"
"That sounds nice," I answer.
"What do you want to do tomorrow?" he asks after a while. "I made reservations at that fancy Italian place down the street a few weeks ago, but we can do anything."
"What are you talking about?" I ask, turning to him with confusion etched onto my face.
"Valentine's Day…?"
"Valentine's Day!?" I cry, shocked. "Are you serious? When did that happen?"
"You're absolutely horrible at being a girl, you know that?" he laughs.
"Shut up!" I laugh.
"Honestly, I probably wouldn't have remembered myself if Ben wasn't planning on—" Oliver stops himself before finishing his sentence and that, more than anything else, tips me off to the fact that the information he's withholding is something that I'm going to want to know.
"What's Ben doing?" I ask excitedly.
"Katie, that just slipped out. You're not supposed to know…"
"Oh my God!" I exclaim, jumping up from my place on the floor. Oliver reluctantly follows me up. "He's going to ask her, isn't he?"
"Katie…"
"He is!" I squeal. "Oh my God! He's going to ask her to marry him! Mallory is going to die!"
"Well, hopefully she says yes first or I'm not sure Ben will be able to get on with his life," Oliver says.
"Oh my God!" I repeat and Oliver just laughs at me.
"You must have seen this coming…"
"Of course I did, but it's still a big deal! How's he going to do it?"
"I don't know, Katie," Oliver says patronizingly.
"Yeah, right," I laugh. "You just don't want to tell me."
"You're right, I don't," Oliver agrees. "Of course it doesn't even matter now because no matter what I do for you tomorrow, Ben's already blown me out of the water."
"Don't worry," I say, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'm sure you'll think of something."
"Oh, well, thank you."
"God, everyone's getting married," I say after taking the information in.
"She hasn't said yes yet…"
"But you know what I mean. It's just… I don't know…a bit strange, I guess. Like Fred and Angelina. Sure they were great for each other back in school, but what were the chances that they'd actually get engaged. It just seems unreal."
"Yeah, it does," Oliver agrees. "But then again, I still don't understand how anyone stands Fred for long periods of time." I hit him playfully on the arm, but it does get me to thinking more about Angelina and Fred. Was their relationship built on something that can withstand even this war?
I fall asleep happier than I've felt in a long time. And surprisingly, for the first time in weeks, I could care less about how early Oliver decides to wake me up.
--
When I finally do open my eyes the next morning, I'm thankful to hear birds singing from outside. I roll over to find Oliver facing me. He smiles at me brightly as I push my hair out of my eyes.
"Morning, Sunshine," he says, leaning over to kiss me.
"Good morning," I reply.
"So did you ever decide exactly what you want to do today?" I stare around the room, already lit by the morning sunlight, and I can't think of one place I'd rather be.
"Yeah," I finally say, a big smile spreading its way across my face. "I want to stay here—in bed, all day."
Oliver laughs lightly. "Is that really it? Mallory gets a diamond ring and you want me to counter that by buying you nothing and taking you nowhere?"
"Do you honestly think it could get better than this?" I ask.
"You're really serious," he says, looking into my eyes. "I mean, I know sometimes girls say the opposite of what they mean, but you really do want to stay here?"
"Please?" I beg, like a little kid asking to stay home from school. "We could just lay here. I don't want to bother with getting all dressed up. I just like being me."
"And I wouldn't have you any other way," Oliver says.
So that's how we stayed. For hours he just let me stay folded up in his arms, comfortable and warm. It was the best I've felt in months. Around noon, however, his hunger got the best of him and he dragged me out of bed so that I could help him cook some breakfast.
He's been insisting that I learn to cook for a while now and since I can't even stick bread in a toaster without burning it, he's taking it slow. Breakfast foods first. We bring our food back to the bedroom and eat it together in bed.
Somewhere between lunch and dinner, Mallory calls me on my mobile, screaming inaudibly. I'm glad Oliver gave me the forewarning because without it I don't think I would have ever been able to make out what she was trying to tell me. After promising to show me the ring tomorrow, she hangs up and I'm left to tell Oliver that she accepted Ben's proposal. Oliver's happy, of course, but I can tell that his mind's elsewhere.
"What's wrong?" I ask, scooting closer to him under the sheets.
"Absolutely nothing," he says. "Everything's perfect. I was just thinking about some stuff."
"What kind of stuff?" I ask, tilting my head back to look into his eyes.
"I'd rather not say…"
"Well, why?" I ask, ever curious.
"Because I don't want to seem…over eager."
"You do realize you're going to have to explain that statement now, right?' I ask.
"It's just…I don't know whether to wait anymore," he says.
"Wait to tell me or—"
"No, like wait wait. Like wait to have sex." I feel a blush rise to my cheeks and although I expected this conversation to come sooner or later, I was not prepared for it this early.
"Like wait for what?' I ask.
"I don't know. I mean, back at Hogwarts I told myself that I wasn't going to have sex with you until you were out of school, but then we broke up and…you're out of school. I just don't know anymore."
"Well, do you want to wait until we get married?" I ask, fearing the answer. I know he's slept with girls before and the thought of him not wanting to have sex with me now worries me a bit.
He laughs slightly. "No, Katie. Trust me when I say that no normal guy wants to wait until he gets married to have sex. The reason we do is because we're so hopelessly in love with girls that have morals." A smile spreads across my face.
"My morals died a long time ago," I say.
"So…"
"So, when the time's right, the time's right. That doesn't necessarily mean we have to wait until we get married, but I don't want to rush things."
"I'm willing to wait," he says.
"I know," I reply.
He kisses my neck softly and I can't help the sigh that escapes from my lips. "I love you so much, Katie. I need you to know that."
"I do. And I love you, too."
At that moment, both Oliver and I stiffen as we hear the fireplace come to life in the next room. Oliver rushes to it and I'm close behind him. Just as I step into the living room so does Alicia, covered head to toe in soot.
"Alicia!" I cry, shocked. I run over to greet her, surprised at her entrance but glad to see her nonetheless. It's only then that I notice she's crying.
"Katie!" she cries and I pull her into a tight hug, my heart nearly stopping with worry.
"Alicia, what's wrong? Is everyone okay? What's going on?"
"No, no, everything's fine," she says, shaking her head to emphasize the point. "I just…I need to talk to someone."
"I'll fix the extra bed for you," Oliver says, leaving us alone.
"Alicia, what's wrong?" I ask, pulling away from my friend.
"I did something really stupid, Katie."
"You're going to have to give me more information than that if you want my help…"
"I slept with Lee."
And suddenly everything I thought I knew slipped through the cracks. Because after that piece of news, it becomes obvious that anything—and I mean anything—could happen at any moment to just ruin everything.
--
Bit of a cliffie, I know. Sorry. But this was a longer chapter :) Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Review, please.