Oliver's point of view

Katie pulled me outside the tent back toward the gardens. The sun had set completely and I couldn't help but notice how nice the stars looked in the clear sky. It was something I missed living in London.

We passed several clusters of people, couples locking lips and a drunk man who seemed to be looking for his lost wallet. Katie finally seemed to decide she was content with a secluded area of the garden and took a seat on a small bench near a bubbling fountain. I sat next to her and watched in amusement as she attempted to pop open the champagne bottle. The cork landed in the fountain and the loud pop sent a flock of fairies scattering, leaving us completely alone. The only sounds were the fountain and faint music playing inside the tent in the distance.

I watched Katie take a long drink from the bottle and raised an eyebrow at her. She grinned and passed it to me.

"You know, if you really think about it, weddings are kind of ridiculous," she said, turning to face me. I took a drink from the bottle.

"How so?"

"It's all so… gaudy and performative," Katie said, gesturing wildly. "Look at this. A fairy garden, a mansion, designer suits and gowns. They've created a fairytale setting which is such an illusion."

"Kate, you were just going on about how stunning this is an hour ago," I laughed.

"I do think it's stunning," she said. "But it's also so frivolous. We spend so much time and money on one night, just so our friends and family will think we're special."

The conversation had taken a dark turn and I knew it was a result of Katie's attitude regarding her own wedding. I watched her take another swig from the bottle and smiled as she hiccupped.

"Take it easy there," I laughed, prying the bottle from her fingers. "We don't need a repeat of New Year's Eve."

"Do you think they'll me back in The Leaky Cauldron yet?"

"I don't think you'll ever be welcome back there, Kate. Not after what you did."

Katie tried to cross her legs and nearly fell off the bench. I grabbed her and pulled her against myself, resting an arm around her.

"Kate, you're in a dress, you can't do that."

She ignored me. "Why do we need to have weddings to get married?" she said, intent on continuing her anti-wedding rant.

"You don't," I pointed out. "You could elope."

"My mum would kill me."

"Yeah, she would," I agreed.

"This whole wedding thing has been a nightmare," Katie said, resting her head on my shoulder. "It's not even what I want. I don't need to be surrounded by 300 people. I just want to get it all over with." She closed her eyes and I immediately felt bad for her.

"It shouldn't be this way," I said quietly. "You should be thrilled about getting married."

"I know."

We sat in silence and I watched the garden lights flicker. I felt terrible. Mostly because I just wanted Katie to be happy, and partly because I didn't know how to help her. Telling her not to marry Chris would be selfish on my part, but I also didn't want her to make any regrettable decisions. I genuinely didn't believe she was happy with Chris, but I also didn't think it was my place to tell her what to do.

"Ol?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not supposed to marry Chris, am I?"

I wanted to tell her she was supposed to forget all about Chris. I wanted to say that she belonged with me. I wanted to make everything that was hurting her go away.

"Katie, it's not my place to tell you that."

"No!" she said, raising her voice, turning to face me with a serious expression. "Oliver, I need you to be honest with me."

I hated when she called me Oliver.

"I am being honest with you. I can't tell you whether or not you should marry someone. That decision has to be made by you."

"But I don't want to marry him. I just feel like I should."

Her words were heavy, yet I think we both felt like a massive weight had been lifted.

"Why don't you want to marry him?"

"Because it doesn't feel right."

"Why not?"

"Because," she said, her voice heavy with exasperation. She fell quiet and I finished the bottle of champagne. "Because this isn't how it's supposed to feel. Chris is supposed to be the person I lean on. I need to be able to talk to him, to tell him anything. If I can't open up to my own fiancé, how can I open up to anyone? He should be the person who always listens to me. He should be the one person who doesn't judge me. He should want me to be who I am, and he should be happy when I'm happy. He's supposed to be my person."

I couldn't disagree with her, but I also didn't want it to seem like I was just looking for a reason to bash Chris. I knew she'd been disappointed when I revealed I didn't like him, and I didn't want her to think I was being unfair. Not that Chris deserved any fairness or reasoning in my opinion.

"But instead, I always feel like I'm letting him down," she continued. "I always feel like I can't give him what he needs because there's something wrong with me."

"Katie, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you."

"But that's the way I feel when I'm with him. He makes me feel like a disappointment, but I don't know if it's all in my head." A loud bout of laughter echoed from the tent. "I know he loves me. What I don't know is why it doesn't feel like it."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't feel like myself when I'm with him. I feel like he's always wanting me to be different and I hate that. He's supposed to be my person. But instead, it's always you. I always have to come to you. You're always my person."

"That's because I know you better than anyone."

"But don't you think my own fiancé should be the one who knows me best?"

Bingo, Katie. Now wasn't the time to be proving any points or proposing marriage, though.

"I think the person you marry should be the one person who makes you feel the most complete," I said carefully. "They should be the one person who you can't live without, and who you don't want to change. They shouldn't want to change you and should accept you for everything you are, and everything you'll become."

Katie smiled. "That's awfully poetic of you, Ol."

"I'm a modern Shakespeare."

"But really," Katie said, her green eyes turning serious again. "You really believe that?"

"Of course," I replied. "The person you're going to spend your life with should be the person who makes you feel the most comfortable in your own self."

Katie fell quiet again and seemed to be thinking my words over. Maybe it was the scenery around us, with all its blossoming spring flowers and sparkling lights. Maybe it was the warm air and romantic music carrying from the tent. Maybe Katie had simply had too much champagne, or maybe something had finally clicked for her. All I know is she was suddenly kissing me and I wasn't stopping her.

I rested one hand on her waist, the other gently on her cheek. She had one hand on my chest, the other wrapped around my neck. I felt her deepen the kiss and my grip on her waist tightened.

I knew it was wrong because I knew Katie wasn't in the right state of mind. I knew she'd be upset with herself when she sobered up. But I'd also had enough champagne to briefly ignore the voice of reason in my head.

I could feel Katie's hand gripping the front of my suit tightly. It was uncomfortable, but I wasn't about to make any effort to back away. I'd let her decide when to do that. When she finally did, her face hovered in front of mine for a moment.

Suddenly, she started giggling and I was unsure if I should laugh with her or go ahead and dig a grave for myself right there in the garden.

"Boy, I've really done it now," she said between fits of laughter. I couldn't help but smile at her joy, though the internal panic was still making me sweat. "What kind of person realizes their fiancé is a terrible match for them and then immediately snogs their friend?"

I felt relieved that she was laughing at herself, not me, but the confusion was still giving me a headache. Or maybe it was the alcohol.

Why wasn't she angry with me? I'd always assumed she'd tear my skull off if I kissed her. Though I guess she was the one who kissed me first. But why wasn't she screaming and crying and panicking at me?

"I can't believe we really just did that," Katie laughed, leaning against my shoulder. "Actually..." She sat up to catch my gaze. "I can't believe it took us eighteen years to do that."

"Wh-what?"

"Oh, come on," she laughed. "We've been close all this time and you've never wondered what it'd be like if we got together?"

Nope. Never wondered. Not a day in my life.

"Of course I've wondered," I tried to say as nonchalant as possible. I was too drunk to know if my expression was giving me away, but Katie was too drunk to notice anyway.

"I'm pretty sure Chris is convinced we've hooked up," Katie whispered before a fit of giggles hit. "He hates that I sometimes sleep in your bed."

"I can't say I really blame him there, Kate. I wouldn't be happy if my fiancée did that either."

"But he's so insecure about it!" she giggled. "Though I guess it's hard for him to compare to an athlete. Poor bloke."

Yeah, poor bloke.

"Angelina's going to have a field day when I tell her about this."

"Wait, you're going to tell her?" I asked, suddenly feeling very concerned.

"I have to," she laughed. "I can't talk to you about how I snogged you. Oh, Angelina's going to scream."

"Scream?"

"She's wanted us to get together all these years," Katie revealed. "She's always saying you and I have something no one else does. She thinks we belong together."

Smart girl, that Angelina Weasley. I always knew I liked her.

A round of applause caught Katie's attention and she turned to look toward the tent and gasped. "Sounds like they're cutting the cake!" she exclaimed. She jumped to her feet, stumbled and nearly shattered an ankle in her heels.

"Careful!" I rushed to help her.

"Can I ride on your back?"

"Kate, you're wearing a dress."

She sighed dramatically. "Will you carry me?"

It was my turn to sigh dramatically. I bent down to scoop her up in my arms and began walking toward the tent, despite the wooziness the champagne had created in my head. Katie hummed and kicked her feet as they dangled over my arm and people turned to look at us. I was supposed to be carrying Katie like this on our wedding night, not someone else's, but I can't say I had any complaints about it.

"I'm so excited for cake," she said happily, as if the events of the previous emotional half hour had never happened. "It's the only part of weddings I really like."