China Roses
An Elevator
/One told me of China Roses,
One a thousand nights and one night,
Earth's last picture, the end of evening
Hue of indigo and blue. /
Ginny laughed softly as Oliver told her yet another schoolboy joke. She looked around. His apartment was a pleasant, not very fancy affair. The furniture was the bare necessities. There were a coffee table, a sofa; a television set, and quite a small dining table. The carpet was a dark and horrible shade of maroon. But Ginny didn't really care.
"You're a great cook, Oliver," she told him.
Oliver shrugged. "Nah. Just normal fare."
"It's my second helping of spaghetti."
Oliver looked up. "You want more?"
They laughed nervously, both doubting their own feelings. They suddenly became very interested in what was on their plates.
After a brief moment of silence, Ginny stole a glance at Oliver. His forehead was creased in concentration, and his eyes gave his evident apprehension away. He looked up. Ginny was caught.
"Oliver?" Ginny whispered his name.
"Yeah?" Oliver was looking nervous again.
"Thanks. Thanks for that hug. Thanks for dinner. Thanks- thanks for everything. I- I think I'd better leave. It's getting late." Ginny could see Oliver's face falling.
"I should send you back, Ginny."
Ginny laughed. "Just the floo station."
Oliver shook his head firmly. "Your hotel."
Ginny relented.
...
After a whirlwind journey by floo, Oliver and Ginny walked slowly down the road. Oliver stole a sideways glance at her. He was positively itching to reach out and hold her hand. He wanted to do what they always did in romantic dramas- he wanted to push her dramatically against a lamppost and snog her like there was no tomorrow. But instead he folded his arms over his chest. For the first time that evening, he felt cold, because he had lent his coat to Ginny.
Meanwhile, Ginny was feeling quite snug in Oliver's thick coat. She glanced at him- it was obvious that he was cold; from the way he folded his arms and shivered.
"Do you..." Ginny began, indicating the coat.
Oliver shook his head. "It's fine. You keep it."
They walked along in awkward silence, not daring to say anything. Finally, they reached Ginny's hotel. Ginny meant to bid him farewell as she the elevator, but Oliver stepped in with her, a nervous smile on his face.
"I was afraid you would get assaulted-" he tried to explain, but the lift had jerked to a stop.
"Your floor?" Oliver questioned, wondering why the door didn't open. The lights flickered off.
Ginny's blood ran cold. "No it isn't, Oliver."
"I'll use magic," Oliver told her, whipping out his wand. "Alohomora," he whispered. The lift door opened, but all they saw was the blank wall, before the door closed again.
"Shit." Oliver's irritation was obvious.
"Double shit. Press the bell, Oliver," Ginny whispered. Oliver did so. A tinny-sounding voice came over the intercom.
"Don't worry, help will be coming soon."
"How soon?" Oliver asked anxiously.
"Umn, half an hour at most?"
"Damn."
"I'll have to switch off the intercom now, it's using too much electricity."
"Okay." Oliver's forehead glistened with perspiration.
There was an awkward silence for a few minutes.
"We might die, y'know? There's a brief possibility that they might gas us." Oliver sounded serious, even though the idea was ridiculous.
"Don't joke, Oliver. That's not funny."
"I'm not joking."
"Oh."
There was another silence.
"If we die..." Ginny trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.
She suddenly felt Oliver standing very close to her. Without saying anything, he leaned forward and closed the gap between them.
If Ginny could, she would have cried out in surprise, but since her tongue was busy at work in Oliver's mouth, all she could manage was a low moan. Finally, Oliver pulled away, gasping for breath.
"Oliver, when-" Ginny began, but was cut off by Oliver placing two fingers over her mouth.
"Ginny Weasley," he sounded hoarse. "I have loved you since the day I saw you at the alumni match."
Ginny remembered the time when Hogwarts had called back the old Quidditch teams to have an alumni match. That was during her seventh year, and it was actually to celebrate the downfall of Lord Voldemort. Ginny had been Head Girl and a Gryffindor chaser at that time, and was quite popular. Before the actual matches, the alumni teams and the new teams tried playing against each other, and Ginny proved quite a tough customer for Oliver. But Ginny had never really paid attention to Oliver, being more occupied with Harry. She had always thought of Oliver as an older brother ever since she knew him on a personal basis, and now...
"Here you are, declaring your love for me... And I thought you were a brother," Ginny whispered.
"I am no more your brother than Harry is, or Dean," Oliver whispered back.
Ginny placed a hand on his chest. "They are my brothers," she murmured.
"Do you love me?" Oliver finally asked. Ginny could feel his heart pounding underneath her fingers.
"Oliver..." Ginny did not know how to answer him.
Oliver backed away. "I'm sorry about that, Ginny. Terribly sorry." Ginny could hear him choke slightly.
"Oliver, I-" Ginny began, but the lights blinked on again and the elevator started to move again. It opened on the next floor, to a very worried hotel attendant and mechanic.
"You'll have to take the other elevator, sir-" the attendant began apologetically, but Oliver pushed past her, saying, "I'll take the stairs, I'm in a hurry."
Ginny was left there with the attendant, who was apologizing profusely. Slowly, she stepped into the other elevator and went to her hotel room.
A/N:
Aww, that was so terribly hard to write!! :) Ha, I made Ginny evil. Poor Oliver... **sniffle**
A little disclaimer: I don't own any nice people, only the jerk Nicholas and the two chasers. All the song extracts were from Enya's China Roses. Yeah. I think the storyline's mine, but it's damn clichéd, so I bet someone used it before... :)
Anyway, I'm off to write another soppy chapter!! It features the biggest jerk of all time, Nicholas. I'm flattered- I'm actually good at making jerks!! :)
**Evil maniacal grin**, or EMG.
Arwen
An Elevator
/One told me of China Roses,
One a thousand nights and one night,
Earth's last picture, the end of evening
Hue of indigo and blue. /
Ginny laughed softly as Oliver told her yet another schoolboy joke. She looked around. His apartment was a pleasant, not very fancy affair. The furniture was the bare necessities. There were a coffee table, a sofa; a television set, and quite a small dining table. The carpet was a dark and horrible shade of maroon. But Ginny didn't really care.
"You're a great cook, Oliver," she told him.
Oliver shrugged. "Nah. Just normal fare."
"It's my second helping of spaghetti."
Oliver looked up. "You want more?"
They laughed nervously, both doubting their own feelings. They suddenly became very interested in what was on their plates.
After a brief moment of silence, Ginny stole a glance at Oliver. His forehead was creased in concentration, and his eyes gave his evident apprehension away. He looked up. Ginny was caught.
"Oliver?" Ginny whispered his name.
"Yeah?" Oliver was looking nervous again.
"Thanks. Thanks for that hug. Thanks for dinner. Thanks- thanks for everything. I- I think I'd better leave. It's getting late." Ginny could see Oliver's face falling.
"I should send you back, Ginny."
Ginny laughed. "Just the floo station."
Oliver shook his head firmly. "Your hotel."
Ginny relented.
...
After a whirlwind journey by floo, Oliver and Ginny walked slowly down the road. Oliver stole a sideways glance at her. He was positively itching to reach out and hold her hand. He wanted to do what they always did in romantic dramas- he wanted to push her dramatically against a lamppost and snog her like there was no tomorrow. But instead he folded his arms over his chest. For the first time that evening, he felt cold, because he had lent his coat to Ginny.
Meanwhile, Ginny was feeling quite snug in Oliver's thick coat. She glanced at him- it was obvious that he was cold; from the way he folded his arms and shivered.
"Do you..." Ginny began, indicating the coat.
Oliver shook his head. "It's fine. You keep it."
They walked along in awkward silence, not daring to say anything. Finally, they reached Ginny's hotel. Ginny meant to bid him farewell as she the elevator, but Oliver stepped in with her, a nervous smile on his face.
"I was afraid you would get assaulted-" he tried to explain, but the lift had jerked to a stop.
"Your floor?" Oliver questioned, wondering why the door didn't open. The lights flickered off.
Ginny's blood ran cold. "No it isn't, Oliver."
"I'll use magic," Oliver told her, whipping out his wand. "Alohomora," he whispered. The lift door opened, but all they saw was the blank wall, before the door closed again.
"Shit." Oliver's irritation was obvious.
"Double shit. Press the bell, Oliver," Ginny whispered. Oliver did so. A tinny-sounding voice came over the intercom.
"Don't worry, help will be coming soon."
"How soon?" Oliver asked anxiously.
"Umn, half an hour at most?"
"Damn."
"I'll have to switch off the intercom now, it's using too much electricity."
"Okay." Oliver's forehead glistened with perspiration.
There was an awkward silence for a few minutes.
"We might die, y'know? There's a brief possibility that they might gas us." Oliver sounded serious, even though the idea was ridiculous.
"Don't joke, Oliver. That's not funny."
"I'm not joking."
"Oh."
There was another silence.
"If we die..." Ginny trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.
She suddenly felt Oliver standing very close to her. Without saying anything, he leaned forward and closed the gap between them.
If Ginny could, she would have cried out in surprise, but since her tongue was busy at work in Oliver's mouth, all she could manage was a low moan. Finally, Oliver pulled away, gasping for breath.
"Oliver, when-" Ginny began, but was cut off by Oliver placing two fingers over her mouth.
"Ginny Weasley," he sounded hoarse. "I have loved you since the day I saw you at the alumni match."
Ginny remembered the time when Hogwarts had called back the old Quidditch teams to have an alumni match. That was during her seventh year, and it was actually to celebrate the downfall of Lord Voldemort. Ginny had been Head Girl and a Gryffindor chaser at that time, and was quite popular. Before the actual matches, the alumni teams and the new teams tried playing against each other, and Ginny proved quite a tough customer for Oliver. But Ginny had never really paid attention to Oliver, being more occupied with Harry. She had always thought of Oliver as an older brother ever since she knew him on a personal basis, and now...
"Here you are, declaring your love for me... And I thought you were a brother," Ginny whispered.
"I am no more your brother than Harry is, or Dean," Oliver whispered back.
Ginny placed a hand on his chest. "They are my brothers," she murmured.
"Do you love me?" Oliver finally asked. Ginny could feel his heart pounding underneath her fingers.
"Oliver..." Ginny did not know how to answer him.
Oliver backed away. "I'm sorry about that, Ginny. Terribly sorry." Ginny could hear him choke slightly.
"Oliver, I-" Ginny began, but the lights blinked on again and the elevator started to move again. It opened on the next floor, to a very worried hotel attendant and mechanic.
"You'll have to take the other elevator, sir-" the attendant began apologetically, but Oliver pushed past her, saying, "I'll take the stairs, I'm in a hurry."
Ginny was left there with the attendant, who was apologizing profusely. Slowly, she stepped into the other elevator and went to her hotel room.
A/N:
Aww, that was so terribly hard to write!! :) Ha, I made Ginny evil. Poor Oliver... **sniffle**
A little disclaimer: I don't own any nice people, only the jerk Nicholas and the two chasers. All the song extracts were from Enya's China Roses. Yeah. I think the storyline's mine, but it's damn clichéd, so I bet someone used it before... :)
Anyway, I'm off to write another soppy chapter!! It features the biggest jerk of all time, Nicholas. I'm flattered- I'm actually good at making jerks!! :)
**Evil maniacal grin**, or EMG.
Arwen