A/N: Once again, I didn't manage to put this up as soon as I wanted to, but I have been having very little free time lately. However, Easter holidays are starting, so I shall put a few chapters up until it's time to go back to university. Well, let me start my dear reviewers once again:
LoTRfreAK, it was a bit cliché, but hey… we all need some of it every once in a while, right?! ;) Thank you!! Kathy, I laughed so hard when I read your review!! Apparently, a part of Katie agrees with you *lol* thank you for your support, and I'm sorry to inform you that you shall suffer a little longer, but I think you'll like what's coming on the next chapters: mixed feelings, lots of emotions, fights… but I shan't say anything else for now… heehee! Beth, tu es très jolie et très gentille!! Once again, thank you for your lovely review! I'm so glad you liked chapter 7 so much! And of course I understood your explanations. I simply LOVED the whole "BAT" thing!! *LOL* Oliver Wood est vraiment à tomber par terre! DIFINITELY! ;) As for something to end a letter or a review... you can use "Till next time"… I use "cheers" quite a lot! Jayne: once again, thank you!!! And Katie IS pondering on the thought of smacking Jenny… *lol* Crystal: Yes, it took me ages, once again, I'm sorry! But here is Chapter 8 and I hope you enjoy it!
Well, many of my reviewers seem to have abandoned me :( I think that's what I get for taking so long to update… I think I deserved it, eh?! Well, I hope Chapter 8 will bring you back ;)
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I was used to take long, nearly endless showers, especially after Quidditch. But that one was particularly long, for three reasons. One, I didn't remember ever being that tired. Two, I really needed the time to think. Three, I was dreading facing Jen again. She had kept from asking me what was going on until then, but I was sure that attitude was coming to an end. And I couldn't have been more right. As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, in baby-pink, comfy trousers and a white tank top, she shot the first question, before I even had gotten to my bed.
"So, care to tell me what's going on?"
I took a deep breath before replying.
"I don't know…"
"What do you mean you don't know? You're either going to tell me or not, it's that simple, Katie…"
"No, Jenny! What I don't know is what's going on… I haven't quite figured it out yet. But I can tell you there's nothing simple about it."
"Let's start off slowly, Kates…" – she started patiently – "you haven't figured WHAT out?"
"What happened… or rather, didn't happen! Almost happened, I don't know. And to be perfectly honest, I haven't figured out what to do to you, either!!" – I said sounding a bit mad.
"Meaning…?"
"Meaning I don't know if I should thank you or slap you!"
"For Godric's sake, Katie, what are you on about? Why would you want to do either? And I would appreciate if you could be a little more specific, 'cause I can't read minds, you know!" – she was clearly getting irritated.
"Oh, please, Jen, cope with me… my mind is an awful mess right now. Please, be patient!"
"Alright, alright! I'll be patient" – she said, this time smiling. – "Let's go back to the initial question, then… what happened? You and Oliver were acting really strange. It can't have been just because of the match! And I'm guessing it wasn't, was it?" – she asked sitting in my bed in front of me.
"No, it wasn't…" – I answered looking down.
"What was it, then?"
"Well… remember how I've always told everyone that kept bugging me about my relation with Oliver that they were delusional, 'cause what we had was just friendship and our feelings towards each other were completely platonic?"
"Yes…" – she replied suspiciously.
"Er… you see, uh… I might have been slightly wrong."
"Wait… what are you saying? Are you saying you… FANCY Oliver?"
"No! I… don't think so… I-I don't know!"
"But you just said so!"
"No, I never said I fancied him! What I meant was just that my feelings for him right now seem to be a little confuse." - Maybe the 'little' was an understatement.
"You're killing me here, Kates… PLEASE tell me what the hell happened to make you all of a sudden question your feelings towards him like this?"
"Uh… we sort of… kind of… like… might have… nearly… kissed." – I said, the last word not louder than a whisper.
"Nearly kissed?" – Jen asked, confused.
"Yes… we were kind of getting there when you entered the locker rooms and interrupted us."
"I… OH MY GOD, KATES! That's HUGE! No wonder you to were acting like that! And no wonder you want to slap me! I'm so sorry…"
"No, you're getting it all wrong! You see, that's what I was saying before. I don't know if I should slap you or THANK you, 'cause if you hadn't arrived, I think we would have ended up kissing. But I don't know if I wanted that."
"What do you mean you don't know? If you were about to do it, I'd guess you DID want it to happen…" – she said chuckling.
"No, I didn't! Or at least I don't think so… I don't know, I had never considered kissing Oliver until then… after all, we've always been friends, just friends!"
"Yeah… but have you considered that maybe you want to be more than just friends?
"No, I don't want that!" – I began, then it hit me – "Though… looking back now, I realise that I've been having some strange thoughts concerning him for the last few months. It's like, all of a sudden I realised how gorgeous he is, how hot he looks without his shirt on, how great he smells, how sexy his accent is…" – I said, getting lost in a very clear mental image of Oliver, before snapping back to reality. – "Oh my God, I did NOT just say that!"
"Kates…"- Jen started slowly – "I think you DO fancy him!"
"No, I don't! I can't fancy him, he's OLIVER! My best friend, OLIVER… like a brother to me, OLIVER! You can't fancy your BROTHER!"
"No, you can't… but then again, he's not REALLY your brother, is he?"
"No, but almost!"
"But 'almost' is not really a brother! This 'almost' can make ALL the difference..."
"I don't know… I don't know! I know nothing! See how complicated this is?!"
"I can only imagine how you must be feeling, Kates… and there's only one thing you can ask yourself that may help you figure out what you're actually feeling."
"And what would that be?"
"Now that you've considered the possibility, you have to figure out if you wanted the kiss to have happened, if you want to actually kiss him or not."
"I just spent the last hour an a half asking myself that question."
"And…?"
"I couldn't come up with an answer! Back in the locker rooms it all happen so suddenly. After making sure Potter was all right, I went looking for him. When I saw him, he looked so devastated it broke my heart… he was actually crying and the only thing I could do was to hold him! After a while, we started talking and I was trying to cheer him up, telling him we still had a shot at winning the cup. Then he pulled me to him again and that's when… well we almost kissed! I don't know, I think it was just a spur of the moment thing."
"And why is that?"
"Because we were both feeling very fragile for losing the match. The possibility of having your dream ruined just like that… too many emotions going on, I think we mixed things up a bit… yeah, that was it. We were just confused!"
"So, there you have it! You've figured out your answer…" – Jen said smiling, but for some reason, I didn't think she sounded very convinced. – "Now that you don't have the doubts tormenting you anymore, fancy going to down to have dinner?"
"Nah, you go. I'm too tired and not really hungry. Besides, I'm not too keen on facing Oliver just yet. The first time after the incident is going to be TOO awkward, so I rather deal with that tomorrow. I'll just take a quick nap then stay in for the rest of the day, or rather, night. – I said looking at the window and realising it was already dark outside. – "It will give me some time to catch up with my homework, so it's a good thing, I guess."
"Whatever suits you best! I'll come up later to help you with that Potions essay, ok?!"
"Aw, thanks, Jenny! You're the sweetest…"
"I know! Just don't spread the rumour, I wouldn't want that to ruin my reputation!" – she said with a wink, getting up from my bed.
"You dork!" - I said throwing a pillow at her. It hit her square in the face.
"Ouch! You do realise you'll pay for that later, Bell, don't you?" – I just laughed as she reached the door to the stairs.
"Jen…" – I called her again and she turned back to me, her hand already on the doorknob. – "Thanks for the talk, it really helped!"
"Don't mention it, hun!"
"And one last thing… could you please not mention that to anyone?"
"Of course! There was no need to ask that, I wasn't going to…"
"Pinkie-swear?" – I asked smiling, holding up my pinkie.
"Pinkie-swear!" – she said laughing and holding hers up as well, before leaving the room.
I took the magic alarm clock on my bedside table, it was 6:17. I took my wand, aimed at it and said "nap-time". That way, it would wake me up in one hour. I put the clock back where it was and pulled the covers on my bed then laid down, facing the ceiling above me. Shame the ceiling in our dorm wasn't enchanted to look like the sky outside like the Great Hall's, that would have been cool! I turned to look at the window beside my bed. Outside the storm was just as bad as before, if not worse. I spotted the golden hoops on the quidditch pitch, a mere shadow in the night. My head was, once again, flooded with thoughts of Oliver, so I turned my back to the window and sighed.
"Just a spur of the moment thing" – I whispered as I started to doze off.
When I closed my eyes I heard someone knocking on the door softly. At first, I ignored it, but as the knocking got progressively louder, I had no other option but to get up and go see whom it was.
Still half asleep I walked to the door, wondering who it could be: the girls wouldn't knock and the boys couldn't get up there. How surprised I was to open the door and see, standing there, Oliver Wood!
"Oliver?!" – I asked utterly confused – "What are you doing here?"
"Ouch! Where are your manners, Bell? Won't you at least invite me in?"
"Sure, come on in. Not that you need a formal invitation or anything. But HOW did you get here? The stairs to the girls' dorms are charmed so boys can't go up."
"Hm… let's just say that the Weasley twins and their knowledge of Hogwarts' secret passageways can be useful sometimes. So, is Jennifer here?" – he said walking in.
"No, why? Did you come looking for her?"
"No… I just want to make sure she won't get in the way this time."
"Wh-what do you mean? I'm not getting it, Ollie…" – I said, even more confused then before.
Apparently, my confusion was amusing to him, 'cause he started to smile.
"It's simple, Kats…" – he began, moving closer to me – "I came here to finish what I started…" – he ended, placing his hands firmly on my waist.
"And, uh… wh-what would that be?" – I asked, looking deeply into his eyes, my breathing becoming rather shallow.
Oliver didn't answer, he simply leaned in and kissed me. As his lips touched mine I felt a tingly sensation that spread throughout my body. What started as a soft, sweet kiss turned into something much more passionate (as if we had waited our entire lives to do that) as Oliver moved his tongue, parting my lips gently, as if asking for my permeation to deepen the kiss.
After what felt like a lifetime and yet seemed to have come to an end much too quickly, we parted, almost reluctantly, and as I opened my eyes, I heard:
"TIME TO WAKE UP, SLEEPYHEAD! MOVE YOUR BUTTOCKS, KATIE, IT'S A JOLLY GOOD NIGHT AND YOU'VE GOT WORK TO DO."
It was coming from my alarm clock, I was back in my bed, facing my 'not-bewitched-ergo-not-so-cool' ceiling. I was breathing heavily and my cheeks were warm, I knew I was blushing. It had all been a dream…
"It felt so real…" – I said to myself, closing my eyes for a second or two. Touching my lips, I could almost feel Oliver's against them again. – "Come of it, Bell! It was just a dream." – I quickly added getting up and shaking my head, as if to vanish all the remaining thoughts of both, Oliver and the dream – "And don't even go there again, it doesn't mean anything!"
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A/N: So, do you all hate me?! Was that mean? Ooooh, come on, people, don't be so hasty! Everything that has to happen, is going to happen in due time, I promise! So, despite my evilness ;) I hope you liked this chapter. The next one won't take long to be posted… I think! What you shall be waiting for?! On Chapter 9, Oliver and Katie face each other for the first time after "the incident"… how would that go?! Keep reading to find out!
