QUICK A/N!: Please ignore the oddness of the formatting. Fanfiction.net is a little crappy right now and won't let you use little cursers in the middle of the chapter. So I used bold print for the beginning of everything little.. thing that's further along in time. Hope you can understand it!

"Are you ready yet?" I yelled to Annabelle, who was currently rummaging around in her room. "I mean, I know you're having some sort of fashion emergency, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you have to take a whole two hours getting ready."

"Aw, fuck it!" I heard her yell in response. "I don't need all this fucking pressure. First," she said as she headed out of her bedroom, "I couldn't find my earrings, causing me to need to find new robes to wear. Then, I can't find the right shoes. Couple that with the fact that I ran out of my favorite eye shadow, and you have more than a fashion emergency. You have a fashion tragedy."

I stared blankly up at her; she was standing above me, and I rather had the notion that she was putting on earrings. "Don't you think that you're taking this way out of proportion?" I asked her, once I could figure out just what to say. I wasn't exactly a slave to fashion, and I didn't have anything to compare to Annabelle's resent crisis with. "I'm sure you look just fine the way you are. You're beautiful, no matter what you look like."

This seemed to have the opposite effect of what I was shooting for, if her angry silence was any indication. "How can you tell?" She snapped irritably. "You're blind."

I sat on her couch in a stunned silence for a couple minutes, trying to fight the urge to cry. After a moment, I got up, blinking back tears. "Well," I said as I shoved my arms into my jacket. "At least I know what you really think of me." And after that, I headed towards the door.

Annabelle hadn't said anything like that to me, ever. There had been times when she had been telling me about something absolutely gorgeous, and I would get upset because I had no idea what the article or person looked like. It had always been me that had been angry about my blindness, always the one frustrated with it; Annabelle had always been the one to get my spirits up to it's usual perkiness. At least, that's what I had always thought it was like. After hearing what Annabelle had said, it made me think a little differently.

I walked to the front door without crashing into some arbitrary object for once, and I thought that it was a miracle that Annabelle had actually cleaned. Then I thought that maybe Annabelle had just thought she was going to get lucky, and be able to invite somebody from the ball over to her house. It was a rude thing to think, as Annabelle was the sweetest person anyone would ever meet, but I was still hurt and really peeved about what she said, and I was in the mood to think of something mean.

I had my hand on the doorknob when Annabelle leaped upon me, her arms wrapping me up in a backwards sort of hug. I stiffened, but didn't try to pull away. "I'm sorry," she muttered quietly, as if she was ashamed that she was saying such a thing; Annabelle always stuck by the belief that she was always right, no matter what anyone said to contradict that theory.

"What was that?" I grumbled petulantly. I knew, of course, but that still didn't mean I wasn't mad at her. "I don't think I quite heard you."

I felt her sigh against my back. "You know very well, Kevin. But I'll say it again anyways. I'm sorry." She stressed upon the last sentence so heavily that it tore into me. How could I stay mad at my best friend after she said that with such raw emotion in her voice?

I sighed as if it was all I could do to forgive her. "Very well," I said to her. She still had her arms around my neck, and when she had waited for my reply, they had tightened. "I forgive you."

I felt a whoosh of relieved air come out of her mouth. "Thanks. I know that that was rude of me to say, but... well, I'm just nervous, okay? I'm just a petty writer working for the Daily Prophet Human Interest department. You're the great and wonderful Seeker that just got signed with Puddlemere United. I just want to make a good impression."

"A good impression with the owners of the team, or get on the good side of Oliver Wood so that you can get an illusive interview with him?" Saying Oliver's name made me think back to him. I had only spoken to him once, not counting the day I signed. And only then, we had talked mostly about Quidditch and possible strategies... and that conversation had lasted only about five minutes. As I thought about him, my eyebrows drew together.

Thankfully, Annabelle missed it. She was talking to me about this new guy who worked over at the Prophet, who was just to die for, almost as if nothing had happened. Had Annabelle just said something in the heat of the moment, not really thinking, or had it been more? Had she really been expressing her true feelings about me, summing it up all into one sentence?

"You're blind." She had said, as cuttingly as if she was dismissing me from her very presence. I tried not to think of this as we headed for Melody Hall.

Melody Hall was a large building with many white marble columns and stairs. They had imported most of the sandstone used to make the building from Egypt, and the crystal chandelier hanging outside was ten feet across. All of this I had learned from an overenthusiastic Elizabeth Popper the night before when we got together for coffee at a quiet café near my house.

As we walked into the large doors, I heard Annabelle, 'Ooooh,' next to me. I didn't have enough courage to ask what was so amazing, not after what had happened just a half an hour before. Annabelle led us over to the coat check in, and after we had given our coats to him and gotten a ticket in return, we headed towards the ballroom.

I was dressed in a newly purchased set of robes, maroon, one of Gryffindor's house colors, and it was paired with a set of dangly earrings and a matching necklace. My hair was in some sort of up 'do that Annabelle had said made me look very regal and charming, and I was also wearing red eye shadow that I was told brought out the color of my eyes. But even though I was dressed for a ball, I still felt horribly out of place among all the people in there. I'm guessing Annabelle felt the same way, for she was stiff next to me.

"You should see this one woman," Annabelle said to me after a couple minutes. "She looks to be about forty, and yet she has the audacity the wear her hair down… hair that just so happens to be light blond and fall to her waist." She scoffed. "What an idiot."

"You should see," Annabelle had said. "You're blind." Was that all she thought of me? Just some petty little blind woman that couldn't find her way around the world? Thinking these thoughts made me upset, and I asked Annabelle to get me some champagne. Once she was off doing my bidding, I mingled around the ballroom.

I'm not really sure why I was walking around. Perhaps it's because I was trying to get away from the thoughts that had been piercing my mind all night. Or maybe I just wanted to get away from Annabelle. But whatever the reason, I found myself venturing away from her. It didn't take me long to bump into someone I knew.

"Kevin?"

I spun around towards the voice without actually registering it. Only after I was in front of the person who had spoken did I realize who exactly it was. I groaned loudly. "What do you want, Dustin? Come to harass me some more?"

"I don't harass you," he replied. "I just merely try to get your attention."

I snorted. "Oh, that's rich. 'Try to get my attention'? Why didn't you try any of that back when we were dating instead of focusing on fucking that bimbo?" I was referring to when he cheated on me, and I knew that he didn't like it. But I didn't care; I was too pissed off to be anywhere near caring.

"God Kevin," Dustin replied. "Can you be any more crude?"

Actually, yes, I could, but this wasn't the place. "What do you want, Dustin? I'm not in the mood to fight with you."

I heard him shrug. "Just to talk. Catch up. You know."

Those were never words you want to hear from your ex- boyfriend. Especially not from a lying, cheating ex-boyfriend. I sighed. "What do you really want Dustin? You never used to want to know about me, and this was even back when we were dating."

He cracked his knuckles, and I repressed a shudder; I hate it when people do that. Dustin only did it when he was nervous or wanted something. And since he wasn't really a person to get nervous -unless he was in major trouble- I supposed he wanted something from me. "Well, you know I'm not one to beat around the bush...."

Once again I snorted. No, that didn't fit his personality at all. "So I'm going to be as blunt as I usually am. I want to get back together with you."

I laughed so hard my sides started to shake. "Oh my God," I said in between bouts of laughter, "that is one of the funniest things I have heard in my entire life." I started to crack up again.

"I don't find that particularly funny," Dustin said seriously. "I've been thinking about how badly I messed up, and over something as petty as sex." I grunted. "I want a second chance."

"Well, I don't want to give you a second chance," I told him, my laughter over. I was suddenly very angry. "You really hurt me, Dustin, and I'm not willing to put myself up for more of that hurt. So if you'd just excuse me…"

"Kevin, please. I-"

"God asswhipe," I hear Annabelle say behind me. "Did you not hear her the first time? She said 'No'."

Annabelle didn't like Dustin, not one bit. Even after we started dating she would tell me that he was just going to break my heart and leave me. I never believed her and we'd get into so many rows over it. When it ended she didn't tell me, 'I told you so', instead choosing to take care of me. That's what true friends did.

"Yea, I heard her," Dustin told her. The feelings of dislike were mutual. "But I want to at least try to change her mind. I think that I deserve that."

Annabelle mimicked my earlier actions. "You don't deserve anything other than a great kick to the balls, but I don't want to ruin these shoes." She took me by the arm. "Now c'mon Kevin. I got you your champagne and I think we're needed elsewhere."

"Kevin, come on-"

I ignored him and sidestepped him. "Good night, Dustin. And I hope it's the last night I ever see you." On that note, I let Annabelle lead me away from my irate ex who apparently didn't want to be my ex anymore.

Annabelle led me over to where Tim, Bob (and his wife, I was pleased to note), my teammates and some of the investors of the team were talking. As soon as I walked up to them their chatter stopped and a loud cheer went up into the air. I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard Tim say, "Kevin! I was beginning to think you weren't going to make it."

I grinned, my talk with Dustin far behind me. "Wouldn't dream of it. Besides, isn't this supposed to be dedicated to me or something?"

They all laughed as if this was extremely amusing, and Tim took his hand off of my shoulder. "That's true. Although we usually just make up reasons for all of us to go out and buy new robes --my wife, not me-- and spend a lot of money." He nudged me. "Though in this case, it is a dedication."

My grin grew wider. "Thanks." I felt Annabelle nudge me on my other side, and immediately went on to the introductions. "OK, well. This here is my date, Annabelle. Annabelle, this is everyone."

The silence that followed this very small speech wasn't at all what I was expecting. "So," Elizabeth said after a moment. "You're a lesbian too."

I'm sad to say I started choking on the sip of champagne I had in my mouth. Coughing, I answered with, "Nope, not a lesbian. Completely hetero."

"Glad to hear it!" One man with a death wish said. "We're happy to have you on our side, pretty thing that you are."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Elizabeth answered. Apparently, the man's words only angered her even more, not that I can blame her.

"I meant nothing by it," he told her. "Just that-"

"Daniel," Oliver said, so close behind me that I felt his breath. "Just shut up."

"Why Ollie? Am I suddenly your slave?" I guess Oliver sent him a look, because the next moment he was quiet.

A silence surrounded all of us, and I took another sip from my champagne. I was feeling proud with myself for not having choked on this sip as well when everything in the room was silent. Suddenly I heard a man talk into a microphone, his voice carrying over the entire ballroom.

"Check, Check, is this thing on?"

Behind me, I heard Oliver mutter, "Percy, you idiot."

"Okay! Well, as I'm sure you all know, we're here to celebrate the addition of Miss Kevin Johnson to our Quidditch team. I'm sure that she'll help Puddlemere United on to another Quidditch Cup victory!" There was a loud bout of applause at this, and I couldn't help thinking that I could very well let them down. "Right," he --Percy I guess, since that's the name Oliver had mentioned-- said. "Well, I'm glad you all agree."

Laughs followed, even though it wasn't particularly amusing. "As most of you already know, we've been trying to get Miss Johnson to sign with us for over six months. I'm just happy that she finally agreed to join! I guess she was just waiting for the season to finished." This was news to me. They had wanted to sign with me earlier? Looked like I needed to have a little chat with Bob. "Anyway, I'm just up here, making a fool of myself to tell you guys that we're all very excited for the upcoming year. Puddlemere United will win the Cup again!"

The applause the followed rivaled that of the Quidditch Cup. I could only just clap and act like I was going to do everything they wanted.

Annabelle must have seen my expression, because she poked me in the ribs and said, "Be happy."

"How can I," I responded, "when I know I could quite possibly fail?"

I finished talking to the Minister of Magic and walked over to the edge of the dance floor, a glass of champagne in my hand. I heard many joyous voices and I wondered where Annabelle was. She had come to me a few moments earlier telling me that she was going off to dance and that she would come and find me afterwards, but two songs had started since then and there was no sign of her anywhere.

Sighing, I took a sip of my drink and turned around. I was surprised when I almost collided into a man's chest. "Whoa there," the man said, putting his hands on my shoulders to steady me. It didn't take me more than a second to place him.

"Oh, I'm sorry Oliver. I guess I should yell, 'Watch out, blind woman coming!' before I turn a corner. It would save me and the rest of the world a whole lot of trouble." I was in a bad mood, and I tend to say mean or self-depreciating things when I'm upset.

I could practically hear the frown in his voice. "Why do you always put yourself down like that?" He asked me. "You're not this monster you know."

I rolled my eyes. "I know that, you ass. I've come to terms with that a long time ago."

He shook his head. "You're a very complex person, Kevin Johnson, you know that?"

I almost laughed. Me, complex? Yea, right. "I like to think differently," I told him. "Now excuse me Oliver, but I should go find-"

"Your friend Annabelle is off dancing with my friend, Percy," he told me, reading my thoughts. "And if you ask me, she looks pretty comfortable."

I sighed again. Where was an escape route when you needed one? "Um, well," I said, trying to get away. Standing this close to Oliver was making me uncomfortable. "I need to go get some more champagne, so if you'd just…"

"You have a full glass in your hand, Kevin." He laughed at my expression. "If you just want to get away from me why don't you just tell me? It would make this whole thing a lot more comfortable than it is."

I knew that he was giving me a way to walk away from him, but for some reason, I couldn't make my feet move. Instead, I just stared ahead, listening to the sound of people dancing. A comfortable silence came between us.

But it was a little too comfortable, if you ask me, and I started to get antsy again. I tried to think of something to say. "Look, Oliver. About that thing I said when I first met you, I-" He cut me off again.

"Kevin, would you like to dance?"

I knew that a blush had come to my cheeks, although I had no idea why. And the best I could do was say, "Sure."

Oliver nodded, took my hand, and led me out to the dance floor. By that time another song had started and I gave a fleeting thought to Annabelle. But all comprehendible thoughts flew out the window when Oliver put his hand at the small of my back and drew me closer to him. I was forced to put my arms around his shoulders.

Considering how he was so much taller than me, dancing with him was a little more than awkward; he was a full ten inches taller to be exact. But despite my lacking in stature, dancing with Oliver was actually kind of nice. I hadn't had a boyfriend since Dustin, not even a man to dance with. Because let's be honest. Who wants to do much of anything with a blind woman?

But Oliver didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, halfway through the dance he drew me in closer until I was practically smooshed up against his chest. I let out a little sigh and rested my head against his chest; it had been a long time since I was with a man. There seemed to be a good few moments left in the song when we were interrupted.

"Oliver?" I heard a male's voice asked. I presumed it was his friend Percy that Annabelle had been dancing the night away with. His voice seemed familiar but not extremely pronounce. "Katie's in trouble."

Oliver and I had already pulled apart when Percy came up to us, but his hand was still in mine. As soon as Percy said something about Katie he immediately pulled his hand away.

"What's wrong?" He asked hurriedly. "Where is she?"

"She's crying in the girls' loo," he answered. "And she won't come out. Daniel isn't anywhere around her either."

I heard Oliver's angry reply. "Daniel isn't here? He probably said something to upset her. I'll go in and get her-"

"You are not going in the girl's loo," I told him pointedly.

"And why is that?" He asked, still angry.

I stared at him like he was crazy. "Because you're a guy maybe?"

"Is there a point you're trying to make Kevin, or are you just stalling?"

"First of all, no I am not stalling; there is no reason to. Also, yes there is a point I'm trying to make. I'll go into the washroom and get her out."

"I don't think-"

"I honestly don't care what you think. Now," I said, turning towards Percy. "Lead me to the bathroom."

He paused a moment, and I guessed he turned towards Oliver to get his approval. Finally he took my hand and led me to the loo. Annabelle was waiting outside of it. "She still won't come out," she told Percy, or maybe Oliver, I'm not sure. "I've tried reasoning with her, but-"

"Annie," I said, cutting her off. "From all the times I've done this you should know that reasoning doesn't help." I left them on that note and headed into the bathroom; I had a good feeling Oliver was going to ask just what I meant by that.

"Katie?" I called as soon as I got in there. "Are you in here?"

My only response was a sniffle and I immediately knew where she was. I opened up the adjoining stall and sat down on the toilet. To tell you the truth, I didn't really like sitting on public toilets for anybody, not even myself. So what I was doing for Katie was going way over friendliness.

"Katie, what's wrong?" This time instead of a sniff there was a full-blown sob. Oh great, I was sure helping. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she answered, her voice filled with tears. "I just want you to go away."

I couldn't do that; my pride wouldn't allow it. "Sorry, no can-do. Oliver would skin me alive."

"Bring me Oliver," she told me. She sniffed again. "I want to talk to him."

I shook my head even though I knew she couldn't see it. "That also cannot happen."

"Why not?"

"Because Oliver is a man, and this is the girls' loo. And unless Oliver's hiding something, he can't come in here."

I guess she knew I was right because her next words were, "You're a bitch Kevin, you know that?"

I shrugged. I'd heard that too many times for me to count. "Yea. I get that a lot. I tend to walk on all fours and bark."

She let out a watery laugh that quickly turned into another sob. "He just left me here Kevin," she told me and I knew straight away that she was talking about Daniel. "I told him to bring me home because we were fighting, and he just left me."

I wanted to call him a bastard but I didn't know if she would appreciate that, so I asked, "What do you mean? And what were you fighting about?"

"We were fighting about his ex-girlfriend. She came today with someone else and I saw them dancing and kissing. And when I confronted him about it, he just called me superficial and a hypocrite, although I don't know why. So then I told him to take me home, and he agreed, then told me he was going to go get our coats. I waited for ten minutes before I realized that he just left me here and went home with that bitch."

Ok, now was the time to call him a bastard. "Jesus Christ," I said. "What a little mother-"

"Oh Kevin," Katie said sadly. "I don't want you to sink to his level. Just don't let it bother you."

"I could say the same thing to you, you know."

She let out a little sigh. "Yea, I suppose you're right." The next thing I heard was the lock to her stall opening and her shoes scraping on the floor. I opened up my stall and suddenly I was brought up into a bone-crushing hug. I knew straight away that it was Katie and I patted her awkwardly on the back. "You're a good person, Kevin."

I smiled at that one. "You'd be surprised Katie."

"I already am."

My grin widened, and I started to lead her towards the door to the washroom. "C'mon. Oliver will be wondering if I kidnapped you and snuck out the window." Ok, so I didn't really know if there was a window, but from what I heard from the movies Annabelle watched it seemed like a good thing to say.

She let out another watery laugh and let me lead her. "Ok. Oliver's like a big brother to me, and I'm sure he's worried about me."

"You'd have no idea," I told her, then opened the door.

"Ya know," Katie slurred, putting an arm around my shoulders. "Men're all shtupid." She leaned over me to get to Oliver, who was on my left side, probably to pinch his cheek or something. "'Cept fer you, Olivar." She hiccupped, and sat back in her seat. "You're the only good'n."

"Uh, thanks Katie. I think."

"Mmhmm. The only good'n," Katie added, as if it was an afterthought. More rustling and I got hit in the head by Katie's elbow. Ouch, dammit. "Hehe, opps, sorry 'bout that Keven." She giggled. "But don' chu think Olivar is the only good guy left 'n tha world?"

Still nursing my cheek, I said, "Sure. Nice, outgoing, probably handsome, most definitely has all his teeth. Yup, he's a good one."

Katie giggled again, and I instantly regretted saying the words. Did I have to be an ass in public, or did I just enjoy making a fool of myself? "Yer funnay Keven."

"Uh, thanks. I'll remember that next time you call me a bitch or something."

Suddenly, Katie started to cry. Big blubbery sobs right next to my hear. Once again: ouch dammit! "I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry Keven!" She wiped her tears on the sleeve of her dress robes. "Can 'ou evar forgiv me?"

"Yes, of course," I said quickly.

But maybe it was a little too quickly, because Katie only cried harder. "'Ou hav to meen it!

I mentally rolled my eyes. "Yes Katie. I forgive you. And I really mean it this time."

She stopped crying immediately. "Okay!" She put her arm back around my shoulders. "Hey. 'ou know wha? We should all go ou'! What'd ya say?"

I blinked. "Uh.. sorry Katie. But I gotta go home and let my dog out."

I felt her shrug against my shoulder. "Ok. What do 'uo say Olivar? Wanna go ou' wit me?"

I heard him shake his head, his hair brushing against the collar of his robes. "Cant. I don't drink, remember?"

This was news to me. Very startling news, actually. Since when do people not drink? I made a mental note to ask Katie about this later.

"Oh, that's righ'. Why didn' ya say tha before?" She shrugged again; it was beginning to be a very bumpy ride. "Ok, so I guss we won' go ou'." She sighed. "I guess we bettah get goin than." I whole-heartedly agreed because it seemed to me as if the bus boys were cleaning up everything.

Then all of a sudden she buried her head into my shoulder and started to cry once again.

"Uh.." I said while awkwardly patting her back. "Katie, what's wrong?"

Her response, "I don' have anywhare to go!" was muffled by my shoulder.

But apparently Oliver heard it, because the next words out of his mouth were an invitation. "Well, that's OK Katie. You can just stay over at my house in the spare room."

I felt Katie start to lift her head to answer -probably to accept, since Oliver was 'like a brother to her'- so I interviened. "No freakin' way. I am not going to let any girl stay over at some guy's house -especially when she's drunk- not matter how platonic their relationship is."

"You're not very trusting," Oliver told me, sounding a mixture of disappointed and defensive.

It was my turn to shrug. "No, not really. And that wasn't supposed to be an attack on you, so you can stop being so defensive."

"Well how was it supposed to be then? And you can stop being so defensive as well."

I rolled my eyes. "First of all, this isn't about me. Secondly, it's just not in my morals to sit around and watch a guy take a girl back to his house unless they're married or at least dating." I paused for him to tell me any differently, but he didn't. "And since I've heard from multiple people that you aren't, that just doesn't seem like it's going to happen."

I expected him to fight me more, but he didn't. "Who have you heard that from?" He asked instead, sounding curious.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh dear Lord. It doesn't matter. Katie's not going to your house and that's final."

"Then where is she going to stay? I'm guessing Daniel took... that girl back to their house, so that leaves her place out of the question. And I don't know anyone else who would-"

"I'll take her to my place. I've got two bedrooms that I don't use, and I've got stuff for her hangover in the morning." If there was one thing I was accustomed to having, it was painkillers.

"Well, you've thought of everything haven't you?" He asked in a slightly sarcastic tone.

Instead of getting offended, I smirked. "Yea, I guess I have."

He sighed, probably at my stupidity. "How is she going to get there? I used a portkey here, as did many people. And I don't think-"

Whatever he didn't think was cut off by me saying, "I can Apparate her over to my house. That's how I got here."

I heard him shake his head again. "Wait, you can Apparate? I thought you had to have a clear picture of where you wanted to be in order to Apparate."

"I've had it very well described for me," I answered half-jokingly, half-defensively. "In any case, I'll just Apparate her over to my house."

"Can you carry her?" It seemed to me like Oliver was racking off any excuse he could to stop me from getting her to my house. "You're actually a lot shorter than she is, and I don't think-"

"I'll manage," I said with a glare. I motioned for Oliver to get up out of the booth, and he did, if not slowly. I slid out and looked down. Then it hit me; I hadn't even asked her if she wanted to. In fact, she'd been quiet during my entire conversation with Oliver. "Katie? Do you want to stay over at my house? I know you'd rather go to Oliver's but-"

"I don't really care," she said, and I noted that she didn't slur any of her words. "As long as I get to a bathroom. I'm going to be sick."

I blinked, and lent down a hand for her to pull herself up with. "In that case, we'd better get going," I said, just as Katie stood up with the help of my hands. Then I noted a problem. I was only five foot three. Katie seemed to be around five seven, five eight.

I'm guessing Oliver sensed my newly acquired apprehension, and knew that I was too prideful to admit it, because he said, "Look, I'll hold her up. You just get her to your house."

I silently thanked him. We positioned ourselves, and in an instant we were gone.

"Uh..." Oliver said as soon as we arrived. "I think maybe something went wrong. We're in-"

"My bathroom," I finished for him. "She said she was going to be sick. Thus, I take her to a place where most people go when they're going to be sick at home." I turned to Katie. "You just do your buisiness and I'll-"

She didn't need anymore prompting, because the next thing she did was run over to the toilet.

"Uh..." Oliver said again, this time sounding a lot more uncomfortable. "I'm just going to see if… uh..."

"Why don't you go and see if everything's ready for her in my spare bedroom?" I suggested, giving him something to do. "It's the first room down the hall. If there are no clothes for her to sleep in, just go across the hall to my bedroom and get some. They're in the bottom drawer to the left. Just grab anything. I'll stay with Katie."

"Ok," he said, and practically ran out to door. Probably didn't want to see Katie being sick, which was exactly what she did as soon as he was out of the room.

I walked over to her sat on the edge of the bathtub, all the while whispering soothing words to her. That was actually pretty out of character for me, but at least I was helping. Well, I think I was.

After about five minutes, I started to hear barking. Butch! I had totally forgot. "Katie? Do you mind if I go for a minute-"

I got smacked with the hand she was waving me away with.

I followed Oliver's example and scurried on out of the bathroom.

As soon as I was outside of the small room, I heard Butch's loud barking; it was coming from the living room. I walked into it, and Butch's barking was loud enough to wake the dead.

"Butch, heel!" Butch came running towards me straight away and forced his head under my hand. I pet him on the head while I heard Oliver climb down from some high surface. Probably the table.

"That," Oliver said as he stood next to me. Butch was acting much friendlier now that I was there and talking to Oliver. "Is one of the scariest dogs I've ever seen."

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "He's not scary. Just efficient. Besides, I'm sure you scared him more. He's a little baby."

"Right, whatever you say."

My smiled widened. "Don't tell me that you were afraid of the big, bad Golden Retriever. Did you think he was going to rip you to pieces?"

"Actually, yes I did," he responded honestly. I laughed, and so did he after a moment.

But our laughter was short lived, because in the next moment Katie came out of the bathroom. "Is everything OK in here?"

I turned around, still smiling. "Yea, everything's fine. Oliver was just scared of my dog."

"Of that?" She asked. "Why, he looks so sweet and innocent!"

"Exactly," I replied.

I'm betting Oliver rolled his eyes. "Right. Whatever you say." He paused. "Well, I have to go. It's late and we have practice tomorrow." He turned to me. "Everything laid out on the bed. I had to take some clothes from your room. Some shorts and a shirt. Hope that's OK."

I shrugged. "It's OK."

"Alright then." He walked over to Katie and gave her a hug. "Hope you feel better and I'll see you tomorrow." Then he walked over to me, and, as if deciding whether or not he should, he gave me a hug. I hugged him back just to be polite, and the hug was soon over. We both backed away. "Thanks Kevin, and I'll see you tomorrow as well."

Then he was walking towards the door, and in a moment he was gone.

"Well…" I said after a moment. "That was random."

"Not really," Katie responded. "He's always like that."

"I see." Then I remember something he said earlier. "Hey, why doesn't he drink?"

I could hear the question in her voice. "Drink? I dunno. He used to, but now he doesn't."

That much I figured. "Okay, thanks."

She shrugged. "No problem." We stood in silence for another couple of minutes before she said, "Well, we do have practice tomorrow. And I don't know about you, but I have a headache."

I smiled. "Your bedroom is the first one in the hall. Everything should be laid out."

"I know, I heard you and Oliver talking."

I nodded my head. "Ok. Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning. I'll wake you up at nine, alright?"

"OK. Good night Kevin. And thanks."

I smiled again. "Don't mention it. See ya in the morning."

"Yup," she answered, and then walked to her room.

I followed suit a few minutes later. And as I started to fall asleep, I couldn't help thinking about everything that had happened that night. Suddenly my life was a little more hectic than it was before. But I guess it was just something that went along with being a famous Quidditch player.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hello! I haven't updated this in.. well, almost a year. Heh, oops. :) Sorry it's taken so long but uh.. well, so many things happened that I just.. well, didn't really want to get into writing a long chapter. The first draft of this chapter was eighteen pages long. I've taken out a lot of the crappy dialog that really didn't need to be in here, and now it's on twelve. Boo-ya, go me. And I'm also sorry that Kevin's character changed... well, a lot in this chapter. : Once again: Heh, oops.

Anyhoo, I hope you liked the Oliver/Kevin interaction in this chapter. I know I made Oliver a little.. different in here, but, well, I wanted to make him a little bit more... mature. I don't know if that happened, but I hope I'm at least succeeded a little bit. Probably didn't though. Too bad.

AND THANKS TO WHO REVIEWED! You guys rock man.

And Aus. Where would I be without my little beta?

Hopefully it wont take a year to update. :D

Melissa