Intense

By Seniya

Besides the annual drinks at Christmas and on Birthdays, Katie had never indulged in alcohol. She had never favored the taste.

But tonight, she found that the obnoxious flavor of the beverage hadn't bothered her in the least. In fact, she had stopped recognizing what she was swallowing at around her fifteenth glass.

And now as Katie stared at the man in front of her from over the multitude of empty bottles that littered their table, she decided that she was having a good time.

And wondered exactly why it was that she had never gotten herself drunk before in the first place. The lighthearted feeling you got when intoxicated was absolutely amazing.

Who cared about Rose? Reality itself seemed so unimportant.

The man, her date, she vaguely remembered him as, was saying something, she couldn't make out what it was. She didn't care.

Her head suddenly felt heavy and so did her body. She was falling, going…somewhere. This somewhere was much harder than the place she last was. And it was colder as well.

The urge to sleep overwhelmed her. She hadn't had much sleep last night. She didn't remember why though, probably because of work, or Oliver, or both.

She was floating now, higher, being taken from her cold, hard place. She wished she could go back there, where she was now wasn't as comfortable.

The man was moaning again, this time from behind her, telling her something, she managed to make out "too much" and "home". These words made no sense to her.

She saw him point something at her, he moaned again. Was this the too much home from before?

----------
"You get drunk pretty easily don't you?"

She knew that voice belonged to Maurice, though she couldn't see him, or tell where she was. She did however know that she wasn't where she had been the last time that she remembered that had been in an old fashioned restaurant seated at an old wooden table with him, her date.

"Where are we?"

"Outside"

Katie realized that her glasses were gone.

"Where are my…"

"You threw them away"

"Right"

He had obviously used a sobering spell on her. She knew that because she too, had on many occasions administered them to various people during her schooling at Hogwarts.

It wasn't a very good one though, seeing as she still felt tipsy.

"It's very pretty tonight" She heard the church bells toll from the street behind her. She wondered, dreamily, exactly why a church was so near to a bar.

"Yes it is"

She couldn't really tell if it was pretty or not, not being able to see past her hands and all, but it had been a pretty night when she'd left home, though she had been too enraged that she had been forced into going on this date in the first place to notice.

"It's a good night for flying"

"Flying?"

"On a broom, tonight's a good night for flying"

"Why would you want to fly in the night?"

"You could play Quidditch"

He joined her on where ever it was that she was sitting on.

"You like Quidditch?"

"Sometimes"

Katie knew that it wasn't the poor man's intent to get her started.

When talk turned to Quidditch she knew that she could manage to go on yammering for quite sometime. It was a characteristic she suspected that she had picked up from talking to Oliver so much.

The fault wasn't as dreadful now as it had been years ago when Quidditch had been the only thing he seemed to be familiar with. A time when she would just spend her days, eyes glazed over, mouth hanging open staring at him, wondering how exactly God had crafted such a perfect mouth on a man.

But tonight wasn't about Oliver. Tonight was about Maurice, and she would sit here and bore him to death just like she always did to her dates.

"See I'm really bad at Quidditch"

"Really?"

"Yes, laughing stock at my school"

"I'll bet"

"Are you any good?"

"When I'm not falling off the broom"

"Well, then, you'll have to teach me sometime"

"I suppose I might"

----------

"When I was little, my mum used to read me this story about this girl who flew around the world on her broom, I loved that story"

And the night had been going so nicely. Why had she chosen to go ruin it now, with embarrassing childhood tales?

This was why she was dateless at twenty-three. Because the moment she and her date were having fun, she would go ruin it with stupid stories that were supposed to be reserved for when you brought the boy home to meet grand mum

So you could imagine her surprise when, she didn't hear him hit the cobblestone road laughing.

"I always told myself I'd do that, fly around the world, sorry to say, it's not exactly safe or possible"

"You're serious"

"Sure"

"Well then why not?"

"Seeing as I would probably be numb by Egypt, I don't see why I would try"

"You don't have to fly, you go just go"

"I know, but…"

"But what's stopping you?"

"I don't know"

She really couldn't believe that she was sitting God knew where, with this man, having this conversation.

"Well then do it"

"Do what?"

"Come away with me" he whispered in a way that Katie knew was meant to come across as seductive.

"What, like right now?"

"Yes right now"

"I can't"

This was becoming ridiculous.

"Why not?"

"Do you need a reason, let's see, I just met you, I have work tomorrow, this whole notion is crazy and…"

"Him?"

"No, Oliver has nothing to do with my decision"

"Who's Oliver?"

"What"

"Oliver, the man that this has nothing to do with"

"Him, he's nothing, forget I said it"

"He must be something for you to think of him as soon as I said…"

"Can we just forget this please?"

"No, because I don't see why you won't come with me"

Katie found herself laughing besides her initial reaction to leave this situation.

"Because I don't want to"

"I need a reason"

"That was my reason"

"Listen, Katie, why miss this opportunity, you could die tomorrow, and you would have never seen the world, why take that chance?"

"You could be some escaped lunatic from Azkaban and kill me in my sleep"

"I could be"

"So…" he forced.

"So…"

"Will you come with me?"

Katie looked at his face, a blurred mixture of browns and reds, inside her mind was racing, every sensible nerve in her body told her to tell the guy to shove it, but somewhere deep inside her, she knew what her answer to his question would be.

"Okay"
----------

----------
Her heels tapped steadily as she walked on the impressive marble floor. The sound of her movement echoed in the enclosure, becoming more magnified as she drew nearer to her goal.

She had taken great care in preparing her attire for the occasion. She wanted tonight to be perfect after all. She wore a salacious nightdress accessorized with silver heels and the necklace he had given for their first month anniversary. And of course she had doused herself with her favorite scent, a particularly overwhelming perfume called Virtue.

Yes, she was ready, and tonight would be the night.

----------
She paused for a moment to survey her prize. He was standing outside on the terrace, his masculine features highlighted by the moonlight.

She licked her full lips in anticipation.

He was gorgeous. He was perfect.

And tonight he would be hers. Finally.

Rejecting the urge to stay inside, Rose stepped onto the balcony, allowing the wind to tousle her fiery red hair.

She stepped behind him, enclosing his muscular frame with her long arms, taking in his spicy aroma.

----------
She hated the way that his body stiffened when she held him, and it angered her when he removed himself from her embrace.

He was always so difficult.

She followed him inside, and closed the terrace doors behind them. Inadvertently plunging the room into darkness.

"Oliver" she said finally, after he had refused to speak. "I had hoped that we could be together tonight"

"You know how I feel about this Rose"

Yes, she knew. But it didn't make it any easier to understand. She was a woman and she had needs. Needs that he refused to satisfy.

Rose didn't answer. Instead she walked over to the mahogany coffee table and poured herself a drink. God she missed FireWhiskey.

"You're very quiet tonight"

"I'm just thinking"

"About the wedding?"

"And some other things"

She didn't continue the conversation. She didn't see the point.

Her eyes wandered around the room, pausing at the spot over the fireplace, where his photographs decorated the shelf.

There stood, of course the expected pictures that you find in someone's office. Pictures of Oliver as a child, Oliver as a teenager, Oliver holding, what she supposed was his first broomstick.

The little black and white Olivers in the frames smiled and waved at her. Cute. But they weren't what bothered her. No, what bothered her was that in every photograph hugging and smiling with him was a black and white girl with rebellious blonde hair.

It was a sight that made Rose sick to her stomach.

"You came home late Monday night" she found herself saying.

"Did I?"

"Very"

"I walked Kate home that night, didn't I?"

"Yes"

If it were a subconscious reaction or not, Rose's grip tightened around the glass that she was holding. She put it back on the table, it was very delicate glass and she didn't want anything to happen to it.

It was now taking every ounce of self-control that she possessed to keep her simile on her face and her voice sounding at least relatively calm.

"Did you two have fun?"

"I suppose so"

"What did you do?"

"What do you mean, I walked her home"

"You came back here at three in the morning Oliver, are you telling me that that's all you did?"

Oliver still hadn't turned around to face her. She didn't mind. That had started having most of their conversations in this manner recently anyways.

"I walked around a bit afterwards"

"By yourself?"

He didn't answer immediately. He took his time and walked over to where she stood before he responded.

"Where are you going with this?"

It was then, that for a second, for a brief moment in time, that Rose finally let her real self emerge from where she always kept it hidden, somewhere deep beneath the layers of makeup and hairspray.

"Where do you think Oliver, honestly do you take me for a fool- I know what's going on!"

"I don't understand…"

"Do you love her?"

"What?"

"You heard me"

"She's my best friend of course I care about her"

Rose could feel it. A disgusting emotion was forming in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't anger nor was it sadness.

No, it was jealously.

Yes, she was jealous. Because it was at that moment that Rose realized that she could never take her place in his eyes. And she didn't like it.

"How much do you care?"

"This is unbelievable"

He returned to his previous spot, with his hands in the pockets of his pants, trying to ignore the rush of feelings in his chest.
----------
"Honestly Oliver," Normal Rose had returned now, complete with smile. "At first I thought that it was mad too, but now…the wedding is on Sunday and I just need to know"

She knew that she could play the act of innocent girlfriend to a tee. She knew that soon Oliver would forget her little outburst, and as long as she kept this facade up, she would be married on Sunday, and that was what she really wanted.

"Rose I love you, I'm marrying you, I thought that that was enough"

He hadn't looked at her when he'd said it and that wasn't something that Rose had overlooked. She supposed it really didn't matter now.

The little problem was being taken care of. But there was still that chance that he would fail and then…

The clock outside struck midnight.

"Fine then, I don't want her at my wedding"

"What do you mean?"

"Kathleen, Oliver, I don't want her there" She made certain that she was smiling when she spoke, in case he looked around when she was talking.

"You're overreacting a bit, don't you think"

"Overreacting Oliver, no I don't think so, you love her, I know you do, and if you think for a second that I am going to stand idly by and let myself become embarrassed by this then you are sadly mistaken"

Her voice was eerily calm as she spoke. She had said this last sentence in a way that you would expect a neighbor to sound when they invited another neighbor to tea, not how you would expect someone to sound when issuing a threat.

The clock in the hallway chimed twelve. Perhaps the one outside was too fast, or maybe that one was too slow, it didn't seem to matter in any case.

----------
Rose had never been good at reading emotions through eyes, it wasn't a talent that she needed. Where she worked people told you what you wanted to hear and that was it. No hidden meanings.

But at moment when Oliver looked at her with some unspoken emotion in his eyes, she wished it had been a trait that she had learnt.

He stared at her for a while and she stared back. They stared at each other until without warning he disapparated, leaving her alone in the dark office, staring at the oak walls.

She knew that he had probably gone to her. Which, strangely enough only gave her a feeling of satisfaction in her stomach.

Rose picked up the same glass from before and admired it's detailing for a while. Then, surprising even herself, she flung it against the wall.

----------

----------
Her heart was pounding against her chest in such a way that Katie felt sure that it was trying to liberate itself from her body.

Was she really doing this? Running away with a man that she had only known for less than a day?

This was unbelievably out of character for her.

She supposed it was one of those unintelligent, impulsive decisions that you're supposed to make and then regret when you're a teenager. But she hadn't made those decisions as a teenager, and she couldn't understand why she was doing it now.

Maybe it was the alcohol.

----------

She was barely aware of her actions as she stumbled along the hallway and opened the door to (what she hoped was) her apartment.

And even less aware of herself as she blindly weaved a path to her bedroom through the chaos that was her home.

She had never thought that there would actually come a time when she would actually miss her glasses, but behold, this was that moment.

Something that she had touched crashed.

Crap.

She hoped that it wasn't that ceramic jug that her mother had given her for Christmas. But then again Katie could think of worse things that could break.

"Hey"

A voice deterred her train of thought. It was Oliver. Truly the last person she needed to hear from at this moment.

"Hey" she responded, resisting the strong urge to run from the room.

All around them fell into a painful silence.

Strangely enough the discomfort of the moment hadn't been there seconds before when the two had been unaware of the other's presence.

"So how long have you been here?"

Katie felt compelled to thwart any plans that discomfort had of settling in the atmosphere.

"Awhile"

"Do you want to borrow something?"

"No"

"Then why are you here?"

"I needed to think"

"Don't try too hard"

The silence from before was gradually returning.

"Think about what?"

"Things"

The moon could be seen clearly outside, a sole orb of light in an otherwise gloomy sky. A ray of it's unspoiled light had made it's way through the largest window of the apartment, illuminating a spot on the darkened carpet where it had fallen.

"You're being very lucid tonight Wood"

Katie's foot pained her as she collided with yet another piece of furniture. Following what had to be instinct Katie managed to seat herself in the chair facing Oliver's.

She remained there staring at the blurry ball that was the moon, though she couldn't actually see it.

"I don't like it when you're like this"

"Like what?"

"Like this" Katie pressed. "So serious"

She felt Oliver's gaze on her face and forced her eyes downwards.

"Where are your glasses?"

"Lost them"

Somewhere outside an owl called.

"I thought you might do this"

"Do what?"

"Do this, pretend that nothing happened"

Katie didn't need to ask her companion to what he was referring to. She knew.

"Nothing happened"

She had told Oliver the truth. Well at least what she had convinced herself that the truth was.

"Is that why you're here, to talk about that?"

"No, it's not"

"Then why?"

"I don't know"

"No, of course you don't"

Katie was fast becoming annoyed with Oliver's brooding mood. She was the depressed, thoughtful one, and he was the one who was always cheering her up. When had the roles been reversed?

"Katie, I need to ask you something"

"What?"

She could feel that his gaze had been lifted from her. Perhaps he was now staring at the moon.

"Do you…never mind…"

She heard his chair grate against the floor. He was leaving.

"Oliver, wait, what were you going to ask me?"

She prayed that those last few words hadn't sounded as desperate to him as they had her.

She heard him sigh, and the chair groaned again.

"Do you, have feelings for me?" He pronounced each syllable carefully, as if he was afraid that they could break.

Heat immediately rose to Katie's face, she was thankful, at least, that the room was so dark.

"What kind of feelings?" her voice came out much higher than she had predicted.

"Feelings Kate"

A new, unfamiliar voice was screaming in her mind. She knew it, informally, as Hope.

Do it! Say yes!

"Kate I'm sorry, if you don't want to answer you don't have to…"

"No"

She heard the word echoing in the night long before she realized that it was her who had said it.

A new feeling entered the space, it was relief tinged with an air of disappointment. For Katie the disappointment was in herself.

"Why did you ask me that?"

"I just needed to know"

"Why?"

"I needed to figure out-something"

The familiar reverberation and Katie knew that Oliver had gone.

On the carpet nearby her, the shadows devoured the last of the light as the moon disappeared.

----------

----------

I raised the rating of the story to Pg-13 because of the hints to situations in this chapter. If you didn't see any situations then, don't bother yourself. Thank you all for the reviews, I am very happy that you all like my story.

----------

I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

----------