Here's the next installment. Hope you like. Thanks for reviewing!
"Love is everything it's cracked up to be. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for."
"Cheer up, Katie!" Alicia begged. "Please?" Katie sighed.
"Licia, it's not that easy!" she said. "I mean, now the whole world thinks I'm a sellout slut, because apparently, I am."
"I'm sorry," Alicia said. "I guess I don't really know what it feels like."
"It doesn't matter anymore," Katie mumbled.
Alicia sighed and watched as her best friends stared miserably into her tea. "Hey, I know!" she said. "Let's go shopping!"
"Alicia, I don't really feel like-"
"No, we're going," Alicia said firmly. "This is nothing a new pair of shoes can't heal." She got up from the table and disappeared down the hallway for a moment before returning with a hairbrush and tube of mascara. Katie sighed and took it from her. When she was finished cleaning herself up, Alicia handed her a coat and shoes.
They apparated to the entrance of Diagon Alley and Katie couldn't help but smile as she looked at the line of tiny shops surrounding her. Alicia dragged her along to a small shoe store and pulled Katie inside. "Ooh, look at these!" she squealed, holding up a pair of pink heels. "No, wait! Look at these! They'd go perfect with that dress you bought and never wear!" Katie examined and tried on the shoes.
"Now, I'm just going to be more depressed because I'll end up spending a ton of money on things I don't need," she complained.
"Oh, what're you whining about?" Alicia asked. "You're a pro quidditch star."
"Not for long," Katie mumbled. Alicia sighed and snatched the shoes from Katie, and then dragged her up to pay for them.
"There, now aren't you happy?" Alicia asked as they left the store.
"I suppose," Katie lied.
"Well then, let's get something to eat," Alicia said. "I'm starving." She dragged Katie to the Leaky Cauldron.
Upon entering, Katie froze. "Alicia, it's her!" she whispered. "It's Brooke!"
"Katie, don't worry," Alicia said, "Just walk right past her and don't say a word."
"Alicia, I really shouldn't even be out in public," Katie said. "It's not exactly the best time."
But, Alicia didn't listen and pulled Katie past the table where Brooke was sitting. "See?" she whispered. "She didn't even notice-"
"Wow, Katie!" Brooke's voice said. "I'm surprised! I thought you'd be too embarrassed to be in public. I mean, I'm sure you can find a job somewhere else, but aren't you sad about Oliver?"
Katie whipped around. "Shut up. You don't even have the right to talk about him, you little liar," she whispered. Brooke smiled.
"I know, I know," she said. "I may have lied a little, but you know, Oliver's just doing it all for kicks. Sooner or later, he'll be crawling to me once he realizes how pathetic you are."
"I'm pathetic?" Katie exclaimed. "Then what does that make you? You lied, Brooke. You lied just so you could get sympathy from everyone and to get me fired."
"And it's working, isn't it?" Brooke laughed. The sound of a chair scraping made Katie jump as Roger sat down next to Brooke.
"Hello Katie!" he said. Katie looked back and forth from Roger to Brooke, confused.
"How do you-"
"How do we know each other, right?" Brooke giggled. "Well you know, it's kind of a funny story."
"Brooke, shut up," Roger snapped.
"Hey, wait! Just let me tell!" Brooke said. "See, it all started about a year or two ago. Roger and I met, but he had this stupid fiancé. Anyway, we started dating behind her back, but she eventually found out. So, she dumped Roger, not that he cared, and we've been together since." She smiled and kissed Roger on the cheek.
The only sound Katie could hear was her own heart pounding in her head. "You mean you were............."
"Yeah, I was," Brooke said carelessly. "But, surely you've gotten over it, right?"
"And you knew along I was-"
"Yeah," Brooke replied.
"And Oliver?"
"Ok, so he wasn't cheating on you," Brooke said. "I sold the paper that story. But, you don't really believe he loves you, do you?" She gasped. "Oh, you do! Aww, that's so sweet."
"Why?" Katie whispered.
"I may be a bit of a bitch," Brooke said. "But I'm not stupid. I could see that you could easily become the next star. You'd get all the attention as star Chaser and Oliver Wood's girlfriend. I knew you'd be as good as Oliver said you always were. But, you want to know one thing that makes a woman athlete all the better? Looks. The moment I saw you, I knew who you were. Oliver had a picture of you in his wallet, along with the rest of those stupid friends of yours. I immediately recognized you as the girl he talked about and I knew you'd have it all. Looks, skills, personality, you're the ideal girl. But, I'm not going to let that happen. I'm the best!"
"No, I'll tell you what you are," Katie said. "You're a lying, cheating, slutty bitch who has nothing better to do than ruin other peoples' lives. You tear them apart, just because you can. You'll do anything just to see them fall. But, you want to know the worst part? You think everybody loves you. Well, here's a clue. They don't. You're a spoiled bitch who thinks you can always get what you want, but I'm not going to put up with it!"
Katie spun on her heel, grabbed Alicia by the arm, and stormed out of the restaurant.
Alicia and Katie approached their front porch and spotted Oliver sitting on the steps, holding his head in his hands. "Oliver?" Katie said softly. Oliver looked up quickly and stood as Alicia disappeared through the front door. Neither of them spoke as they each searched for the right words to say.
"Katie, I don't know how to prove to you that those things never happened," Oliver said. "Except to say that I'm sorry. I mean, what do you want me to do, quit?"
"Oliver, just wait," Katie said. "I guess I'm the one to be apologizing. I didn't believe you and I should have." She sighed and pushed her hair out of her face. "I talked, or more like yelled at Brooke. She was at the Leaky Cauldron................with Roger. She told me how she sold the story to the Prophet. Anyways, I should have believed you. Being a reporter, I guess I should have known that not all stories, especially in the Prophet, are true. I just................was reminded about how betrayed I was before and I hate that feeling. It's probably the worst feeling in the world. Anyways, I'm sorry."
Oliver sighed and took her hand. "Look," he said. "You don't need to apologize for anything and neither do I. I understand why you didn't believe me. Why should you? You're just being cautious and have every right to be. But Katie, you have to understand that I love you. I honestly love you."
Katie breathed shakily and he wrapped his arms around her. "It was her," she mumbled. "Brooke was the one that was with Roger."
"What do you mean?"
"Brooke and Roger. When he cheated on me, it was her. She was the one."
Oliver stared at her. "She told you that?" Katie nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks, soaking into Oliver's shirt.
"Wow," Oliver muttered. "I wouldn't have expected that."
Katie smiled, despite herself. "They make a good couple though," she mumbled. Oliver laughed lightly.
"You're right, they do," he agreed.
"But what do we do?" Katie asked. "How do we prove that this is all her fault?"
"I don't know," Oliver said. "But there has to be a way."
"Katie!"
Katie mumbled several curse words and rolled over in her bed as Alicia burst through her bedroom door. "What?" she complained.
"Look! Read this!" Alicia exclaimed, tossing the paper at Katie.
"Great, now what" Katie mumbled, unrolling the day's edition on the Daily Prophet.
Just a Little Jealous?
Oliver Wood and Katie Bell. Nothing more, nothing less, or should we say no one more and no one less? But, what about Brooke Holden? Cho Chang, top Prophet reporter, has direct resources proving that Holden is the only guilty one in this scandal. Miss Holden apparently gave reporters a fake story to earn attention for herself and to bring Bell from her job. Holden fears that Bell will "become the star" of the team and take over. And as for Mr. Wood? His only flaw was caring for Ms. Bell.
Katie Bell certainly is becoming a fast rising star for Puddlemere United and is already being considered for several magazine covers and stories. Things sure have flip-flopped for her, considering she used to be the one writing the articles herself. What will all of this mean for Puddlemere United?
"How did Cho know?!" Katie exclaimed.
"I don't know," Alicia said shrugging.
"But it says she has proof!" Katie said. "Was she there?"
"I don't know, I wasn't looking," Alicia said. Katie kicked the covers off and hurried into her closet.
"I'm going to go see her," she said, disappearing into the bathroom.
"Come in!" Cho called at the knock on her office door. "Katie!" she exclaimed.
"How did you know?" Katie asked quickly.
"I was there," Cho said. "Didn't you see me?"
"No," Katie answered. "I was a bit preoccupied."
"Oh. Well, is everything OK?" Cho asked. "I didn't write that first story, Andrea did."
"She always was a bitch," Katie muttered. "Anyway, you heard everything?
"Mmm hmm."
"The whole thing?"
"Mmm hmm. Low blow about Roger, I'm really sorry," Cho said apologetically.
"I don't care," Katie said. "I mean, I do, but it doesn't bother me much, I guess."
"Well, why should it?" Cho laughed. "You're dating Oliver Wood." She bit her lip. "You are still together right?"
Katie nodded. "After I found out the truth, I apologized," she said. "And thanks to you and your article, I may still have my job."
"You did great," Cho said. "I always thought you'd make a good Chaser." Katie smiled.
"How're things with you and Alex?" she asked.
"Oh, fine," Cho said. "I mean, he isn't..............Cedric, but I do like him a lot." Katie nodded.
"He seems really nice," she said. "And has really nice muscles."
"What, and Oliver doesn't?" Cho laughed.
"Anyway, thanks," Katie said. "Seriously, I was so sure I was fired."
"Any time." Cho smiled. "Come visit me again. It gets boring here."
As Katie walked through the front door, Alicia thrust a piece of parchment into her hands. "Go!" she said. "You have a meeting with Mr. Puddlemere."
"What?" Katie asked, reading the letter. "Oh! I'm going to be late. By the way, you need to stop reading my mail. I don't read yours!"
Alicia shrugged. "I got bored. Now go!" Katie nodded and apparated outside the door of Mr. Puddlemere's office. She knocked lightly while glancing at her watch and noticing she was 5 minutes late. The door opened and Katie spotted Brooke, Oliver, and Mr. Puddlemere seated around the conference table.
"Miss Bell how nice of you to join us," Mr. Puddlemere said.
"Sorry sir," Katie said quickly. "I had a meeting with Cho Chang from the Daily Prophet."
Mr. Puddlemere nodded. "Would you like to give me a recap of yesterday's events?" he asked Katie. Katie told him everything that happened at the Leaky Cauldron. "I see," he said once she had finished. "Well, I spoke with Miss Chang earlier and she also told me her views on the incident. It seems her side of what happened is the same as yours and quite different than Miss Holden's."
"That's not fair!" Brooke yelled. "She's lying! They're both lying."
"Miss Holden, I believe you have caused enough issues for this team and organization," Mr. Puddlemere said harshly. "Mr. Wood, Miss Bell, I owe you my deepest apologies." Katie and Oliver each nodded. "As for you, Miss Holden, you have caused quite a deal of problems for us and it is something that we will not put up with. Puddlemere United members are true, passionate people, who are here for one reason and one reason only, and that's for the game of quidditch. Now, we don't mind the relationship between Mr. Wood and Miss Bell, actually, it's attracted even more fans, but we will not accept your kind of attitude and behavior. We've already received several complaints from other team members. Therefore, due to your lack of respect, I have no choice other than to let you go."
Katie and Oliver looked at each other quickly. "What?!" Brooke screeched. "Sir, that isn't fair! I've worked hard for this team and I'm the best you have!"
"You are very talented, indeed," Mr. Puddlemere said. "But, from what I've seen and heard, the only person you've been working for is yourself."
"I am the best this team has!" Brooke yelled. "I've been nothing but true and hard-working!"
"Hard-working, yes, true, no," Mr. Puddlemere said. Oliver squeezed Katie's hand and they exchanged discreet smiles. Brooke was in tears.
"It's not fair!" she wailed.
"Miss Holden, I ask that you leave immediately before I have you physically removed myself."
"It's not fair!" Brooke wailed once more. She stood up abruptly and her chair tipped back. "It's not fair!" And she stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her.
(God, that took forever! I hope it was OK. Review and lemme know. Next update will be ASAP.)