Knots
by Shamrocknroll
Pairing: None
Rating: T (Just to be safe, but seriously?)
Warnings: A gay character, but sadly no slash.
Disclaimer: Characters? Not mine. They would be, if I was JK Rowling, but I'm really, really not. As far as I know, the plot is more or less my own creation, but totally correct me if I'm wrong.
A/N: This is my first story, and it really came to me out of nowhere. I'll apologize in advance if it's not good. Flames are not so happy, so how about we all just be awesome to each other – if you have something against gay people, I won't force you to read my story (just click the back button right about…now), and you don't leave a flame. Sound good? Awesome. (I say that word way too much.)
You can do it, it's only a couple of words, how hard can it be? You're at the head of all your classes, and you can't even manage one tiny sentence? I haven't been this nervous since we took our OWLs at the end of last year, and I pace back and forth across the dormitory, telling myself that this will be easier. My insides are telling a different story. For the last week my stomach has been tied up in knots, and it isn't helping me force those words out.
"Er...Percy?"
Oliver's voice cuts through my thoughts, and I return to the present. He's sitting on his bed in our room, and I've stopped mid-route in my pacing, halfway between the door and my bed. It would be so easy for me to back out now, to not go through with this. I could make up some excuse and leave, only I promised myself I would tell Oliver this, and Percy Weasley doesn't break his promises.
"Oliver, I…" I stammer. "I just…Merlin, this is hard." I'm staring at my hands now, finding it impossible to look away from them, impossible to get any words out.
"Percy, what is it? Are you okay?" he asks. I haven't been able to look him in the eye, but his concern is evident in his voice. Maybe this won't be so bad. I slowly breathe in and look up from my hands.
"Oliver, I'm gay." I surprise myself with the clarity of the words, the way I managed to speak without stuttering this time. The words sound so different out loud. I've said them over and over in my mind, but it just isn't the same.
There's a pause, an awkward silence, then he dissolves into laughter, and I return to my nervous state, feeling the knots in my stomach slowly tightening. I try to take deep breaths to calm myself, like Oliver told me he does on the pitch, only this is real life, I've just told my biggest secret to my best friend, and he's laughing. I'm confused, and more than a little hurt, and it must show on my face, because soon his laughter slows, then stops, and he looks at me.
"Is that all?"
Is that all? What's that supposed to mean? I decide to keep quiet, and wait for Oliver to explain himself more clearly.
"Sorry, Perce, that didn't come out right. All I meant was that I was worried about you. You've seemed anxious for the last week or so, and I thought there was something seriously wrong," he explains. "Is this what you've been worried about all this time?"
When I hear his words, I'm angry with myself for making too much out of the situation and relieved because the words are finally out in the open, and thankful that I have such an amazing best friend. I manage to utter a quick, "Yes," before embarrassment takes over, and my face flushes to match my Weasley-red hair.
"Why?" Oliver asks, and the knots in my stomach loosen and come undone, and I breathe a sigh of relief.