Summary: Oliver Wood is the Captain of the Gryffindor football team and most popular guy in school. So why was he just dumped by his long time boyfriend Blaise Zabini? To prove to his friends that he's not losing his touch, Oliver bets that he can turn socially challenged Harry Potter into the ideal boyfriend in ten weeks tops. Loosely based off of the movie "She's All That." AU with Harry/Oliver SLASH.
CHAPTER TWO: A MEAL AND MISFORTUNES
"Stupid jocks," Harry mumbled discontentedly under his breath as he tried to ignore the laughs he was receiving for his all too typical display of clumsiness. He knew part of it was from his innate ability to trip over his own two feet, though he bet a lot of it had to do with his humongous pants--hand-me-downs from his whale of a cousin--and the fact that he hadn't had his eyesight checked since the fourth grade.
Hastily trying to gather his things as he knelt at the top of the stairs, desperately hoping that he would be able to pick his stuff up and put it away before someone decided to come along and make his life even more of a living hell than it already was, Harry silently cursed his luck. He didn't really care about being popular or anything--in fact, he would rather not be since all of the 'cool' people seemed to be complete assholes--but he did wish that he could at least get through the day without being picked on or ridiculed or made a complete mockery of.
After all, he couldn't help it that his clothes weren't of the latest fashion and his hair was completely unmanageable. It's not like he had any money, or rather it wasn't like his relatives would actually spend any more on him than absolutely necessary. It sucked and it wasn't fair, but that's just the way life was. Or at the very least his life. And there was nothing that he could do about it.
Letting out a sigh, he absently reached out to grab his lit circle book, stopping short as his hand brushed against someone else's. Hesitantly raising his eyes, and hoping that it was only Hermione, his face paled with shock as he met the gaze of Oliver Wood, star football player and consequently one of the most popular boys in the school. Could his day get any worse?
He gave the larger boy a half-hearted glare, not really in the mood to be bullied and uncertain as to why Wood seemed to have decided to pick up the hobby all of a sudden. He noticed that the jock held his book clutched in his hand and silently groaned, warily eyeing Wood with trepidation. He really couldn't afford to replace the book, and the Dursley's would kill him if they got a fine for it.
He wanted to just reach out and snatch it back, then make a mad dash for the cafeteria and hope for the best, though he knew that probably wasn't the best, or safest, course of action. Resigned to whatever fate Wood had in store for him, he bowed his head. "What do you want?" he asked glumly, trying not to let despair show through in his voice, though he doubted he was doing a very good job at hiding it.
"I just thought you might want some help with your stuff," was Wood's reply, the apparent sincerity shocking Harry. He raised his eyes, scrutinizing Wood to try and discern whether this was some clever ploy to put him at ease only to dash his hopes and provide Wood and his friends with amusement at his utter humiliation. Looking around, though, Harry didn't see any of Wood's friends around. So much for that idea.
Still unwilling to trust Wood--who was, after all, a jock--Harry didn't allow himself to be pulled in by Wood's seeming kindness. "I am perfectly capable of picking up my own things," he remarked somewhat acidly, knowing that he was probably only digging himself into a deeper hole. "Besides, why would you care anyway?" he added, unable to keep himself from voicing his suspicions.
Oliver was somewhat taken aback, stammering for a few moments before coming up with an answer. "Look, I know I've never been particularly nice to you before, but I have never actually been mean to you, have I? It just looked like you could use some help, so I decided to lend a hand. The least you could do is give me a chance before you bite my head off," Oliver reasoned, starting to believe that this bet would be even harder to win than he had initially thought.
Despite his prevailing misgivings, Harry let out a sigh, conceding the fact that the least he could do was to give the guy a chance. Perhaps Wood really was just trying to be nice for once, although if that was the case, then it was probably just his good deed for the year after which things would go back to normal. But, whatever, he would take what he could get. "Uh…thanks," Harry responded more amicably, accepting the rest of his stuff from Oliver with slight discomfort.
Oliver smiled slightly in return, which helped ease Harry's mind a bit. "Look, I'm sure you think all jocks are the same. I mean, you probably think we're all thick headed assholes, right? But, the truth is that we're not all like that. In fact, you'd find that some of us aren't half bad once you get to know us," Oliver spoke, knowing that if he was going to win this boy over he would first have to address some of the major issues that lay between them.
Harry wondered what exactly Wood was trying to get at. He could see that he was trying to sway Harry's current presumed opinion of him, but the question was: Why? Why would Wood care what Harry thought of him? It was a foreign thought for Harry; no one, except for maybe Hermione, had ever cared about his opinion, or about him for that matter.
"Do you want me to get to know you?" Harry couldn't help but question, latching onto the last part of what Wood had said. Turning to face the substantially taller jock, Harry scrutinized him, trying to decipher what his motives were for this unexpected turn about. He had to wonder what on earth could have brought this on.
Oliver was surprised by the directness of the inquiry. He wasn't exactly sure how Potter wanted or expected him to respond, but he supposed that answering in the affirmative wouldn't lessen his chances any more. "Yeah, actually, I think I do," he replied to Potter's question, trying to seem as sincere as possible and not over eager. After all, the response was true, although it wasn't for the reason that one would assume.
Harry was still somewhat skeptical, but figured that he might as well give Wood a shot. Anyway, what did have to lose? "Umm…I was just going to go get lunch…Did you want to, you know, er…join me?" Harry suggested hesitantly, stumbling over the unfamiliar words.
Oliver was a tad shocked by the suggestion, Potter not striking him as one to extend lunch invitations on a regular basis. He took this as a good sign. "Sure," he accepted, though he knew that there would be repercussions on his social status. Winning this bet was more important anyway. Besides, even if people looked down on him for it, it would blow over by the end of the week at the very least.
----------------------------------------------------
Maybe lunch with Potter hadn't been such a good idea after all Oliver decided as he headed off toward his fourth hour class. The task had seemed simple enough, and it probably would have been, that is if it was just him and Potter. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
He had, of course, expected some sort of reaction from the other students. The reaction he'd gotten, though, was more than even he could have predicted.
It had been bad enough with just the whispers and stares following them, but then Malfoy's goons had had to show up and start a scene. Oliver had been forced to eventually stand up to the imbeciles in Potter's defense. He could only imagine what kind of rumors were going around now. Whatever they were, he'd surely hear them before the day was up.
And, as if that wasn't bad enough, that pig-faced wrestler--Dorsey or something like that--had shown up and started making a fuss, shouting out stuff about Potter being a freak and how Oliver shouldn't associate with him. It was only after the great blimp had left that he'd found out that the jerk was actually Potter's cousin.
He had to wonder what it was about this kid that made everyone seem to despise him so much. Unless there was something he hadn't seen or heard about the kid that made him some psychopath-in-the-making, then Oliver really couldn't see what was so 'wrong' with him.
Sure, Harry was a tad anti-social and lacking in confidence, but from what Oliver had seen so far (which admittedly wasn't a lot), the guy seemed a whole heck of a lot nicer than some of the assholes they had at this school, although that wasn't saying much. Besides, what was the big deal? Why did everyone care so much? Frankly, it didn't really make all that much sense to him, but then again, a lot of things that people did seemed unreasonable.
Shaking his head, Oliver let out a sigh as he made it to his fourth hour class with three minutes to spare. He really didn't want to be late again after having been late to McGonagall's class this morning. Although, he'd had a pretty good reason then, not that he particularly wanted to think about that at the moment.
Looking around, he spotted a seat near the far back corner and headed for it, not really in the mood to be sociable. Not having much else to do, he decided to take out a notebook and pen in preparation for class, though he doubted they'd being doing much considering it was the first day.
Leaning over and rooting around in his already disorganized bag, Oliver was assaulted by what distinctly sounded like the voice of Draco Malfoy. Peeking up without lifting his head, he ascertained that what he had feared was indeed true. Shit. That's when he noticed the person standing beside Malfoy, causing him to jolt and bang his head. Double shit.
Not only was Malfoy in his same class (which was bad enough in and of itself), but his now ex-boyfriend Blaise also appeared to have this class with him. As if he didn't already hate Spanish enough as it was.
Grimacing at the impending nightmare, Oliver could only hope that the two wouldn't spot him until the class had already started and that he would be able to sneak out as soon as the bell rang without a confrontation. Unfortunately, such fantasies were short-lived.
"Wood, what a pleasant surprise," Malfoy spoke condescendingly, smirking down at Oliver, who was still half hiding behind the desk.
Straightening up, Oliver faced his doom, trying to plaster a fake smile on his face and pretend that nothing was wrong. "I wish I could say the same," he spoke in response to Malfoy's words, still smiling falsely with thinly veiled disgust. "A surprise, yes. Pleasant? Unfortunately not."
Malfoy snorted derisively and rolled his eyes. "What is unfortunate is your transparent attempt to be witty and collected. We all know you cried like a lovesick schoolgirl when Blaise broke up with you this morning," Malfoy retorted, seeming to revel in Oliver's obvious hatred for him.
Despite himself, Oliver could not think up a decent comeback to that. Thankfully, he was saved from having to answer by Professor Flitwick entering the room, with the bell ringing just seconds afterward signaling the beginning of class.
Oliver was relieved, yet at the same time he felt as if Malfoy had gotten the upper hand in this round. At least Blaise had had the decency not to butt in. Oliver wasn't sure whether he would be able to handle that so soon after their breakup. But, whatever, he now had something else to keep his mind on, thanks to Malfoy. And he would need to keep his mind on it if he intended to actually win the bet. Hell, he could already tell it was going to be a long year, and it was only the middle of the first day.
TO BE CONTINUED…
AUTHOR'S NOTES: So, so sorry that it has taken me forever to update this fic. I really have no excuse whatsoever beyond the typical writer's block and losing sight of the story, etc. Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of positive encouragement that I got after the first chapter. I'll try to update again as soon as I can, though it will still probably be at least three or four weeks before I get around to it. I apologize in advanced. And, once again, thank you so much for the support; I really appreciated it!