Title: Resisting the Inevitable

Author: Miss Anthrope

Rating: M for Mustacio!

Reason 3: Sexual themes are present and, well, let's admit it, not everyone can handle the sex talk.

Warning(s): I would, but as always, that'll just ruin this story, which sadly for you, is a favorite of mine.

Genre(s): A Romance/Drama from little emo me.

Author's Note: Alright people, my first periodical exams are just a few days away and I can't exactly take the time to update you all no matter how much I truly want to, so for you all, I've decided to post this one now-- the longest chapter ever, by the way-- for you all to enjoy before I can go finish up chappie 4.

Dedication(s): This one's to all my lovely reviewers who actually took the time to say how much they are entertained by this. Also, to Fizzing Whizbeez who had been kind enough to help me out with this story and am forever grateful for.

Summary: Taking care of Oliver Wood is about as frustrating as babysitting your prissy four-year-old sister. With Katie as his personal assistant, there's quite a chance of her eventually fancying him-- that is if she doesn't murder him first.

parties, Porky Patrol, and blech

"Oh, Diane!" Andrew grasped the woman in front of him by her slender arms, bringing the enchanting blonde even closer towards his broad chest. They stood there, still as statues, gazing at each other with a fiery intensity. His stony gray eyes seemed to smolder in the firelight, and the way his strong and muscular arms enfolded themselves around her thin waist made another shiver run down her body, her eyes closing slightly at the sensation. "I know you love me! Why do you still need to go on pretending that you don't feel the same way?"

He watched Diane bow her head lightly at his words, causing her curtain of glistening hair to hide her porcelain face. "You know I can't love you, Andrew. It would just be too complicated for me."

"'Too complicated'? How can you say that?"

"Andrew, I don't want to risk our friendship for anything else. I don't want to make all the years we spent together to wash down the drain after we break up." Diane felt the tears burn her eyes as she ducked her head even lower, trying as best as she could to resist curling her hands around his neck and resting them against his hard body. "Look, I can't even begin to explain-"

Her words were suddenly cut short as a pair of lips swathed her own, and for a brief moment, Diane's eyes widened in shock before snapping shut at the new euphoria bursting within her. His kisses left her skin burning with a desire she had never felt before, her body tingling to her core as his touches became more passionate with each movement. Andrew groaned loudly as Diane began to finally respond to him, her tongue swirling wildly within his mouth, her arms twined tightly behind his neck as her fingers tangled themselves in his auburn curls.

Backing up slightly, Diane looked up at the man in front of her, her usually soft amber eyes now clouded with lust much like his own. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing ragged as she tried to fight the need within her.

"I want you."

Andrew's words seemed to have made her snap out of her reverie as he quickly began to smother her neck with his mouth, his teeth grazing ever so lightly against the sensitive skin. Diane, unable to restrain herself any longer, threw caution to the wind and pulled him closer, her back slamming hard against the wall with a thud. A shriek escaped her lips as Andrew soon trailed his hands down from her sides towards her thighs, her eyes closed in ecstasy while he quickly pulled up the hem of her skirt and began fondling with the softness of her legs. Diane bit down on her lips hard as Andrew continued his teasing closer to her wetness, his moist kisses trailing down to the scoop of her blouse.

Struggling with the rapture she was now caught in, Diane slowly brought up her trembling hands and moved to undo—

"KATIE!"

"HOLY SHIT!" I quickly slid my admittedly slightly questionable pocket book underneath a nearby pillow, and luckily, I was just in time as a head suddenly popped from the fireplace.

See, this is the reason why the Ministry should set up some buzzer or anything so that we won't be screaming at least half the time when people unexpectedly appear in your fires! I mean, what if you're in the middle of something important or are having a personal moment with someone…?

Not that I'm saying that I fall under those two categories…though I think my 'something questionable' goes under 'something important'…

…Well to me, anyway…

"KATIE!"

"Oliver?" Pushing myself off the bed, I slowly made my way to the hearth, my legs slightly shaking from the…er, something a while ago. "Oliver? What the bloody hell are you doing? Shouldn't you be in Madame Malkin's right now getting your final fitting for the Ministry Ball?"

"I am in Madame Malkin's right now."

Huh, I just realized how funny Wood looks like as flames.

'Hmm…I wonder if it'll hurt if I poke him—'

"—and Dreisha Wallace's owl only reached me now saying that she couldn't go with me tonight because she has— wait a minute," For a moment, I thought that he had finally run out of breath and was on the verge of collapsing, when Oliver's eyes— or I think were eyes—suddenly narrowed at me. "Have you been running or something? You're sweating a lot…"

'Uh-oh…oh fuck…just act calm…'

Sure, like that ever happens.

"Have you been doing something you shouldn't be doing again?"

…

Yeah, I'm busted.

…

As usual.

"Er, define what you mean by 'something you shouldn't be doing'."

'If you mean, reading something that falls under erotic stories, then…uh…'

"Have you been reading those dirty novels I told you to stop reading again?"

"No…"

Twenty-one years and until now I still cant lie to save my ass.

…

Tick…tick…tick…tick…

…

Tick…tick…tick…tick…

…

Tick…tick…tick…tick…

Five minutes later and the bloody bastard's still not finished laughing.

'Maybe now is the time to test out my little theory.'

And so by grabbing firmly the nearest iron-poking device, I proceeded to aim it right on Mister High-and-mighty's eye.

'So it does hurt when you do that…interesting…'

"NOW WHY THE BLOODY HELL WOULD YOU—"

He pretty much just screamed like a little prissy girl. As always.

"Look, I don't really have the whole night to have this heartwarming conversation with you, Wood, and frankly, neither do you. Now either you stop and get to the point now, or I could hit you with this thing again and then you can get to the point; your choice." I, for one, thought that it was a very reasonable deal, but apparently he didn't share the same idea.

"Merlin's beard, alright!" I suppose he was trying to look apologetic, thought at that time, I really couldn't tell seeing as how his eye suddenly began twitching. Until now, I still like to think that it was the flames that caused that…and not the fact that I may have damaged some nerves in the course of my short-lived, yet highly successful, experiment. (…Though that's not exactly what my conscience tries to tell me…) "Like I said earlier, Dreisha can't come as my partner tonight."

"And so…? What do you want me to do about it?"

"I don't know! You're my personal assistant, Katie, so start doing some assisting!"

"Well, I don't know either." Taking back my wand from the table, I instantly conjured my trusty planner and began leafing through the notes. "Look, can't you take someone else to the ball with you? It is short notice, but I'm sure you can pick up a girl willing to do a little compromise for you."

'…It just better not end up all over Witch Weekly or the Prophet.'

"Oh, I'm sure the first girl I pick out has a ready gown just waiting for it to be used…right, Kates. You know when I said 'assisting', I actually meant real ideas and not just some random thoughts."

Like I said before, bloody bastard.

"Well, I'm sorry, Oliver, I don't think you can get a partner to go with you this late. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad going stag tonight…"

'Yeah right, who the hell am I kidding? Only sixty-year-old men looking for a one-night stand do that…but then again, who knows? Maybe he'll turn out that way in a couple of years. I can always say that I'm giving him a head start on the inevitable.'

But then I doubted that was exactly what he wanted to hear at the moment.

"I'm not some horny senior citizen, Katie!"

Yeah, I was right.

"It was just an idea, Wood." I turned to my directory and began picking through the different names that possibly owed me a favor or two instead of the other way around. "Well, do you have any ideas of yourself? 'Cause lately it seems I've been doing most of that." I wasn't really in the mood to point out that 'excessive thinking' was partially under my job description; not that he really, really needed to know that.

However, thirty seconds later, I was beginning to doubt my judgment really badly.

"Forget what I said, Oliver, and just leave the thinking to me instead." His face had been scrunched up into a tightly knit frown, his brows furrowed together and making him appear to have a rather massive unibrow. It wasn't exactly something worthy to be placed under his usual spot in Witch Weekly's Top 25 Most Attractive Wizards of… but rather under The Quibbler's Human Mortification Page.

I was just very casually observing the throbbing vein on his temple (thump…thump…thump…) when his eyes suddenly shot forward, causing me to stumble backwards and eventually tripping over the foot of the bed.

Seriously, Hannibal Lechter has nothing on him.

"Katie, do you still have that black dress you wore to the team function last May?" The way Oliver was talking to me made me feel like I was that gawky and nerdy girl back in fourth year, not that I'm not gawky anymore…just less.

"Uh, yes, Captain— er, I mean, Oliver."

Oh yeah, no longer the nerd…

…Right.

'What I wouldn't do to punch that smirk off his face.'

"Well it's settled then!"

"What exactly has just been settled?" Looking up at him, I was more than horrified when a maniac grin- much like the one he wears before…well, basically when he has one of his bright ideas, or so he likes to call them.

"Oh, nothing much," I had to hold back a snort. 'Yeah right.' "You know, aside from the fact that you, Katie Bell, will be the girl lucky enough to be Oliver Wood's escort tonight!"

'Did he just refer to himself in the third person?'

It was really a few seconds later when his words finally got through my brain, long enough to register what he had just said.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT NOW?"

'I swear, as soon as I find his secret stash of joints, I am going to kick his ass before sending him back to his mother's for some serious bashing. Who the hell does he think he is telling me to do what he wants? The Minister or something? Bloody hell! …Oh wait, am I forgetting something else?'

"OH, AND DON'T EVEN CALL ME AN 'ESCORT' LIKE I'M SOME KIND OF HUSSY!"

"How about let's skip this argument and go right ahead to you flooing over here with that dress and onto the ball, alright?" Oh, I just knew he was already smirking there like some kind of idiot who hasn't figured out yet what's coming to him, which of course, he was.

"How about we don't. And besides, you're not the boss of me."

"Well, actually, Katie—"

"Just shut it! I know what you're getting at and it's still a no, no matter how much you beg."

"Really?"

"Really."

"And nothing's gonna make you change your mind, nothing at all?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was up to next so I began to quickly gather my wits and my poker face, both ready for action.

"Nope."

"Not even an additional day off?"

"No."

"Not even another shopping spree in Hogsmeade?"

'Er…is it an unlimited shopping spree? Hmm…maybe— Damnit, be strong, Katie!'

"No."

Thank you, poker face!

"Not even free top box seat tickets for your family? You know how much your dad'll like that."

'Gah, loosing power…to…resist…'

"No…"

"Not even if going with me tonight means that you'll get to have another chance to pursue your maybes with a certain Gerard Rosier?"

I think my heart stopped right then when he had finally said the one thing that actually managed to break through my poker face…aside from chocolate, but then again, that's another thing he doesn't have to know. You could tell that I was practically on the brink of screaming when it finally came down to deciding whether to give into his deal and give Oliver the right of torment for at least a week, or keep it together and by some miracle, find another way to meet Mister Rosier in another casual scene as the ball.

…Yeah, it was really hard decision but sacrifices must be made!

"Fine, you get this one, Wood."

And apparently this time, the sacrifice had to be my pride.

"I knew it!" Oliver was already smiling as if that little runt already knew that I was going to give in. "Well, go on and get your dress. I've already spent enough time here and I have to get back to Madame—"

"Wait a minute, just to make it clear." Oh, I hope he didn't think I was going down that easily…but basing on his face, he probably was. "I am only going to be your partner, not escort. I only need to be entering with you, but during the rest of night, I have the right to go around with the other men there."

"Sure, sure. Just get here as quickly as you can or you can forget about that deal."

Oh, you can be sure he'll be paying for that short attention span.

"Wow, Katie, you look great! Just sublime! Absolutely—"

"If you don't stop that right now, this bag will soon come in contact somewhere down south."

Well, that definitely shut Oliver up. At least then I could finally finish the final touches on my small bun, well at least those few strands that were kind enough to stay still and not spill over my face.

We had about fifteen minutes to go before the carriage picked us up by the time I finally arrived in the shop. I really had to hand it to Madame Malkin who managed to transform my casual cotton dress into an impressive black and slightly lacey number, for once looking like it was actually taken from the racks instead of a sale bin.

…Not that I'm saying I bought it there…

And really, who in the world knew that that woman was also capable of applying some decent make-up? I for one didn't, and was so surprised when she had suddenly offered to do it for me seeing as how I "look so incomplete without any eyeshadow, blush, or lipstick at all." At once I was ready for that party in my new gorgeous dress, fancy up-do, a little cosmetics, and my slightly mumbling partner— who by the way, didn't look half bad now with his formal robes all nice and clean.

'Maybe if I told him that, he would stop fidgeting and talking to himself.'

"I really like your robes. They definitely suit you well, Oliver."

"Yeah, I know." Not exactly the humble reply I was hoping for. "And in all honesty, if I may say so myself without risking getting myself hit in the crotch, you look really well in that dress tonight."

'Well isn't that just sweet. I just hope that wasn't supposed to be him hitting on me, not that it's bad, but that just had to be one sorry excuse of a pick up line.'

"Right then, well I do hope that Gerard will like it just as well."

On cue, the large double doors that reminded me greatly of those we used to have in Hogwarts swung open, revealing a grand ballroom, complete with several hanging crystal chandeliers, a marble staircase leading to the floor, and even, possibly, every one of those wizards and witches on the Chocolate Frog cards— well those who were still alive anyway. I still had positively no idea where the hell I was at that moment, but as soon as I saw Aiden Lynch, one of my top favorite quidditch players, I really didn't begin to care anymore; all that mattered to me now was that I was actually in a place with food, wine, and somewhere here, Gerard Rosier.

"Wood!"

Looking down among the crowds, we were able to quickly spot the Puddlemere team, as always grouped together around their coach as if preparing for another game. Seriously, I haven't a clue as to how these guys even manage social lives, and go as far as having romantic relationships, with quidditch on their minds around the clock.

At first I was a little surprised and not to mention, lost when Oliver had suddenly offered his arm to me, but seeing his smirk, I curtsied to the best of my abilities and accepted it as though we were just playing Castle again (not that we ever did of course). I admit it was really fun going down the stairs, smiling wide enough to probably crack my face, and waving as though I was some queen, once in a while mentally flipping off every female who had the nerve to glare at me openly like I was blind or too stupid to see.

"I see you've brought Katie with you." Coach Flithers, always the gentleman, bowed down slightly to me. Ah, I love playing Castle among my lowly subjects. "I've heard of love and hate relationships, but I had always thought you two were a case far beyond that considering how you were still biting each other's heads off this morning— and over the bloody newspaper, of all things!"

'Aw, isn't that sweet of him to— …wait a minute, love and hate…relation…ship…?'

Not a moment was spared, as Oliver and I soon broke free from each other's clutches and at least two meters away. Dennis, one of the beaters for the team, had already begun chortling to himself as the rest of the guys soon caught on what had happened to be followed by a disappointed sigh and a comment of "I knew it was too good to be true" from Coach.

"Alright then, well I've kept my part of the deal, Oliver." A waiter passed by just in time and I quickly swiped a champagne flute from his tray and a little pastry from another. "I've entered the ball with you, now if you'd all excuse me, I think I might do some crowd mingling." Finishing half of my first drink I was ready and up to see if Mister Rosier was lurking and in need of some company, in other words, me.

Five minutes in, I had already passed my third group of gossiping society matrons, all of whom had worn enough jewelry that night to feed a whole third world nation and a half. Just barely slipping past a particularly plump woman and her equally large husband, it was only then did I finally see my newest knight in shining armor, even more handsome than I had last seen him, and looking ever so suave with a crystal drink in one hand, the other in his pocket as he leant slightly against the wall.

'Bloody hell, please say I'm not dreaming and that I'm actually seeing a man as perfect as that there! Please, someone pinch—'

It was at this time that the same couple I had just passed turned around and immediately collided with my back, causing me to trip over myself in the process. On most days I wouldn't even flinch at this regular occurrence, but seeing as how it was all happening in front of the most flawless man alive, the feeling of caring had suddenly surfaced and heaven knows that I had already begun bracing myself for the utter embarrassment I was to face in no less than two seconds.

…

…

'Is it just me or does the usual feel of a floor seem different today?'

Daringly, I peeked through one eye and noticed at once that instead of seeing the checkered marble pattern, I came face to face with the front of someone's formal robes. Judging by the firmness and flatness of the chest, my savior of the night was a man—- wonderfully built, too— and smelled of something between pine and perhaps a citrus fruit.

"Thanks for helping me— me back…there…" I stupidly stumbled over my words as I soon realized that this hot piece of ass turned out to be the same hot piece of ass I had been thinking about before what could've been the event that marked the end of my non-existent social life. "Er, hello there Mister Rosier."

'Oh crap.'

Yeah, 'oh crap' were definitely the words for it.

"Katie Bell is it?" Gerard, even better close up than I have ever even thought of, unfortunately, removed his tight grip from my arms as he helped me regain my balance.

'He remembered my name! Hallelujah! Hallelu—'

"Yes, that's right." For the first time, I had never been so happy when my mouth had begun to move on its own with words coming out calm and freely instead of the gibberish that was forming in my head. 'Maybe someone so very kind out there decided to put some Calming Drought in my drink…Professor Snape?' "I wasn't expecting to see you here tonight."

"Likewise." He gestured me to the spot I had last seen him and was delighted to find that it was now deserted of his former companions. Nodding in return, we moved and it took all my self-control not to start screaming my head off when he placed his hand lightly on my elbow. His hands were just so warm and soft and just so, so wonderful that I could've died or at least fainted. "I must say, Miss Bell, ball gowns do seem to fit you better as opposed to your work clothes."

'MERLIN-SOMEONE-PINCH-ME-RIGHT-NOW!'

"Thank you, Mister Rosier."

"Please, please, call me Gerard."

'Oh, and such a gentleman too…'

"Then I must also insist that you call me Katie." I had no idea where that came back from (though most probably from some old movie I watched with Angelina and Alicia once) but apparently I had said something good since Gerard quickly returned it with a smile that should win him Witch Weekly's Best Smile Award.

"Alright then, Katie," Gah, I loved the way he said my name…sounds so much more interesting. "May I ask who it is accompanied you here tonight?"

"Oh, Oliver invited me to be his partner."

'Damnit! Oh shit, now it's gonna sound like…'

"Oh, you and Mister Wood are going out?"

'DAMNIT! DAMNIT! DAMNIT!'

"Oh, no, no! You've got it wrong!" The sad thing about this whole thing is that I already knew that my temporary power to be eloquent for once had disappeared at the most inappropriate time and I was stuck in a rut. And not to mention, desperate. "Oliver's real partner couldn't come tonight and so since we couldn't think of anyone else to accompany him here, I had to take charge and be his substitute date for tonight— not that we're dating now or anything! No, we just came here so he wouldn't have to look like a horny…! —Uh, wait, that came out wrong! What I meant was—"

I really should've known to quit while I'm ahead.

I didn't blame Gerard when he just replied my ramblings with an amused expression, thankfully, not laughing right in my face, as I would've expected any other person would. But then again, he might've been laughing at me though just more politely doing it in his head, which I don't know if it's a really good or bad thing. Time passed and I was so grateful when he began to talk, leaving me more time to try to suppress my flushed cheeks before looking back up at him.

"Oh, that sounds really great that you're doing this for Mister Wood especially since this isn't really part of your job." Another server passed and just as I was going to get a drink of my own, Gerard got two and handed one to me. I watched him take a sip and decided to copy while I gathered some of my remaining wits to get the conversation going.

"And you? May I ask whose company it is you've brought with you tonight?"

"Of course, I was actually waiting for her to return before I spotted you a while ago." My grip on the stalk of the flute tightened as the unwelcomed word 'her' reached my ears. "In fact, I think that's her already…would you wait a moment here while I get her for a proper introduction?"

I didn't even get a chance to reply with a "How about we just stay here instead?" when Gerard walked off into the crowd and immediately returned with a new person in tow.

'Alright then, another thing to add to my to do list: Learn to keep your mouth shut and stop asking questions that you don't need the answer to.'

"Katie Bell, I'd like to introduce you to Francesca Crouch, my fiancé."

Beep…Beep…Beep…Beeeeeeep…

Honestly, my heart seemed to be literally on hold from that moment on as the woman who had been standing behind him moved forward to meet me, the megawatt smile on her face almost blinding me with their unbelievable whiteness.

'Fuck, I should've known it was too good to be true. Merlin, why is it always me? Did you suddenly get tired of picking on Neville nowadays?'

"Nice to meet you, Miss Bell, is it?" Much like Gerard, this woman looked so bloody perfect that it made me doubt again whether or not I was just off daydreaming or dozing off in my room. Her hair, just as black as her—insert cringe— fiancé's, was left down in soft and neat waves that framed her face well, bronzed like the rest of her skin and accentuated lightly with a sweep of some makeup. Her dress was a basic strapless red gown with a more layered skirt that never in my life I would ever dare try.

"Y—Yes." Francesca was just so everything I wasn't and could never be in this lifetime that I even managed to make a fool of myself further by stuttering in front of her. "It's also great to meet you too Miss Crouch."

She flashed me another one of her killer smiles and offered her hand to me. I looked at it warily for a moment or two before returning it with a shake that only made me realize further how loaded this woman must be when the glittering of her ring- luckily, not the engagement one- and that of her necklace and earrings caught in the light.

"If you don't mind, please call me by my first name instead. It really gets quite disturbing having to deal with such formalities with hours on end." At this moment, I began to realize that the world had now fully turned against me. The smallest compensation I had been so sure of was that a female this physically perfect would be a total bitch that I could easily hate, but even this had to be taken away from me; No, not only was Francesca apparently some super-woman-witch-thing who has such natural articulacy, but she also was one of the friendliest people I had yet to meet.

'Gods, what have I ever done to deserve this…aside from reading thatFriendships, Passion, and Lustnovel this evening that is…?'

"Er, sure, Francesca." I guess I wasn't getting out of that one so easily without a lesson or moral or something. 'Damn, I'm hating karma right now.' Sigh. "So, are you somehow related to the late Bartemus Crouch Senior?"

"Yes, actually. Bartemus Crouch Senior was my father's second cousin."

'You'd think that she wasn't somehow related to some deranged and confirmed Death Eater.'

With the way she was talking, one would've suspected that Francesca had no idea that her third cousin murdered his own father…or tried to murder a fourteen-year-old Harry Potter.

"I do hope that Gerard here was good company to you."

The two shared a playful look and I already began to feel a bit sick, though slightly thankful that they were good people and didn't dare practice public displays of affection in occasions such as this. I was more than happy when Francesca turned to face Gerard to apologize for taking long doing something or another since it finally gave me a chance to look for my new savior tonight. A back of someone's head suddenly caught my attention and soon I realized who it was: Oliver.

"Oliver!" It was pretty hilarious to see Wood suddenly whirl around at my voice, looking around to see who it was that called him. He was right about to approach the same plump woman that had nearly run me over with her spouse ('Really, why is this woman everywhere?') to ask if it was she when I called his name again. I glanced back at the loving couple and dread crept up on me as I noticed that they were almost done talking and I definitely wasn't looking forward to any more torture. "OLIVER!"

This time, he finally saw me and thankfully went over to be my surprising knight in shining armor— for tonight at least.

"You called?" I had never been happier to see Oliver grinning up at me lopsidedly, making it just a bit obvious that he had more than three drinks so far.

"Uh, yeah." 'He better be drunk for this cause I am NOT going to admit to this tomorrow!' "I need your help right now. You've gotta get me out of—"

"Mister Wood, it's great to meet you again!"

'Oh crap.'

Turning back, it was more than obvious that my chances of escaping had gone back to zero and my minutes of torture had a higher probability of rising to hours now. It was great…just peachy.

"Mister Rosier!" The men shook hands and I didn't want to do anything aside from smacking that smile off Oliver's face with my hands. To think that I had thought he would save me for once! "Great to see you on this lovely evening!"

'Oh, he's loving seeing me in pain! Should've known…'

"Before I forget, Oliver Wood, let me introduce my fiancé, Francesca Crouch." I wasn't particularly keen on seeing Oliver ogling over the same woman that had stolen Mister Perfect, so I had smartly chosen to glance away as the second set of introductions were made. Besides, I think that if I ever did see him drooling over Francesca, I might've crashed my glass over his head just to make him stop before making me even more nauseas.

I let out a sigh as I heard the beginnings of a conversation start and just as I was about to hail over for another round of alcohol, a hand suddenly twined itself with mine. Curious, I looked down and saw that it was Oliver's and tuning back to the discussion realized that he was now making up an excuse to leave.

"—Oh that's very kind of you to consider inviting us to the wedding this month, Francesca, but we really must be going now. Katie was already feeling under the weather when we had arrived and before I had left her, she had been telling me how dizzy she was getting."

"I see…maybe that's why she had almost tripped when I had spotted her earlier."

'Well that definitely sounds better than saying that I was knocked over by the Porky Patrol.'

"We best be off then. Until next time then Francesca and Gerard!" Speechless. I was absolutely speechless as Wood carefully led me out of the crowds and towards the opposite side of the grand hall. It was only when we had stopped behind one of the stone columns that I had managed to snap back to reality and release the breath that had been hitched in the back of my throat for at least half an hour.

"Hey, thanks for back there, Oliver," I muttered as I leant heavily upon the surface, the coolness of the marble cooling down the swell of happiness and gratitude that had begun to flow freely from me as soon as I had been two meters away from the two.

"No problem, Kates." He had a grin on his face, which I supposed mirrored my own, as he looked back at me, his breaths also heaving just a bit from the sudden burst of movement. "Besides, at least now we're even. You went with me here as a favor, now I paid you back by helping you get away from The Happy Couple."

'Aww, isn't that considerate of him…I think.'

Oliver was back to his normal rhythmic breathing as he continued to lead me out of the ball, whilst I continued to try and gulp in as much air as possible. "I'm sorry, by the way, that you found out that Gerard was already engaged. I knew you had some hope for you guys…even if it was a tad bit irrational. Are you alright?"

'What kind of question is that?'

…Oh well…

"Just blech."

"Er, anyway I have no idea how you could've lasted being around those two longer than I did! Three minutes and I couldn't wait to get out of there. I mean, not that their not friendly, which they definitely are, but…is it just me or did those two seem so, so—"

"Perfect? Flawless? Wonderful?" I offered, still a bit bitter.

Well who wouldn't be if they learned after getting your hopes up and even getting all dressed up, that your Perfect Man was already taken by a woman you couldn't possibly hold a candle next to?

"Yeah…" Finally, someone who understood where I was getting at! "No offence, but they definitely belong together. They can both make some freaky family and, well, we'll just have to find you a normal lad out there."

My first smile in hours appeared at that moment and I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"Now that's better! What do you say about getting out of here and spending the rest of the night back in my place? I just got Tiddy to finish restocking the fridge with some cookie dough and ice cream. Or if you'd rather, I know that there's a booth and two large double scoops ofthe ice cream of your choicejust waiting for us in Fortescue's."

"Is that an offer, Mister Wood?"

"Maybe…"

Shooting him an interested look, he only returned it with a slight tipping of his head and a vague smile. Surprisingly, this time I had no urge whatsoever to knock it out but only mirrored his expression.

'Strange...who knew Oliver Wood had it in him to be my hero?'