Author's Note: Gaah. I'm back from my hiatus. I'm in Florida and like....four hurricanes have hit me, so you can imagine that I've been bogged down in school work and other inane crap. This chapter is also short, but again, I thought it was a good place to leave off for now. Thanks to all who reviewed...I LUFF YEW!! Anyway, I've got another HP fanfic in the line up, and it'll probably debut around the holidays or new years.....maybe even next month if I really apply myself to it. It's a GWxDM pairing, so if you like that ship, I hope you'll read it! For now, just enjoy my psycho-analysis of Oliver. I know I'll probably make him look like a bad guy, but I've got good plot twisty stuff to justify it and help you understand! Cheers! Oh, and if anyone knows how to double space inbetween paragraphs and indent them....lemme know. Is there some special HTML? Cuz when I upload it, the paragraphs aren't indented and they aren't spaced correctly, and when I try to do it in QuickEdit, it doesn't save. INFORM ME PLEASE!!!

Disclaimer: Just the plot....just the plot...

You're So Tactless

Chapter 6: The Psycho-Analysis of a Quidditch Maniac

"It'll get better Lioness." Fred said, rubbing my arm as my eyes leaked.

I clamped my mouth shut. Even if I did cry, I wasn't going to let the whole castle ogle at my misery. What an arrogant berk. Of course, it is my fault, but still, he's one conceited git. I'd like to shove his Nimbus clean up his-

"Katie, eat something." George prodded, looking innocent as he waved a plate of sandwiches at me.

I smiled half heartedly through my tears, and choked on a sob. As I reached for a ham sandwich, Angelina's head snapped over in my direction.

"Katie!" she said, obviously alarmed.

Really, considering what's been going on, I thought I had a right to blubber all I wanted. Apparently not. Apparently this very, very, very bad. I could've sworn she glaring at me. I didn't feel like dealing with being told off for crying over Oliver. It looked like she was going to do that.

Before Angelina could get up and drag me away from the table I ran back up to the surprisingly empty common room. Angelina apparently was right behind me, and through all my tears, I guess I hadn't heard her. Fred came dashing in seconds later, followed by George, Alicia and Lee.

"What are you doing here? I thought I was going to be reprimanded by Angelina alone." I sighed, sinking onto the couch heavily.

Angelina rolled her eyes, and plopped down next to me. Alicia took her position on my opposite side, and Lee separated the Twins on the other couch in front of the one I was sitting on.

"It's been decided." Fred announced importantly.

"That you, dear Katie,-" George continued.

"-are going to receive-" Lee said, eyes glinting mischievously.

"-a therapy session." Alicia chimed in.

"We all agreed that you needed it on the way upstairs. Katie, you let this little thing happen to you, and you're a wreck!" Angelina said, poking my forearm.

"I'm sorry, it's just- I don't know anymore. I didn't think this sort of juvenile break-up would affect me so much!"

"That's what we're here for!" Lee said reassuringly.

"Let's start with the beginning." Alicia said.

"Um, last year Oliver and I-"

"Shagged?" Fred said almost hopefully.

I glared at him, and he quickly shut his mouth and grinned. He was so obviously eager to lighten the mood, that he looked about ready to wet his pants.

"Oliver and I developed a good friendship during the Chamber of Secrets ordeal, what with Penelope and all, and yeah-" Fred and George's grins faltered. "Um, that's really the whole reason he hangs out with the team more. Anyway, I had been there for him, so we became really good friends, and he tried to tell me that he still liked Penelope and I told him to get over it, and he got mad at me which caused me to get mad at him."

I fell silent and everyone stared pensively ( or as pensive as they could get ) at me. Angelina made a murmuring noise, and looked into the fire. Alicia studied my blank, tear-stained face, and I didn't bother looking at the guys. They were probably throwing paper balls at each other or something insensitive like that. However, when I chanced a glance, they had the decency to look concerned. Lee gave me a reassuring smile. Maybe guys aren't as big of assholes as I thought they were.

"Why do you think it's your fault?" Angelina said mildly, still looking into the fire.

"Well, I upset him didn't I? I told him to get over it-"

"Which is the truth, Katie- you didn't do anything wrong." Alicia cut in impatiently, giving me such an imploring gaze, begging me to agree.

I could not. I ruined it. I ruined it. I ruined it. I RUINED it.

"Katie, telling the truth isn't a crime. You and Oliver are both hotheads, and you just over reacted. It seems to me that he's in denial about his chance with Penelope, and I guess he still thinks he's got a shot. That's why when you tried to set him straight, he got mad. It wasn't his little lie that he kept telling himself. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized you were right, which totally blew his sham to oblivion. Thus, he said the things he did, and he purposefully barbed you, because you hurt him." Lee explained.

Angelina looked over at him in shock. Apparently she was under the impression that boys were misinformed about emotions and incentives based on emotions. So was I. Alicia tapped my chin, and I shut my gaping mouth.

"Lee's right, "Fred said, "he lashed out because you didn't go along with his lie."

"Which only goes to show, he doesn't know you very well."

It's true, I thought to myself, because our friendship was based on me getting inside his head, me getting to know a little bit about him...all that time it was about him. How tactless and inconsiderate. But I can't blame him, things were rough.

"But how did I hurt him?" I asked confusedly.

"Well," Alicia said, "Based on what he knows, you're supportive, so never in his wildest dreams did he think that you'd contradict him. It was new and confusing, and it made him angry."

"Why?"

Fred snorted. " because he's an egotistical maniac and probably hasn't dealt with other people's true opinions before."

"Exactly. Think about it for a minute." George continued, "He's been praised to the sky for ages. Some of it's gone to his head and some of it hasn't. People treated him with respect, and didn't dare get in his path. Sure he's nice, but no one wanted to brave the waters of his wrath. It's the whole idolization popularity issue. People wanted to be on his good side, so people didn't mess with his logic."

"Except for us," Lee and Fred muttered at the same time.

I smiled. "I get it now, I think."

Everyone nodded, looking somewhat relieved.

"I made him angry because he's not the kind of person who deals with change easily, so he felt the need to put in action the whole ' eye for an eye' philosophy, right?"

"Precisely. He gets a little defensive when change rolls around his way."

"Right!" I exclaimed, feeling a lot better now that I understood what was going on, "He was very defensive at first, when I tried to comfort him, but I eventually broke down those barriers and he opened up to me, and let me support him."

"Ah, enlightenment comes to our dear Katie," Angelina sighed.

Alicia wiped away a fake tear.

"So now that you know all of this, do you think you can apply some of this to making up with him?" Lee asked.

"Oh please, just seize him and snog him into the next millennium." Fred joked, gesticulating wildly and grabbing George to demonstrate.

"Ugh!" George grunted in disgust and shoved Fred away from him before he could actually do anything.

"What did you do to break down his defenses the first time?" Alicia said pointedly.

"Well, I constantly told him I was there for him, and I offered to listen and talk with him." I said slowly.

"Consistency then, is the key to overcoming the barrier." Angelina said.

Finally, it all made sense. I wasn't my fault was it? No! It was just a simple blunder on both our parts. Well, it was still my fault my sister moved away, and still my fault that my parents split up, but for once, something wasn't my fault! I was so happy!

I leapt off the couch and ran around the room skipping and jumping. I danced and danced until I was out of breath. The euphoria of not being at error welled up inside me, and I felt like I was going to explode.

"Yes!" I squealed, and pranced back over to my friends.

"Group hug!" Lee shouted in a falsetto.

We all obliged happily and I was crushed in the middle of my very awesome and totally tight-knit group of chums. I loved them all to pieces. It was the best feeling of my life. Albeit, I was probably going to start bruising if I didn't break away.

"Where would I be without you guys?" I asked, almost ready to cry again.

"I dunno, probably stuck in a godforsaken ditch somewhere." George suggested teasingly, his head on my shoulder.

"George!" Alicia chided.

He grinned his impish grin and let go of me. The rest followed suit and I breathed in a real breath. I knew now that as long as I had these spectacularly comical and practical mates, I could conquer anything. I could be the best that I could be. They'd never let me fall, and in turn, I'd never let them fall either. WE had each other's back 300.

I liked that.

End Chapter