So This is What Truth Feels Like
Oliver sighed as he put his broom in his locker and then started pulling his jersey off. All around him, the rest of the team was laughing and goofing off. But his thoughts were on that weekend with Lottie. A small smile tugged on his lips, but then disappeared slightly.
The date had been amazing. And then that kiss outside the theater, followed by talking until the wee hours of the morning. But it was the last thing that Lottie had said to him after he had kissed her again when he dropped her off that was currently rolling around in his mind.
"Oliver… this has been amazing and I like you… I really do. And I like where this is going, but… I just… I really need to take this slow. I'm not… I've never… been that great at relationships… so if we could slow down a bit… I still want to see you but… Merlin, I'm totally mucking this up…"
His heart had dropped for a moment when she was talking, though he had assured her that she hadn't mucked anything up. If anyone understood the terror of a new relationship, it was him. And knowing Lottie in school, he could most definitely understand why she would be hesitant to get into anything serious so quickly.
He had to remind himself that this was just their second date, after all. There was no need to rush into something, was there? And actually, it was a good thing she had spoken up. Oliver knew that he definitely didn't want to rush into anything. While what he was feeling for Lottie certainly grew every time he met her, this wasn't Hogwarts where one day you barely knew each other and then the next you were in a relationship and snogging non-stop in broom closets.
No. Adult relationships took time. Building up trust took time. And he felt that Lottie would need more time to really, truly trust him enough to be in a committed relationship.
At that thought, Oliver couldn't help but feel a bit lighter. They would still see each other. This wasn't a stopper on anything. It was just a reminder not to move so quickly. And there was nothing wrong with that.
"So, Flint… How did things go with that bird of yours this weekend?"
Oliver looked over, seeing Pendleton grinning across the room at Flint. The chaser had a bit of a smile on his face. Oliver turned back to his locker, shaking his head. He wasn't all that interested in hearing about Flint's latest flavor of the month. Despite his claims otherwise, the man did certainly have a type.
"It went well," Flint said.
"Come on, you've got to give us more than that," Davies replied. "What's she like?"
"She's… different than my usual sort," Flint said, still being a bit evasive with the information. Oliver could see out of the corner of his eye that Davies and Pendleton weren't having it. Flint usually dished and they clearly couldn't understand why he wasn't on this one. In fact, even he was starting to get a bit curious. Just who would Flint be seeing that would have him mum on the details?
"Different? How so? This one actually have a brain?" Pendleton asked. Maddie punched him in the arm.
"Be nice. Can't you see he really likes her, whoever she is?" she shouted. Pendleton rubbed his arm but sent a perplexed look toward Flint.
"You getting serious about this one?" he then asked. "Thought it had only been a few dates." Flint shrugged.
"Perhaps… never dated anyone like her. She's… clever. Strong. But yet… something about her," Flint replied. Oliver stopped and looked over at him, a bit surprised as well. Didn't seem like him at all. He wasn't bragging about this one.
Perhaps Flint was finally taking dating more seriously. Who would have thought?
Oliver turned back to his locker, starting to pull off his keeper pads. While he was mildly interested in Flint's new girl, he had his own to think about. And he hoped that maybe he'd run into Lottie on the way home so he could casually suggest getting some dinner together. They were neighbors but thanks to their work schedules, he had yet to actually run into her.
"Say, Wood… who was that bird I saw you with over the weekend?" Davies shouted, bringing him out of his reverie. Oliver started and looked over at the chaser, who was grinning at him.
"Oh, ehm… nothing. Just an old schoolmate," he said quickly before returning his focus to getting undressed. Fucking hell, the last thing he wanted was Davies broadcasting his love life to the rest of the team. Especially when it was as new as it was. He needed to keep calm. Play it off as just two old mates meeting up. Nothing more.
"Not from what I saw. You two looked rather cozy," Davies pushed. He wasn't giving up, was he?
"It's none of your business," Oliver shot back. Shit. He was too defensive. Now the tosser would definitely know that something was going on.
"Ah, you know how Wood is," Pendleton said, grinning. "Doesn't like to kiss and tell. Which is normally what Flint does. Seriously, mate. You aren't going to tell us anything?"
"Leave 'em alone," Griffiths warned, though she was smiling.
Oliver looked over at Flint, who was watching him with a curious look on his face. That was odd. Surely it wasn't that big of an occurrence.
"Anyone we know?" Maddie called out to Oliver. He looked over at her and shook his head.
"No, thank Merlin," Oliver said, returning to his task.
Davies had gone quiet, a contemplative look on his face. Fuck, Oliver thought. This couldn't be good. He forgot that Davies and Lottie had been in the same house. But maybe he wouldn't recognize her. Nearly everyone else hadn't recognized her at first.
"Wait a minute," Davies said, his eyes going wide as a grin filled his face. "No shite! Was it Lottie Bell?!"
Oliver whipped his head over to stare at the chaser. Of course, he would remember her. It was just his luck. Davies had only been a year behind them at Hogwarts. Probably saw Lottie more than Oliver did, hence able to pick her out though she had changed so much. Oliver could feel the rest of the team watching him closely.
"Who's Lottie Bell?" Maddie asked.
"Ravenclaw like me, but in Wood and Flint's year. Merlin, she does not look the same. Though I'm not surprised you two would take up as soon as she got back to England. Everyone knew about the massive crush she had on you, mate," Davies rattled on.
Oliver hadn't known about the crush. Not until that moment, that was.
The others started peppering Davies with questions about Lottie as Oliver just stared in shock.
"How long have you two been dating?" Maddie asked, looking at him.
"I… we… just catching up," Oliver said, regretting the fact that he currently sounded like an idiot. He shook his head and took a deep breath. He was a grown man, for crying out loud.
"You really fancy her. I can tell," Maddie said, her green eyes lighting up with mischief.
"So, it's true then? You're dating Lottie?"
Oliver turned around abruptly at the menacing sound of Flint's voice. He had an icy glare on his face as the rest of his body went stiff. This was rather odd. What was it to him? He didn't know her. And why was he calling her Lottie? The locker room fell silent, anxiously watching the two.
"Yea, I suppose. What of it?" Oliver asked, immediately going on the defensive.
"Suppose?" Flint asked with a harsh laugh. "Might want to double-check that, mate, because last I heard, I was dating her."
You could have heard a pin drop, the locker room was so quiet. The others had frozen and were likely holding their collective breaths, waiting to see what the two would do. Or rather, who would toss the first punch.
Oliver returned Flint's cold glare, clenching his fists.
"Beg your pardon?" he asked, taking a step towards him. His heart was racing as something inside screamed that it couldn't be true. Surely Flint was delusional. That had to be it. Though there was a niggle of something at the back of Oliver's mind. Something Lottie had said to him over the weekend. "I believe that I'm the one she's dating, and you must be a bit confused, mate."
Marcus had completely forgotten that the rest of the team was even in the locker room. As far as he was concerned, it was just him and Wood. Bloody, annoying, golden boy Gryffindor Oliver Wood.
In just those few seconds, the old feud between them had come roaring back to life and Marcus would be damned if he was going to lose to Wood again.
"I'm not the one confused. She was with me Saturday night," Marcus said slowly as a smug grin spread across his face. "Rather, she was in my arms." He let the insinuation sink in and felt a bit of satisfaction when Wood's frown deepened.
"That so? Well, you should probably know that she was in my arms the night before that," Wood retorted. "And we've got plans to meet up tomorrow night."
Marcus couldn't help but scowl. Part of him thought perhaps Wood was bluffing, but there was no way to know for sure. The man had the best poker face in the League. It's what made him such a good keeper.
"She make plans with you yet?" Wood continued.
Rather than shout back another retort, Marcus growled and found himself launching across the room. Within seconds, the two were rolling around on the floor scuffling as each tried to land punches.
"Bloody wanker! Stay away from her!"
"Like hell! She wants to be with me!"
"Then why was she out with me?!"
"Probably played her, you tosser!"
"ENOUGH!"
Both froze, looking up and seeing a furious Griffiths standing over them, her eyes lit up in anger and her hands planted on her hips.
"Get up! Both of you!" she shouted.
The two men quickly got up, their clothing wrinkled. Or at least the bits of them they still had on. They both looked down at the ground, though shot angry glares at each other. Wood's lip was split and he had a bruise starting up on his cheek. Marcus was already sporting the starts of a black eye.
"Are you children?! What the hell!" Griffiths shouted. There was snickering in the background. "Do not start with me, Davies and Pendleton!" More silence. "Everyone else out."
"But-"
"OUT!"
The rest of the team shuffled out of the locker room, leaving the captain alone with the chaser and keeper.
"You know the drill," Griffiths said. "I'll be outside. Once you work it out - with your words - I'll let you out. I so much as hear you fighting, I will call in Coach and you both will be benched." She then spun on her heels and strode out of the locker room.
"You want to try it or me?" Wood asked.
"Why? We both know Griffiths perfected her locking charms," Marcus said. Wood sighed and walked over, sitting down on a bench as he rubbed his face. He then looked over, meeting Marcus' eyes.
"So… we're dating the same girl," he stated, already seeming to have lost his fight. Marcus nodded and walked over, leaning against the lockers. "Did you know anything about this?"
Marcus thought over the end of the date Saturday night. After they made it to a pub, Lottie had lightened up. But as he walked her home, she had gotten twitchy again.
"Marcus… I have to be honest with you… I just… I need to take this slow… and… I think we should… keep our options open…"
At the time he had thought she was still worried that he would lose interest after finding out about her anxiety issues. But now perhaps it was because of Wood.
"She mentioned something about… keeping our options open," Marcus said. Wood nodded.
"Said something about taking it slow to me," he said. "She's… been playing us both…" He had a look that was a mix of hurt and confusion on his face.
"I don't think she was playing us," Marcus said. Wood looked up, meeting his eyes. "It's only been two dates for us. Hadn't mentioned anything about being exclusive."
"Same," Wood said. "So… what do we do?"
"Flip a coin?" Marcus replied. Wood scowled at him. Fucking hell, he really was a bloody chivalrous Gryffindor sometimes. "It was a joke, Wood."
"Oh."
"Well… I know that I don't want to stop seeing her. Reckon you might not either," Marcus said. Wood was silent a few moments and then nodded.
"I don't," he replied. "But… suppose it's not really up to us. It's up to her." Marcus thought it over. This was true. In the end, it was Lottie's choice if she wanted to keep seeing either of them.
"Alright them. We both keep seeing her," he said slowly, a plan already forming in his head. He did care for Lottie, felt like there was something there with her. Or at least that there could be something more. But he was in Slytherin for a reason.
"Do we tell her?" Wood asked. "That we know." Of course, he would want to tell her. Fucking Gryffindor.
"No," Marcus said. Wood looked slightly horrified. "We just continue on as we have… and may the best man win." He smiled smugly at him, wondering if he would take the challenge. Wood stared at him a moment before a hard look came over his face. He then stood and stuck his hand out. There was the Oliver Wood that Marcus knew on the pitch.
"Alright. Let the best man win… And it'll be me."
"We'll see about that…"
"What's this all about?" Alicia asked as Oliver rushed into her and Katie's flat that night. He ran his fingers through his hair and started pacing around the living room. "Merlin, Wood… something happen?"
"It's Lottie… she's seeing both me and Flint," he said, still pacing. Alicia's eyes widened as she looked over at Katie, who had just walked out from the kitchen and froze, two beers in hand. The women shared a look. "What's that about?"
They both looked over at him, noticing that he had stopped pacing and was staring at them. It then clicked.
"You knew," he stated.
"We were going to tell you," Katie said, starting towards him.
"That's why you helped me?" he then said.
"Like we want Lottie with Flint," Alicia said with a snort. Oliver looked over at her and then back at Katie. He sighed and dropped into an armchair.
"So… what do I do?" he asked, looking at the both of them. "I talked a big game with Flint earlier, but I don't have a bloody idea what to do next… Fuck, I lied and told her that we had plans tomorrow…"
"You keep seeing her. If you want to, that is," Katie said gently.
"And we're going to keep helping you," Alicia stated. Oliver just stared at them. "Seriously, Wood. You think Flint's going to fight fair? That's not his game. You're going to need to amp up your game."
"I want to win her over fair and square," he said immediately, frowning.
"Of course," Alicia replied. "You fight fair. Doesn't mean we have to."
"What are you planning?" Oliver asked, suddenly a bit cautious.
"Best if you don't know," Alicia said, moving to sit on the sofa. "But as for what you do, let's do some brainstorming…"
Marcus fell down into his chair at the pub and immediately order a double firewhiskey.
"You found out, didn't you?" Pucey said immediately, grinning. Marcus scowled at him and then reached for the glass as soon as it appeared in front of him, downing a good portion. Christ, sometimes the prat got on his nerves. And it would figure that he knew before Marcus did.
Adrian Pucey had his fingers in so many damn pies around the wizarding world that it was a miracle they weren't permanently stained.
"Christ, I told you that we should have told him," Higgs said with a sigh. "But at least now he knows."
"Did all of you know?" Marcus asked, looking around the group. That he hadn't been expecting. Usually Higgs and Warrington would tell him everything.
"Pucey said that we shouldn't tell," Warrington said, not wanting to be at the front end of Flint's wrath.
"Why else do you think I got those tickets for you?" Pucey said, not worried in the slightest. "How did that go?"
Marcus didn't reply at first, just studied the three men. He then sighed and looked back down at the glass.
"Not important now… Wood and I both know," he said. "Figured it out today after practice."
"And… what are you going to do?" Higgs asked. Marcus looked up at him. Well, that at least he knew. He started smiling.
"You think I'm going to give up that easy?" Marcus asked.
"She was dating both of you," Higgs said, frowning.
"She went on two dates. With both of us. The way I see it, at least know we both know what we're up against," Marcus replied smoothly. He sat back in his chair. "Though what Wood doesn't have is three Slytherins helping him."
Pucey grinned and looked at Higgs and Warrington.
"You sure about this?" Higgs asked.
"Get off it. Another chance to take Wood down and you're going to pass on it?" Marcus asked.
"This about Wood or Bell?" Warrington asked. "'Cause I'm fairly sure it should be about Bell." Marcus looked over at him.
"'Course it's about Lottie. But if I can take down Wood in the process, then all the better," he said. Higgs and Warrington glanced at each other. They then both smiled and looked back at him. Marcus knew that ultimately, they would agree to help. If there was anything the group of Slytherins hated more, it was losing to a Gryffindor.
"We're in," Higgs said.
"Excellent," Marcus replied, sitting up. "Now… need to come up with a plan. I've been thinking-"
"Flowers and gifts. Expensive gifts. And more fancy parties," Pucey said immediately. "The ladies love that sort of shite. Shower her in them." Marcus glanced over at him. While Pucey did have an uncanny way of finding things out about people, he could be dense at times. And this was one of those times.
"Not Lottie," he replied. "No, I think we're going to have to take things differently. No more fancy parties or crowded clubs. And I doubt she cares about flowers and jewelry. She doesn't seem the sort." Pucey frowned, seemingly at a loss.
"Then what do we do?" he asked, stunned. Marcus leaned on the table.
"As I was saying, I think I've got an idea…"
So got an unexpected holiday from work today and got some writing done. About halfway through chapter 15 and planning to get more writing done since it's not even 6 pm where I am. And well, self-quarantine. Not like I can go out or anything. But here we are at the moment we all knew was coming - Wood and Flint finding out about each other. I did a fair bit of editing with it, but happy overall.
Aphrodite-Venus-u.k - Haha, well there are more coming up. The next round of dates I actually had a hell of a lot of fun writing and cannot wait to post them. Had so much fun that each gets its own chapter.
I'm the Galactic Starfish - Haha, well your wish is my command. And so much angst coming. I actually re-watched the movie "This Means War" last night and got a decent amount of inspiration. And helped me to get more into "this is a comedy so lighten it up more" mood. I've had sooo much fun. I just may end up staying up late tonight trying to finish the story up...
Thanks so much for reading and following everyone!