"So baby dry your eyes, save the tears you could've cried, oh that's what dreams are made of. Oh we belong in a word that must be strong, cos that's what dreams are made of." – Dreams by Van Halen.
Chapter 6: Common Interests
"You know," Katie said. "You're actually not that bad of a person."
"Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically. We were sitting in the common room the next day. It was lunchtime, and everyone had gone down, but we decided to stay up. Katie said that it would give Izzy ideas as to what we may be doing. Little did Izzy know that we were just talking.
"No, I don't mean that in a mean way," she assured, sitting up straighter. "I mean that you're actually a good friend. I always thought that you were an uptight Quidditch player, but you're more than that."
"Um... thank you?" I said, confused. We had just made idle chitchat for the past hour, which mostly involved school. What had brought on this serious topic of conversation?
Katie seemed to sense my confusion. "I'm saying all this because of Izzy," she explained, not really clarifying things at all. "Now that you're making an effort with her, I think that you'll be good friends."
I rolled my eyes; of course, everything had to come back to my crush on her. "I tried to make an effort and she threw it all back in my face," I said, referring to the events of yesterday.
Katie scoffed. "You don't have anyone to blame but yourself. Of course she isn't going to believe that you're being genuine at first! You have to give it time. Show her that you care. Become friends, and then if you really do like her, ask her out and see how things go."
Somehow, I don't think that things with Izzy will run that smoothly. We won't just become friends and then I'll ask her out; something will happen to stop that. After being enemies for so long, I don't think that things will fall into place so easily.
"I'll try to be friends with her," I said firmly. "Starting as soon as I see her next."
"If you have the opportunity, seize the moment.
oOo
I had really bad sleeps at night; I always woke up with nightmares about Lily. It doesn't help that Percy Weasley snores. That night, I had woken up yet again, and decided to go down to the common room for some fresh air. I expected it to be deserted; it was two in the morning, after all. But Izzy was down there, huddled in a corner, writing on a piece of parchment. I frowned. Izzy loved her sleep. Something must have been troubling her.
Carefully, I walked towards her. This was my chance to make at least a semblance of effort with her. Glancing down at the piece of parchment, I saw that Izzy was writing down quotes. Quotes by Kurt Cobain. I smirked. I would have to talk to her about Nirvana one day. Most of the girls I knew who 'liked' Nirvana claimed that they were huge fans when the only song they knew and liked was Smells Like Teen Spirit. I don't think that Izzy is like that.
I quickly thought of a quote for her to write down.
"I'd rather be hated for who I am than be loved for who I'm not," I said softly, and she whipped her head around, eyes narrowing when she saw who it was.
I ignored this blatant warning sign and took a seat next to her, reading the quotes over her shoulder. They weren't the happiest quotes, and I reckoned that was because Izzy wasn't in the happiest mood.
To be honest, neither was I. I was still over thinking that almost kiss on the Astronomy Tower last night, and it really was bothering me.
And the fact that I have a crush on the girl who currently loathes me. I'm not an optimistic person, but I'm hoping that soon that will all change. Because I think that I've really misjudged her. And I for one don't like being misjudged.
"Why did you say that?" she snapped, obviously avoiding eye contact.
"You seem to be making a piece of parchment dedicated to Kurt Cobain, and that was one of his quotes," I said simply, glancing at her. She was definitely avoiding eye contact, and I didn't blame her; things did get confusing yesterday. But I'm making an effort here; I just wish she could see that!
When she didn't respond, I searched my mind for another one of his quotes. Quietly, I spoke. "No one dies a virgin. Life fucks us all."
She flushed and I smirked. Finally, she snapped her gaze towards me. Was it just me, or did her eyes look bloodshot?
"What, do you stalk Kurt or something?" she demanded, cocking an eyebrow. I fought back a smile. She talks as if she and Kurt are casual friends.
"Oh, look at that. You seem to think that you and Kurt Cobain are on first name basis. No, I don't, and even if I did, you're being hypocritical."
I seriously wasn't meaning to be rude. I just talk like that. Most girls would have been insulted, but Izzy, also being a naturally snappy person, brushed it off.
"Yeah, I stalk Kurt, but it seems creepy when you do it."
I raised an eyebrow, not quite getting what she meant. "What are you insinuating, Carter?" I questioned.
"That you're gay," she said simply, the corners of her lips twitching and eyes twinkling, looking greener than usual. Hell, she looked beautiful when she was being suggestive.
So I couldn't really help it when I responded.
"I can prove that I'm not gay, if you like."
She scoffed, but stopped short when she saw the smirk on my features. I'm known for my mood swings, and my current mood was... well, let's just say that it involved Izzy and that couch over there.
She blushed, but her eyes suddenly hardened, as if she was admonishing herself for blushing. "Save it for Katie," she snapped, standing up. "Goodnight."
Damn. I was actually really making an effort this time! I watched her figure walk off, eyes roaming down her legs. But I stopped short, when I noticed red stuff all over her shorts. Uh oh... I know what that means...
"Carter," I said, stopping her. Um... how was I supposed to tell her that she had her period?
"What the hell is it, Wood?" she snapped, turning around. I winced as I saw a trickle of blood trailing down her leg. But I've seen worse experiences with blood, so it didn't bother me too much.
"You've... er..."
"Yes?" she said impatiently, tapping her foot on the ground. This explains why she's been so snappy this evening; she's PMSing. See, I'm not a completely clueless guy.
But it didn't stop the fact that I was stuttering like a fool.
"You might want to go get... er..."
How was I going to say this? I should just grow some and say it.
"What the bloody Kurt Cobain are you on about?"
"Keep your knickers on, Carter," I said, before having second thoughts. "Actually, don't-"
A panicked and confused expression crossed her face, and I winced again. God, that made me sound like such a wanker...
"Carter," I finally said. "You've got your period."
Izzy's expression was actually quite comical: she turned bright red, looking around desperately as if a god holding tampons was nearby, and then looked back at me, eyes wide.
"Bloody hell," she hissed, still looking around for a solution.
"I'm sure it is," I joked, trying to ease the tension. Hell, I could imagine Katie and Angelina standing here, reprimanding me about my lack of tact. I should have let her stormed up to her dorms; she would have discovered it herself then, and I wouldn't have made her so uncomfortable.
At my joke, I expected her to explode – hell, I've seen it happen with other girls on their period – but instead, she smirked. It transformed her face completely, turning the panicked scowl into the face of someone you wish you knew. Why does she have to make me feel this way?
Her smirk relaxed me; it didn't seem as though she was going to kill me. I was finally able to say something of actual use.
"Um, Carter, do you want me to get you anything?"
It isn't as though I was actually able to find her anything, but I hoped that my words made her feel better, because I seriously felt guilty for making her feel bad. God, only weeks ago I was referring to her as a bitch!
She shook her head, turning on her heel and sprinting off.
That talk didn't go very well.
oOo
I hate school sometimes. I try to get good marks, but sometimes, I just can't focus. At the moment, I'm in History of Magic class, and I'm not the only one who is experiencing these problems. Come on, if I'm going to play Quidditch, I don't need to know about the history of house elves.
Next to me, Zach wasn't even pretending that he was paying attention. He was fast asleep, drool coming out of his mouth. I don't know what he's going to do with his life. We finish school in seven months, and Zach is only just passing all his classes. And the only reason he's passing is because he 'persuaded' some Ravenclaws to tutor him.
I'm great at Quidditch. I've already have received offers from the Torpedoes since I was in fifth year. But the team that I really want to get in is Puddlemere United, who are the best team in Quidditch.
Still, if something went wrong, I needed to have back-up options. So maybe I should focus on this class...
Nah.
When it was finally over, I had to wake Zach quickly before Binns gave him a detention. He woke up with a jolt, looking around, confused. I tried not to laugh.
"Where am I?"
"You're in hell, Zach. Where do you think you are?"
He glanced at Binns, who had floated through the blackboard. Then he looked back at me. "Hell," he said, grinning. "Come on, we have potions next."
I rolled my eyes. Snape hates my guts and I have no idea why.
"How's things with Izzy going?" Zach asked as we walked to potions.
"Crap," I replied, trying not to think about it. "Really crap, actually."
Zach gave me a sympathetic smile. "It'll get better."
I snorted. At the rate things were going, I wasn't even going to be able to maintain friendship.
I turned back to Zach. "You wouldn't happen to be any good at this stuff, would you?"
"Not really," he grinned. "If you want advice on how to seduce her-"
"No," I said hastily. Zach grinned again.
"Find a common interest and talk about it when you have the chance," he suggested. "I wouldn't know, but that sounds like it might work."
"Yeah," I said, thinking. I wonder if we have anything in common. I'd have to find out.
Just as I was turning into the corridor to the dungeons, I ran into Izzy, quite literally. She stumbled backwards for a moment, before I placed my hands on her waist, steadying her.
For a moment, I ignored Zach's presence. She stared at me, eyes widened slightly, a flush quickly spreading across her cheeks. She glanced down at my hands on her waist, her blush becoming more intense.
"You okay?" I asked. I wasn't just referring to how I almost made her fall over, but also about what happened last night.
"Mm," she said, looking anywhere but my eyes. I was going to say more, but I remembered that we were around people, and she definitely wasn't in the mood for talking. Izzy was still blushing, and I smirked.
I reckon that she does like me, at least a tiny bit.
I walked off then, Zach in my wake. Okay, so she didn't snap at me and she didn't glare at me. That has to be something, right? And she was really embarrassed, which was not only cute as hell, but it also meant that she may like me.
I hope she does. Even if I'm not sure if I want to be with her, I'd like to get to know her a bit better.
oOo
Once again, I had woken up from nightmares. I hated them.
I hated not being able to think of my sister without thinking of the bruises, the blood, the tears, the look in her eyes. I hated the way I tried to make her see sense and none of it worked. I hated the fact that I could do nothing about the fact that she was being abused.
Whenever I get thoughts like these, Mum says to find a distraction. That's kind of hard when it's the middle of the night, though. Wiping my eyes – goddamnit, I was crying?! – I found my broomstick. Careful not to wake the guys in my dorm, I walked out of the dorms.
I had been for a few night flies before. Mostly when I had woken up from nightmares. There was something oddly calming about flying through the cool, dark air. Tonight was no different.
Instead of thinking about Lily, my mind was drifting to Izzy. I wonder what's she doing now. Probably asleep.
My thoughts were broken by a wheezy voice yelling.
"Student out of bed! Student flying on the Quidditch pitch!"
Crap! If Filch catches me, my captaincy could be stripped. Thank god it's dark and he can't see who it is.
I landed my broom, and looked around. Filch was making his way towards me, Mrs Norris in his wake. It is probably a good time to run.
Filch could barely walk; he hobbled around the place. But still, he was doggedly hobbling after me, determined to catch the 'piece of filth breaking the rules'. Well, that's what he was yelling after me anyway.
I sharply turned around a corner, crashing into a figure and falling on top of her. Ouch. I caught a whiff of a familiar scent: peaches. Her eyes were glittering in the very dim lighting.
"What the fuck!" I exclaimed. What is Izzy doing here? And yeah, bloody annoying that I ended up on top of her, considering what happened the last time one of us were on top of one another...
"Get off me, Wood!" she snarled. Quickly, I realised that I had crashed into her and I was a hell of a lot heavier than her. The minute I had gotten off her, she scrambled to her feet, eyes wide, angry and confused.
I heard Filch's cries and his footsteps. Crap, if I get caught... and if she gets caught, she could well be expelled... she doesn't exactly have the cleanest track record...
There was one solution. A broom closet was just next to us. Awkward, but better than the alternative. I grabbed her hand and pushed her inside the cupboard, locking the door with magic when I had walked in. I turned to her, panting and relieved that we hadn't been caught, but confused as to why she was roaming the corridors at night.
She kinda asked the question I was going to ask for me.
"What the hell?" she said shrilly, rounding on me. It was kind of obvious what I was doing, considering that I was holding a broomstick and I was the Quidditch captain.
I was having an evening stroll with my broomstick, Izzy.
"I went for a fly and Filch caught me. I ran into you. Here we are."
"What sort of idiot goes for a fly at midnight?"
Izzy was really angry about this, I realised. I suppose that I wouldn't like being pulled into a broom cupboard with someone that I don't get along with. Wait, that's what's just happened. But Katie's words came to mind. If I have a chance, seize the moment. This was the moment. We were alone in a locked cupboard (yes, I realise the sexual implications of these words) and I could try to make amends with her.
"Some people go to the Astronomy Tower to clear their heads, others go for a fly," I said briskly, wanting to get the small talk over with.
"Why am I in here?"
"Oh, you're welcome to leave, if you want. Filch is just so friendly to curfew breaking students," I said sarcastically, smirking. She wouldn't leave, I don't think.
"That's a relief, Wood," she said, equally sarcastic.
She took her wand out of her pocket and made her way towards the door.
I've made so many attempts to be nice to her, to show her that I care, and she's thrown them all back in my face. I don't blame her for it, though. But I want that to change.
Just as she was about to unlock the door, I placed my hands on her waist. She suddenly spun around. I expected her to glare, but instead, her eyes almost looked... soft.
"Stay," I said, almost pleading. That sounded pathetic, but I was sick of chasing her.
"Why should I?" she asked, eyes still soft but tone hard.
I thought of something that we had in common. "Well," I began, taking my hands off her waist; she didn't look like she was about to leave. "I for one know that no one in this bloody school likes Nirvana, except for you. I would rather like to talk about it with you."
She looked as though she was going to protest, but then she sat down on the floor, looking up at me.
"Well, sit down. I'm not standing up all night."
I fought back a grin. Finally!
I sat down in front of her, eyes flickering down to her chest for a millisecond. She was wearing a low cut singlet, and hell, she had a great rack. Before she realised what I was doing, I looked back up at her face. The cupboard was dimly lit, and it made the green in her eyes sparkle.
"Okay," she began. "Who's your favourite member?"
"Kurt," I replied instantly. Kurt's my idol, and he was Lily's too.
A flicker of a smile crossed her features. "Same here. He's gorgeous."
I grinned. She sounded so wistful and girly, something that Izzy never sounded.
"Don't let Dom hear you say that," I joked. Is it normal for being around this girl to make me forget about all my problems? Because we haven't even properly started talking, and she's making me grin.
"Oh shut up," she mumbled.
Before she got angry, I changed the subject. "What other bands do you like?"
"Heaps," Izzy replied. "Anything rock, punk or grunge. None of that glammy shit like Bon Jovi and Van Halen." Her nose wrinkled at the names of these bands, and I once again smiled.
"Really? Most girls love Bon Jovi."
"Alicia does," Izzy stated, rolling her eyes. "I hate them."
"Same here," I said, smirking. We actually had heaps in common already. And she was almost looking happy. She had her legs stretched out in front of her, looking relaxed and, well... gorgeous. Her hair was falling in her face, and I resisted the urge to lean forwards and brush it off her forehead, lean in and kiss her-
"Wood," she said. "Earth to Wood?"
I stopped thinking those thoughts and focused back on what we were talking about. "Okay, so name your top ten favourite bands," I asked.
"Hm... Nirvana, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, KISS, Green Day, the Rolling Stones, Queen and INXS."
I blinked a few times, astounded. She's heard of INXS?! And all the other bands... they are all my favourite as well! That is so weird...
I can imagine Katie's voice in my ear. You're meant to be!
"I'm not even kidding, but same here," I said, chuckling at her expression.
"Well, you have a great taste," she said, looking incredulous, but a smile was tugging at her lips. "What are the odds?"
"Yeah," I said distantly, focused on how goddamn hot she was in this lighting. Honestly, we're alone...
"What ones have you seen live?" she asked.
"Led Zeppelin when I was really little, Nirvana when they weren't so famous, and Pearl Jam a year ago."
"Ooh, Nirvana?" Izzy said, looking interested. "What was it like?"
I shouldn't have brought that one up...
"Ollie, I'm going to show you good music," Lily stated, lining her eyes with black eye liner. "None of that stupid Iron Maiden."
I rolled my eyes but couldn't help but smile. Things with her and Jason hadn't gotten too bad at that point, but there was still that slightly depressed edge to her, and I didn't like it. But she was happy right now, so that's what mattered.
"So what is this band?" I asked. Lily turned to me, amber eyes bright and happy. My sister was beautiful; no wonder she had a boyfriend. I just wished that he wasn't such a gigantic prick.
"Nirvana. They're not very big and the tickets were cheap. They're amazing, though. Come on now, we'll be late!"
Music was Lily's life. She couldn't play or sing for the life of her, but she loved it.
And I loved it like she loved it when the concert was over. Nirvana were really good, and not just for their music. For Lily. All the way home, she was rambling on about how much she loved the band, how great their music was, how 'hot' the frontman, Kurt Cobain, was...
It was the first and last time we ever went to a concert together. And it was one of the last times I had ever seen her truly happy.
"Er, great," I said, giving Izzy a smile which felt forced. She didn't press the issue, much to my relief. Please, can we get off the subject of Nirvana...
Gryffindor's are supposed to be brave and face their fears. Sometimes, I wonder why I'm even in the house renowned for bravery. All I do is push it away and pretend as though it never happened.
"Cool. I've only been to one concert," she said, looking wistful. "And that was when I was five. I can't wait for Nirvana, though," she added, but it was clear that she was lying. I rolled my eyes. God, I would definitely take her now if she just admitted it. But that would never happen, so I suppose I'm going with Zach.
There was a distant look in her eyes at this point, an almost sad look. Poor girl.
For a while more, we talked about other bands that we liked. I knew that we would probably not have a conversation like this again, but it was great whilst it lasted. I made a lot of discoveries about her that night. She's witty, she's strong-spoken and very opinionated. But I liked all of that. Huh, so for once, Zach's advice worked. I found something that we had in common and I finally got to have the conversation I dreamed of having with her. There were a few heated, awkward moments, but apart from that, it was the best night I had had in ages.
After a while, she started to become tired. We agreed that it would be good to get some sleep.
"Sleep over on that side, Wood," she warned. I rolled my eyes but lay down a few metres away from her. She seemed to get to sleep very quickly, but I lay awake. I was worried that if I fell asleep, I would have another nightmare with her nearby. Then again, the girl who I like was sleeping mere metres away from me.
She won't mind if I snuggle up to her, right?
Of course she would mind. She has Dominic, anyway. But she just looked so cute; curled up, lips parted and expression peaceful, that I couldn't help but move over towards her.
Careful as not to wake her, I wrapped my arms around her waist. Upon noticing that she was shivering, I pulled her closer. She may have been shivering, but her body was so warm. She would murder me if she realised what I was doing, but hell, this was worth it. Izzy smelt so good; like peaches and coconuts. Taking me by surprise, she shifted slightly, so that her head was buried in my chest. I couldn't help but smile. She's probably dreaming of Dominic, but it didn't matter. Her body fit so well against mine that honestly, it was all that I could focus on.
I'm sounding like such a love struck twelve-year-old.
The nightmares didn't come that night.
A/N:
Whee! Another chapter complete! So Wood did open up a bit more in this chapter, but it will be a while until he tells Izzy everything. I love writing this because I can include and take away things that happened in Priorities, because this is Oliver's POV and what he finds to be most relevant. I hope I'm not turning him into a girl... that's my only struggle.
Anyway, thanks to these people for the reviews: DaughterofTheHuntress, reader2898, sarahmichellegellarfan1, TheJesusFreak777 and booktroutlittleriver for the insanely awesome reviews!
And don't forget to drop one and let me know how I'm going!