Disclaimer: I do not own anything belonging to J.K. Rowling. Trust me, if I did, then I'd be much wealthier.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Cornered

"Marcus, are we really to play this game again?" I groaned, leaning against the wall as he came closer to me.

As he approached, I saw his cronies exit, one going to one end of the corridor while the other proceeded to the opposite end. I realized that this was going to be one sticky situation to get myself out of. The first time he tried something like this…it was in such a public manner that I easily weaved myself out it. This time, if I wanted to get away from Marcus Flint, then someone would have to be passing. Someone would have to be coming back from the Hospital Wing, or en route to there.

"You know the game gets a lot easier if you were to abide by the rules," He said with a nasty smirk on his face as he came closer.

"Suppose it's a game I've no interest in playing?" I asked in a dull tone.

"You see, that's why I'm here," His lips turned up into a grin that exposed his missing teeth. "To change your perspective."

"And see why are you so set on me? I'm sure there are plenty of other charming Slytherin girls who are much more enticing than myself," I drawled on, sick of having him pester me all the time.

He shrugged," You see, Lana," He placed his hand on the wall in front of me, leaning against the wall ride alongside me. "I like things that are…challenging. Things that I can't have."

"Honestly, were you dropped as a child? How socially awkward would it be if I actually accepted a date from you? My house would hate me and your house would most certainly hate you," I said, trying to pull the "star-crossed" idea…it had never worked before, but I could definitely try again.

Another smirk came to his lips," They're just jealous, love."

"Okay, really, 'love'?" I asked incredulously. "That's all I can handle…thank you very much."

Just as I walked away from the wall, he stepped right in front of me. There was a terrible odor coming from what I presumed to be his dirty Quidditch robes. I bit down hard on my lip and took a step back, away from him, but more importantly away from the stench.

"Marcus, this is absolutely ridiculous," I said aloud, folding my arms over my chest.

"You want me to leave you alone? Fine, just give me one thing…," He came even closer to me which prompted me to turn and sprint away, I hardly cared if there was a Slytherin standing at the end of the corridor just around the corner…I wanted no part of Marcus Flint.

To my demise, just as I started to run, Flint caught hold of my wrist. I glared back at him before literally growling," Let me go."

"Ohh, how intimidating," He mocked back before in one swift motion maneuvering me back against the wall. In a matter of seconds, he seemed to have had me pinned. I wondered how it was possible that no one had come down this corridor, but I had to remember the others waiting outside the corridor.

"So, I've a question," I muttered to him as he was only inches from my face. "How much did you pay them?"

He narrowed his eyes," What?"

"The 'body guards'….how much did you pay them to keep their mouths shut? Surely, you don't trust that your 'friends' from telling the rest of the house that you're attracted to a Gryffindor," I shot back at him with a roll of my eyes.

"Shut up!" He growled and with that, I found that Marcus Flint had pressed his lips violently against my own.

I was in shock for several seconds before finally trying to wriggle my way out of his grasp. It was the most disgusting, rude experience I had ever encountered with anyone! I wanted nothing more than to be out of his grasp-forever! Unfortunately, I couldn't pull myself away for his grip was far too tight.

I thought that the moment couldn't get any worse. I thought that there was no way out of this incredibly terrible situation. That didn't mean that my brain wasn't still thinking of a million ways to wriggle my way out.

Before any of them could come into action, a single voice echoing down the hallway ripped Marcus's disgusting lips from my own.

"Oy, Flint! Looks like you got a couple of 'friends' to chase down," The Scottish accent hollered as he came walking down the hall with his arms crossed over his chest.

I looked down to see the boy dressed in Quidditch robes, but not that of Slytherin's.

For the first time in my life, I was ecstatic to see Oliver Wood. Even if he was a little beaten up and battered from his fall at the game, at least he wasn't too terribly injured.

"What'd you do, Wood?" Flint growled, coming closer to Wood.

Wood shrugged," They saw me walk up and ran away snickering like they'd heard the best joke in the world. Looks like you'll have to pay 'em a bit more next time."

Marcus swore under his breath before looking back to him," It's none of your business anyways! Why don't you just get lost, eh?"

The Gryffindor quid ditch star raised a brow before looking at me. As I said before, I may not have known Wood all that well, but I think he got the message I was sending simply by the look on my face.

"I can't do that, Flint," Wood said, looking the Slytherin straight in the eye. "Seriously, don't you want to catch those guys before they-"

It was at this moment that Flint was sick of listening and actually slung back to hit Wood across the face. Quickly, Wood sidestepped out of the way and simply grabbed Flint's arm before he started twisting. How entertaining it was to listen to Flint squeal like a pig before Wood dropped his arm and demanded he leave once more. Marcus spat at Oliver's feet before turning and heading for the exit.

"Oy, don't let the door hit ya on the way out!" Oliver cried after him, touching his own arm as he approached me; this only spurred Marcus to come running back to try and hit him once more.

To my amusement, before Marcus could even lay a finger on either of us, Oliver had punched him square in the jaw. A nasty pop could be heard and with that the grimy Slytherin was scampering off once more.

I watched as Marcus called over his shoulder," This isn't over, Lana! Don't think this is over yet!"

"It is unless ya want your other jaw dislocated too, you grimy-" Oliver started, but Marcus had already run around the corner and I found it pointless to listen to his banter. I patted him gently on his arm before I spoke.

"That'll do," I said softly, looking straight at him.

He didn't have to do anything when he saw me with Marcus. I still don't know if he was truly doing it because he was concerned about me or if he was simply concerned with Marcus being near me. It was common knowledge that Oliver Wood and Marcus Flint were nemeses.

Intentions aside, it didn't mean that I wasn't still grateful for what he had done. Flint had been persistent, but never that persistent. In fact, all I wanted to do was go to the bathroom and rinse my mouth for the next few days…
"Thank you, Oliver," I said, nodding to him before turning and walking toward the Hospital Wing.

He would not be gotten rid of that easily, however.

"Whoa, wait just a minute there, Lana," He hollered after me, running in front of me and blocking my path. "I can't walk in on a scene such as that and then receive a simple thank you. There's got to be more to the story than just that. Even Flint doesn't just do things for no reason."

I crossed my arms over my chest," Honestly, I could give you no good reason as to why Marcus Flint has been desperately trying to ask me out since I arrived at this school."

Wood narrowed his eyes," You never mentioned this before…"

I raised a brow and tilted my head," Detention or Advanced Potions isn't necessarily the most appropriate place to discuss such topics. Anyways, I do have to agree with Flint to a certain extent…it truly isn't any of your business."

"Would you have rather I let him stay and never had said anything at all?" He challenged, slightly irritated. " I can go get him, if you'd like. I'm sure he'd be pleased to see you again."

"Certainly not," I answered, seeing where he was going with this.

"Then, it looks as though it consequently became my business," Wood retorted, looking straight at me.

"Fair enough, Wood," I muttered under my breath. "I honestly always wondered if you had much outside of Quidditch."

"Ah, and what is your conclusion?" He asked with a smirk on his face.

"You've a nice punch," I answered teasingly after several seconds.

"And?"

"I'm still debating the rest," I said, putting a grin on my face as I stepped around him and patted him gently on the shoulder. "In all seriousness, I need to get to the Hospital Wing. Genuinely, thank you, but I need to go now."

As I walked down the hallway, I heard his voice once more call after me," When can we talk?"

"About what?" I asked, stopping in the middle of the corridor.

"This. Marcus and you and what I walked in on," He explained as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Slowly, I turned to face him once again. Why was he all of a sudden so interested in all of this?

"Oliver, I don't know…detention sometime or between blowing up potions in Snape's class?" I answered, slightly joking, but his face was serious.

"You mentioned Flint to me one other time and said you'd explain it later. I'd say after seeing this, then I deserve to know something some time soon," He said seriously, still looking me straight in the eye.

I looked down at my nails, knowing there was no way out of this.

"I know," I answered meekly, looking from my cuticle to his warm, brown eyes. "It's not much of a story really-"

"Next Tuesday at Hogsmeade…are you planning on going?" He asked, interrupting me.

"I typically don't go to Hogsmeade…" I trailed off, avoiding eye contact.

"Would you make an exception? To go…with me?" He asked, his voice slightly shaky.

A/N: Soo, any thoughts…concerns…comments? I'd love to hear them! :D