A/N: I am so sorry it's taken me so incredibly long to get this update out there. I've been crazy busy with school and my internship and just life in general, so this story kind of had to go on the back burner for a while. Alas, here's the next chapter!

"So I'm gone, out the door, needed you, but not anymore

Sure it's true, I might fail, but not the same way as if I stayed here

This is goodbye…"

Katie awoke the next morning with a pounding in her head. Her alarm clock hadn't gone off that morning because she never set it the night before. Oh, the night before. She felt a lurching in her stomach as all of its contents threatened to throw themselves out of her through her mouth. She inhaled sharply and ran directly to the bathroom. She'd almost forgotten about the previous night with Oliver. She felt her stomach lurch again, but this time nothing happened. She simply felt guilty, sick. She wasn't sure which was worse at the moment, her guilt over missing the game against Puddlemere United, or her guilt over the previous evening.

Quidditch had always been the one thing that helped Katie feel grounded. Quidditch would always be Katie's first true love. It was something that had always been there for her whenever the rest of her world felt like it was going to collapse around her. Quidditch was always there, and there were times in the muggle world when all she wanted to do was play Quidditch, somewhere, somehow. All that time she spent away from it felt like eternity. She needed to play quidditch like an addiction. It was one of the only places that she felt safe, secure, and completely in control. The only other time she felt that way was when she was with Fred.

She felt tears sting at her eyes as she thought of Fred. He was going to kill her. She could keep what had happened from him, but she knew the guilt would weigh heavy on her heart and mind, and bury her entirely. She wouldn't let that happen. She needed to tell him. She glanced at the clock. The game against Puddlemere was already more than halfway over. She hadn't showed up for early morning practice or the game. Her captain, who up until now thought the world of her, was probably ready to kill her. Whatever path Katie chose she was likely to be offed by someone. The question now was… what did she do? Caught in a battle between the head and the heart she felt stuck. Did she give up quidditch? Or did she give up Fred? In her heart she knew that the distance would eventually tear them apart. It wasn't either of their faults, they just weren't very good about being apart from each other. Sure, that might be considered sad, but Angelina gave up quidditch for George, didn't she?

She felt another pang of guilt overtake her. She didn't want the distance to tear them apart. She didn't want to fight anymore. She didn't want to hear angry words before hanging up. She missed the I love yous, the hugs, the kisses, she missed him; everything about him from his gingery hair to his beautiful eyes and his wonderful laugh; everything that had made her fall in love with him in the first place. She sighed as she stared at the clock. It seems like the minutes took hours to pass by as she sat there unsure of what to do. She knew that giving up a job, such a well-paying job, was a stupid idea. She knew that it wasn't ideal, but was she really willing to choose the money she was making over the love of her life? Certainly not. But, on the other hand, was she willing to give up a career that she absolutely loves? Quidditch, again, was one of the only stable things in her life once she found out she was a witch. She joined the team as soon as she could, and gave it her absolute everything. She sighed, she gave so much of herself to Fred and to quidditch, but in the end she knew that there was no contest. Fred would win, every single time.

She inhaled as she flushed the toilet and made her way out into the hotel bedroom. She got dressed quickly into the nicest clothes she could find. Luckily she'd brought an outfit in case she'd needed to do an interview with the press after the game. A lot of the time they just ambushed her while she was a sweaty, gross mess, but occasionally they let them go clean up a bit before having a press conference. Not that she'd be doing any press conferences today… or any day, ever again. She sighed once more as she left her room and apparated down to the Puddlemere locker room. The game didn't sound like it was over yet, so she remained sitting quietly. She wasn't really sure what Derek would say to her. He was always so nice during practices, but she knew he could be a hard ass, too. She chewed on her bottom lip nervously as the time ticked by, and all of a sudden the locker room door burst open. It was the ladies of the team. They all walked in, and stood, staring at her. There was hurt and anger in their eyes, and she knew she deserved it. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"What you're not even going to say anything?" asked one of the darker haired girls who was a beater.

"I'm sorry," was all Katie said quietly before exiting the ladies locker room and going to find Derek.

She didn't have to look very hard, as the moment the locker room door a loud, angry chorus of her last name echoed throughout the empty hall.

"BELL!"

She turned on her heels to see Derek stalking towards her angrily. She'd almost squealed out of fright but managed to keep herself composed.

"Derek…" she began quietly but he threw up a hand to stop her.

"Your days as an Arrow are over, Bell. I don't care what excuse you have for missing the game, it's not going to be good enough. What were you even thinking? First you get yourself caught up in a huge media mess with a player from the opposing team, and then you both don't show up to the game? How is that supposed to look, Bell? What the hell!" he shouted angrily, and Katie's brain wasn't quite as quick to process what he was saying.

"What in the world are you talking about? Media messs? I mean I knew you'd be mad I missed the game but I really don't know what you're talking about! Look… It doesn't matter anyway… I came to give you my resignation as chaser. But if you'd rather fire me, that's okay, too. Thanks for the opportunities and all that jazz, but I can't do it. I'm not cut out to be a professional," Katie said as clamly as she could, but she felt her emotions beginning to build.

"You're an amazing player, Bell. It's a shame to see it all go down the drain like this for one simple mistake. I don't know what happened last night, but I'm disappointed that it's ruined your career forever," Derek said equally as calmly, his eyes narrow, before her turned to walk away.

"Really, what are you talking about?" Katie said angrily.

"Turn on the news, Bell, jeez," he said, anger dripping off of every word.

She narrowed her eyes at the back of his head before apparating back to her hotel room and whipping out her wand to turn on the nearest news channel. Her heart plummeted into her stomach the second she did.

APPLEBY ARROWS CHASER SLEEPS WITH PUDDLEMERE KEEPER?

The headline flashed across the screen, with news people talking about how media caught Oliver leaving the room last night, and asked for an interview. There were pictures of her and Oliver up on the screen with a heart in the middle. The scene disgusted her, and she felt like she was going to vomit all over again. Alas, as disgusting as that was, nothing had prepared her for what would come next.

Oliver in his obviously drunken state was on screen, as a bright light in his face, and a doofy, proud grin spread on his face. She narrowed her eyes, surprised that he'd even want to talk to news people. After all, wasn't this just as bad for his career?

"I couldn't keep her off me. She tried so hard to get into my pants. I don't know what she was thinking. Maybe it was all the firewhiskey she had, but man did she want me. I'm not sure if she thought shagging me would give her an edge in tomorrow's game or what. I mean, I know we have a past together since we both played for Gryffindor at Hogwarts, and we even dated awhile back but I was just going over to see her and reunite with an old friend… I certainly wasn't expecting that…. She walked right over to me and kissed me right on the lips. It was a good one and all, but that can't happen between two professional players, and she should know that…" Oliver said with a sigh and the shake of his head, and the slanderous words only continued to pour from his mouth.

Katie was speechless with rage, so she threw herself to her bed and buried her head into a pillow before screaming as loud as she could. There were no words to describe how hurt, betrayed, and absolutely, vehemently furious she was with Oliver Wood. If she ever saw him again, things would not be pretty. Not at all.

And it was then that it hit her. This was on the news. THIS WAS ON THE NEWS. FRED WAS GOING TO SEE THIS. HE'D PROBABLY ALREADY SEEN IT. Her brain went into overdrive as she waved her wand, packing up her things as fast as she could. She felt guilty about actually kissing Oliver, however brief and fleeting the moment might have been, but this… Katie couldn't have him thinking this. She would never, and in her heart she only hoped he knew that. She felt tears stinging at her eyes as she apparated out of the hotel room. She arrived on the doorstep of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, tears threatening to spill everywhere. She lost her dream job, and felt like she lost a good, dear friend. She didn't know if her relationship with Oliver could ever be repaired after that. The lies he told were something that Katie didn't even know he was capable of. She felt disappointment and disgust that she'd never felt before, and it saddened her. She didn't know what to expect when she walked into Wheezes, but she knew she couldn't sit out on the stoop forever.

She inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly and walked into the shop.