Sometimes I forget that I even share an apartment with someone.
I spend most of my nights alone, curled up on the sofa under a nice warm blanket watching some crappy made-for-tv movie, stuffing my face with popcorn. I know it sounds absolutely dreamy, and most of the time it is, but I do tend to get lonely quite often.
I'm a tad bit dependent on my roommate, although that may very well be the understatement of the century. I blame it on the fact that I was just out of Hogwarts last year and have yet to adjust to living in the "adult" world.
I wiped away a bead of sweat that had gathered along my hairline and sighed. The weather was unusually hot this time of year, especially for London, but I wasn't about to let a very good tanning opportunity pass me by! I was dreadfully pale and Merlin knows I needed it.
I shifted uncomfortably in the wooden lounge chair that occupied practically all of the space of our flat's tiny balcony. I could feel the sun boiling my skin, but there was still no difference in color!
I adjusted the top of my bikini, which had come awfully close to revealing my two best kept secrets when I shifted positions, and as I did so, the large straw hat that had been shielding my face from the sun's rays blew off my head, catching only by it's ribbon on the flag pole not even four feet away from the balcony railing.
I muttered a curse and clung tightly to the railing as I leaned out towards the hat, coming up much too short, and glanced down. The street below was full of cars and people bustling around; I knew that. But what I saw from my 20th floor balcony were only tiny dots moving about a thin gray line. I gasped, nearly losing my balance and falling to my death, had it not been for the hands that caught my waist, pulling me back to safety with my feet planted firmly on the ground.
"Merlin, Katie! You've got to be careful! You could have died!"
Shaking, I turned around to face my rescuer. "Oliver Wood! What are you doing here?"
Oliver grunted and rolled his eyes. I knew he was expecting me to jump into his arms and thank him for saving me, but had he not been there, I'm sure I would have been fine.
Maybe.
"Well, I do live here," he said, reaching over and grabbing my hat effortlessly, which he plopped back onto my head. "And I don't have another match for a few months."
I shoved past him and went inside, seating myself on one of the tall wooden chairs at the bar. Oliver followed after me and seated himself on the counter across from me, swinging his legs back and forth like a small child.
We sat looking at each other for a long while without talking. It was he who broke the silence.
"Katie! Look at you! You're nothing but skin and bones!"
I glanced down at myself; okay, so I had lost a tiny bit of weight in the months he was gone, but calling me skin and bones was overdoing it.
"In case you haven't noticed, the waif look is in now."
"Not for you." He jumped down from the counter and turned towards the cabinets, opening and closing every single one of them.
"Well what do you expect me to do while you're away, Oliver? You know I can't cook. I eat what I can."
"But I just saw you not too long ago and you looked absolutely stunning!" He glanced back at me before opening the refrigerator. I decided to overlook the fact that he was saying I didn't look stunning now.
"'Not too long ago'? The last time you saw me was the day after New Years! It's April 17th now!"
He closed the refrigerator, which happened to be bare, and shook his head at me. "You could have done a little better than microwave popcorn and sugar quills," he said, smirking that stupid smirk of his.
"Well it just so happens that Angelina and Alicia took me out for lunch at the Fox and Hound last Wednesday."
"And did they say anything about how much weight you've lost?"
"Please, Oliver. They're both pregnant. They think I look amazing."
He laughed at me, then walked over and gave me a big hug.
"I've missed you, you little rascal," he said, planting a kiss onto my forehead.
"I've missed you too, Mother Hen."
He let me go and walked the short distance down the hall to his room, where I had piled up every magazine that had his face or name in it next to his bed.
"Is this all of them?" he asked, falling backwards onto his bed. He grabbed the first magazine off the top of the pile and held it up next to his face, smiling the exact same way he was on the cover.
"That's everything except for the Witch Weekly, and that came out yesterday. Alicia called up and told me there's an interview called 'Down and Dirty with Puddlemere's Hottest Keeper.' I can only imagine they're talking about you, considering you're their only keeper."
He laughed. I leaned against the doorway in what I hoped was a seductive manner.
"She also said you mention something about a pretty hot roommate of yours," I continued. "Which roommate would that be exactly?"
He raised an eyebrow at me, then turned his attention back to the magazine in his hands.
"Please. I like my girls with a little bit of color, thank you."
I turned and stomped off to my room.
The next day, Alicia greeted me with a hug as I met her in the park. Her belly was enormous; she was due any day now.
"So how do you like having Wood back at home?" she asked me. She watched as George Weasley and Oliver fought over who fouled in some stupid game they were playing. It still amazed me that she and George were married.
"Oh, you know. He's such a pain in the ass; the first thing he did when he got home was lecture me about eating right. And last night I swear I could hear his snores in my dreams. But I guess overall I'm happy that I don't have to be alone anymore."
"He's pretty protective of you and I think it's cute."
"Well he doesn't need to be. I already have a mother."
"Katie, you're younger than the rest of us, and I think it's good that he's giving you some guidance and watching out for you."
"Younger? I'm only two years younger than the rest of you. Honestly, what guidance could a 20 year old quidditch star possibly give me? How to avoid screaming fan girls?"
We laughed.
"Oi, Katie! Come play with us!" Oliver yelled, motioning towards me. I glanced back at Alicia, who gave me the 'go ahead' look and smiled.
"Go have fun and don't worry about fat ol' me," she said as she waved me off.
I made my way over to the boys who were both panting and sweating. Oliver pulled his sweat-soaked t-shirt over his head and discarded it on the ground. George, not to be outdone, did the same.
"A little soft around the edges there, eh Georgie?" I asked, poking his pudgy side.
"That's what working at a joke shop will do to you," he said, poking me in the ribs. "At least I don't look like Muscle McMuckleton over here," he said, jabbing a thumb toward Oliver.
"Muscle Mc-who?" he asked, puzzled. "Since when is that a bad thing?"
"Honestly, Katie," George said, flexing in a somewhat bodybuilder manner. "Who's better looking? Me or Wood?"
I pretended to think about it for a minute, looking each guy over thoroughly. George was still bending and flexing his imaginary muscles, while Oliver stood smirking at him with his hands on his hips.
My eyes trailed a little longer over Oliver; his tanned skin, his fit body, the cute little cargo shorts he was wearing.
Professional Quidditch had done the boy good.
"Oh, it's most definitely you, George," I said, slinging my arms around his neck in a lovingly way and earning a shout from Alicia who was still seated on the park bench thirty meters away.
"Okay, enough with the lovey-dovey stuff and let's play!" Oliver said, yanking me away by the back of my shirt.
"What are we playing?" I asked.
"George and I have set up invisible boundaries around these four trees," he said, pointing to each one as he spoke. "Basically you and me - we're a team - have to try to get the ball past George and through the boundary on his side, and he has to get it past us and through our boundary."
"Like American Football?"
"Somewhat."
When Oliver and I Apparated home that evening, we were covered from head to toe in mud.
"You two tackle me like I'm just another guy, but you have to remember I'm a delicate lady," I said, closing the door to our apartment and locking it with a simple charm.
"Delicate my ass. I've never in my life seen a lady run halfway across a park with someone the size of George Weasley attached around her waist in an attempt to pull her down. No, no. Lady, you are not. Monster is more like it."
Oliver showered and dressed quickly. He said he had told some of his quidditch teammates that he'd meet them down at a pub to "catch up," but I knew what that really meant; he'd go out and find some pretty girl that was obsessed with him, get her drunk (or not, depending on how bad she wanted to screw) and bring her back to the apartment where they'd shag all night in his bedroom, leaving me alone once again.
Sure enough, I was awoken from my slumber on the couch by the sounds of two people laughing out in the hallway. I glanced at the clock that hung above the kitchen doorway. It read 2:48AM.
"A little early tonight, aren't we, Mr. Wood?" I grumbled to myself.
I heard the door unlock and rolled over, pretending to be asleep.
"I'll just be a few minutes," he said, speaking to the girl who stood out in the hallway through a small crack in the door. "I just want to make sure everything is tidy."
From the other side I heard a giggle and an "okay."
Oliver closed the door and blew out a breath of air that in my mind I imagined tussled the hair that hung about his face. Quick footsteps made their way to the couch, and I felt myself being gently picked up off of it. He stroked my hair softly as he carried me to my room.
As he was lowering me down onto my bed, I whispered in his ear, "Oliver, I'm lonely." He paused, holding me only inches above my bed, before setting me down. He leaned over and kissed me quickly on the forehead, then thought better of it and gave me a kiss right on the lips that lasted much longer than just a peck and sent my stomach into somersaults.
"Katie Bell, I love you."
He turned and walked out of my room, closing the door behind him quietly.
Whatever "moment" I had thought just happened shattered to pieces as I listened to the commotion in the bedroom on the other side of the wall. Usually Oliver was one to keep it quiet, at least for my sake, but he was never one to stop a girl from letting him know she liked him. And the girl he had in there now... she really liked him.
"Oh Oliver! Oliver Wood! You're amazing! Oh yes, yes, yes!"
I couldn't contain myself and let a giggle escape my lips. The next room went quiet instantly.
"What was that?" asked the girl.
"Just the neighbors downstairs," replied Oliver.
The bed began to squeak once again.
Around 7 o'clock I heard someone shuffle past my bedroom door. The front door opened and closed, and I knew it was finally safe to leave my room.
I tiptoed out into the living room and crossed over to the bathroom. One glance in the mirror told me that my night without sleep had taken it's toll. My blonde hair was bunched up in an ugly heap of tangles at the side of my head and there were dark purple circles under my green eyes. I looked ugly and worn out.
Oliver sauntered into the bathroom in nothing but his boxers and looked pretty pleased with himself. He even had the nerve to check himself out in the mirror while I was standing right there.
"Morning, Sunshine," he said, glancing at me in the mirror. "How'd you sleep?"
"I didn't."
I made my way back to my room and collapsed on my bed. My bones were aching, my head was aching.
My heart was sort of aching, too.
Oliver followed me, only feigning his concern, I'm sure, and sat on the edge of my bed.
"Please don't get slut juice on my blankets," I said, turning to my side so that my back was facing him.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, pushing my shoulder down so that I was lying on my back.
"I just don't feel so well. I feel old and ugly. I'm mad and sad and I have a killer headache."
"Are you... are you on your period?"
How typical of a guy to blame a bad mood on menstruation. Never once do they think that perhaps they're the ones causing it.
Before I could answer, Oliver had jumped up and was ringing his hands. "So what are we going to do today?"
"I was going to go over to Angelina's and help her make a cake and decorate for Fred and George's surprise birthday party tomorrow."
"Ooh, sounds like fun. Can I come?"
"Oliver, you're a grown man, you can do whatever you want. Besides, I'm sure Ange would like to see you."
Well, that's the first chapter! MAKE SURE YOU GO TO MY PROFILE!
So first off, before anyone asks... no, Katie doesn't have an eating disorder. She's just very dependent on Oliver or anyone, really, to cook for her. She's kind of been babied her whole life and can't do much on her own. Like me. Ha!
Oliver has been away playing quidditch matches. Now he's back.
Basically everyone but Katie is 20 years old. Katie is 18. I know that's a lot different than how most people like to write, but that's how I wanted my story to go.
That's just stuff that I mentioned in this chapter that I don't think I made very clear. Which is stupid, because if I don't think I made it clear, I should just go back and make it clear, but whatev.
OH YEAH! One last thing... you guys probably have noticed that the characters are using muggle technologies and stuff... and I had intended to have Katie explain where they live and blah blah blah all that good stuff, but I forgot so I'll just add it here. They're living in Muggle London, so of course they have to act normal. That means having a TV and a phone and a fridge, etc.