Last chapter...Enjoy!
Chapter 17: Journey
It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Ursula K. LeGuin
He had been avoiding her for a little over twelve days and eighteen hours. Katie had counted each and every averted glance. She watched the way his eyes would painfully glide over her like she didn't even exist. When addressing her at the teams final gathering of the season, the one where they celebrated their victory and wished Oliver luck before he left, he had stared determinedly at a point over her left shoulder whenever he addressed her.
By the end of the first week, she had attempted to corner him in the library. But he had seen her coming. As she approached, he immediately made a transparent excuse about having to pack and left the library so quickly that even Percy had stared after him in disbelief.
After ten days, Katie had resigned herself to the fact that she may never have a chance to speak to Oliver about the events that had transpired between them at the Quidditch pitch.
Had she really said that? Was she really that incredibly stupid? Every time the scene played out in her head she felt a new wave of mortification.
She had told him she wanted him. Who said that? She stayed up for hours analyzing all the different ways that one phrase could be taken. One thing was for sure, Oliver Wood, as daft as he was, could in no way misinterpret what she had meant. He knew the exact nature of her feelings towards him now.
And why was he such a git? Why was he ignoring her? Maybe he didn't feel the same way, but was it really necessary to act like she had fallen off the face of the planet? Perhaps he thought she was so desperate that as soon as they were alone together, she might attack him or something.
After all, she had told she wanted him. But still, embarrassing as she had been, he had no right to ignore her the way he was.
Anger had begun to well up inside of her.
She sat down for breakfast one morning after exams and began stabbing at her eggs with her fork as she thought of the terrible things she could do to Oliver with just that on utensil. And maybe her butter knife too.
"Perhaps," Jane R. said delicately, as she wearily glanced at Katie, who had no moved from butchering her eggs to mutilating her sausage, "you should talk to him."
Katie snorted, without looking up from her stabbing, "Right, because I haven't tried that."
"It was just a suggestion," Jane A. said defensively. Katie immediately felt guilty at the apparent hurt on Jane R.'s face.
"I'm sorry," Katie said resignedly. "I'm just a bit frustrated is all."
Abbey looked up from the book she was reading and patted Katie's hand gently, "Give him time."
Katie shook her head and she finally stuck a forkful of egg into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully, "You know, I think this is for the best, the way this has worked out. I think this may just be the way it's supposed to be, you know? I don't want a silly thing like this to ruin my last few days of the term. I don't want to remember winning the Cup like this. I really think I'm better off letting it go."
Katie sighed at the skeptical looks she was receiving, "Look," she began, a bit of sadness tingeing her voice, "I tried all right? I did what I was supposed to do, I put everything out there, I said exactly how I felt, and it just…didn't work out."
The Jane's nodded solemnly but Abbey didn't look convinced. She shrugged and nodded her head slowly, "Let it go then. If that's what you think is best."
"It is," Katie said nodding her head as she glimpsed briefly at the tall form that entered the Great Hall at that exact moment. His hazel eyes were expertly averted towards the ceiling, which was now displaying a bright blue sky with great, puffy clouds lazily drifting about. Katie nodded her head firmly as she repeated, "It most definitely is."
Katie sighed as she reached behind her bed, stretching her arm to clasp the bunched up sweater that she had been looking for since January. She shook her head as she folded it up and placed it into her trunk, amazed that she had never thought to look behind her bed. Katie wondered what other things lay hidden in the recesses of her bed.
"Katie?" Abbey had poked her head into the room, "Almost done?"
Katie nodded and Abbey continued hurriedly, "All right, I'm going to go ahead and go down to breakfast. I'll meet you there?"
Katie stared at Abbey blankly. They almost always went down to breakfast together. She watched as flush spread over Abbey's cheeks.
"I told someone I'd meet them for breakfast."
"Someone?" Katie asked, grinning as she arched an eyebrow. "This someone wouldn't be a certain Bradley Chambers, whom I saw you whispering to so covertly in the library, would it?"
Abbey glared, "Eavesdropping is quite a rude you know."
Katie grinned and shrugged, "How else would I stay informed about the what goes on in your love life? It's what real friends do."
"Right," Abby said skeptically, turning away from Katie. "Hurry up and finish packing," she called as the door shut behind her.
As Katie gathered her finally few belongings, she couldn't help but grin at the thought of her friend and Chamber's recent pairing. Despite his previous wrong-doings, he had actually turned out to be a nice, intelligent, and humorous boy, which was exactly what Abbey deserved.
Katie closed her trunk with a sigh. The year had finished so quickly. And what a year it had been.
She stared pensively out the window at cloudless blue sky. The weather had really been absolutely gorgeous the past few days. Perhaps she'd take her breakfast outside with her. She didn't fancy playing third wheel to Abbey and Chambers. And she wouldn't mind avoiding a certain someone else's presences either.
Katie's mood soured as she thought angrily of Oliver Wood and his practiced disregard of her. Suddenly feeling decidedly un-hungry, she resolved to head straight outdoors, bypassing the Great Hall completely. Right now, she just wanted to be alone.
Katie settled under a large tree near the lake, whose swaying branches shielded her somewhat from the sun's bright rays. She rested her back against the hard oak and closed her eyes. She thought of the long lazy summer that lay ahead of her. No work, no books, no practice, no Oliver to upset her. Katie bit her lip as she suddenly realized that there would a lot less of Oliver from now on. He was finished with school and he would be moving on.
After so many years of seeing him at practice every week, years of hearing him yell at her to keep her eyes on the Quaffle, of groaning at frustration as he assigned hour after hour of practice; he would be gone. There would be a new captain and a new Keeper. Katie couldn't help but feel an acute sense of sadness, which she promptly tried to push a way.
It doesn't matter.
What she needed, was to stop thinking about him. Katie opened her eyes and shook her head. She would forget about him. And she would start right now.
Only he was standing right in front of her.
Katie jumped. Where had he come from? Perhaps this was a dream she thought wildly. After weeks of pursuance there Oliver was, standing in front of her with his hands shoved in his pockets, squinting down at her in the sunlight.
Bloody hell. She realized she was staring at him with her mouth slightly agape.
She suddenly felt an illogical bitterness rise up in her. Right when she had decided to forget about him, he had shown up and thrown her for a loop once again. It was just like Oliver Wood to do something like that.
She scowled, getting ready to make her escape. But before she could get a word out, he interrupted.
"All right, Bell?"
"Er-yeah, I'm all right," Katie said blankly.
Still seated on the ground, Katie stared up at him, feeling a mixture of confusion, anger, and astonishment that after so long, Oliver had chosen to approach her. She wondered what he would have to say now. She certainly wasn't going to start this conversation. Merlin knows, she had already tried. Besides, he had approached her.
It quickly became apparent however, that Oliver was in no hurry to say anything. He continued standing in front of her with his hands in his pockets, squinting off into the distance, and not really paying Katie any mind.
After waiting for sometime, Katie finally began to grow impatient. She opened her mouth to question Oliver, but was stopped before she could do so.
"Your hair," Oliver said, gesturing awkwardly towards her head. "It's different." Oliver coughed self-consciously as Katie found herself staring at him dumbly. She reached a hand to her hair, feeling it loose around her shoulders.
Katie normally plaited her hair due to her somewhat schizophrenic feelings towards it. She hated having her long hair in her face, getting in her way while she worked, or ate, or did anything, really. But she also had an embarrassingly girlish attachment to it which prevented her from even considering cutting it short. So she compromised and generally always wore it in a braid. Except for game days when she tied it back. This morning in her daze of thoughts and hurry to leave her room, she must have forgotten to put it up, leaving it to fall around her shoulders with a few waves.
Oliver said nothing for a few moments. Katie stared blankly at him, wondering if the sole reason he had spoken to her after so long was to comment on her hair. His eyes were still fixed on her locks.
"I love Quidditch," Oliver said suddenly, desperately.
Katie paused at the unexpected comment, unsure of what he was getting at, "I know."
Did he think she hadn't noticed? She held her tongue however, communication had never been Oliver's strong suite.
"And you," Oliver looked at her bitterly, "are like a pest. Constantly over my shoulder telling me what I'm doing wrong, how my life is wrong, what I could be doing better. Even when you're not there, I hear you, yelling at me in that--that voice."
"Wait just a second!" Katie looked at him in shock as she stood to her feet, she was unsure of what had spurred this rant but she resisted the urge to start a rant of her own. "What voice?" she questioned incredulously, feeling more confident now that he wasn't looming ominously over her.
"The one that makes you sound like a bloody know-it-all, don't get me wrong, you're normally right, but that voice just makes it even more annoying."
Katie was unsure whether she should be offended at being called a know-it-all, or pleased that he would admit that she had been right about some things.
"For the first time in my life you made me question what I love," Oliver was clearly nowhere near finished and he was agitated, "and I don't like the way that makes me feel. And I thought if I could just avoid you, that it would be a relief. That maybe things could go back to normal. Only after I got to know you, I'm not really sure what normal is anymore." Oliver looked up confusion and frustration evident upon his strong features, "I'm having a hard time here, Bell. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to make it stop."
"Make what stop?" Katie asked quietly.
"I don't know," Oliver scowled, becoming more agitated by the second. "You. Making me question things. And being everywhere, all the time. In my head."
"Is that really such a bad thing?" Katie questioned, her tone defensively, shrill.
"No!" Oliver said exasperatedly. "But it's not--it's not normal."
"You aren't normal, Wood," Katie replied obviously.
"I know," he answered, aggravation causing his voice to raise a few decibels, "Bloody hell, that's not even the point—"
Katie looked up at him, her widened eyes searching his face, "What's the point then, Wood?"
His eyes met her interrogative gaze. Suddenly, Katie felt her heart lurch and it was as if everything had fallen away leaving her and Wood to stand, his eyes fixed so intently on her that she felt it in her bones.
"I—I don't know," Oliver answered, his eyes never leaving hers.
Katie blinked, stepping back to look at Oliver. She saw the uncertainty in his face and she felt disappointment overwhelm her for a second time, "That's too bad," she said sadly, already feeling the prickle of tears in her eyes.
And with that she turned to leave.
"Hang on!" Oliver shouted after her but Katie continued walking, increasing her pace as unshed tears blurring her vision slightly. She felt anger shoot through her at him and at herself for crying over something so stupid.
"Bell! Stop right there!"
It was the gruff tone that he usually reserved for Quidditch practice that made her stop automatically, on reflex. When Oliver Wood used that tone of voice in practice, it was usually in the best interest of everyone to heed his command.
But they weren't in practice, Katie reminded herself exasperatedly and she needn't listen to him but it was too late. He had already caught up to her.
"Why the hell do you do that?" Oliver scowled.
"Do what?" Katie asked fiercely.
Oliver growled, "You just—just run away whenever you don't like what I say or wh---"
"I run away?" Katie felt the anger coil up inside of her, hot and bitter. "What the hell am I supposed to do?" she spat furiously. "The conversation was over. You ended it. I tell you what I feel and after weeks of ignoring me you finally approach me and make some obscure comment about my hair. Then you tell me that you find my presence annoying, but not completely unbearable, that you wish I wasn't around so much, yet you like having me there. And when I ask for some help trying to decode your bloody crossed signals, you tell me you don't know how."
Frustration made Oliver's face desperate. "But that's the point. I don't know."
"Well than figure it out." Katie could barely resist the urge to scream.
"I'm trying, but I don't know how," Oliver's eyes still held frustration, but there was a hint of franticness. "That's what you're supposed to do. You tell me. Whenever, I've been wrong, or I haven't known myself, you always tell me exactly what do. Usually, when I don't even want your opinion. You tell me whether I like it or not."
"I can't tell you how to feel," Katie said exasperatedly.
"Why not?" Oliver asked forcefully. "You know, don't you?"
Katie felt her heart leap once again, as it was it was pounding in her chest, she knew she was breathing heavily from anger and something else. Something she couldn't describe, but she felt it as she watched Oliver's sudden change in demeanor.
"You know you're always right," Oliver said softly.
Oliver's frame relaxed, his eyes suddenly searching hers intensely, "You've always known. Just like you know everything about me. You know me better than anyone I've ever met, possibly better than I know myself."
Katie supposed she should be still offended by the fact that he had spoken of his feelings about her like they were something he needed to be cured of. But realistically, this was Oliver Wood and the fact that he had managed to string the correct words together and somehow managed to tell her all of that, floored her in everyway imaginable. Perhaps, she was easy.
Katie felt her breath hitch at his words. He was taking a step closer to her, "So maybe I have a hard time saying it. But you know don't you?"
Katie felt herself flush before she felt a stab of Gryffindor bravery course through her. She took a step closer to Oliver, there bodies now near inches away.
She looked up at him, her eyes wide. She watched as his hazel eyes caught hers, unfaltering and blinding in their intensity. It was the look he had during a match, when all of his concentration was focused intently on one objective.
She felt a shiver run up her spine, before she summoned her last ounce of bravery and took another step forward. She watch mesmerized as Oliver's eyes darkened.
Her arms crossed in front of her and her face still gazing up at him, she cocked her head to the side, "Say it again."
Oliver looked down at her, slightly confused before opening his mouth and murmuring quietly, "You know me better than anyone."
Katie felt her mouth lift in a slight smirk, "Not that," she said softly, her voice slightly teasing.
Oliver's brow furrowed in confusion before realization dawned upon his features. He rolled his eyes exasperatedly and shook his head.
"You heard me Wood," Katie said, the smirk still in place. "Say it again."
Oliver rolled his eyes once more and glared at her before resignedly shaking his head, "You're always right."
Katie's smirk transformed easily into a mocking smile.
"Yeah, Bell don't get used to it. Because you won't be hearing it often—"
But Katie ignored his words as she wrapped her arms around Oliver's neck and pushed up on her toes, brushing her lips softly against his cheek.
Olive stared a moment dumbfounded as Katie felt a flush spread across her cheeks. Oliver quickly regained himself. He cleared his throat,. "You're always right," he repeated hopefully.
Katie rolled her eyes and placed another light kiss on his other cheek.
She looked back up at him and smiled but she found his eyes were on her hair. She felt his hand come up and brush away a few stray strands from her cheeks.
He cleared his throat, "You—er—you have really nice hair." She watched as he reddened embarrassedly and as it happened, Katie could feel her heart rising at how extraordinarily sweet Oliver could be without even realizing it. She looked up at his face, her breathing erratic, as she realized just how happy she could be simply standing here with Oliver blushing down at her. Suddenly, she felt herself smiling so hard it hurt a little.
"What?" Oliver questioned, slightly defensive. Katie realized he must have thought she was laughing at him. All she could in response was shake her head before she pushed herself up on her toes once more. This time however, she would aim for the center goal.
She lifted her hands and placed them on either side of Oliver's face, guiding it towards her. The last thing she saw before she pressed her mouth against Oliver's was his eyes widening in shock.
His lips were warm, slightly chapped and motionless, undoubtedly due to shock. And then abruptly, as if a switch had been flipped, Katie felt his lips moving with hers, his hands on her hips, dragging her closer, and suddenly she couldn't breathe. She felt something solid against her back and realized that they had run into the tree trunk. Uncaring she slid her hands from his face to his neck trying to pull him down closer.
After a few moments, Katie pulled back breathless. She looked up at Oliver who was staring down at her, his eyes slightly glassy, his cheeks red, and his hair completely mussed. He looked thunderstruck. "That was brilliant," he said in astonishment.
Katie couldn't help but let out a giggle as she shook her head and began tried to arrange her hair so that it wouldn't look a complete mess, "We should head back soon, it's nearly lunchtime."
Oliver nodded in agreement, though still slightly dazed. Katie shyly reached a hand up to fix his rumpled hair. She flushed as she found Oliver's darkened eyes on her again. She watched with a thrill as he leaned in slowly and pressed his mouth against hers. It was a slow and long kiss that made Katie feel as if he was trying to savor her. When it was over, Katie could feel herself smiling foolishly, but she didn't care as Oliver was grinning just as widely back down at her.
"Oliver, we really should head back to the castle. Abbey will wonder where I've gone," she murmured.
Oliver nodded and took a step back. Before beginning towards the castle, he turned to her and held out a hand, "Ready?"
She looked up at him, her eyes meeting the warmth of his hazel gaze, a feeling of contentment spreading through her.
Katie took his hand and smiled brilliantly, "Yeah, I'm ready."
End
Wowohwow! It's finished and I can't believe it!!
I hope you all enjoyed. I'd like to thank all of my reviewers especially those of you who have managed to review every single chapter since the start of this story. You are amazing.
You stayed with me to the end and for that I am grateful. I hope you guys continue to read what I post. There will be more to come (hopefully soon!).
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