Loverboy

"Just trust me."

Christmas evening was always rather nice- The five people sitting closest to the fireplace in the otherwise empty common room, the peaceful silence filled with the crackling embers in the grate. As all of them sipped on their hot cocoa and peppermint, no one spoke for a good, long time.

Eventually, they began to talk to each other in earnest, as if there was new news to discuss. As she tended to do, when talking about things, Ollie stood up, wandering around, fiddling with things; she couldn't sit normally when really talking to her friends. She eventually settled for leaning against the wall, pointedly not under the bushel of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

After hours and hours of chatting, Remus and Peter went to bed, leaving James, Sirius and Ollie in the warm common room. James was playing with the Snitch he'd stolen from the storeroom, while Sirius braided Ollie's wavy hair.

Eventually, James said goodnight and made a drowsy remark about "No snogging, guys," and went to bed. Sirius and Ollie were alone in the common room, again.

Sirius had finished braiding Ollie's hair, and the two just giggled over nothing.

"It really sucks," Ollie began, "to have to sleep alone, in an entirely silent room that's normally filled with your friends, on Christmas."

Sirius looked at her, and smirked. "It really sucks that all your dormmates left for the break."

"That's exactly what I just said."

"Too bad no one can go up and accompany you while you sleep," Sirius replied.

"I know, right? Next year, I'll try and have everyone over at my house for Christmas. Then we can have hot chocolate, and play music, and my mum can-"

Sirius cut her off with his laughter. She looked at him, offended. "That sounds wonderful, Ollie." Olivia couldn't help but smile a bit at that. Sirius knew that Ollie had wanted to throw a big Christmas party at her actual house, with all of her friends there. Her mum made the best food, especially for holiday feasts. Often, Mrs. Potter offered to have all of them over at their house, and Ollie's mum had refused that for the past five years, but she said that once Ollie was sixteen, it would be alright. So it would be next year, almost definitely, that they would all go to one person's house for the Christmas holiday.

"You sound wonderful," Ollie retorted, biting her tongue to keep herself from laughing. Sirius seemed to not expect this response, answering by pelting her with sugary sweet giggles.

When Sirius Black giggled, it sounded like how one might imagine sugar and caramel sound, if they were sentient; warm, gentle, and wholly happy. His laughs were opposite enough that an outsider would be shocked by the difference, but similar enough that it was plausible to one of his friends, and to give Ollie the same warm, fluttery feeling alarmingly close to her lungs. She thought to herself, That can't be healthy.

As if his rough, carefree laughter wasn't enough, Sirius looked straight out of a magazine- His chin-length hair framed his elegant face, making him look effortlessly handsome. James would ruffle his hair to get girls' attention. Remus got girls' attention from his quiet, subdued nature, but didn't aim for that. Peter didn't bother with his appearance at all, and he didn't get any attention from girls either. Sirius, however, had that classic, high-society, haughty resting bitch face, giving him that easy, carefree handsomeness that he was so fawned over for.

He had a tendency to forget to brush his soft hair, which resulted in it often straying into his face during the day. His shoulders were broad enough to give him a sturdy-looking frame, but not so broad it made him look ridiculous. He was taller than Ollie- he was 5'10" and she was 5'4".

His eyes were a lovely silvery grey color, like the bracelet Ollie liked to wear. They always had a mischievous glint, and he always was doing something that could land him in detention, if Filch didn't despise delegating him and James to different chores, and if all the other teachers hadn't grown a soft spot for their shenanigans. 

Ollie forced herself to shift back into reality, instead of thinking about Sirius's face, and the way he laughed, and about him. Speaking of which, Sirius was eyeing her, a silly grin growing on his face.

"Ollie," he said. "Can you move like, um, three feet over to your left?"

Olivia looked at him incredulously. "And why exactly should I do that?"

Sirius's grin was taking over half of his face. "Just trust me."

"Whenever someone says that, they're either about to do something weird or dangerous or creepy, or it's one of Remus's novels," Ollie pointed out.

Sirius blinked, realizing that Ollie was right, and romanticising insecurities in a relationship, whether it's romantic, platonic, or familial, is ridiculous and shouldn't be done. "Fair point," he replied.

"But, I trust you to not do something that will get me killed, so," Ollie said. She stepped over to the left, eyeing Sirius carefully. Sirius's ridiculous grin had encompassed nearly the entire lower half of his face.

He stepped closer to Ollie, forcing his grin down. In its place, a small, warm smile rested. The height difference made Ollie have to tilt her head upward, as Sirius was now incredibly close to her. He was looking downward, and the two held their eyes together for a few moments before-

"Hey, look, mistletoe," Sirius said, and Ollie looked at the bushel of plant over their heads.

"Oh," she answered. "Damn it." Sirius was holding her hands, hearing this. He immediately pulled his hands away.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't've-"

"Oh my god, Sirius. It's mistletoe, may as well."

Sirius stared at Ollie. She wasn't giggly and excited anymore, the slight pink tinge on her cheeks had vanished, the warmth in her eyes faded. Her hands, instead of covering her mouth to hide her smile, hung limply by her side, and her head was tilted slightly away.

"No, I-"

Ollie's dark eyes shot up at Sirius. "Just do it already," she snapped, the green hues blended and blurred by the tears forming.

"Olivia Rina Sato, whatever's wrong- and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to- I need you to tell me one, if it's my fault, two, if not, whose fault is it, and three, if you actually want me to kiss you or do you feel obligated or something?" Sirius replied, standing a little bit apart from Ollie, eyeing her carefully, trying to find an answer.

"It-It's not your fault, and I kind of feel obligated to kiss you, and I kind of want to at the same time, so just hurry up and do it," Olivia answered, not entirely truthful. Sirius, still cautious, stepped closer, and put a sturdy hand on Ollie's jawbone.

Lifting her face up towards his own, Sirius gently lowered his lips, meeting Ollie's in midair. He pulled away gently, noticing that her arms still hung dejectedly by her side, but not saying anything.

He lifted his own hand to his own cheek, where a tear had smeared itself from Ollie's face.

"Good night, Sirius," she said softly, wiping her own watery eyes with her sleeve.

He watched her turn and walk towards the staircase to the girl's dorms. He echoed, "Good night, Ollie." She was out of view on the spiral staircase, and Sirius, much quieter added, "I love you."

Ollie didn't hear it.