Loverboy

"She?"

"I guess it started a few months ago, when she first came over to me and Sirius and asked if I'd tutor her," Ollie said thoughtfully, smiling softly at the memory. She took a deep sip of her tea, recalling the slightly awkward request, but the otherwise confident demeanor.

"Her eyes... they sort of look into your soul, you know? And they're so expressive, too. She's just so passionate about... everything. She paints watercolors. She sings songs, she dances in the rain." Ollie laughed quietly to herself. "She dances in the rain with me."

"She picks lavender from the bushes on the far side of the lake. She's just... ugh, she's amazing," Ollie said. Her friends were silent, but Remus and James smiled softly at the thought.

Ollie was just gushing about this girl, this girl that Peter ran to tell them she had kissed. The way she talked about Victoria, and the wistful look on her face, the small smile at the mere thought of her.

The same thing James had when talking about Lily Evans. How Sirius had been after eating the spiked chocolates. How Marlene was when gushing about Ava.

All four boys came to the same realization at the same time; Ollie was in love with this girl.

"We started to get close, since I was helping her out with her studying. And we started to be friends." Ollie paused, glancing at the steaming mug in front of her. "Good friends. I'm in her locket, even."

"And I guess, I started to fall for her. I don't know how it happened. But I-" She looked at the fire, her eyes large, and reflective. Deep, emerald greens, swirling with all sorts of feelings. Love, joy, fear, confusion, sadness, tenderness, relief. "I fell in love, I think."

Nobody said anything for a while after that heavy confession. The rest of the common room was still bustling with the warm energy of a rainy springtime afternoon around them, with some people playing chess, some people reading books, lovers looking tenderly at each other.

"You guys up for some food? We're going down to the Great Hall for some snacks," someone said behind the sofa.

Marlene was standing there, her arms crossed, a large sweater under her overalls. "Why do you all look like someone died?" she asked, noticing the sober expressions on their face.

"Well, someone," Remus said, glancing at Ollie, "has been out romancing."

Marlene, observant as she was, saw this and turned to Ollie in shock. "Tell me about him."

Ollie blushed, avoiding Marlene's eyes as she answered, "Well, she's really pretty."

Marlene dropped her wand, her jaw following suit. "She?"

Ollie smiled sheepishly, watching as Marlene started to grin, wider than she thought was possible. "Merlin's beard, Ollie, who is it?"

"Victoria Wilson," Ollie replied. If she could've, Marlene's smile would have grown even wider.

"Ava's roommate," she said in understanding. "Do you think she likes you back?"

"Well seeing as she kissed me, I'd assume so."

It was lucky that Marlene hadn't been eating or drinking anything at that moment, for she would've spat it out in shock. "Excuse me, what?"

"I saw it," Peter said timidly. "She definitely likes her back."

"Who likes who back?" Mary asked, appearing behind Marlene.

"Wilson likes Ollie, we think," Sirius explained.

"Why do we think that?" Lily asked, seeming to appear as well.

"Well she kind of kissed Ollie," Remus said simply, smirking at the expressions of shock on Lily and Mary's faces.

"I'm so confused," Lily declared, perching on the arm of the sofa.

"Well, she can explain it later, I think," James announced, defending Ollie. "I'm sure she wants to go back with Wilson right now."

"Yeah, that sounds pretty nice," Ollie said, standing up and giving James a quick hug. "I'll see you guys in a little while."

Ollie left through the portrait hole, where Victoria was sitting on the floor a little bit apart. She'd clearly also gone and changed.

"After you'd been in there for a while, I figured I should dry off," she explained, only for Ollie to engulf her in a hug. "Oh- alright, then," Victoria added, wrapping her arms around Ollie's waist.

The two of them started to go to the archway where they always went. The rain had ceased, so now it was just cloudy. The two of them stood just under the canopy, smiling while looking at each other.

Victoria's hand on Ollie's back, Ollie's hand cupping her face, the two of them leaned in again, their lips once more meeting.

And on like that, they went, two teenagers having only just realized their admiration for one another. Soon enough, Ollie had her back on the wall, Victoria's hands on her back and in her hair, her hands on Victoria's face and curls.

Victoria tasted like cinnamon and forgotten dreams, like cloves and love. She smelled like cardamom and joy, like star anise and the night sky. She felt like a warm blanket on a somber day, like laying in the grass at dusk, watching the stars. 

She was everything Ollie could imagine being in love was. All she could imagine being in love with.