What You Can't See (Harry Potter Fanfic)

Uninvisible

Olivia hadn't expected the conversation to be interrupted by the bus stopping, let alone the way the momentum of the bus stopping to result in the boy who thought he was invisible being thrown off as he'd turned his head back towards her, perhaps to hear what her name was, which in turn resulted in her lips brushing up against his cheek.

She wasn't surprised when the boy pulled away quickly, his entire body stiffening up as his cheeks and ears flared into a deep red, but she could feel a slight flustering of her cheeks at the sudden, unexpected touch. She blinked, somehow managing to say, "I'm sorry!" before the boy took off, hurrying to get off the bus and away from her and the awkward situation, not that she could blame him.

She turned her head, watching him leave, watching the bus driver startle as the boy who thought he was invisibly headed past, in her mind, because those who rode the bus usually didn't hurry off the bus like that and instead took their time. Olivia let out a sigh as the boy looked up at her, the tips of his ears and his cheeks still flushed with embarrassment, but when the bus started up to head to the next stop, the one that would let her off at the library, she sat back.

"I messed up. I had the courage to approach him, Mr. I'm Invisible, and to have a conversation with him only for it to end up being more, and just because neither of us was paying attention to the bust coming to a stop."

The bus stopped at the bus stop just outside the library, and she got off, taking a deep breath. Shaking her head, she headed inside the library, trying to find a book to read while finding nothing that would distract her from what happened on the bus, the entire time wondering what she would say to apologize to the boy who thought himself invisible, still thinking of how she didn't have his name, that she hadn't been able to tell him her name.

"I wonder what he was reading. I've never been able to find a book with a cover like the ones he's reading at the library," Olivia said to nobody. "Although, the covers are similar to some of the older books grandfather sells in his book store." She looked around the library, looking for a book to read while wondering what she should say to him when she saw the boy again, only to find nothing striking her interest.

She finally settled on a book called A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters, unsure of what to think of the summary indicating a potential supernatural mystery as the book was in her hand around the time she wanted to catch the bus, knowing as she did that she wouldn't be able to see the boy who thought himself invisible if she waited to catch a later bus back to her small town.

Olivia checked out at the library front desk. She hurried to the bus stop, got on, headed back to where she'd sat, and knew the boy who thought himself invisible would be sitting; taking a deep breath as her mind continued to contemplate how to apologize to him for the accidental kiss. In contrast, another part of her mind asked what she thought of the unexpected kiss, mainly since she wanted to work up the courage to talk to the boy, not head in that direction.

The bus stopped at the bus stop where the boy got off. She waited, hoping he'd get on, only for nobody to show up, which resulted in Olivia taking a deep breath, looking down at the book in her hand, and turning it over, finding herself less amused by the summary given the mystery followed a Brother, a monk at Shrewsbury Abbey.

"It's neither Shakespeare nor anything modern," she thought. "And so much for apologizing." Taking a deep breath, she cracked the book open, reading about Brother Cadfael and his job as a healer at the abbey. However, this didn't distract her from the mysterious boy who hadn't, for some reason, shown up as he always did when he rode the bus out, which made Olivia wonder what she should say to apologize, mainly since the young man thought he was invisible. "Is he shyer than I am? He must be, given how he's pretending to be invisible, so he's less conscious of those around him."

Of course, the strange stick slipped from his sleeve, which seemed like something else he didn't want her to see. There was some thought of the stick as a part of his attempt to be less conscious of those around him, which Olivia felt a bit strange, yet purposefully hadn't pursued.

"Maybe I should have asked? But then, I don't know. Me accidentally kissing him on the cheek. I don't think either one of us expected that, but is this going to mean I'm not going to see him again, given it's obvious with him not showing up at his usual time for catching the bus back?"

Olivia sighed, getting off at the bus stop in her small town, having not gotten far in the book. She tucked the book under her arm and started walking home, where upon arriving, she heard her mother call out to her, "How did the trip to the library go?"

"Fine?"

"What books did you check out?" one of her older brothers asked.

"Oh. Lettie," Olivia said, letting out a laugh. "Just this one." She held out A Morbid Taste for Bones. "It's about a Benedictine monk who discovers someone's been killed, but there's a claim that a saint did it, and yet he thinks human hands killed the person. At least, I think he does, as I haven't gotten that far yet."

"Wierd," her older brother Lettie said.

"I know. Not my usual read, I guess," Olivia laughed again.

"No. I mean, normally, you check out more than one book, Liv."

"Oh," Olivia said, her eyes blinking as she took a deep breath.

"Did something happen?"

"No," she said, although something certainly had happened. She pointed upstairs to where her room was. "I'm going to be in my room. Unless it's time for dinner."

"I'll call you when it's time," her mother said.

Olivia nodded her head and headed upstairs, closing the door of her room behind her before letting out a sigh. She sat down in her desk chair, setting the book she'd checked out of the library on the desk, still wondering if she'd have the chance to see that boy, the young man who thought he was invisible or was pretending to be, again. "I want to. To at least apologize for today."