Off the Pitch

Chapter 12: Butterflies, butterflies, butterflies

It had been two weeks since the discussion between me and Oliver. We hadn't really spoken to each other after he had told me he wanted to forget what had happened – well, almost happened. What made it worse was the fact that I had seen him talk to Angelina at dinner the other day, and based on the excitement on her face, he had asked her to be his date to the Yule Ball. 

On top of it all, our habit of walking to the castle after practise no longer existed, which made me kind of sad. Sure, I had the twins to hang out with, but it was hard not to think about Oliver... his smile, his scent... 

"A penny for your thoughts", someone brought me back to present time. 

I looked around. Everyone else had left the changing room except for me and Oliver, who was standing in front of me. He smiled in amusement at my baffled expression. 

I sighed and got up from the bench, heading towards the door. Oliver blocked my way with his hand. 

"What's wrong?" he asked and gave me a knowing look. 

"Nothing", I said and frowned at him. "What are you on about?" 

He took a step sideways, now standing straight in front of me. Our eyes met and I snorted, turning my gaze away. He lifted his hand to my chin and forced me to look at him. I slapped his hand away and tried to get past him and out the door. 

My hand was on the door knob when I felt him grab my other wrist. 

"Let me go", I growled. But he didn't – instead, he pulled me closer to him and pinned me against the wall. 

Uh oh, there go the butterflies again. 

Well, this time they felt more like Bludgers. Wood looked down at me and I glared at him beneath my brows. 

"Please let me go", I said and gritted my teeth. 

"No", he breathed. "Not until you've explained your actions lately." 

"My actions?" I snarled. Is he being serious right now? 

"Yes, your actions", he said confidently. "You've barely even looked at me for the past two weeks." 

"You're the one who said you didn't want anything to do with me", I said. 

Wood looked confused. "I never said that." 

"You practically did", I argued. "You said you wanted to forget about the night of the match." 

I tried to hide my misery, but he saw how clearly hurt I was. He let go of my wrist and sighed. 

"I'm sorry", he said. I was baffled. He was apologizing? "I wasn't thinking." 

I stared at him in silence. 

"I guess I just thought it would be wrong to break the rule, especially as the captain", he explicated. "And I figured it was just in the bliss of the moment... you know, we had just won the match and all..." 

I lowered my gaze to the ground. 

In the bliss of the moment. "I wasn't thinking." He doesn't want me like that. 

"Okay", I sighed. "If that's what you think, then..." 

I turned towards the door, but his hand blocked my way again. 

"You don't understand", Wood said. 

"You're right. I really don't." 

"No", he breathed. "What I meant was that I wasn't thinking. When I left. I wasn't thinking when I walked out of the situation."