Oliver Wood (![]() ![]() @ 2015-06-27 23:01:00 |
![]() |
|||
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
Entry tags: | character: alicia spinnet, character: oliver wood |
RP: Wine and whinging
Who: Oliver Wood and Alicia Spinnet
What: Oliver confiding in Alicia following the disastrous meeting with Melinda
When: Saturday, June 27th
Where: Alicia's residence
Rating: SFW
Somehow, some way, Oliver managed to shake Jenni off. He'd made excuses to leave the cafe, most which she giggled and waved off while suggestively hinting at other alternatives he could do with his time. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend the night (or several nights) drunk and in bed with a beautiful girl who would stop him from thinking about reality, but it felt crass to do such a thing after running into Melinda.
Melinda. That was another issue. She would be at the party. He'd been looking forward to this event but knowing she would be there was simply too much for him to handle; he didn't want their messy love lives interfering with Sesnus' day. So Oliver picked up a bottle of wine from a local shop and made his way to Alicia's house, hoping she was in.
“I don’t care, Nanna,” Alicia said with finality as she walked across the reception area of her house. “If Liam wants his hair to grow long, you’re not cutting it.” She loved her grandparents, always had. She had always loved how open and accepting they were. Well, how open and accepting they were of most things, and she loved that they wanted to show Isla and Liam how to navigate the black tie world of the philharmonic orchestra her Nanna had played in for years. But Liam, it seemed, was going through a glam rock period in his musical development, and as such had decided to grow his hair out and Nanna wasn’t having that.
“Well, then tie it back in a ponytail,” she suggested, and changed direction when she heard the doorbell, opening the door to find Oliver standing there. “Or slick it back with some wax, I don’t care.” The look on Oliver’s face had her pause for a moment before she gestured for Oliver to come inside. “I have to go, Nanna. Don’t cut his hair. Love you. Bye.”
Closing the door behind them, she looked at up Oliver before she went in for a hug. “Missed you,” she grinned, before she stepped back and looked up at him again. “You all right?”
For a moment Oliver was worried he'd made a mistake and Alicia wouldn't be home. Then what would he do? His best mate always put him in a better mood, not to mention always had a simple solution for everything, which he chalked up to maternal imstimct. If she's not home I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe work on those new broom plans... or maybe I could owl Jenni. Oliver shook his head at the idea, feeling a burning guilt in his stomach for even thinking such a thing. No. That's not fair to- To whom? Certainly not Melinda. She'd dumped him. She didn't seem happy to see him. Still, after the events of this afternoon he couldn't help but feeling he was cheating on her. it wouldn't be fair to Jenni. He lied to himself. I'm not in the right headspace to give her what she needs.
Luckily the door opened on what was the tail end of an interesting conversation. Oliver hitched a smile at Alicia, who he truly was happy to see, walked inside and leaned in for a strong hug.
"I missed you too." Blue eyes looked around the familiar settings of her house, offering her the bottle of wine. "Sounds like you need this as much as I do."
Alicia loved hugs. Hugs from Liam and Isla were always the best, and she loved the way Adrian would just hold her. But there was nothing quite like disappearing into the bear hug that Oliver could muster, considering his size compared to hers. She chuckled at the force behind it, amused by how gentle big, strong Oliver actually was.
“Mm, wine! Thank you,” she smiled taking the bottle from him and looking at it. She didn’t know wine, other than she knew if she liked it when she drank it, but it looked good. “The twins are going to a charity concert with Nanna and granddad tonight, and there are a few coiffure issues, apparently,” she said with a shake of her head. “But nothing big. Come on in, and tell me all about it.”
On their way to the reception room, Alicia summoned to wine glasses from the cupboard and handed the bottle and corkscrew to Oliver so he could open it for them.
Oliver scooped up Alicia in a tight hug, forgetting just how tiny she was; It was easy to forget given her larger than life personality. Releasing her, Oliver looked over the pale white wine. "I hope you don't mind it's a lighter blend. The sommelier said it was good for day drinking." Truth be told Oliver knew little about wine beyond the fact he liked lighter, fruity tastes. He often let the shop keepers pick, given price didn't matter too much...which sometimes meant he was taken advantage of. Still, he preferred to see it as more of an adventure with every new bottle.
The wine was decorked and poured two glasses. "Here is to Liam and his impeccable fashion sense." Oliver toasted with a grin. He downed the first glass then poured another. "So. Free night, huh? Are you getting ready for the party at Seamus'?" Oliver loved talking to Alicia; she had a way of making him forget his worries, and with the twins added in he'd have his own temporary retreat from the world.
”May he outgrow his eighties obsession before he discovers shoulder pads,” Alicia returned Oliver’s toast with an equally bright grin and clinked her glass gently to his. When it came to alcohol, Alicia was a lightweight. Always had been. So where Oliver downed his first glass – which was disconcerting in itself – Alicia merely sipped from it, though she took a bigger sip when she found that she really liked it.
“Seamus’ party?” she asked and took another sip of her wine, before she shook her head. “No, I didn’t even know Seamus had a party. I was just going over some parchments for the Foundation, and then I was going to go spend the evening at Adrian’s place while he bottles Potions.” With a small nod, she pointed to his newly filled glass. “You warming up for the party? Or filling up on liquid courage? In which case, I’ve got something stronger, if you need it.”
Oliver could stomach a decent amount of alcohol, though preferred to pace himself. He never really enjoyed the feeling of being drunk, especially the lack of control over himself, not to mention it would throw off his careful diet that he only kinda seriously stuck to. Still, after the disastrous afternoon a drink -- or three -- was needed. Following a deep drink of his second glass, Oliver looked at Alicia curiously.
"You didn't? I can't imagine Seamus not telling you." He frowned. "Are you sure you didn't get an invite? Maybe it's in the junk pile?" The idea of going to the party without the stabilizing demeanor of Alicia while facing Mel didn't seem appealing. "Erm, well, I don't think I'm going either." He downed the rest of the glass, pouring another.
”Yes, I’m sure I didn’t get an invite,” Alicia laughed softly. “Maybe it’s a singles thing, I don’t know.” Either way, she wasn’t too concerned or offended at all that she hadn’t been invited to this particular party. Any thoughts of that, though, went out the window, when Oliver once again emptied his glass and promptly refilled it.
“Why not?” she asked, a frown drawing her eyebrows together as she eyed the glass in his hands. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you were going up until a couple of minutes ago, right?”
"I just don't fancy going." Oliver responded a little too quickly. He'd always been a terrible liar; some might chalk it up as a personality defect but he'd never felt comfortable with lying. Most of the time it never occurred to him to lie, though Oliver often naively believed others were as truthful as him. "And it wasn't a few minutes ago...it was a couple of hours ago." He muttered into his glass and averting his gaze like a guilty puppy.
Alicia’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at the quick response. Now this was a response she knew… from her children, when something had happened that embarrassed them. Granted, it wasn’t often, but it had happened. It was only the fact that it was Oliver sitting in front of her and looking pretty miserable that kept her from cooing soothingly. But it didn’t keep her from reaching out to put a hand on his.
“What happened a couple of hours ago?” she asked, trying to keep her voice as balanced between chuckling and sighing as she could.
Oliver looked to Alicia's hand covering his and he felt an overwhelming wave of emotion threaten to take over him. His throat constricted painfully and the blue eyes brimmed with tears. Oliver refused to cry in front of his best friend, despite having done it before. If he could hold back tears after the defeat to Cedric Diggory or walking off the pitch from a nasty fall resulting in a very serious injury he could do it in this instance.
"I, erm..." Looking around desperately for a distraction, Oliver busied himself by downing the third cup of wine and pouring his fourth. By now the bottle was more than half empty. "I found out Mel is going to the party and I just don't want to upset her again." He sighed deeply.
"Besides I haven't seen you in ages. I'd rather have a good time with you than be miserable with Mel." Mentally Oliver kicked himself. This was no way to treat a close friend he hasn't seen in ages.
”Again?” Alicia tilted her head as she looked at Oliver. As far as she knew, Oliver hadn’t seen Melinda since they’d split back in December, which had her guessing that this information about Melinda going to Seamus’ party had had to come from Melinda herself. With a sigh, she ran her fingers through her hair before she drank half of her wine. “So, you talked to Melinda today, you both got upset and she knows you’ll be going to the same party as her?” Alicia liked Melinda, had since the first day she had met her, but that didn’t mean that she was taking her side in this debacle. Oliver was one of her best friends, but even he had messed up in this, so while she would support him in this, she wasn’t going to just stroke him with the hairs either.
“What happened?” she asked straight out. “I mean, sure, seeing someone for the first time after a break-up has to be hard, but to outright upset her and have you in this state?” She shook her head, not buying that that was all there was to it. “Besides, if you don’t go, then she’ll know that you’re avoiding her, and that’s bound to be upsetting too, don’t you think?” And then there was this whole thing about Melinda and Viktor Krum that most of the Wizarding World had witnessed after the Final match of the season, but that was an ace she’d save for later.
"Again." Oliver hoarsely admitted, taking a small sip of the wine. "It's not as though I meant to upset her!" His voice raised in earnest. "You know I'd never want to hurt her. Not after what an absolute idiot I was back in December. I just... I don't know." He stood up abruptly, putting his cup down and pacing; a classic agitated Oliver Wood trait. The faster and tighter the loop the more upset. "It's just I went into her store to hide from Jenni, and everything was alright." The pacing paused. "At least I thought it was alright." The pacing continued. "Alicia you should have seen her, she looked so beautiful. Things seemed okay, but Jenni came in and it upset Mel and that was it."
Sitting back down, Oliver propped his elbows up on both knees, resting his head in his hands. So few would ever see Oliver like this; to the public Oliver Wood is a calm, collected, yet exceptionally determined Quidditch star who always wore a smile and was maybe a little dense if you mentioned anything other than Quidditch. That was fine; Oliver knew the real him was more complex than that, as did his friends.
"I dunno, Ali, I had it in my mind when we met up again it would be...better. At the very least we'd agree for coffee or something like that. Besides, judging from her reaction I don't think she really wants to see me again." And back to sipping on his wine.
Alicia held up her hands in a disarming gesture; she hadn’t meant to imply that Oliver intentionally had upset Melinda. “I know,” she assured him, but apparently that wasn’t enough, and a moment later she could sit back and watch as Oliver paced her reception room floor. She sipped from her wine, trying to keep up with what he was talking about, but… it wasn’t that easy, since she hadn’t seen what had happened and she hadn’t a clue who this Jenny was.
Setting her wine glass down, she scooted closer to Oliver and rested her arm on his back as her fingers combed gently through his hair. “Give her time,” she said gently. “It’s the first time you’ve seen each other since December, right?” She gave him a gentle nudge. “Who is Jenny? And how would you have reacted if it had been Melinda who had shown up at your place with Viktor Krum?”
Oliver leaned into Alicia's touch and sighed. To an outside observer one would think there was more going on than just friendship, but Oliver couldn't think of Alicia as anything more than someone who he could be the real Oliver around. She simply got him in ways others couldn't and it had been that way since their Hogwarts days and he doesn't have it any other way.
"No, you're right." He sighed, placing the cup down onto the table again. "I haven't seen her in over six months -- I've made sure of that -- I just, I hoped," Oliver stumbled over his words finding it difficult to express himself. "I just thought it would be better, you know? That she would be happy to see me." He picked up the glass again, only this time twisting the stem between his fingers. "Jenni? Ah, she's no one. Just some girl." Normally Oliver wouldn't have been so callous when regarding another person, but he simply didn't have enough energy to think about Jenni beyond 'just some girl'. An amused smile played on his lips and he chuckled. "Why would Mel come to my pitch with Viktor? He's not a teammate."
People who claimed that becoming parents didn’t change them or how they interacted with people were liars. Alicia knew that, and had long ago given up trying to keep the mother in her hidden when the kids weren’t around. Sometimes it wasn’t there, but that wasn’t due to any particular effort of her own, but today… today Oliver just seemed lost and it was only minutes ago that he had reminded her of Isla and Liam when they were frustrated, so she did what she did with them; console them. Of course, it wasn’t quite the same seeing as how Oliver was about twice as big as her, but if she could have, she would have picked him up and cuddled him on the sofa until all his worries disappear. Then again, this was Oliver, and experience had taught her that there was only so much mollycoddling he could have before it became pitiful.
She pursed her lips when it became clear that Oliver didn’t know about Melinda and Viktor. She guessed she had to tell him, but there was something she needed cleared up first. “So, let me get this right,” she said, folding her hands in front of her and resting her elbows on her knees. “You came into her shop and then ‘just some girl’-Jenni came in after you and Melinda got upset?” She paused for a moment before she continued. “Was she upset before this Jenni came in?”
Oliver knew that stance; Alicia was about to lay on some heavy logic. She'd never been afraid to speak her mind, even when Oliver was her captain and they'd argue over everything from plays to his ridiculously driven nature that put Harry's life in danger. She'd also managed to both physically and mentally yank him out of the dangerous depressive spiral he would often fall into. One of the many downsides to being so incredibly focused on one goal was just how difficult it is to consider outside options.
"I met her, Jenni, in Magaluf. She was pretty and nice enough I suppose. I saw her a few times on the beach since she was staying at the same resort as I. One night I was swimming laps in the pool, she came down and we snogged in the pool, the hot tub, the elevator, and I spent the evening in her room." Oliver grinned ruefully at the memory. "Quite a few nights, really." He glanced sideways at Alicia, returning to a serious tone. "I mean we spent a lot of time together. I told her I was a muggle and she told me the same. It wasn't anything, but she seemed a bit...unstable. She clinged too fast so I just started to avoid her." Oliver frowned slightly, slumping forward. He was never good with hurting others, so he preferred to fade out of their life. "Well she lied, she's a witch and knew of me. She turns up in Diagon Alley, I hid from her, it she found me and Mel saw it all." He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, disheveling the sun bleached locks. "And yeah, she was pretty upset. Was she upset before that?"
Oliver hadn't considered that. For someone who possessed such a gift to notice the most minute details in a high stress environment he could be fairly oblivious about a lot of things.
"I...Well, I don't know. She seemed not upset." He worried his bottom lip in concentration. "More surprised than anything."
Alicia held up her hand; she really didn’t need all the details of where Oliver had snogged Jenni or how they’d spent their nights in Magaluf. She got the picture, didn’t need the details.
“So, Jenni turned out to be a dingbat fan with stalkerish tendencies, and please, please tell me that her last name is Lee,” Alicia began summing up, “and after six months of avoiding Melinda you end up in her shop, by accident? No wonder she was surprised, huh? Doesn’t sound to me like it was you showing up that had her upset.”
She smiled at Oliver and nudged him gently with her shoulder. “That what you’re wearing to Seamus’ party?”
A slight red tint colored Oliver's cheeks, realizing he'd overshared. Yet another side effect of a one track mind: obsessing over the details. With Alicia repeating back the details he realized just how silly this whole ordeal really was.
"Erm, I'm honestly not sure of her last name." He admitted sheepishly, peering at Alicia. "That really never came up when we were talking." Not that we did much talking. Oliver reminded himself. While he didn't run through the gauntlet of fan girls like most Quidditch players, he'd been known to indulge from time to time; mostly when they were able to take his mind off practice or obsessing over the last/next match. Alicia's revelation on Melinda's behavior lifted a weight from his shoulders. Maybe she didn't hate him after all! Maybe he could save this and they could try again... and this time he wouldn't take her for granted or push her away.
Oliver looked down at his comfortable, and very worn, faded blue t-shirt and deep charcoal colored pants. "What's.wrong with this? Seamus' just a mate, he wouldn't care."
”Damn,” Alicia smirked. “There goes my dream of being able to quote Julia Roberts and tease you about Dingbat Jenni Lee.” Was everything with Oliver and Melinda solved? Alicia’s guess was ‘probably not’, but at least Oliver didn’t look devastated any longer and it seemed that he had gotten a few things straightened out or at least gained a new perspective on them. If she had to wager, those would take a few days or more of stewing in his head before they worked out completely for him, and that was the best she could hope for.
“Nothing’s wrong with it,” she told with an almost indifferent shrug. “I was just figuring out what to wear after you convince me to go with you to the party, but I’m sorry to say, that I don’t have any clothes from back in school that I’d voluntarily be seen in in public…”
Oliver didn't respond to the Julia Roberts comment, mostly due to the fact he had no idea who this woman was; he'd only just in the last few years really started to immerse himself in the muggle world and could pass as someone who was rather sheltered for most of their life.
Normally he'd argue that his old shirts were acceptable, they were comfortable and there was no sense throwing out a perfectly good piece of clothing (granted ''perfectly good" clothing would often have holes), but instead Oliver's face broke into shining, happy smile.
"You're going to come?" He clapped his hands together, laughing with relief. "Ali, bleeding hell. You're sure you won't mind, then? I mean, you said you have plans with Adrian." Secretly he'd hoped she wouldn't back out, though he'd feel rude to not double check.
”I’m going to come,” Alicia repeated before she finished off her wine, patted Oliver’s knee and got to her feet. “And I said that I’m going to Adrian’s place later. He’s bottling Potions this weekend, so he’s not going anywhere, but I’ll let him know I’m at Finnigan’s in case he wants to take a break.” Adrian lived just down the street from the pub, so it wasn’t completely unthinkable that that would happen.
“You’re really sure you want to wear that tonight?” she asked, discreetly indicating one of the holes in it before she ran the ragged hemline between two fingers. “You don’t want to stop by your place and put on a regular button down shirt? Or maybe just a shirt that’s younger than my children.”
Oliver looked as though he could kiss Alicia, and by means he'd always felt comfortable planting a smooch on her cheek, but he felt too overwhelmed with gratitude to do anything more than smile. This is why she had been and always would be his best mate. The idea of going to the party alone and facing Melinda had been too much, especially after their encounter, not to mention the last thing he wanted was others involved in their problems. But with Alicia he'd have a comfortable presence... even grumpy faced Adrian would be a welcomed distraction (though, Oliver would admit that Adrian had become a much better person since dating Alicia).
"Well, I suppose." He gave a slight pout, looking down at the frayed hem of his favorite shirt. "I did get to keep those clothes from that last photo shoot with Witch Weekly." Not that there was anything wrong with the new clothes, but he just didn't see the point. "You can keep rest of the wine, then. Maybe see if Adrian would like it?" Oliver reached forward to pick up the bottle and wiggled the cork back into the neck.
”That would work,” Alicia agreed, and took the bottle from Oliver. “I’ll just put it in the fridge here. He doesn’t drink while working with the Potions, or I might have a glass of it later. Thank you.” She sent him a smile, then nodded towards the fireplace.
“Go put on another shirt and I’ll meet you at your place when I’m ready, yeah?” Maybe it was ‘just’ Seamus’ party, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t dress up a little. At least she wasn’t asking him to cut his hair like Nanna wanted to do to Liam. “I’ll keep it casual. Promise.”
Oliver stood and nodded, heading toward the fireplace. Using the Floo would be just as quick, not to mention he didn't think apparating while buzzed wasn't the best idea. "Well, alright." He seemed placiated by her promise to keep it casual; Oliver disliked dressing up in general. If it were up to him he'd wear t-shirts and jeans for every occasion with his unbrushed hair pulled back in a lazy bun.
Pausing before stepping into the Floo he looked over Alicia with a swell of gratitude. "You're the best, you know that, right?" Oliver scooped his friend up into a tight hug, lifting her off her feet, kissing her cheek and setting her back down. "Thanks again, Ali." And with a rush of fire Oliver was gone in the emerald flames.
Alicia returned the hug as best she could, though she would never in a million years be able to hug Oliver as hard as he could hug her. “Aww,” she cooed, grinning at the kiss to her cheek. “I learned from the best.”
“Any time, Oliver,” she smiled at him as he whirled out of her fireplace and she set her direction towards her bedroom. So much for a quiet night in, but a night out with Oliver sounded like a fun alternative.<\lj-cut>