When Fire Meets Gasoline | Wizarding World

chapter one | the great escape

According to Oliver Campbell, it felt like such a long summer.

First of all, it had been hot some days, which Oliver found unbearable. Second, he had been stuck with his parents for the majority of the time. Third, he preferred to be anywhere but in his bedroom all day. He didn't even have to be outside.

Anywhere is better than here, he thought.

His parents barely said a word to him ever since he left King's Cross Station with them. Oliver isolated himself into his bedroom and hardly came downstairs to eat with them at the table. Even for his birthday, which was the first day of August, he stayed in his room. If all of his best friends weren't out of the country around the time of his birthday, they would've done something for him.

Oliver huffed a sigh as he sat down in a chair and propped his feet up on his desk, looking out of his window. He watched as the cars below him were passing by his house. He wondered if Eliza, one of his best friends, was home. Oliver figured that he owed her a visit since she had been gone for almost two weeks. Deciding to go see her, Oliver stood up from the chair and headed downstairs, trying to get to the front door as fast as he could.

"Where do you think you're going?" his mum asked, standing in front of Oliver, her arms folded over her chest.

"Do you really care?" Oliver retorted.

"Oh, don't tell me you're going over to her house," she replied.

"For all you know, I could be going over to Andrew's," he said.

His mother scoffed. "That's even worse. He's just as bad as she is."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "You don't know what you're talking about. You don't even know them."

"Hey!" his father walked up beside his mother, holding a book. "Don't talk to your mother like that." He huffed a sigh. "Seriously, son, when are you going to grow up?"

"Don't worry, Dad. I'll be out of the house when I turn seventeen," he replied. "You won't have to deal with me after that."

Oliver walked past his parents and left the house, slamming the front door behind him. He began to stroll across and then down the street, hoping that Eliza was home. He liked going over there and just talking to her. It was good that she lived near him.

When he got to her front door, he knocked three times and waited for someone to come to the door. Her mother opened the door and greeted Oliver with a warm smile. "Hello, Oliver!" she said.

Oliver smiled back. "Is Eliza home?" he asked.

"Of course. She's in her room," she replied, moving out of the way so that Oliver could come inside.

He headed upstairs and found Eliza in her bedroom, spinning around in her chair, staring up at the posters of Liza Minnelli, an actress the Pearce family admired. "Bored, huh?" Oliver inquired, leaning against the doorframe.

Eliza stopped spinning in the chair and looked at Oliver, smiling at him. "It's about time you showed up. I haven't seen you since I got back from Australia."

Oliver smiled and entered the bedroom, plopping down on her bed. "So, how was your trip?" he asked.

"It was amazing!" she exclaimed. "Mum and Dad want to go back for sure. I think we're going to go again next summer. You should come with us."

He chuckled in response. "Yeah, definitely. My parents are ready for me to leave."

Eliza shot Oliver a sad look. "You don't mean that, do you?"

"Yeah, I do," he replied. "Everything changed in my house when Fiona died. My parents never looked at me the same ever again."

She nodded her head. "I remember how hard it was for you and your parents."