Charley Effie Black

Chapter 30 - I Never Dated Oliver

Theo rolled off of Charley as they both breathed heavily. He turned and faced her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Charley?"

"Hm..." she managed to hum as she turned to him and buried her face in his bare chest.

"I love you," Theo said, tilting her head up to his and pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

"You do?" She asked, pulling away and studying his features.

"Yeah. I have for a while now."

Charley continued to stare at him unsure.

"You don't have to say it back," Theo assured her, brushing his thumb across her cheek.

"No, it's not that. I- I do love you, Theo. I just..." She trailed off and shook her head.

"Is this about Cedric and Fred... And Oliver? Charley, I promise that I won't leave you. I love you. I'm not just saying that so you'll have sex with me. I love you. In fact, I'd still love you if we didn't have sex."

Charley nodded and pressed her lips to his.

"I promise."

Charley nodded again, "I love you too, Theo."

"Come on, I have to go to classes today, but we're still celebrating your birthday tonight."

.

"How was your birthday?" Theo asked as he led Charley up to the astronomy tower.

"It was good. Oliver got me a signed Appleby Arrows picture, Haz got me a jumper, Lottie got me a party dress, Jayde got me some candy, James got me a keychain, Harvey got me a teddy bear, Tys got me coke, Markie got me toys for Scutum, Grandma and Papa got me a blanket, and the rest of the Woods got me a picture of them with me and my parents."

Theo smiled at her, "What about your friends?"

"Oh yeah, they gave me stuff too. I just didn't think you'd want that long list."

Theo twirled her around, "What about your dad?"

"Oh yeah! Dad and Remus got me a picture book of my mum."

"So that leaves me?"

Charley smiled, "I guess so."

Theo spun her around and made her face him, bringing her into a gentle kiss. He pulled away soon after and shuffled around in his back pocket. "Sorry, it's not super amazing," he awkwardly mumbled, pulling out a box.

Charley opened the box and smiled as she looked at the contents.

"I really like the smell of that perfume, and that's my favorite color," Theo explained as he pointed to the perfume and nail polish in the box. "And then those rings are for you and me. If you rub them three time clockwise, they'll heat up the other's. I was thinking it could mean, 'I love you' or, 'I miss you'."

"This is brilliant, Theo!" Charley assured him as her face lit up and she took out the rings. "How'd you charm them?"

"I uh... Lorenzo helped me," Theo shyly said.

"I should meet your friends one day," Charley told him as she slipped his finger into the ring.

"I always assumed you wouldn't want to," Theo admitted as he slid her ring onto her finger.

"Well, that's ridiculous. You met my rowdy crowd. I should have to meet yours too. Properly. Not just them stalking me around the school."

Theo chuckled, "True. I'll talk to them about it."