Love By Another Name

Ladies' Night Out

"What?" Finn asked, her eyes wide. "What do you know about him?"

"It's nothing bad," Angelina finally said after she finished coughing. "Just... he's not a very big ladies' man."

"He's actually very sweet and thoughtful," Alicia continued. "I think he's only had about... three relationships in all the years I've known him. And all of them were on the more serious side..."

"How long's it been since he and Penelope Clearwater broke up?" Angelina asked, looking over at Katie expectantly.

"About a year," she said. "Merlin, he was seriously thinking about proposing. Took him forever to get over that-"

"What?" Finn asked, staring at her with an odd look on her face.

Katie took in the shocked expressions on Angelina and Alicia's faces. Though she knew they were all reacting to different things.

"This boarding school of yours must be strange... you say the oddest things," Haley replied with a chuckle, though there was a hint of something in her dark eyes.

Katie mentally reminded herself to be more careful. Haley was much more observant than Finn.

"Yea," Katie said. "Ehm... they were together a couple years, I think. Rather serious until she broke things off a bit suddenly..."

"Sudden to you, but I saw it coming," Alicia said, shooting looks at Katie. "They wanted different things. She wanted excitement and exotic locations. He wanted to settle down. But it's not like he wallowed around forever. He eventually got over it."

"Said he knew that she wasn't the right one, if I remember correctly," Angelina said. "If it's not meant to be, then it's not meant to be."

Finn had gone quiet, taking in all the information. She then smiled brightly and shook her head.

"Well, I think upchucking on him definitely puts me in the 'not meant to be' category," she said with a laugh, though Katie could tell that she was partially putting on an act of cheerfulness. "I mean, god, I barely spoke to him before spewing on him. I was either rambling about stupid shit or running away..."

"I've told you - he's not bothered by that," Katie said, surprised that the normally confident woman was still dying of embarrassment. "He really did want to help you home and make sure you were alright."

Angelina and Alicia sent her more odd looks.

"Can't believe he left his own party. That, my friend, sounds like a keeper," Haley added, causing the three witches to start giggling. "What?"

"Nothing," Katie managed to get out. If only they knew the truth.

"Just... he's a, ehm, right, he's a goalkeeper," Angelina said.

Haley nodded slowly, though the look from before was back in her eyes.

"Okay, enough about Oliver," Finn said, as she turned her sights to Katie. "I want to talk about Katie and Taylor..."

Katie froze mid-laugh, already feeling her cheeks heat up.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said automatically as she reached for her glass of beer.

Angelina and Alicia were already wearing matching smug looks. Bugger - she had mentioned him too much, hadn't she?

"You so like him," Finn said. "And really, you could do worse. A lot worse."

"Taylor's such a catch," Haley said with a sigh. "Shame neither of us are attracted to him, otherwise one of us would of snatched him up ages ago... I'm actually surprised he's single, to be honest..."