Romance and Quidditch | Oliver Wood

Chapter Fifteen: Stepfather and Stepson

 Gustav returned to Stockholm in dark spirits, and everyone around him instantly noticed it. He spent a lot of time locked away in his room, and Tommy didn't know what he did when he was alone in there. All Gustav had said to him about his visit with Oliver was this: "Well, if I'm like this, Tommy, how to the hell do you think it went?"

 Tommy assumed that Gustav and Oliver had broken up, or had at least had a fight. With the way Gustav was acting, Tommy began to grow more sure that they had broken up.

 The thing that worried him the most was this: on Sunday afternoon, Tommy knocked on his brother's door and said, "Don't forget we're going to Mom and Magnus' tonight."

 "I'm not going," he heard from inside.

 "Not going? Well, we always go over for-"

 "I said I'm not going, Tommy!"

 "Well, what am I going to tell them when I show up without you?" Tommy asked.

 "Just tell them I'm sick. They don't need to know anything else yet."

 So, when Tommy showed went to Birgitta and Magnus' alone that night, Birgitta instantly asked, "Where's Gustav? Is he running late?"

 "No. He's not coming."

 "Not coming?" Alice repeated. "What the hell's gotten into him if he's not coming? He is back from England, isn't he?"

 "Yes, he's been back. He, um, isn't feeling well, you see, and he thought it would best if he stayed home and got some rest. He wouldn't want to get anyone else sick, you see."

 "I see," said Magnus. "But if Gustav were ill, wouldn't you have also styed home, to look after him? At least that's how I imagined it."

 Birgitta looked from her husband to her stepson. "Tommy, is there something else going on with Gustav?"

 "No. No, of course not, nothing else."

 "Liar," Alice shot at him.

 "I'm afraid I have to agree with Alice on that," Magnus said. "What's happened with Gustav? It's not like him to just not be in touch."

 Tommy sighed. "Oh, all right. But he hasn't told me anything, either. He was all out of sorts when he came back from England, and I'm starting to think that he and Oliver broke up. That, or they had a really terrible fight. But anyway, he won't talk to me about it, and I don't know how long it's going to take him to get over whatever's going on."

 "Hmm." Magnus stood up. "Tommy, would you mind if I borrowed the key to the apartment for a little while? I think  someone should go over there and talk to Gustav. No, no, it's all right, I just want to see how he is. Please, the rest of you enjoy dinner. I don't know how long I'll be."

~~~~~~

 When Gustav heard someone knocking on his bedroom door, he said, "I told you I'm staying here, Tommy. Just tell Mom I'm sick."

 "Tommy did tell Mom you're sick," he heard. "Not everyone believed it."

 Gustav got up and answered the door, and found Magnus standing on the other side.

 "What are you doing here, Magnus?" he asked. "You should be at home."

 "Yes, I suppose I should. But Tommy told us what happened. He's not too good a liar, and Alice made sure to tell him he was lying. He said you went to visit Oliver and you came back the way you're acting now."

 "Because Oliver is...well, I don't know anymore if he's worth my time."

 "Why would you say that?" Magnus asked. "Last I saw, you were madly in love with him."

 "I was in love with him. I am. But I don't know if he's serious about me." Gustav sat down on the bed. "He didn't tell his parents about me. I don't think any of his family and friends know we're dating. It's like he's trying to keep me some kind of secret, and he can't face who he really is and doesn't want other people to know."

 "I see. So, you would say he's afraid to come out, then. Well, I remember you were quite scared when you first came out. You must remember that. Perhaps Oliver's going through the same thing right now."

 Gustav looked up at his stepfather in disbelief. "Are you making excuses for him?"

 "No, no excuses." Magnus sat down next to him. "It just sounds to me like Oliver is going through the same thing you once went through yourself. Maybe you getting mad at him will nudge him in the right direction. If he really is sorry, he'll apologize and try to make it up to you. He seems like that kind of man."

 Gustav nodded. "Yeah. He probably is."

 "Right." Magnus stood. "Do you want to come with me?"

 "Can you...just tell everyone I need some time alone? I'll come next week, I promise."

 Magnus nodded. "Of course. I certainly hope you plan to, or else your mother will think you really are ill."

 After his stepfather left the apartment, Gustav sat in the dark for a long time, thinking about what he had said.