Finder's Keeper || Oliver Wood [1]

Chapter 27: Drunk in Love

"Fine. I'm going to finish five whole cups to beat your number of drinks before... half past midnight," he said determinedly after glancing at the wall clock. On another day, Jessica would've stopped him. But today, she actually wanted to see him take the challenge.

And so, he did. Oliver drank five cups full of straight firewhisky in a record amount of time. As Jessica watched him in entertainment, she finished her own drink and began sipping another one, and by then, she was at least tipsy. Her eagerness at seeing whether Oliver succeeded or not kept her on her feet, though.

Finally, Oliver swallowed the last few drops of his drink and slammed the final cup back down onto the table.

"Done," he said proudly. Almost all at once, he felt the alcohol take effect over his body. His head pounded, the music playing in the background sounded faint, and his body felt like he didn't have much control over it. Okay, maybe now he was regretting chugging all of that in a row. He lost balance just a bit, but Jessica held onto his arm before he could tip over.

"Okay, you proved your point," she said, laughing slightly. It seemed that he was more of a lightweight than she was. "Maybe you should stop now."

"Told you I could do it," said Oliver, his words starting to slur just a bit.

"Yeah, yeah, you did it. Drink some water now, will you?"

"But I don't want to," he pouted, catching Jessica off guard.

"Y-You have to," she tried to be firm.

"Water's gross."

"You'll wake up with an awful hangover if you don't."

"Who cares? Carson and I already prepared the potions for that."

Jessica sighed, unable to convince him to sober up.

"Fine. Why don't we go for a walk, then? And don't bring firewhisky — no, not gillywater, either. You need to clear your head."

It might have sounded risky for two intoxicated teenagers to walk outside the common room after curfew, but Jessica was pretty confident in her navigation skills and still had a clear enough mind. After patrolling for most of the previous school year and taking note of the current prefects' schedules, she had a good idea of where to pass at certain times so as not to get caught. She wasn't usually one to break the rules like that, but the excitement from the evening was making her a tad more adventurous.

The halls were quiet as Jessica and Oliver walked in the dark, trying their best not to make too much noise. Jessica led the way with her wand lit up in front of her while Oliver tried to walk normally by her side.

"Stop tripping, Oliver," Jessica huffed. "I'm only risking this all because I thought a walk would sober you up."

"Sober? I don't know the meaning of sober," Oliver said playfully. "I do know what wasted means, and I think that was the whole point of this party."

"I never should've allowed you to drink that much alcohol."

"Yeah, this is all your fault, lass. Of course I'm going to say yes to whatever you ask."

Jessica coughed awkwardly, not quite sure how to interpret those words.

"Keep it down, okay?" she said after a short pause, noticing how his voice grew louder every time he spoke. She didn't expect Oliver to be this loud and talkative when drunk. She was used to him babbling about Quidditch on a daily basis, but this was different.

"You know, it's cute how you're also drunk and yet you're trying to keep me in check," Oliver grinned.

"I won't be so cute after I hex you if you don't pull yourself together," Jessica threatened.

"Hey, you're supposed to compliment me back. Am I cute, too?"

Yes, Jessica internally screamed.

"I swear, if you say another word, I'm going to use silencio," she ignored his question. "Because unlike you, I'm actually not drunk yet, so my brain is working just fine."

All of a sudden, Jessica heard footsteps. Her heart stopped — it was almost one in the morning, so the teachers were supposed to be patrolling the lower floors at this time! At least, that was what she remembered from the schedules. Maybe I read them wrong, she scolded herself. Panicking, she pulled Oliver into one of the spiral staircases nearby and forced him against the wall.

"Whoa —"

"Shh!" she shushed him. She moved closer to him so that they could hide deeper in the shadows, hoping that that and the pillar before them was enough to hide them from sight. Oliver gulped at their proximity and it took all his willpower to not react or make a sound. He suddenly didn't feel as intoxicated as earlier anymore, and it was like his head was empty of all thoughts and he could only focus on the dark-haired girl before him.

Jessica waited with her breath held. The footsteps eventually faded away, and she prayed that they wouldn't come back anytime soon so they could return to the Gryffindor common room. It was a stupid idea to go for a walk, she cursed herself.

"Okay, they're... gone," Jessica whispered but trailed off when she turned back to Oliver. Their faces were inches from one another, and she only realized then how much she had pressed up against him. She took a step back, but Oliver's hand latched onto her wrist, keeping her in place.

"Can... can I try something, lass?" he asked quietly, his face leaning dangerously closer to hers than it already was. He didn't know what came over him, but seeing her up close like that made him want to act on it right then and there as if he had been holding something in for the longest time.

"What's that?" Jessica said cautiously.

"I think you know what I mean. So, if you tell me to stop now, then I will."

Jessica could tell from the mere look in his eyes what he was suggesting, but she still had her doubts because maybe she was just imagining it. After all, why would he want that in the first place? They were just friends, right? But she so badly wanted to see if her suspicions were correct, so she replied in just above a whisper, hoping she was right about this.

"You don't have to stop."

Barely a second later, Oliver pressed his lips onto hers. Jessica didn't know how these things escalated, but she quickly found herself returning the favor. She couldn't deny that deep inside, she had been waiting for this moment and just never wanted to admit it. Their bodies were so close to one another that Jessica could smell a mixture of firewhisky and cinnamon coming from him, and it was so strong and addicting that it felt even more intoxicating than the alcohol she drank earlier.

Part of Oliver actually thought that Jessica would back away like she usually did whenever she was faced with some form of confrontation, but she didn't. Instead, here she was, kissing him back in a way that was somehow both shy and eager, and this sent a surge of confidence through him. His hands moved to her waist and he stepped around her, forcing her to change positions. She let out a surprised yelp as her back hit the wall, making Oliver chuckle in amusement. Not wanting to stop, he placed one hand on the wall beside her head for balance and captured her lips again. His heart rate spiked uncontrollably when he felt Jessica's hands hold onto his shoulders, and this urged him to deepen the kiss even further.

Neither of them had ever pictured in their wildest dreams that they would find themselves kissing in the shadows like this, and yet, there they were.

A/N: So... that finally happened. I suck at writing ✨ spicy-ish ✨ scenes, but I tried 👀