Captain - An Oliver Wood Fanfiction

Chapter 19 - Happy birthday

Erin on the other hand wasn't so sure about Oliver showing up. What if he would stand her up too? That would hurt, but it's the same thing she had done basically. The hours seemed to drag by, but at half past nine, she couldn't hold in her nerves anymore.

"Beatrice, help me up?" she asked, opening the common room window. Beatrice nodded and folded her hands so Erin could step into them. Erin had told her about her offer and she was rather supportive. Beatrice just wanted her friend to be happy.

Erin snuck out very, very carefully. Imagine getting caught now and being sent back to the common room. Oliver would think she'd stood him up yet again. She couldn't have that.

Erin was ten minutes early, so she took a seat in the Hufflepuff stands and waited. Even though she was wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a thick sweater on top, she was still cold. Little snowflakes were falling down in her hair and on her hands, melting at contact. She loved snow. It was so beautiful and so fragile. So cold, but it brought her such a warm feeling.

"Hey." Erin gasped as she hadn't seen Oliver coming. He hadn't stood her up.

"Hi", she said, standing up.

They stood there awkwardly for a bit, until Oliver did something Erin hadn't expected. He walked up to her and pulled her into a tight hug. Erin was taken by surprise, but soon melted into his hug, taking in the scent she'd missed so much.

"Happy birthday", she whispered, tightening the hug. This was what had been missing the past one and a half months.

"I'm sorry I didn't show. I did decide to come, but way too late, so you had left already", she said in one breath.

"No, I'm the one that should be sorry", Oliver sighed, letting go. Erin hadn't seen that look in his eyes since she had told him about her father. A look of pure regret.

"And I am. I'm so sorry, Erin. I know I'm kind of an arsehole most of the time. I really didn't mean to hurt you, I just don't use my brain enough", he said, earning a chuckle. Erin hadn't even thought of that part of the conversation yet, she just wanted him to show up, but now that he did, she needed to think.

Erin nodded, not yet wanting to tell him that she forgave him. She forced herself to delay forgiving him. She was really happy that he was here, but she couldn't let her guard down yet. She needed to build some kind of defense mechanism. She had had enough heartache in her life.

"I still have to ask you something, though. Wanna sit down?" Oliver asked, to which Erin nodded. This was it, the awkward part of the conversation. Erin had been so wrapped up in the general situation that she hadn't prepared for the question of last year. This was not going to be fun.

"Shoot", she said, just wanting to get it over with.

"So, I've been really confused about something", he started. "You mentioned something about last year, about how I did something to hurt you and I've been breaking my head over it, but I just can't seem to think of a moment. But I don't want you to feel sad about it and I just want to set things straight, so ... could you maybe tell me exactly what happened?"

Erin nodded, trying to find the right words. How do you tell someone that they turned you down harshly, making it seem like a joke, and then not remember it. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"It was March last year", she said. "I uh... I kind of had a crush on you back then", Erin laughed awkwardly. It wasn't funny whatsoever, but she felt super uncomfortable.

"And then one day I asked you out. I asked if you wanted to get a drink with me during the next Hogsmeade trip. Don't you remember?" Erin desperately wanted him to remember as she didn't feel like continuing the painful story.