Katie sighed as she pushed the trolley ahead of her, lazily looking through the displays of food. With only days until her mother arrived, Finn had gone into full-on freakout mode and Katie had volunteered to take care of the shopping for the week so that it was one less thing for the ginger woman to worry about.
She stopped as she glanced down at the list and then back up, trying to decide which type of pasta was better.
"Katie?"
She looked over, her eyes wide as Taylor walked up to her, smiling. She was sure a blush had come across her cheeks. Merlin, she needed to get herself under control. No matter how she felt about the man, he was Finn's best friend. And muggle. That was too much drama for her, she had decided. They could be friends but nothing more.
"Taylor. Wasn't expecting to run into you," she said, genuinely surprised to see him there. Didn't he live in another neighborhood? Why would he be shopping here?
"Thought I'd pick up provisions before popping by," he said, holding up the bottle of wine in his hand. "She still in a state?"
Katie sighed and nodded.
"She really doesn't care for her mother, does she?" Katie said. Taylor smiled sadly.
"Finn talks a big game, but her mother does appear to be her Kryptonite," he replied. "No matter how successful she is or how good things are, anytime Marguerite comes around, Finn's back to being her closed-up, insecure self."
"She really that bad, huh?" Katie asked. Taylor nodded.
"Marguerite really does know how to inflict a particularly large amount of pain with just a few words," he admitted. Katie nodded, frowning slightly.
"Suppose it's been good you've been stopping by a lot lately. Staying for dinner tonight again?" she asked, hoping he would say yes. He smiled slightly and nodded.
"Figured you'd need reinforcement," he said lightly. "Mind if I help you finish with the shopping?"
"Not at all," Katie replied.
He fell into step with her as they continued on, Katie stopping every so often to put something in the trolley, the two chatting easily. She could see how he and Finn were so close. He really was easy to talk to and appeared to really be listening to her.
"Ehm, since I have you alone, there's something I wanted to ask you," Taylor started. Katie came to a stop, her eyes wide. Was he going to ask her out? Here in the middle of the grocery store? "Just how long do you think you can keep it from Finn?"
Katie's mouth went dry as she fought to figure out what he was talking about. Surely it wasn't magic. He couldn't know, could he?
"I... what?" she asked. Taylor smiled slightly and chuckled.
"You really have been away from the muggle world awhile," he said lightly.
Katie's eyes widened further as she felt the blood drain from her face. Wait. If he knew, did that mean...
"Are you... are you..."
"A wizard? Yes," he said, a casual expression on his face as though they were talking about the weather. "Why do you think Finn and Haley never seem to understand what it is I do for a living? I just go on about numbers and symbols and they tune out. I work in Ancient Runes, actually."
"But you went to muggle university," Katie said, glancing around nervously to make sure no one was listening in.
Though she couldn't help the bit of relief that flowed through her. At least there was one less person she had to keep the secret from.
"I'm muggleborn. My parents insisted I go so I would have options," he replied. "Though after Hogwarts, well, it was obvious that I'd never work in the muggle world. At least to me."
Katie stared down at the cart a bit. Taylor was a wizard. Knew about magic. But how had he kept it from Finn for so long. What's more, how had she not noticed? She looked back up at him, her mouth falling open.
"It gets easier over time. And well, my parents are muggle, so that helps me out with keeping the secret from Finn. But you, Ms. Bell, you need to watch yourself."
"Why didn't you mention this before?" she asked, turning to him. Taylor shrugged.
"There was no reason to bring it up. Until I noticed you make a few more slip-ups," he replied. "And it's not like we've had time alone to discuss it."
The blood suddenly rushed to her cheeks as another realization hit her. If he was a wizard, then he knew who she was.
"You... so you know..."
"About you? Sure. Fought in the battle at Hogwarts and all," he said smiling slightly and starting to walk again. "Though I have to admit that I'm really not that into quidditch. Never understood the hype. And well, your life is your life. Not my business to pry. Always hated the gossip columns in the wizarding world."
Katie started to follow him, a bit dumbfounded.
"You can imagine my shock when I showed up that first day and saw you in Finn's flat. Take it this Oliver you two have mentioned is the Oliver Wood?" he continued. Katie nodded silently. "Explains why he hasn't been in touch with her. Can't imagine he'd know the first time about dating a muggle if he's anything like he was at Hogwarts..."
"I just... sorry, still trying to wrap my head around this. How come I don't remember you from Hogwarts?" she asked, looking up at him. He smiled slightly.
"Suppose you wouldn't have noticed me - I was two years ahead in Ravenclaw and didn't play quidditch," he said. Katie blushed again, slightly embarrassed. Though it was a fairly accurate read of her when she was in school. "Everything alright, Bell?"
"Just... can't believe that someone else in Finn's life isn't muggle, to be honest," she said honestly. "I mean... well... guess I'm still in a bit of shock..."
"Well, it's not something we can just bring up around Finn, can we?" he said. "Though I apologize for not telling you sooner. Really this was the first opportunity since we've met to bring it up."
Katie smiled up at him.
"It's fine. I understand. And at least I know now," she said quickly. "So... Ancient Runes... do you live in Diagon Alley?"
"No," Taylor said with a slight snort. "May be magical, but I prefer muggle neighborhoods. Even after Hogwarts, it's still what I'm used to. Both my parents are muggle, after all. I pretty much divide my time between the magical and muggle worlds."
"My mum's muggle," Katie said. "I grew up in a muggle village. But after Hogwarts, well, got taken in by everything that was the wizarding world and quidditch and my friends. Settled in Diagon Alley to be closer to Angelina and Alicia..."
"And the prat," Taylor finished for her.
Katie sighed heavily, but still nodded. He had a point.
"But seriously... how have you kept it from Finn this long? You two seem really close and I thought you shared everything," Katie said.
More than anything, she was hoping that he'd tell her it gets easier. That the guilt eventually went away.
"At times it's easy and at times it's not," he confessed. "And sometimes I think it would be better if I could just tell her." He glanced at Katie, seeing she had frown fixed upon her face. "But it's this or mess with her mind by obliviating her, and I'd rather not do that... And it helps now that I've got someone else who's in on the secret." Katie found herself smiling slightly as she looked up at him. "We can be battle buddies. Anytime you're struggling with it, you can always give me a call."
"That does help, actually... and Finn can be rather oblivious, I've noticed," she said. "Hasn't commented most of the time when I slip."
Taylor just shrugged.
"I'm sure she finds some things odd, but she's too nice to say anything about it. And really, the idea of magic existing. It's so far from her mind," he said. "She'd sooner come up with some sort of rational explanation for it than think it's magic."
"True... she is rather pragmatic about those sorts of things," Katie said with a sigh. She went quiet.
"You really do want to tell her, don't you?" Taylor asked. Katie looked up at him, seeing the sympathetic look in his eyes.
"Finn's one of those people that I find I can be truly open and honest with. She won't judge or anything. Just listen. And she's so open with me. I can't help but feel a bit guilty about keeping something this big from her. It is a large chunk of my life - our life," she admitted.
Taylor sighed and nodded.
"I won't sugarcoat it - it gets really hard sometimes. But you can't tell her," he said softly, reaching out and squeezing her shoulder.
Katie looked over at his hand, a spark shooting through her arm at the contact. But quickly, she looked away and tried to ignore it. What had she just decided about Taylor? She wasn't ready for another relationship - even if she no longer had to hide who she was from him.
"I won't," she said, not meeting his eyes as she was sure that she was blushing.
"And now you've an ally in me," he added, grinning.
"Suppose that helps," she offered, venturing a glance at him..
"It does, trust me. Now, come on. If I know Finn, she'll be a right good state and the only thing to fix it is dinner... and wine. Lots of wine," he said. "Should finish this trip up quickly unless we want to walk into a nuclear war..."
Katie chuckled as she sped up, following him. While it didn't completely fix things, she did have to admit that she felt a bit better about the whole situation.
She and Finn would be just fine.
Finn sighed as she dropped at the table. She had about 45 minutes before she needed to head back to the office and intended to use it clearing her head before she faced Charlotte. While work had provided a distraction from her mother's impending visit, she knew that because of said visit, she was making more mistakes than usual.
More than that, Charlotte had noticed, and that was never good.
Finn then lifted the mug of coffee to her lips, closing her eyes briefly as she breathed in the aroma.
"Finn?"
Her eyes flew open as she looked over, seeing an equally shocked Oliver standing there, a takeout cup in his hand. He then smiled as she met his eyes, already walking to her table. Finn was sure her cheeks were a bright red as she returned the smile, though slightly dazed. Of all the places to run into him.
And while she had thought the weeks of no communication meant that he wasn't interested in her, she couldn't help but think he looked rather happy to see her.
"How are you?" he asked, sitting across from her.
"I'm... good," she said, still a bit too stunned to speak properly.
"Good to hear," Oliver replied.
He then looked down at the cup on the table and started nervously spinning it in his large hands. Christ... was he nervous to talk to her? Or was he suddenly regretting that he had sat down across from her?
"Um, it's good that I ran into you. I really wanted to apologize... about the party," Finn said quickly, rushing to get the words out. He looked up at her and smiled as he shook his head.
"It's fine. Really," he said. "No need to apologize."
"Really? Cause I wasn't sure... since I hadn't heard from you or anything," Finn continued, finding that her heart was racing. An apologetic look came over Oliver's face.
"Ah, right. I'm sorry about that... ehm... been out of the country. Traveling a lot for matches," he said quickly, seeming just as embarrassed and floundering a bit. "I really did mean to reach out to you, but wasn't sure how..."
"You could have always gotten my number from Katie," Finn said.
He stared at her a moment with a look of confusion before something clicked in his head.
"Oh, right. Didn't think of that," he said.
Finn wasn't completely sure how to take it, though was leaning towards him being a bit on the clueless side. Hadn't Katie said that about him?
"So... how are matches?" Finn asked.
While she knew absolutely nothing about the sport - seriously, she needed to start looking into that - she wanted to at least make an effort to keep the conversation going. And that was the first thing that popped into her head.
"Good. Been winning," he replied. "Work been well for you?"
"For the most part. Though today is one of those days," she said with a slight roll of her eyes. "Boss isn't happy with anything."
"Imagine that can't be fun," he said, seeming to relax a bit. Finn just shrugged.
"It is what it is," she said casually. "Nothing I can't handle."
"Good... good," Oliver replied, seeming to be at a loss as to what to say next.
For her part, Finn was too busy caught up in her mental torment to notice as she had just blanked out on what to say next. Had it really been so long that she had forgotten how to have a conversation with a man that wasn't Taylor?
"I know that I don't really know much about football, but been watching some matches on TV... thanks to Katie and all. Perhaps sometime I could come watch one of yours?" Finn asked hesitantly.
Though as soon as the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted it. Now he was going to think she was fishing for free tickets. And she definitely wasn't.
"Ehm... sure," he said, finally thinking of an excuse. "I mean, we've got loads of away matches so... could be awhile..." Finn looked relieved at first, but then looked down at her mug, seeming disappointed. "Though... I'm on a bit of a break at the moment... maybe we could get a pint. With Katie and the others, I mean."
Finn looked at him, blinking a few times. Of course she should have known he wasn't interested. Why else would he make up the excuse about the away games? And then suggest going out with the others. He must be trying to let her down gently.
"Sure," she said, smiling slightly.
"You doing anything this weekend?" he asked.
"No - wait. Oh shit, yea," Finn said, sighing as she rubbed her temples. Oliver frowned slightly. "I have to meet my mother. She's coming to visit. We're doing dinner on Saturday."
"Perhaps we could meet after?" he pushed.
Finn stared at him a moment, completely lost as to how she should be reading this situation. For someone who was trying to let her down easy, he seemed super eager to meet up with her. She then remembered what Angelina, Alicia and Katie had said about him. Perhaps he was just nervous.
Regardless, this weekend was no good. She would be a wreck before and after meeting with her mother. She silently cursed her mother's timing.
"Not sure I'd be good company this weekend, to be honest. My mother has a way of getting me into a bad mood," she said wryly.
"Surely not that bad," Oliver scoffed. Finn snorted and shook her head.
"Trust me - you never want to meet my mother," she said before taking a drink of her coffee. "But... I'm free during the week. Or the following weekend."
Oliver smiled and nodded.
"Sure. Let me look over my schedule and get back to you and Katie," he said. He then looked down at his watch. "Hate to run, but need to get to training." He stood, Finn following suit. "It was really good to run into you, Finn."
He offered a smile that had Finn thinking her knees would give out. Thankfully, they didn't.
"You too," she said, smiling in return.
Grabbing his cup off the table, he smiled again as he turned and walked to the door. Finn didn't take her eyes from him, watching as he glanced back at her a few times, still smiling, then waved just before he walked out of the shop. Finn let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and sank back down into her chair. She wanted to sit and process, but realized she was going to be late if she didn't leave right now. Sighing, she took a large gulp of her coffee before walking over and requesting a to-go cup.
This was some day.
Katie looked around the crowded restaurant before she saw Oliver sitting at a table in the back, his brow furrowed. She quickly made her way over, plopping down into the chair as she dropped her bag on the floor.
"Not sure what the emergency is," she replied lightly as she picked up a menu.
"I need you to teach me about football," Oliver said abruptly, getting to the point. Katie just stared at him. "And well... everything muggle. And I need to get a mobile, so I need you to help with that too."
Katie's eyebrows rose. She had a feeling this had something to do with Finn. Though she wasn't sure just why he had settled on all of this right now.
"Why?" she asked.
"I ran into Finn today. And I asked her out. Well, not on a date. I suggested we all hang together. But I need to know more about muggle things before I see her again. And definitely before I take her out alone," he replied, rambling slightly. "I mean... I don't know how to work a - what do you call it? Tekky?"
"Telly," Katie said, chuckling. "And I doubt you'll have to worry about that if you are taking her out on a date."
"But I do need to learn how to work a mobile," he pushed. "And I haven't the foggiest about football. Merlin, she'll never believe that I'm a professional player."
He ran his fingers through his hair, seeming far more worked up than Katie could remember ever seeing him.
Holy shit, he really was into Finn. Though Katie wasn't completely sure how or why considering their limited interactions so far. They had spoken to each other twice now - the party and then today when they ran into each other. Just what had lit a fire under Oliver's arse?
"Okay... You asked out Finn?" Katie asked, feeling that was the best place to start.
"Yea, I didn't think she'd say yes, to be honest. Since we haven't spoken since the party," he said. "And then I thought I mucked it up when I suggested we all go out together... But honestly, it was because I reckoned I'd need your help with... you know. Just for now - I didn't want to have to wait forever before I saw her again."
Katie sighed as a soft smile came over her face and she propped her chin in her hand. It had been so long since she saw this side of Oliver that she just now realized she missed it.
"What? What's that look for?"
"Did you know that you're absolutely adorable when you fancy someone?" she asked, smirking at him. Oliver frowned.
"I am not adorable," he stated. "And you have to help me, Kates. I don't know the first thing about muggle women."
"Not all that much different from witches," she replied with a snort. "Outside of magic and all. If you've figured us out, you're halfway there with muggles."
Olive frowned again as his cheeks colored slightly.
"Stop teasing, I'm being serious," he grumbled. Katie couldn't help but chuckle at his expression.
Oliver sighed and shook his head. He really must have it bad for Finn. But just as suddenly as she felt happy for him - and for Finn - she realized just how tricky this could be. And wondered if he had thought about it. Oliver did sometimes have the tendency to barrell into things thinking he had it under control only to find out he most certainly did not.
"You do have to be careful," she warned. "I mean... for all my teasing, she is muggle. You can't tell her about magic. And the desire to tell her is only going to get stronger the closer you get to her."
"Is it really that hard?" he asked, frowning slightly. "I mean... yea it's a bit tricky with me at the moment, since I don't know much about muggles. But figured it was easy for you since you know everything, and after some time and practice, it wouldn't be so hard for me."
"It can be, yea. And not just remembering everything," she admitted.
As much as she was going to hate saying this, she needed to be fully honest with him. He had no idea just what he was getting himself into.
"You can learn everything, but you cannot slip-up. No saying things like Merlin or muggle and such. And even if you do learn everything, you have to stay on guard because you can still mess up and say something you shouldn't. Which you'll then need to cover up."
Katie stopped and took a deep breath, this next part was going to be more for Finn's sake than Oliver's.
"And you have to remember... a year ago, she was engaged - she was with a man that she was ready to marry and spend the rest of her life with - and it all fell apart. She's going to have trust issues," she said.
Oliver's eyes widened as he sat back in his chair and rubbed his face. Katie knew that he had probably been focusing so much on the muggle stuff that he hadn't begun to process dealing with Finn's past.
"Didn't think about that," he said.
"You just need to... take it slow," Katie said, feeling slightly guilty at the look on Oliver's face. She hadn't meant to turn him away from Finn - just wanted him to really think about it. "She hasn't dated anyone since then. You need to... ease into it, I think. At the least, remember that she comes with her own baggage."
He nodded slowly.
"Yea... slow... that's good..."
Finn was on the sofa, a movie playing, when Katie got back from meeting Oliver.
"How was dinner?" Finn asked, turning the volume down as she walked in.
"Good," Katie said, her mind slightly reeling.
It had been an interesting couple of days - first finding out that Taylor was a wizard and then that Oliver fancied Finn and wanted help with dating her. But rather than let on that her mind was an absolute mess at the moment, she pasted a smile on her face and sat on the sofa next to Finn.
Finn watched Katie closely, sensing something was on her mind. But she knew her well enough at this point that she didn't push her. Katie would tell her when she was ready. Besides, she had her own things to discuss. Namely Oliver. But she would get to that eventually. Before that, Finn had a rather large favor to ask of Katie.
"So... there's something I wanted to ask you," she said, shifting slightly on the sofa. Katie turned to look at her, her eyes wide. "So you know my mom is going to be here and I'm supposed to meet her this weekend?"
"Yea," Katie said.
"I know it's a lot, but... do you think you could come with me? As moral support?" Finn asked, not looking at her. Katie's eyes widened again. "I know it's... weird and all, but... I need someone with me. And the last time Haley came, it was... a disaster. And everytime Taylor comes with me, she just goes on about why we aren't together. But I really don't trust myself to get through this alone."
Katie took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She looked over, seeing the pleading look on Finn's face. Of course, she couldn't leave the poor woman alone with her mother.
"Of course, I'll go with you," she said. Finn grinned in relief.
"Thanks... you honestly have no idea how badly I need someone with me," she said. Katie patted her hand.
"Don't worry, Finn. I'll help you get through this weekend," she said as she pushed off the sofa and headed towards the kitchen.
"Again... Thanks isn't enough," Finn shouted after her. "Oh... who did you meet tonight?"
Katie paused as she pulled the fridge door open, happy her face was hidden.
"Oh... just... work thing," she replied. Finn nodded slowly, sensing that wasn't the truth either. But again, she figured it was none of her business. "So... tell everything I should know before I meet your mother..."
First of all, did anyone expect that bombshell from Taylor? I mean, I did kind of set it up with his reaction to Finn mentioning firewhiskey the day after the party. But at least that's one less thing Katie has to worry about.
Next, I've written many different Olivers over the years, but I love this adorably oblivious Oliver. But at least he really wants to try to get to know Finn.
Thanks for reading! If you like it, hit that vote button or leave a comment.