Chapter song: Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I ignore the strangeness and watch Hermione take out her headphones and listen to music. Taking the cue to leave her alone, Neville turns to me.
"Hey, Harry, we should hang out like you suggested, just not tonight."
A knowing smile turns up the corners of my mouth, "Oh, alright. Tomorrow, then?"
He nodded, smiling a bit, his eyes flicking across my face. I gave 'mione a one-armed hug before going ahead and going back to the common room.
Once inside, I looked through the various bookshelves and noticed a copy of Of Mice and Men and smiled, taking the book to the window seat beside the bookshelf. I leaned by back against a red velvet pillow against the wall and opened the book. A while later, I vaguely registered other people enter the common room. They, however, didn't notice me- I'd pulled the curtain closed, leaving me hidden from everyone else. I ignored the jeering and laughter about nothing in particular, focusing on the tragic story of just getting by.
Half way through the book, I heard everyone come out of the rooms to go to dinner. Once the noise died down and it'd gotten dark, I heard a single pair of footsteps walk, then stop, then come towards me. The curtain was lifted lightly, a small smile gracing the boy's face.
"Hello, Harry, nice to finally meet you."
I close the book and look to my right. A tall boy with short hair and dark eyes smiles at me calmly.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" I ask, a bit embarrassed.
He chuckles, "Oh, sorry, I'm Oliver. Oliver Wood. I'm captain of the soccer team for the G/H house. I saw you at the game, and I saw you that one day at try-outs."
I felt my face turn red instantly, "Oh, lord. You saw that?"
He laughs, shaking his head, "It wasn't that bad. Although, I have seen a cat on TV play soccer in the same manner."
I laugh, "Wow, thanks. I love being compared to cats."
We laugh a bit and he shrugs, "You get back to reading. I'll bring us back some food and we'll eat together. You can tell me about that book."
I nod, "Thanks, Oliver."
He smiles, nodding once before closing the curtain and leaving again. By the time he comes back, I'm almost done with the book, a few pages away from the end. He opens the curtain and smiles, holding out two doggy-bags that smell strongly of meat and salt.
"Dinner is served, my friend."
I get down from the perch, noting my place and sitting on the couch beside him. He opens the bag to reveal two Philly Cheese Steaks, fries, and two water bottles. I almost want to hug the guy, I haven't had this kind of fine dining in years.
"Whoa, thanks!" I say gratefully, starting to eat.
I finish a bit after him and he finishes off his water slowly, waiting for me to finish.
When I do, he inquires about the book, "Do you like it?"
I nod, "Yeah, I've been wanting to read it."
He nods, looking at the book, "It's a pretty deep book, even though it may not seem like it."
I nod my head slowly when people start filing in, he stands with a smile.
"I'm going to bed, I'll see you around, Harry."
I go up to bed after finishing the last few pages, worrying to myself about tomorrow.
...
~Saturday- Day 5~
I scowl at the analog clock at my bedside, it's early, much too early to get up. After an hour of staring at the ceiling, I get out of bed anyway and feed Cas before heading to the men's showers. Taking off my shirt, I get a clear look at a digital clock, no longer blurred by tired eyes. 3 am, I sigh inwardly, grumbling angrily and continue stripping off my clothes.
The shower is hot, almost scalding, as I wash my hair and face. The hot water steals my breath, and I lean my palms against the wall, forehead pressed against the cool tile. I check the clock again before finishing washing up and rinsing off. I hitches a towel around my waist and remember what Draco told me. We would be alone, yeah, he didn't seem too bad with his friends around. Either way, I don't wanna hang out with a jerk like him anyway.
Wow, just keep telling yourself that, okay, sport?
Again, with the creepy voice? I say to myself and I can practically feel the voice sigh, how weird is that?
My subconscious is one sarcastic little-
Don't even think of finishing that sentence, twerp. By the way, get over it, it's the only voice I have.
I exhale in exasperation and finish putting on clean clothes before heading towards the courtyard. I check my clock, 3:30, I still have a long time to spare.
God, I hope he doesn't think I'm desperate for friends.
You mean besides the fact you actually are?
Fuck you.
Maybe in your most twisted dreams, kid. Plus, seeing as how I'm in your head, that may be more than a little confusing.
Unlike you, I have standards.
Yup, you like your pricks nice and filthy-fucking-rich.
Whatever, jackass, I'm ignoring you now.
Whatever you-
I look up from the ground and there he is, leaning against the trunk of the tree, watching the moon. As soon as I walk beside him I realize he's asleep, listening to his iPod. I smile a bit, trying not to laugh, and sit beside him, searching for constellations. I check my clock, 4:30, and I look over at him and watch him breathe. After about two minutes I realize how creepy I am being and look back at the sky.
I hear him stir and I look over as he rubs his eyes sleepily then flare open when he sees me.
"Whoa! How long have you-!"
I slap my palm over his mouth and take out one of his earbuds, "God, are you trying to wake the entire school?!"
He blinks, "Oh, I talk loud when I have my earbuds in."
I sigh, "I noticed."
He looks at the moon, "Wanna head out now?"
I shrug, "As long as you can go while it's still dark."
"It'll take a while to get there, so why not? What time is it now?"
I look at my watch, "About 4:50."
He laughs, leading me towards the student parking lot.
"Uh, where are we going? We're headed towards the parking lot."
He nods, "Yup."
"Why are we going there?"
He looks over at me, walking beside him, "Yeah, I have to get my bike if we plan on going anywhere."
He looks around calmly.
"Your... bike." I say flatly, "We're going, wherever the hell we're going, on a bicycle?"
He laughs, pulling a key from his pocket, "No, stupid, my motorbike."
We walk up to a Vyrus motorbike and I almost swoon, even in the dark it's a beautiful motorcycle. Black with bright green spider webs and a bio-hazard symbol in the middle on both sides of the tank.
"I love your bike." I say softly and he laughs, handing me one of two matching helmets.
One with black on green, and he gets green on black.
He swings his leg over and mounts the bike and I awkwardly follow suit.
"I have to warn you, I've never been on a motorcycle before."
He gets an impish grin on his face, "Ooh, I'll be your first then. Fair warning, don't let go."
I put on the black helmet and I hear his voice in my ear, "These have microphones in them so just talk, no yelling, they're good at noise cancellation."
I nod, then realize he can't see me facing forward, "Okay."
He leans forward and I half-heartedly hold onto his sides, "Hang on!"
He says it with an audible grin and plows forward, almost throwing me off. I quickly wrap my arms completely around his stomach and hold on for dear life.
"Having fun yet?" he chuckles.
"I'll let you know." I promise, laying my cheek on his back, watching the scenery beside us.
"You'll like where we're going."
"Will I?" I ask, listening to his voice since it's the only thing I can hear other than his breathing.
"I hope." I hear in the faintest of whispers.
I ignore it, and he makes pleasant small talk and I respond occasionally, too fascinated with the woods we're passing through.