Strategy { Oliver Wood}

Chapter Twenty Two

Melanie was all sorts of confused as she met up with her team, she was happy and yet angry. She was happy that Oliver had actually shown her some affection but she also wanted to punch him in the face for kissing her just before her first match. She stood in front of Ace trying to listen on the first formation he wanted to go with but she couldn't find herself focusing only on every other word.

Then she wondered if Oliver had done it on purpose, not to show that he liked her but to completely throw her off her game. With his obsession with quidditch it wasn't a far fetch thought but it hurt her just to think he would go so far to mess with her head like that.

"Mel, are you okay?" Ace put his hand on her shoulder trying to draw her out of her intense thoughts.

"I'm...I'm pissed!"

Ace quickly moved his hand away from her. "Why? I didn't do anything."

"No, of course you didn't do anything, Ace. It's that stupid git Oliver. I could kill him, I could actually kill him right now."

"What did he say to you after I left?"

"He wished me good luck for the game and then he kissed me."

The whole quidditch team turned to Melanie.

"He kissed you?" Jenna said.

"On the cheek...but he probably did it so I would be all sorts of crazy before the game. That bastard!" Melanie clenched her fists at her side.

"Good...channel that anger," Brandon said standing behind her. "We're going to need it against the badgers today. Picture all of them as Oliver."

"No don't picture them as Oliver!" Jenna said quickly. "We don't want a massacre on the field, stupid!"

Ace ignored the rest of the team while Melanie looked completely distraught, obviously hurt that she had probably figured out Oliver's intentions.

"Hey, Mel, look at me," he told her.

She refused to look up at him until he made all sorts of faces at her.

"Merlin, Ace, you have problems."

"I believe you and Andy call them quirks," he smiled.

She chuckled. "Right, you're right."

"Look I want you to go out there and just play. Don't think about Oliver or any of this nonsense. Just focus on the game, focus on making those badgers feel like they're tiny hamsters."

"Great now I'm forever going to picture the Hufflepuff team as hamsters on broomsticks."

"You're welcome."

She sighed. "Fine, fine, I'll forget this stuff happened and play. You're lucky I love you Ace because I swear..."

He placed his arm around her shoulder. "I'll have one of the guys send a bludger his way if you like?"

"Okay now you're talking my language."

Todd sat beside Oliver among the other Gryffindors that came out to watch the game.

"So far the teams are pretty much even," Todd said. "They're both really good this year."

The score was currently 60-50 with Hufflepuff in the lead.

"Yeah they're looking great out there..that's just what I need," Oliver huffed.

"Also I don't know if you've noticed but Melanie looks extremely pissed off every time she looks over in this direction and I don't think she's looking at me.'

"Oh so you've noticed too, I thought I was going crazy."

"Dammit Wood, what did you do?!"

"I did exactly what you told me to do! I wished her good luck and kissed her cheek."

"And then?"

"And then?! That was it!"

"You idiot," Todd shook his head.

"How?! What did I do now? I don't understand. I'm so confused."

"You're not supposed to just kiss her and send her on her way. Now she probably thinks you're just toying with her emotions before a match. I swear to Merlin Oliver do I have to keep spelling this out for you!"

"Apparently."

Even Melanie reacting as if each Hufflepuff was Oliver was not enough to win the match. Unfortunately, while the teams remained neck and neck for most of the match, it was the Hufflepuff seeker who had caught the snitch first. To say Melanie was in a foul mood after that, was an understatement. She was furious, and Ace didn't look to pleased either. He knew his team had played well, but it just hadn't been enough.

"It's only the first match of the season, we can still come out on top," Brandon said with a hopeful look back in the team's locker room.

But the thought had crossed everyone's mind, if they couldn't get passed Hufflepuff how were they going to get through Slytherin, who played way harder and dirtier.

"I'm sorry Ace," Melanie told him as she ripped off her gloves. "Maybe we could have one if ...I don't know I felt like I was still really distracted out there."

"Mel, you played great, you all played great! You don't have to apologize, we just have to play harder the next match..that's all. Don't beat yourself up about it," Ace said.

"I know but I know you didn't want to lose the first match."

"No one wants to lose Mel, but someone has to lose or we would still be out there. Come on, let's go find Andy and we'll head to the Great Hall."

"Why the Great Hall?"

"Because pie."

Oliver waited for Melanie but as soon as she saw her coming out of the locker room, she seemed set on avoiding having anything to do with him.

He caught up with her with a light jog.

"Melanie, I-"

She turned to him. "Don't tell me you're sorry, Wood. I don't care," she said. "It's whatever, your little plan worked. Good for you."

"But-"

"Just leave me alone."