Everything- Oliver Wood

𝟜𝟞. 𝕀 𝕂𝕟𝕠𝕨

------

My father gives Joyce a big hug after he walks through the door. Then he turns to me and I shrink away. 

"What, you're not going to give your dad a hug after being away for 4 months?" he asks, frowning. 

I allow him to embrace me, but shove him away as soon as possible. 

Dinner is tense. 

For most of it, Joyce talks with our parents about school. Inevitably, the conversation is handed off to me. 

"So, Laurie, tell us more about Oliver," my mum prods. 

"Oliver? Who's Oliver?" Father frowns, tensing up. 

"He's my boyfriend," I say, picking at my brussel sprouts. 

"Boyfriend!? Laurie, why didn't you tell us?" 

"We're not that serious." 

"Still, that's exciting news! You've never had a boyfriend before." 

"I have," I say. 

"And you didn't tell us about him?" 

"She did, love," my mum says. 

"Oh." He clears his throat. "You know, I'm just so happy to be back that it feels like I've always been here." 

"Good for you," I mumble. 

"What was that?" 

"Nothing." I finish up my food and get up. "I'm going to shower."

------

The next few days are peaceful on the surface. Nothing more than a snarky remark ever passes between me and my father. 

There's a bit of an outburst when I tell them about going to Oliver's for the wedding, but my mum calms him down soon enough. He seems to have realized that I'm going to do what I want no matter what he says. 

Nevertheless, I'm very excited to get out of the house for a few days. 

Oliver writes to me and tells me that he's going to take the Knight Bus to my house and then we'll ride it back to his. I tell him that I can just ride it to his house, but he's determined to not let me go alone. 

The bus pulls up to our house and I grab my luggage. My mum gives me a kiss on the cheek. 

"Be safe, have fun, don't get engaged," she says. 

"Wait, Laurie, that's an odd looking bus-" my father frowns. 

"It's fine," I say, moving towards the door. 

"You know how I feel about you going to this boy's house," he says. 

"And you know that I don't care," I shrug and open the door. "Love you Mum, love you Joyce," I wave to them, leaving my father looking stony faced in the doorway. 

Oliver gets off and gives me a big hug. He waves to my family and we get on the bus.

"Was that your dad?" he asks. 

"Yeah." 

"Didn't look too happy." 

"He didn't want me to go and stay overnight at a boy's house," I grin. 

"Oh, of course," he chuckles and tucks my hair behind my ear as we sit down together. "We're going to get into all sorts of trouble."

"Absolutely," I laugh.

"My mum and dad are so excited to meet you."

"I'm so excited to meet them!"

"Really?"