Finder's Keeper || Oliver Wood [1]

Chapter 18: Blurred Lines

A/N (7/27/20): Friendly reminder to check if your acc has been pwned (compromised)!!! Wattpad released a statement that their site was h*cked a month ago (I can't believe they didn't tell us sooner???) and a lot of users' information may have been leaked :(( There's a thread on Twitter on how to check + security measures to keep your email and Wattpad acc safe from now on, so feel free to comment or message me if you need it. Stay safe y'all!

Terence Higgs still seemed to take an interest in Jessica after their date. He frequently spoke to her in between classes and had even become generally nicer to her. While that should have been a good sign, Jessica wasn't sure if she was on the same wavelength as him. Sure, she had enjoyed the time they spent in Hogsmeade, but in her perspective, it felt like nothing much changed after that day aside from getting to know him better as a friend.

When she had asked Bethany and Alista for their opinion, they surprisingly gave similar pieces of advice.

"Just wait it out and see how it goes," they told her. "Who knows? You might end up liking him, too."

But Jessica wasn't so sure about that. Something was holding her back from liking Terence in a way other than platonically, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. However, she decided to give her best friends the benefit of the doubt, and continued to spend time with the Slytherin boy whenever he found her. She wasn't against it, but she didn't particularly look for his presence, either.

It was a sunny afternoon when Jessica found herself in the library with Terence. He had asked if she wanted some company after class, and Alista had basically forced her to say yes to him. Jessica did warn him that she was going to be meeting up with someone else in a while for a study session, but he didn't seem to mind and said that he could still keep her company while she waited.

As she scribbled away on a piece of parchment with some large, old book full of symbols and shapes for her Ancient Runes class in front of her, Jessica noticed that something felt off. She was used to doing her homework in the library like that — she practically lived there with how much time she spent there out of all places in the castle — but it felt a little strange with Terence waiting there for her. Was she supposed to strike up a conversation with him? Did she have to stop writing her notes just so that she wouldn't feel awkward having him around? She couldn't help but compare him to Oliver, because she never minded whenever he studied with her. Then again, she usually forced him to study, so it was not like he had much of a choice. Still, the voice at the back of her mind continued to compare how she felt much more comfortable and like herself whenever Oliver was with her.

Why am I thinking of him in the first place? Jessica wondered, shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts. It proved to be useless, though, because the exact boy she was thinking about had approached the table.

"Hey, Hawthorne," he greeted. He pretended not to notice that Terence Higgs was already there. "Uh, I'll just go grab the books I need and I'll be back."

Oliver set his bag down on the seat next to Jessica before taking his leave. Terence watched the Gryffindor boy walk away with a frown.

This was the friend Hawthorne was going to meet up with? Terence thought irritatedly. He liked her, but it seemed as if she was always around Oliver Wood. Was there something going on between them? He was already having a bad enough day after seeing the results of his House Quidditch Team, and this was just making his mood worse.

Terence sighed in annoyance. He didn't mean to, but it was loud enough to catch Jessica's attention.

"Is something wrong, Higgs?" she asked.

"What's the deal with you and Wood?" he said bluntly, causing her to raise her eyebrows.

"Nothing?" Her answer sounded like a question because she was confused as to why he had asked her that in the first place. "We're just friends."