Avoiding Troubles (Ollie)

Ari was still in a daze about everything that had blown up in her face the last few weeks. She had gotten a letter from Aunt Evelyn about her mother's funeral, but she had refused to go. She didn't want to face her father. She didn't want to face her mother in that state. She still had hurt feelings and she didn't want to blow up at that particular moment like she had when they had told her about her mother's death. Even though she wouldn't admit it to herself out loud, she deeply regretted not going to the funeral and wake. She had gotten several letters from family members telling her she was selfish for not going. She was so done with her family it wasn't even funny. Which was why she jumped at the chance to go to Matthew's and get away during Christmas.

Pretending to not be a couple was hard for her. There were so many times she wanted to grab his hand, or lean on his shoulder for support, but she had to stop herself. Every time she went near him, she could feel Ollie's glare. Meaning that Matthew had told him about them. She was glad he had, but at the same time she was terrified that Ollie would speak up about them, and they would send her home. A place she didn't want to go. She was feeling a little overwhelmed, and decided she needed some air. Matthew was always talking about the trees that Ollie loved so much. She decided to go and try and climb one. She still wasn't sure about tree climbing, but Matthew had showed her how, so she was pretty positive she could do it.

She found a smaller one, and decided it would be safe enough. She climbed it to the second branch and leaned her head against the hard wood. She had a view of the neighborhood, and could see her own house. She could picture her father sitting alone in front of the fireplace, and Aunt Evelyn crying silently on the porch. The thought brought tears to her eyes and she placed her head on her knees and let the tears fall. She was trying to be brave, but sometimes it was hard to put on a brave face when all the thoughts in her head where terrible. She heard leaves crunching from below and jumped a little bit. Matthew always had a knack of knowing where to find her if she went missing. She looked down expecting to see his face, but instead it was one she was avoiding. Ollie.

"Hey, I gotta go." Ollie's voice was almost a murmur. Rain's long, dark hair fell on her face as she lifted her eyes to meet his. "So soon?" She flashed him a perfect smile, the kind she gave every one, before standing up. "Yeah. Mum's waiting on me, I think." In a perfect world, Oliver would be able to stay for longer, but dinner was a big thing for his mother. Not just on Christmas, but on any regular day. He noticed her walking towards him, her green eyes no longer reminding him of summer days but of toxic chemicals. "Merry Christmas, Ollie." She said, wrapping her arms around him as if she hadn't seen him in a long, long time. "Merry Christmas." Hugging her back for a beat, Oliver let go before glancing at the rest of the people in Rain's flat. Oliver loved them. They were strange, friendly, open, and more importantly, they felt as strongly about nature and humanity as he did. And they were all crowding around a bong. These were the friends Oliver would never bring home, but they were the friends that knew him more than his brother did. At least at this point.

His bike was just where he had left it, right outside her door. Rain was the kind of girl who had it all. Everything except her father. She never brought him up, and Oliver - nor anyone - ever asked. Getting up on his bike, Oliver turned his phone on. There were four missed calls from his mother, and one from his father. Putting the phone to his ear, Oliver called her. "Hey, mum." He paused, letting her voice her thoughts. "No, I'm fine. I was at a party, remember?" His voice was calm, just like the rest of his body. His words were a bit slurred, but nothing his mother would catch up on. Of course, as long as Oliver was spending time with the muggle kids his mother would hardly question him. "Hey, do you want something from Sainsbury's? I'm getting some chocolates on the way home." Oliver nodded, making a mental note to get her mother some chocolates as well. The shop was on his way home, it wouldn't be hard to forget.

And it wasn't. Because a while later Oliver was on his way home, with more chocolates than he should have gotten. The door was unlocked when he got there, which meant that only his mother was home. She was the only one who trusted people enough to not enter the house. Well, her and Ollie. Walking in, Oliver saw his mother watching the telly. "I'm home." Oliver announced, handing her the box of chocolates she had asked for. With a grin, she took it and returned to her show. Some movie about a dude being lost at sea, it seemed. "Where's Matthew?" He asked, taking his coat off and dropping it on the couch. "He went to the store with your father. We need a few thing for Christmas." Oliver knew what she was talking about. Christmas dinner was only a few days away, and they had changed the menu to accommodate Ariadne's non-existent Irish traditions. The Bennetts were very British, very Islington, and for that he disliked Ariadne even more. She had come in, and their mother had arranged a whole different menu just to please her for something she had never had.

In fact, Oliver hadn't seen much of Ariadne. He had only seen her very few times since she got here, as he spent most of his time in his room or out with Victoria or some friends. It was for the better, though. The less he saw of her the less upset he was and therefore the less likely it would be for him to spill their secret. Nodding, Oliver kissed his mother's cheek before walking up to his room. Any other time he would have sat down and watched the drama film with her, but at the moment he only wanted to grab a blanket, a book, and settle down into the tree in their backyard. The one tree Oliver was always fighting Matthew about. Quickly grabbing a fleece blanket, Oliver made his way down the stairs, almost tripping over them in a hurry. He wanted to secure his tree before Matthew and Ariadne came back. The door to the backyard slid over, and Oliver was greeted with a few bits of snow. "Yasss." Oliver whispered, the cold air hitting him harshly, immediately freezing his nose. In one hand, he carried the chocolates he'd bought for himself, and in the other he carried a book on the history of space.

Of course, it was just snow, but Oliver didn't see it as such. In Ollie's eyes, at the moment, the snow was magical. Much more than the snow at Hogwarts. This snow was magical because it was softer than anything he'd ever touched before. Or so it seemed. Kneeling down, the blanket wrapped around him, Ollie reached down to grab a bit of the snow. It wasn't much, because it wasn't snowing terribly. It was actually as soft as it looked! Laughing, Ollie sprinkled the snow, watching it fall before glancing toward his tree. Expect there was someone already there, and it wasn't Matthew. It was worse. Matthew's girlfriend. Though a bit chemically calm, Oliver was still able to get upset. Walking towards her, the blanket still around his shoulders, Oliver took long strides. There was no way Ariadne would be allowed to sit on his tree. That tree was his and his alone. He didn't even let Matthew climb it. "Come down, Ariadne." Oliver called out. His voice still a little off, but stronger than he'd wanted it to sound. At least, it sounded to him like he was shouting but chances were he wasn't. He couldn't go around yelling at her, so he lowered his voice and tried a different tactic. "If you come down, I'll make you some hot chocolate." There, that seemed nicer. And a lot more peaceful, which is what Oliver was going for after spending the evening with Rain and the rest of his nature-loving friends.

Deep in thought about everything that had happened, and everything going on currently, Ari was starting to doubt whether or not she was doing the right thing being with Matthew. Sure she liked him a lot, and wanted to get to know him on a whole new level, but would this be too much for him to handle? It was almost too much for herself to handle and that scared her the most. She knew keeping it all in was risky, but yet she wanted to see if she would be able to do it without anyone's help. She was a big girl and she could do it herself. She had to get that threw her head. But what if she couldn't? What if she blew up in the wrong place at the wrong time? What if.. So many thoughts where going threw her head, Which was why when she noticed Ollie, or "Oliver" as Matthew claimed he liked to be called now, she jumped and almost fell out of the tree, but she caught herself just in time. At first, it sounded like she was in trouble for being in the tree. But then she remembered how Matthew described Ollie and trees. He was very protective of them. Maybe this one was one that meant the most to Ollie and she was crossing dangerous waters. She noticed the tone of is voice changing when he offered her hot chocolate.

Something was off, but she wasn't going to point it out because he was keeping the biggest secret ever for her and his brother, which probably wasn't the easiest thing to do. Over the last few days, Ari had observed Matthew's family. She was kind of jealous over the closeness that they seemed to have. Ari never felt like she was at home with her family. They were always distant and very work oriented. Or so Ari thought. Now she remembered that they were probably talking to doctors and trying to see what else they could do to heal her mother. Ari had always thought terrible things about her parents, and now she deeply regretted them. She was still mad at them of course, even though her mother wasn't with her anymore, she still had hard feelings towards her that she wasn't sure she would be able to forgive. And that's what scared her the most about the entire situation. She wasn't going to be able to tell her mother about how she really felt about the entire ordeal because she was dead.

Ari decided it would be a good idea to hop down from the tree. She did and magically didn't hurt herself or Ollie. She discreetly tried to wipe away her tears without him noticing and hoped it worked. Ari hadn't seen Ollie much during her stay here at the Bennett's but he did look different, and she couldn't put a finger on it. The smell wasn't helping either. He reeked of something that wasn't pleasant. She asked, "What's with you? You smell bad." She knew their relationship wasn't that great, and this would probably make it worse, but if there was something on Ollie that Ari could blackmail him with, then maybe she could stay at the Bennett's the ENTIRE Christmas and not get called out on probably the best thing that's ever happened to her. Maybe this would be the key if only she could figure out what was really going on.

The corner of his lips curled a little when Ariadne jumped up. Not because she almost fell, that would have been terrible, but because she seemed to be easily scared. Those kinds of people, people like Ollie, were the funniest during Halloween. After a few moments of hesitation, Ariadne jumped off his tree. His precious tree which had been fought over with Matthew only to be stepped on by a redhead. Though obviously upset, Oliver didn't have the energy nor enough anger to do anything about it. When she mentioned his smell, Oliver listed his arm. He didn't smell like anything. He had showered and everything, there was no way he smelled bad.

Oh. Wait.

"If this is your way to make peace with me it's not working." Oliver said, lowering his arm. He avoided her gaze, mostly because he knew why he smelled. In his defense, he was sure he had sprayed an entire bottle of cologne before leaving his friend's house. His mother hadn't pointed it out, so how come Ariadne the Selfish was observant enough? Letting it go, because it was messing with his brain waves, Oliver walked over to his house. Dropping the blanket on one of the chairs, his book and chocolates on the counter, Oliver took out the instant hot chocolate packets from the pantry.

He prepared it according to the instructions on the packet, not speaking nor glancing at Ariadne. Oliver took his time, making sure he had out in the exact amount of powder and milk on the cups before putting them in the microwave. The buzzing - or was it humming - sounds of the appliance made him giggle, so he turned to the fridge instead. Maybe there was something he could snack on while he waited, and then he could send Ariadne away to the guest room. The microwave was taking forever, though, so Oliver insoeacted every single part of the fridge until he found something: an cold pizza and blueberry waffles. That would do.

Taking the pizza and waffles out, Oliver turned around to see that Ariadne was still there. "Do you want something to eat?" he asked, his voice a little louder than he intended. Again. He placed the pizza slices on a bigger plate and two waffles on the toaster. The beeping sound told him the drinks were ready, so he carefully - very carefully because his right hand was shaking eight he weight of the cups - placed them on the counter. One in front of his unwanted redheaded guest. He reached in for the marshmallows in the pantry before heating up the pizza. "Thank you for coming down, by the way." he told her, suddenly less annoyed with her.

Trying to be nice to Ariadne was like trying to make Matthew believe in fairies. Hard AF. Still, Oliver figured he might as well try it. His mother was in the living room anyway, so if Ariadne got annoying he could always ditch to go see that film with him mum. "How come you didn't go to the store?" he asked, pouring a handful of marshmallows into his drink, the pizza heating in the background, and handing the white sugary puffs to Ariadne. Maybe he could tolerate her, just a little, after sharing a drink with her. After all, Christmas was enaring and he didn't exactly felt like avoiding her at dinner.

If there's one thing Ari learned about being with Derek, it was that big words could be useful to confuse your opponent like he had done so many times before. She had learned so many new words, she just didn't know what they meant so she couldn't use them in a sentence. She wondered if that was his plan. To make her feel useless and dumb in their relationship.

However, with Matthew, it was the complete opposite. They where like magnets. They where learning how to read each other. They could almost read each other's minds which was scary in Ari's world. She felt vulnerable and weak, but she knew it came with the territory. She was beginning to accept that there could be more to Matthew than There was to Derek. And then she realized that maybe she wasn't giving Matthew enough credit. That maybe he was this amazing guy, and she was just letting him down over and over.

But with Ollie as his brother. Life seemed to get more and more difficult the more things got thrown at her. She didn't want to come to terms with Ollie. He was trying to break off the most incredible thing that ever happened to her, and that was not okay. So with his remark, she laughed a little bit and said, "I wasn't trying to make peace with you, and if I gave you the idea, I'm sorry. I was just stating the obvious. I'm surprised you haven't gotten caught with what ever your doing."

She knew enough to know it was some kind of drug. She had smelt it once when her father had came home one night (surprisingly), and he and Ari's mum had gotten into a screaming argument about it. She wasn't sure what it was, but the smell brought back the memory and made her insides hurt. They where in the kitchen now, the volume on the tv high enough to where Mrs. Bennett couldn't hear the two talking. Ollie began making the hot chocolate following the instructions on the wrappers.

She said, "Thanks for not saying anything about us... I didn't ask him to do that.." And it was true. Ari hadn't asked Matthew to tell his brother to not say anything to his parents. Matthew had said she would've been sent home if their mother knew about the two. He had came up with the plan on his own. Ari shook her head when he offered her something to eat. It seemed like all the family did during the holidays was eat. She had never been so full in all her short years of living.

When he asked why she hadn't gone to the store, Ari replied, "because I wasn't awake yet... I guess he didn't want to wake me up." Which was a lie. Ari had been awake. She had gotten herself on the roof and was looking over at her own house to make sure that it wasn't on fire or something. She loved being here, but something was telling her that she needed to be at home, but she was too stubborn to comply. She noticed the tree and decided that would be a better view and that's when Ollie showed up.

Ari looked at Ollie. She had only seen him a handful of times at Hogwarts, but looking at him now, he looked completely different. Sure he had gotten older with age, but something seemed off and she couldn't quiet put a name on it. Maybe it was the effect of the drug he was using. She knew her father had only used it once so she wasn't an expert on it. And now she was worried for Matthew. If Ollie wasn't the great person that Matthew seemed to think he was, then who else did he have to look up too?

He wasn't at all surprised that Ariadne replied with something like that. He knew Ariadne was exactly what he didn't want Matthew to he around, but it was still his brother's decision. Oliver was doing his best to get along with Ariadne, as annoying as she was. Shrugging, Oliver ignored the remark. The only reason he hadn't gotten
caught was because his family was oblivious to it, they trusted him enough to not make those kinds of terrible decision that they never bothered to check. The worst thing was, that Matthew hadn't even paid attention. He couldn't blame him, though, because they weren't exactly best friends anymore.

His food-making abilities were the worst. Nobody could deny that. But he was trying, and cold pizza was better than anything else. At least in that moment. Taking a bite out his newly heated pizza, Oliver glanced at Ariadne when she spoke. Well, that was a surprise. "I'm not doing it for you." Oliver replied between bites. "Matthew's my brother, I will support him even if I disapprove of his choices." Shrugging when she denied his offer for food, Oliver realized there would be more for himself. Walking over to get the waffles, Oliver reached in the pantry again, this time to get peanut butter.

With a butter knife, Ollie spread the penaut butter on a waffle as Ariadne explained why she hadn't gone to the supermarket. He could point out that was a lot of sleeping, but chose not to. After all, there were days when Oliver slept for hours way after the sun had come up. Nodding, Oliver took a bite out of waffle, the peanut butter sticking to the roof of his mouth. It felt ridiculous, and even though he wanted to laugh because of it, he didn't. "Well, hope you had a happy sleeping." That whole sentence had come out wrong. Frowning a little, Oliver took back his words. "I mean I hope you had a good nap, Ariadne." Though it sounded better, the words slipped of his tongue like strangers. He was trying, but he still did not like her.

Ari was a tad offended. No, not a tad. A LOT. She rolled her eyes and said, " I'm doing this for him too. Like it or not, I like him and he likes me, surprisingly." She nodded confident with her answer. She then added, "just out of curiosity, why don't you like me?" Ari knew how Matthew had felt about her in the beginning. She wondered if Ari and Ollie would end up the same way. Well not EXACTLY the same way, that would be weird, but if they would be friends. If she knew WHY Ollie didn't like her, then maybe she could change it if it was changeable. But he had some changing to do too if that where to be the case. RIght now, they had to be civil. When they got to Hogwarts, they could go back to ignoring each other like they normally did.

Ari crinkled her nose when he got the peanut butter out and started spreading it on her waffle. She didn't like peanut butter very much. She hated the way her mouth felt stuck when she ate it. She didn't like any part of her feeling stuck so she choose not to deal with it. She retorted, "that's so gross..." Maybe that was why Ollie and Ari had an instant dislike to each other... They had nothing in common except for Matthew.

Ari noticed he was doing that weird thing with his voice again. This time she decided to make a comment about it, and hope he wouldn't get offended or more pissed. She said, "you keep changing the sound of your voice. Is something wrong?" She tried to put a really concerned look on her face and tried to avoid an accusing one. If Ollie was into something that could potentially get Matthew into trouble, she wanted to know about it.

She replied, "I didn't sleep at all actually..." It was the truth. Ari didn't understand. She was so tired, but yet she couldn't sleep, and when she did, her last meeting with her father came into her mind. She was so horrible to him, but didn't he deserve it after everything they had put Ari through? They had lied and mistreated her her entire life only to find out that nothing was as it seemed. Ari said, "you know.. I have secrets too..." Maybe opening up to Ollie was the right way to go. She felt a little guilty about opening up to him first and not Matthew. But if this was to keep him quiet about their relationship for the duration of her visit, she was willing to do anything. Including tell him her most deepest darkest secret.

Her face went a little pained looking, almost like she was constipated, and she continued, "apparently my mum was very sick... They didn't tell me and she died without me getting to say goodbye, and I didn't know her at all." A little tear escaped and she wiped it away with her finger nail. That was the first time she had said it out loud, and it felt like a million weights being lifted off her chest. If it felt this great telling Ollie, then maybe she should go ahead and tell Matthew.

"Yeah..." Oliver shrugged. His original thought was "Yeah, surprisingly." but he refrained from speaking it. Ariadne could get offended and cry about it to Matthew, which would only make it look like Oliver wasn't trying. Which, he was. It took every cell in his body to concentrate on not calling Ariadne out on her bullshit, but he was trying. Oliver assumed he deserved a break, or at least a congratulatory prize from Matthew, like maybe sending the red head back home. It had in fact been his younger brother who had explained that Ariadne lived only a few blocks away from their home, which - needless to say - had angered Oliver more than it had angered their mother. When their mum had found out, from Oliver, of course, the woman had simply patted his back in comfort. Nothing his mum had ever done was more annoying than that, and Oliver loved her more than anyone else. To be annoyed with her decision, with her gentleness, was saying a lot. Regardless, Oliver had forgotten about that small fact until now.

"Why don't I like you?" Oliver repeated. "Because you're here when you could be with your parents. You've not made an effort to get to know the family, nor my brother. You assume everyone wants you around. Remember that one time Matthew and I were playing football and you just barged in demanding to play? That was annoying as fuck. It was a brothers type of thing, and you just invited yourself." Oliver was a little breathless, because the truth was he had been waiting to tell her why for a while now. "I wouldn't have had an issue inviting you over for another match, another day, or even later when there were even teams. Just like I wouldn't have minded you staying here if maybe I had been informed of the relationship and now forced to lie. Ariadne, you do everything the wrong way. You force things on to people, and now Matthew's doing it as well." He didn't feel bad, and if she was going to start pointing out why she didn't like him, well then they were even. But the truth was, Oliver wasn't as guilty as her. "That's why I don't like you." He was a little scared, though, of Matthew walking in.

He shrugged again when Ariadne commented on his food choices. Peanut Butter was the best, and Ariadne wasn't going to ruin that. She could ruin his brother, but not peanut butter. Shaking his head, Oliver tried to let her know nothing was wrong. He wasn't going to flat out tell her the truth, she wasn't trustworthy. She was a witch. Well, obviously, but Oliver meant it in another way. It wasn't surprising that she hadn't slept, because it meant she was lying, and Oliver had except nothing less. Still, he didn't comment any more. A part of him told him that explaing why he hadn't liked her at all was enough for a day. But then Ariadne started getting weird. Weirder. "Yeah, everyone does nowadays. It's a very common thing." What was one supposed to say to that? Oh please red headed queen tell me your secrets I am dying to know what hides beneath those blue eyes. Oliver laughed at his own thought, and suddenly he realized he hadn't even seen what color her eyes were. He had just assumed. Shrugging again, because she expected a remark about his laugh, Oliver took another bite of his waffle.

And then she started talking about her mother. Wait. What. Why. Grimacing, Oliver took a moment to process her words. Normally he would have hugged her, told her it was going to be okay because she still had a father and Matthew was there and Oliver was going to help her if she needed. But this was not a normal day. Instead, he stared at her, trying to figure out if she was lying. She seemed like the kind of human to pull such a trick, but the moment Oliver saw a tear escape, he felt a punch in his gut. Why was he even doubting her? Yes, she was a pain but was she truly capable to lie about her mother's death to get her way. Without thinking, a small glimpse of the young Ollie, he reached out for her hand. "Hey. It'll be okay. You're not alone in this." His voice changed again, this time a gentle whisper. Not accusing nor judging, just the way he would have spoken it if he were eleven again.

Ari listened and took Ollie's words to heart. Everything he said was one hundred percent true, and that was why she was trying to change. What she didn't realize was that change was so hard. She really was trying though, she didn't understand why Ollie didn't give her that credit. She listened intently when he said she didn't know Matthew. What a lie that was. She knew Matthew. He was the one who paid attention to her the most, and therefore, she knew him. She knew he loved fire, hated Frozen, and Disney in general, she knew he got annoyed when she panicked and over reacted. She knew her best friend. That's where Ollie stepped too far. She said, "Your wrong about one thing. I know your brother."

She wanted to prove it to him that way he couldn't think of any more horrible things about her. She said, "His favorite color is orange because of fire, his favorite food is pizza, because he always complains about Hogwarts not having it. His favorite place is the middle courtyard. We hang out there a lot. The reason why he likes fire is because he feels in control of it, and he likes that feeling. So yes, I maybe all of those things you said, but don't you dare say I don't know my own boyfriend." She whispered boyfriend as their mother was in the next room.

She didn't deny anything else, because they where one hundred percent true. She awkwardly looked to the side unsure of what to say next. It seemed like her entire childhood was a complete lie. It wasn't Ollie's fault. It wasn't Matthew's fault. It was hers. She didn't dig for more information. She could've changed things if she tried hard enough, but she decided not too, and then it all backfired all at once. And it was way more than she could handle alone.

She replied, "I'm trying to improve...But you can't really judge me about what goes on at home. I'm sorry I've somehow ruined your Christmas by making you lie, but that wasn't all my idea. Matthew wanted to tell you before Christmas, and I would've had to stay at Hogwarts because I was NOT going home." She nodded, content with her answer. She added, "And not everything has to be done YOUR way Ollie. And when you get a girlfriend, she's going to want to do everything with you and your brother to get to know him. Or at least I hope so, because he's the best." Ari didn't know anything about Ollie's personal life, and she hoped to keep it that way. If he wasn't making the effort to get to know her, then she would do the same.

When she told him about her mum, he said that "it will be okay." But would it really? She had the rest of her life to live now without her. She couldn't talk to her about girl stuff, she couldn't call her up just to chat, she couldn't try and fix their relationship. Ari said, "My family is so...fucked up." She had never said that word before in her life. Matthew had said it of course, but the worst thing she ever said was "Dick." So for that to come out of her mouth shocked her. But there was no other way to describe it, and that part sucked. Maybe she should be at home with her father to try and rekindle that relationship before it got even more fucked. But, she couldn't stand to look at him right now. She didn't think Ollie knew that. She said, "Matthew didn't know before he asked me to come." She felt his hand on hers, and she looked at him and smiled sadly. She said, "That's why I can't go home. That's why I have to stay here. I can't stand to be near my father without thinking really terrible thoughts about him, because he lied." Getting all this off her chest felt amazing. She was sure telling Matthew was the next step to complete relief.

Ollie almost rolled his eyes when Ariadne said she knew Matthew. Maybe she did now him, but it wasn't in the way Ollie did. Though Matthew and him didn't talk very much nowadays, it was easy to figure his younger brother out simply because Matthew wasn't...well, Matthew was predictable. He had no depth. Matthew was like the waves; he moved from one way to the other, sometimes fighting the current and sometimes swimming along with it. But at the end of the day, Matthew's core was...well, not what he appeared to be on the outside. Out of nowhere, Ariadne started listing things she knew about Matthew, and in his state Oliver counted four. Four things. For the hundredth time in his life, Oliver wondered why Matthew was with someone so delusional. Sighing, Oliver let it go. "Just keep in mind he's not your family, Ariadne. Nobody will know him like we do. At least not yet." Ariadne could think she knew him, but she was lying to herself. In fact, the only person who probably the knew the most about Oliver and Matthew was their father.

"You didn't ruin my Christmas, Ariadne." Oliver admitted, because she truly hadn't ruined anything. Well, she'd ruined other things, and Oliver was pissed about all of them but throughout their conversation he realized that it truly wasn't her fault. It was his own, for being a git to her, but he didnt think he was in the best state to admit it. He didn't point out that Hogwarts was a great place to spend Christmas at, because knowing her - she might take it the wrong way. Ariadne had that gift of taking everything the wrong way. Nodding at her commentary, Oliver began to drift away from her words until she started rambling again. Dear Merlin what was she talking about now... Oliver glanced at her, no longer hungry. "No, but it should be done in a right and just way. Which neither of you did." At this point he wasn't talking about the lying. "And for the record, Victoria already knows Matthew and he doesn't like her either. But I respect that." It wasn't a secret in the family that Matthew wasn't fond of Victoria. Everyone knew he hung around her only because it was polite, and their mother asked him to be nice. Other than that, Matthew didn't care for the Ravenclaw. Victoria had tried to get a long with him, but for some reason Matthew wouldn't give in. They were both in the same situation, Oliver realized.

"Everyone's family is fucked up." Oliver admitted. The Bennetts may look normal, but they were only so from a distance. Looking at her in the eyes, Oliver thought about his next words. "That doesn't mean you can't go home." Oliver replied. "I don't know your father, but I'm sure he didn't lie for the sake of lying. Parents aren't like that, Ariadne. People aren't like that." He knew from experience that a heart could be broken, not just by a significant other but by anyone. A mother, a grandfather, a girlfriend, a friend. Anyone. "People do the best they can with the knowledge they have. They hurt, yes, but it's rarely - and almost never - done on purpose." Maybe Oliver was still naive. "You should heal your heart first." Oliver pointed at her chest, almost to the middle, but his finger tilted a little to her left. "Then, I think you should open it up to your father." Trying to put himself on her shoes, Oliver figured he too would be beyond pissed if his father lied about her mum's health, but at the end of the day...his father would have been just as scared of losing her and he would.

A knock at their door told Oliver someone had arrived, and it could easily be his brother. "I think..." He began, his thoughts no longer merging together. "I think Matthew should know." Surely Matthew would be of better help to Ariadne than he could ever be. At his mother's greeting, a voice he clearly recognized as his Aunt Rachel's took his gaze away from Ariadne. "Oh." He said, leaning away from her and paying close attention to see if Bennett was with her. Sure enough, the sound of his young cousin's voice echoed through the hallway. "Aunt Laurie! Where's Ollie?" The boy asked, and Oliver could already see him making his way through the hallway to find him. "That's my cousin." He told Ariadne before walking around her. Oliver placed his hand on his shoulder, "Look, I won't say anything. But please don't be a git." At the last word, his lips curled into his usual goofy grin. He wasn't entirely sure he was doing it genuinely or if it was the chemical effects finally taking place. Taking his hand away, Oliver practically ran over to the living room to meet the rest of his family.