Pairing: Alicia/Angelina.

Rating: PG-13.

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. Characters owned by J.K. Rowling.

Summary: Quidditch and hide-and-seek...

"I bet," said Alicia, "that Pucey and Warrington never have to hide from Flint." And she was probably right, Angelina thought, but she shushed her anyway.

It would look ridiculous, to an outsider. Two tall, dark haired fourteen-year-old girls cowering behind a couch in the common room, hiding from the rampaging tall, burly, brown haired seventeen year old boy scowling and yelling impatiently in a pudding-thick accent, "My Chasers! Where are they?!"

It was, Angelina decided, perfectly ridiculous, but Oliver had yelled at the two of them at least six hundred times in the last week alone, and she'd had rather enough. He'd made Alicia cry several times, and Angelina was very fed up with that.

"He's going to find us," Alicia whispered, and Angelina shook her head and put a finger over Alicia's lips. Because it was Oliver Wood, and he wouldn't think to look behind things, because he probably still thought he could see through them.

"But--" Alicia started to say, and Angelina didn't know how else to make her be quiet, so she leaned forward and kissed her.

By the time Angelina's thoughts had caught up to "Oh my GOD I'm kissing my best friend I'm kissing a girl I'm kissing *someone*," Alicia had pulled back, and then Angelina pulled back and looked at her guiltily. Because that had been... one sided, and awkward, and Alicia's lips had been dry and tasted faintly of that pastry she'd eaten for lunch.

"Oh," Alicia said, very quietly.

Angelina blushed and whispered, "Sorry, I--"

"--it's okay--"

"I just, I didn't know how else--"

To stop her talking, Alicia leaned over and kissed her. And this time it was easier, because it was surprising at first, but it was already more familiar than any first time would be. And Angelina could feel, with relief, that Alicia was as unsure as she was (a small part of Angelina's mind remembered in a game of truth and dare, Alicia admitting with a red face that she'd never been kissed and had all sorts of crushes), and instead of worrying, just concentrated on the kiss, and the way Alicia tasted, and the softness, oh, gods, she was so soft. And of course she had known this, because after all Alicia was her best friend and they showered together and sometimes, when very homesick, even slept together, but she hadn't known exactly what Alicia's lips would feel like until right now, until this very moment...

They both pulled back at the same time, and Angelina smiled awkwardly.

And then, quietly, Oliver's distinctive voice came from behind her, "I'll see you out on the pitch."

Angelina whirled around, realizing Oliver had seen them. "No, Oliver, wait--"

But he was already shaking his head and climbing out of the portrait hole.

The two girls met each other's eyes. "Oh," said Alicia quietly.

"Yes," Angelina replied.

An awkward, pregnant pause. Then, without saying anything, Alicia stood up. She walked past Angelina. She grabbed her broomstick on the way out of the portrait hole. Angelina brought her fingers up to her mouth, and she could still feel Alicia's lips pressed against her own.