Should We Tell Anyone? (Willow)

Matthew sat in a chair, thinking. He'd been doing that a lot lately. Ever since he'd admitted to himself that he had feelings for Willow Winter. He knew that she liked him the same way, but it frightened him. Because he knew that he was eventually going to have to be introduced to her brothers, and that scared the @#!*% out of him!

Her brothers, Gareth and Evan, were well known for being protective of their younger sisters. He was the same way about his own sisters, Sarah and Susan, and he was sure that he would be angry if a boy wanted to ask one of them out. He just didn't know what to do! Gareth and Evan were a seventh and sixth year, respectively, and much bigger than he was.

He decided that he had to talk to Willow about this. If he was going to have any chance whatsoever in surviving a meeting with one or both of them, he needed to know what he was up against. He needed to know which one to avoid more than the other, or if it would be better to just not attempt to do it at all.

He closed his eyes for a moment, letting his head fall back against the chair, trying to rest his mind from its confusion. He had the feeling that someone was watching him after a few minutes and he opened one of them a bit. He smiled when he saw who was watching him.

"Hi, there."

Willow was happy. There really was no other way to describe it. She was back from holiday and very excited to see Matthew. And the best part was, that he daddy hadn't even asked about it! So she knew that he had no idea. Well, that actually had its pros and cons. On the one hand, she was not currently grounded for having a boyfriend she was not supposed to have yet. But on the other hand, she hated keeping secrets from her daddy. And she also hated keeping secrets from her brothers, but she was worried about what they would do to Matthew if they found out.

It wasn't like they were doing anything wrong, they were just holding hands and kissing. But she still wasn't supposed to be dating. They wouldn't like that she was growing up. She wanted them to see that she wasn't a little girl anymore. But she wasn't going to screech and yell about it like Cambria did. She was going to remain sweet...she was determined. Unless they were too stern about him. Then she would have to put them in their place.

She headed down the stairs and saw her Matthew on the couch. The butterflies in her stomach danced and fluttered away and she couldn't help but blush and smile at him as she stared. Then she moved forward and heard him speak.

"Hey," she said softly. She sat next to him and gently tickled his palm with her nails.

"I've missed you. My time at home with my family was very interesting. Don't worry, our secret is still safe."

Matthew's smile widened. She was here. His best friend, and the girl that he had started to have feelings for, and was now in a relationship with. A secret relationship, as she'd just said. He'd not said a word to his mother about being with Willow. She might possibly have flipped out to learn that her eleven-year-old son was in his second relationship already. And he didn't really want to risk it in her condition. He had always been so considerate of his mother and her feelings, and now that he had a new little sibling on the way, he felt that he needed to keep his relationship with Willow close to his heart. If his mother didn't want him to be seeing anyone at the moment, she might have him break up with Willow. And he didn't want that to happen. He'd just found her, and he didn't want to lose her.

He wrapped his hand around the fingers whose nails had been tickling his palm. He squeezed gently, thinking of what he'd wanted to talk to Willow about. Meeting her brothers, and attempting to get their acceptance, would be..... interesting..... to say the least. And more than likely, dangerous to Matthew's health. But he did want to tell someone that he was in a relationship now. Willow made him happy. And calmer than he'd been the entire time he'd been in Hogwarts. He looked at her, taking in her pretty face and sat upright.

"Willow, I know you said that our secret was safe, but I'm thinking it might be time to tell someone about it. Maybe one of your brothers?"

Willow felt her stomach tense up and she looked at Matthew as if he had gone mad. Perhaps he had! She shook her head and turned to him.

"No, Matthew. We are not telling them. There's something you have to understand about my brothers. They are extremely protective. And it's not just because I'm their little sister. It's because of what's happened with Cambria. They watched us like crazy before, but now that she has a boyfriend, it seems like they're always right around the corner. I don't want them to think any less of me. They don't want me growing up, Matty."

She sighed and climbed onto his lap. She looked into his blue eyes and softly kissed his lips. She still couldn't get over the fact that she could now do that without it being weird. It still excited her and made her want more, but it was no longer enough to scare her. She really liked kissing him, actually.

"Matthew? Do you like kissing me? Because I must say...I find it to be my very favorite hobby now," she smiled and then kissed him again.

Matthew looked into her eyes, going slightly cross-eyed as her face was so close to his. He loved kissing her. He loved holding her hand as well. That was all he wanted to do with her. Well, that and talk with her and just watch her as she did her homework. He was happy just spending time with this pretty girl, but he had to admit that her kisses were worth the wait. He snuck one or two of his own.

"You know I like kissing you, Willow. And along with just being with you and holding your hand, it's one of my favorite pass-times as well." He gave her another small kiss to prove his point.

Matthew sighed and leaned his head back against the chair again. He knew what she meant about overprotective brothers, he could be with his little sisters as well, but he didn't like hiding his relationship with this wonderful girl from everyone. However if it was her wish to keep if from her brothers, then he wouldn't argue.

He found that since he'd started kissing her, he didn't want to stop that. He took her hand in his and brought it up to his lips, kissing the back of her knuckles.

"I always wondered what that would be like to do," he whispered, meeting her eyes with his again. He then leaned forward and met her lips with is once again.

Willow giggled when he kissed her hand, and she couldn't help but run her fingers through his hair and kiss him again. His lips were so soft and inviting, she decided that she couldn't wait before softly slipping her tongue into his mouth. This whole French kissing thing was very new, but she knew Matthew could show her what to do. And she hoped that he enjoyed it with her more than he had with his first girlfriend.

"Matthew," she breathed against his lips, "How long do you think we could make out for? Do you think we could set some kind of record?"

She wasn't even paying attention to the other students in the common room, if there were any other students. She only cared about Matthew and the way his tongue felt against hers. She should have felt the eyes that were on her back. But she was completely oblivious to anything outside of her boyfriend's face.

Gareth wandered aimlessly through the school corridors. He didn't have any homework, and he had thought that he would just go for a walk. He had gone almost the whole of the school by now, from the dungeons to the Astronomy Tower and back again. He was now on his way to the Slytherin Common Room to find Sam and see if there was anything special that she wanted to do that weekend, when he passed the House Commons and glanced in to see if she was there first. He din't see her an dstarted to continue on his way, but had only gone two steps when he froze in place.

He did a slow, umbelieving turn back in the direction he'd just come from. No...It couldn't be true! He hadn't really seen what he'd just thought he'd seen! But when he looked in the room he'd passed again, he found it was true. His sister....his baby sister was in the Common Room at that moment. On someone's lap. On a BOY'S lap! And she was SNOGGING him!

Gareth's older brother instincts kicked in and he walked up behind his sister to about three feet away from the couch. His jaw dropped when he heard her asking how long this boy thought they would be able to make out. She wasn't even supposed to be dating, much less making out! What the @#!*% ?!

Gareth had to fight the urge to reach out and rip the two of them apart. He may have been Head Boy, but that would get him into some serious trouble. Especially since this boy looked like he couldn't be any older than third year. But that didn't sound any better. If this boy was a third year, then Gareth had more to be worried about than his sister playing Kissies with him.

His jaw set, he reached over and tapped Willow on her shoulder. Twice.

"Mind telling me what you're doing, Willow Kendra?"

"Uh oh," Willow whispered against Matthew's lips. She supposed Gareth finding her like this was not as bad as Evan. She knew Evan wouldn't really be mad, not at her anyway. But he would have been very disappointed. And she couldn't handle that look. Gareth, on the other hand...he might be angry. Now, angry for him was a relative term. He was usually still pretty calm with her. She knew when he lost his temper, it could be bad. But she was confident he would not do that today. She might be in for a hefty lecture, though.

She climbed off of Matthew's lap and sat half a foot away from him on the couch. Even though she had already been caught, she thought it was important not to touch him right now. She didn't want to push her brother any further, especially with Matthew's life possibly in the balance. She blushed as she looked up at Gareth and she tried to think of something intelligent to say. But all that came into her head was...well, nothing. She looked to Matthew, and then back to Gareth, her fingers gripping the edge of the couch, desperate for something to do.

"I'm sorry," she began softly, "What was the question?"

Gareth couldn't believe his ears! She'd shot off this boy's lap like a firecracker, and then asked what the question had been? He looked between the both of them, the start of anger growing in his chest.

"You know good and well what the question was, young lady! You also know that you are not supposed to be behaving in this way! Dad will blow a fuse when he finds out that you were kissing this......Who is this, anyway?" He looked at the boy that he'd caught snogging his sister. He couldn't be very old, younger than he'd originally thought.

"He looks like he's a first or second year," he said to his sister, still examining the boy. He turned his attention to Willow again. "But that doesn't matter. You know that you are not supposed to be dating anyone, and I don't care if that's not what you were doing, that's what it would look like to Mum and Dad, and that's what they would take it as."

He sat on a chair across from the two of them and looked at his sibling. He took in the flush that came from having a rather interesting snog session. He knew that look, it had been on his face after kissing Sam. Cambria had had it a few times as well. But he wasn't thinking of her, he had to focus on this!

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself? Can you give me a reason to not go to Mum and Dad?"

Willow had sat through his lecture staying quiet, for the most part, looking penitent. But not after he said that he might tell their parents! That would be one of the most awful things he could do to her! Her father would be so upset if he knew, and she hated seeing that look on his face. The look that said she had disappointed him. She hated it! She turned her eleven-year-old glare on him and scooted to the edge of the couch with her arms crossed.

"You do not get to tell me what to do, how's that a reason for you! And if you do tell them, I'll just go right back and tell them you're engaged to Sam! Cambria told me."

She had him there. Her daddy would be disappointed in her, but she knew her mother would KILL Gareth if she knew that he was engaged. She gently took Matthew's hand and looked back at her brother defiantly.

"Matthew is my boyfriend, Gareth. And I know you don't want to hear that, but it's true. And if you don't like it, you can go suck on an egg!"

And as if that wasn't enough, she stuck her tongue out at him, just to underline her point.

Matthew was sitting quietly through all of this. He knew that her brother would probably make mincemeat of him if he dared to open his mouth. He glanced up once or twice to see that Gareth was inspecting him. He didn't look all that mad, he looked more curious to Matthew, but he could be wrong.

He wanted to tell Willow's brother that he was a first year, but he had the feeling that his head would be snapped off and handed to him if he uttered a sound. So he just waited for the lecture to end. It seemed the smart thing for him to do, especially when Willow started telling Gareth that he couldn't tell her what to do, and then confirmed that she was indeed the girlfriend of the boy sitting next to her.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or cringe when his girlfriend stuck her tongue out at her brother. If he'd done that to his older brother, he'd be stomped flat. But he had the feeling that Gareth wasn't like that. He just seemed sort of set upon following the rules. It did suprise him to learn that Willow's brother was engaged. He didn't know anyone that was getting married while they were still in school. He wasn't sure exactly how old Gareth actually was, but he couldn't be anymore than eighteen.

He cleared his throat, thinking it wasn't fair for Willow to be taking all the blame for them kissing, and having their relationship found out. He was part of it as well.

"Um, excuse me? But are we going to be in a lot of trouble now that we've been discovered?"

Gareth had just opened his mouth to respond to Willow's little tirade about how he could go suck an egg when the boy that he now knew was named Matthew spoke up. He looked at him with even more interest now. He was young, only a first or second year by the looks of him. If he was any older, Gareth would be shocked. And @#!*% . He didn't want a third year or above touching his baby sister. But this boy's voice had obviously started to change. It made him sound older than he looked.

He closed his mouth, not sure how to answer. He didn't want to have to tell Matthew that he and Willow could very well be in trouble if it was found out by all the parents involved. He sat down and looked at the two of them. Matthew looked nervous, Willow determined. But that was usuall for the Winter women. He just had to think of a way to figure this out now. Willow knew that he was engaged and she could use that as blackmail on him. He didn't want that to happen. He'd had enough trouble with Cam and Evan, and had just gotten back on speaking terms with his brother, who he considered his best friend. He didn't want another rift to be forming in his siblings. It would be too much for him to handle.

"Willow, I....." He had to word this right, or it would be trouble. "I don't want to make a problem with you and Matthew. But Dad wouldn't be too happy about you dating in first year. He's just now gotten used to Cam dating and she's in third! How about this? If you can swear to me that the only thing you two are going to do right now is hold hands, hug and kiss, I won't make a big deal of it. But the moment that it changes to something more serious, I go to Mum and Dad?"

Willow raised an eyebrow in thought, trying to decide whether there was a catch to this or not. Was he really giving up that easily? She didn't know her blackmail would work so quickly. And to be honest, she never would have told her parents about his engagement. Not intentionally, anyway. But she also didn't want to get in trouble for having a boyfriend. And it would be easy to agree to these conditions. It wasn't like she wanted to go beyond kissing yet anyway. Sex was gross! She couldn't even see herself doing that after she was married, let alone right now.

"Gareth, I can promise you...nothing beyond kissing will happen. I just really like Matthew and I want to be with him. But you know me, I'm a good girl."

She smiled at her brother, and then she turned to Matthew and smiled reassuringly at him. He looked so nervous, and she knew it probably wasn't easy for him to be face to face with one of her infamous brothers. But at least now he knew he wouldn't be murdered. Well, hopefully he knew that.

"Matthew, we're good now. She, Gareth really isn't that bad. He's just a big teddy bear."

She kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, then she got up and sat on Gareth's lap, kissing him on the cheek as well.

"Sorry about the egg comment. You know I didn't mean it, right?"

Matthew sighed with relief inwardly. He wasn't about to be killed. Willow's brother wasn't going to tear him in half and send the pieces home to his mother and Oliver. There were conditions of course, but they were easy to follow. Matthew had no intention of following the same path he had with his first girlfriend. He'd told his mother that he wished that he'd not done it, not gone as far with Elisha as he had, and he'd told Willow as much, and he'd been immensely relieved when the girl had moved away with her adoptive family. She had come to be clingy, possessive, and always in his business, no matter where he was in the school.

Except in Gryffindor Tower. That was the only place where he'd been safe from Elisha and her.....presence. They had only dated for a few short weeks, but it had seemed a lifetime for Matthew. When she'd moved away, he'd jumped in the air with a cheer. He'd heen so happy! The only things that rivaled that feeling were learning that he was going to be a big brother again, his mother being happier than she'd been in the entire time of being married to his father (Matthew had always been the most sensitive to his mother's feelings, and he knew that she'd not been content in the relationship. His father had been cheating on her for most of their time together, and that had resulted in Matthew's younger brother), and now his new feelings for Willow Winter.

He watched his girlfriend sitting on her brother's lap and smiled a little. He hoped that he'd have that good of a relationship with his sisters when they were older and started to date boys.

"You have the closest relationship I have ever seen between a brother and sister, Willow," he said with a small grin."

Willow giggled and looked at Matthew as she nestled her head against her brother's chest. They had been nearly inseparable from her earliest memory. She loved Evan and Cambria as well. And sometimes, she even loved Max. But Gareth was her biggest protector, other than her father. They had always had this special bond.

"Of course we're close. He's my Gar bear, and I'm his Lilykin," she smiled. "And that's exactly what he is! A big. Squishy. Teddy bear!"

With each new word, she poked her brother's tummy and tickled him. She knew that he would most likely pay her back tenfold, but it was still so fun to mess with him.

"In fact, I could tell you stories of my Gar bear that would make your hair curl. What do you think, Gar? Should I tell him about all of our childhood antics? Maybe about the time we pushed you outside NAKED?!"

She started laughing uncontrollably, remembering that day like it was yesterday. It had only been a few years before, so it actually had not been that long anyway. And just the thought of how red his face was when he realized that he was outside with no clothes on, and no prospects to get any clothes.

"That was classic, Gar," she smiled.

Gareth rolled his eyes. It had been nearly three years ago when he'd been caught outside by his sisters; naked and embarrassed, but it still never failed to amuse Willow. It had been a practical joke, orchastrated by Cambria, on him. He'd just finished a shower and Willow had been calling for help, when he got to her at the front door (and this is where he figured he'd made his mistake), wearing just a towel as he'd been in a hurry to aid his little sister, one of them had pulled the towel away, shoved him out the door and locked it behind him. He'd spent the next half hour moving among the bushes surrounding the house, and had ended up getting quite snagged in his mother's roses.

He was glad that his sister had some memories of him that made her laugh, but he did wish that it hadn't been at at his expense. It had been embarrassing enough to be outside and naked where he could be seen by any one of their neighbors, but Willow and Cam had been watching his trek around the yard laughing their heads off.

"I don't think Matthew wants to hear about me getting caught in Mum's rosebushes, and I do mean caught. Given that you and Cam had locked me out of the house." He smiled at her happiness at having been able to have someone to tell how close they were as brother and sister, and it was true. Gareth would do anything for her, Cambria, Evan and Max. All they had to do was ask.

"Why don't you tell him what happened when I got ahold of you and Cam, Lilykin?"

It may make him out to be a mean older brother, but the revenge had been more against Cambria for thinking the prank up than it had been on Willow.

Willow blushed and looked down a bit. She had tried to forget about that part of the day. It was funny to think of Gareth naked in the rosebush. But it wasn’t funny when she thought about being stuck in that closet. She had been scared to death, and Cambria acting like a brat hadn’t helped. And that wasn’t even mentioning what her daddy had done after he had heard the whole story. Willow cringed. No, she did not want to think about that part of the day at all.

“Yeah, I know. You locked us in a dark closet and it was scary. Oh, and if I recall, you made us say something embarrassing. Something about how you were the best and we sucked. That was nothing compared to what Daddy did later, but we don’t need to get into that.”

She snuggled closer into his chest and sighed. Yes, they had many memories that they could share, and embarrassing Gareth had been quite entertaining. But her favorite memories had been nothing all too specific. Just sitting on his lap while they watched movies, or having him teach her how to tie her shoes. The little things counted more than anything, and she would always hold those close to her heart.

“But I want to remember the sweeter moments more, Gar. Like when I had nightmares, and would go to you before I’d go to Mum and Dad. Or our games in the woods behind our house. That’s what I want to remember.”

Gareth burst out laughing. The games behind the house in the woods. Oh, how he remembered those. Hide and Seek, Tag, Blind Man's Bluff. They had played all the games they could think of in those woods. And she'd won most of them as well. Mostly because he'd let her, but she'd been happy about the wins then, and he didn't see the reason to tell her that he'd thrown a lot of the games to please her.

Gareth knew that she was right about him being a big teddy bear. When it came to his sister and Samara, Gareth was a total softie. He'd be forceful when it was needed, but when it came to caring for their feelings and their hearts, he was a master.

He hugged his sister and looked at Matthew. This boy seemed to have her best interest at heart, and he wanted to know how much he cared for Willow. If there was any doubt in his mind about them being together, then he wasn't the one for Willow Kendra Winter. Only the strongest of heart were worthy of either of his sisters. Cambria had been going around with a boy, and now Willow was.

He turned now to his sister and whispered into her ear.

"Does he feel the same for you as you do for him?"

Willow grinned and snuggled her brother. She knew he was only making sure that she was happy and cared for, because that was always what Gareth did for her. And she knew he always would. She looked into his eyes and nodded.

"Yes, Gareth. He does."

It was as simple as that. She wasn't sure if it was love because she was just barely figuring out how to like someone. But she knew that she wanted to be with him however long he would let her. And now that half of her family knew, she wasn't as afraid anymore. She just needed to convince her mother and father that she would behave, and then she would have no worries. Except for maybe Evan...hopefully he wasn't disappointed in her. She would have to find him as soon as possible to talk to him, or she wouldn't be able to sleep.

She moved back over to the couch and took Matthew's hand. She softly stroked her thumb against the back of his hand and smiled up at him.

"Do you mind if I try to go find Evan? I have this feeling I need to tell him about us. You can come with, or stay here...I don't mind. I just think he needs to know too."

Matthew looked down at Willow as she asked him if he minded her going to tell Evan about their relationship. This was what he'd wanted. He wanted to let their families know that they were more than friends now. And if she wanted to let her brother know, then he was all for it. But he was going to have to tell his own family as well. That meant that he was going to have to write a letter, and find Max and Ashton to tell them what was happening in his life. He was sure that even though they were in the same house, Max had no idea that Matthew and Willow were together.

He stood up and helped Willow to her feet, entwining his fingers with hers for a moment, and looking down at their hands the whole time.

"Willow, this is what I wanted to do in the first place. I don't want to hide from our families any longer. You go ahead and find Evan, and I'm going to go searching for Ashton and Max. If your family knows, mine should as well. I'm also going to go up to Gryffindor Tower and write a letter to my mother, letting her know, and then maybe go find Professor Michaels, unless Ashton will do that for me."

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, then shooting a short glance at Gareth, and deciding to push his luck, moved the kiss to her lips.

"I'll see you when you get to the Tower."

With another little kiss to her lips, Matthew turned and left the Group Commons, now feeling much better about his relationship with Willow Winter. He just hoped that the rest of the people they were about to tell were as accepting as Gareth had been.