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regulus was not excited for practice today, though he was sure it would be like every other day. marlene high or drunk off her ass, maybe even both. dorcas will be concerned about marlene and asks james to ask the coach to go easy. knowing that will not happen. james will be annoyingly perfect, making sure we play our best with nationals coming up. sirius will pamper remus, making sure he doesn’t get hurt. as if he is made of glass. makes me roll my eyes at the thought. although there's been weird tension with lily and our jv player pandora. so, at least that will be interesting to watch. before i can even get to thinking about them. i hear their voices before i see their faces properly. the positions there make it look like they're talking about something serious, stopped off to the side. like walking wasn't an option for this type of conversation.
“it seems like you don't even care”. i look over to who is talking. barty seems to be leading the conversation, along beside him is marlene and dorcas.
marlene jumps in next “are you kidding me, you are being insensitive” hand on her hip, and without looking properly at her face. i can tell she is rolling her eyes.
“this is what we’ve worked for all season. you really want to take that chance?” already eavesdropping and interested in what the hell they could be talking about. i walk to join their conversation.
finally hearing and seeing properly, i come to the group and marlene is faced to barty. obviously upset at whatever conversation has gone down. “yeah. cause im not a fucking asshole.” okay yeah what the fuck went down between them. it's not unusual for marlene to be pissed at barty, but like this? i need to say something, to hopefully get some context.
“what are you guys talking about?” as i am looking between the group, i see dorcas' eyes locked onto marlene's. she is probably trying to do that weird thing where they look into each other's eyes and somehow communicate. thankfully my talking snapped her out of it, as she decided to do me a favor and answer my question.
“severus”. that's all that is said. okay? the hell is that supposed to mean?
“what about her?”. is the only question i can think to ask. urgh why are they making me ask all the questions? stop being so damn cryptic.
as i look over to where severus is sitting, barty speaks up. “Did you black out at states? She totally choked”. so? we won, i’m not seeing an issue…
marlene seems to think the same, speaking up next. “he’s a freshman, b”.
barty was quick with his response, though let it out slowly. letting it really set over us. “he’s a liability”.
a liability? this has gone on too long, what's the point of the shit talk? “so what do you want to do about it?”. because it's barty of course there is a plan with this nonsense shit talking. while i’m scared to find out, it's better to know barty's plans before they happen.
“she cant screw up, if she cant get the ball”. what kind of elementary school plan is this? we hog the ball, but only from severus? he cannot be serious.
“you want to freeze her out”. Looking over at marlene and dorcas, and even they think the plan is stupid. or at least unfair, we are a team after all.
barty, too focused on his plan to care, just shrugs his shoulders. “at least we’d know what we’re working with”.
shockingly, dorcas seems to agree. “he kind of sucks, but.. i don't know”. they cannot be for real right now?
thankfully marlene interjects “that’s because it's bullshit”.
“oh, yeah? what’s your plan, then?”. oh merlin. here they go.
“i don’t know. play like a fucking team and win? it's worked so far”. well, marlene is right. but knowing barty he wont care, just makes him want to do it more.
“everything works until it doesn’t. and for the record you smell like a wino. get your shit together”. oof. barty just had to go there. marlene's drug habit is known but only discussed when benefited. like now… dorcas tries to help, but we all know she’ll quit if she wants.
silence sweeps us over for a second as we wait for marlene's response. with a long inhale she shakes her head, lowering it to the floor. refusing to look at barty after that. “you know what?” lifting her head to finally look at barty with one last final look. “fuck this”.
as marlene walks off barty doesnt even spare her a glance, too self focused to see he’s hurt his friend. “wow. okay”.
dorcas seems to have changed her mind as she goes to pick up her bag. “doesn’t feel right”. running off in the direction marlene had just gone off to.
having had thought of all the consequences, especially with the leader of the plan being barty. all i could muster up was “james not gonna like it”.
“then we probably shouldn’t tell her”.
whatever barty is planning, i want no part. especially after hearing that. but right now we need to head to practice, and hopefully his plan fades out of his mind. as we’re slinging our duffel bag behind our backs we finally start walking out the door to the courtyard.
gradually, i forget about what barty has told me. hoping it's just his stupid crazy mouth again. there's a more pressing matter to deal with right now.
well, i had wanted to forget about that. until not even a few hours go by. this is our last practice match before we were off to nationals. barty has been looking more intense than usual. i'm too focused on what's going on with the game. i don't notice barty constantly trying to give snape the ball.
“how the hell else is he supposed to learn? he can't be scared of the ball forever.” with a smirk he runs off to play his defensive position.
doing what he told me i pass the ball over the snape. and what i see next is traumatizing. he digs into the side of snape's leg to steal the ball. except he doesn't just hit the ball but snapes leg too. the cleats coming into contact with the skin leave a horrific sight.
i look over to barty. his face is similar to mine. the fear, the disgust, as if this wasn't his goal to begin with? practice is obviously cut after that. making our way to the locker room after we make sure snape is safely escorted to the hospital.
barty is the first to leave once more. duffel bag over his shoulder once more. not sparing anyone a single glance or a chance at conversation. all of us let him leave, knowing we’ll see him at the party. all of us but evan of course, gathering his belongings and following quickly behind barty.
the rest of us seem to take our time, more likely to collect our thoughts on whatever the hell we just witnessed. after getting myself situated, i bent down to reach into my locker for my car keys. getting the last piece in order to finally leave, leaning back up i am met next to a broad and tall frame. looking up and a bit to my right is none other than james potter. rolling my eyes at his lack of personal boundary. i turn to walk out of the locker room, knowing he will be following close behind.
“you know if you keep annoying me like that, you'll have to start walking home”. there's no real bite in my tone. but he knows just how serious i am. Which isn’t that much. i love driving james and i love going to his house to get ready. If it weren’t for james, i probably wouldn’t go to this stupid party anyways.
“oh please, you’d never let me walk home”. knocking his shoulder into mine, he looks down giving me those stupidly adorable puppy dog eyes. i roll my eyes, not being able to keep the eye contact.
~james houese~
“urgh this sweater looks stupid”. looking at myself in the mirror, realizing i now look and sound like an idiot.
“i tooooold you to wear the shirt i got you, i promise all eyes will be on you. maybe you'll even get lucky tonight and finally get in a relationship”. potter's fuzzy eye brows go up and down, winking as he finishes his sentence.
he makes it so hard for me to like him. “mm sure potter, whatever you say. but i think i’m fine with what i have”. looking at myself again in the mirror, convincing myself i can go out like this.
“okayy but if you change your mind, the shirt i got you is on the chair”. he has that knowing look on his face. where his eyes never look away from mine, and a smile only given to me. i look at the shirt and one more time in the mirror, there’s time to change, but we should get going to the party soon.
~bonfire party~
at the party james and i are chatting with his friends, how it usually goes. potter has a girl hanging off of his arm while he recounts memories he remembers. this girl is different from the last party, i don’t know why he keeps entertaining them. we both know i’ll be the one to drop him off tonight, alone.
everything goes quiet around me for awhile, starting to feel the booze in my system. until it gets disrupted by the sight of barty walking. flashes of the practice match pass through my mind, and before i realize it my body is moving. barty seems to notice my determination to talk to him, because he does a 180 and immediately walks away.
“barty, hey man, wait for a second” with the sounds of my voice coming from behind him, barty slows and waits for me. with the booze in my system, i can’t help but let barty know just how i feel. “hey man, you can't be serious? right? severus may be an annoying shit. but he's still our teammate. how the hell could you do that?” he's looking at me as if he has no interest in what im saying. is he even listening?
“what's your plan then? be a team and lose? no thanks, i'd rather win. whether you're willing to do what needs to be done or not.” as he's about to walk away from me, he stopped when we were surrounded by some of our other teammates.
“hey, what's going on?” even having a concerned look as his eyes shift between us. two drinks in hand, now focusing on barty, who looks like he's trying to find an escape route.
“yeah, you guys look like you're having a macho off.” dorcas is the next to point out the uncomfortable aura.
“we’re fine.” barty is quick to cut it off. looking at me as if this should stay between us two.
“no. go ahead, barty. tell them what you wanted to do about snape. the rest of the team isn't a liability, why not tell them about it.” it goes silent. their eyes constantly looking at me and back to barty. waiting for a response.
“tell us what?” evan is the first to speak up. no longer looking concerned. but a bit distant as he stares at barty. wondering what it is he won't share.
“it's nothing important ev, reggie here is wasted and just doesn't know when to shut the fuck up.” he's flicking me off as he tries to walk away. that is until remus puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
“what does he mean by what you wanted to do about snape.” even though he isn't the captain. everyone is slightly afraid of remus. he’s quiet but when he talks everyone knows it's serious.
“fuck off dude.” and with a shove of his shoulder, the hand was gone. It's quiet now. barty himself seems shocked by his actions as he doesn't move at first. no one has ever not answered remus. or even swore at him like that. and that sets everyone off. as if everyone comes back to life at the same time. the reactions are different, yet all after the same person.
“wow dude, calm down.” dorcas the first to show her dismay. much calmer than the rest.
“what the fuck man, were just trying to help no need to be a dick.” sirius who is now getting closer to where barty is slowly walking away. obviously not wanting to cut this anytime soon.
“he's so off the rails.” marlene rolls her eyes and pulls her phone out her side pocket. not at all entertained by her teammate's drama.
evan however, hasn't said a word. just looking at barty as he tries to walk away. following slowly behind the rest of the group. the boys in front of them begin to progress in their temper. causing crowds to look at them as they pass.
“no one gives a shit about your stupid secrets. we only care about you apologizing to remus. just because you chose to live as a dickhead doesn't mean you can shove people and talk down to them.” his arms are crossed across his chest. and from this view it looks like a professor lecturing his student for always being late. sirius has never dealt with a pissed off barty. that is the last thing he wants to hear. really, they should just let him throw his tantrum and go off alone.
“and i don't give a shit about your little boyfriend, bitch boy.” and that's when things get physical. i'm more shocked that it lasted this long before the fighting began. but just as quickly as it started. james the peacekeeper potter arrives and ends it.
“woooaah, hey.. hey…, hey! what the hell is going on here.” looking around. to no luck though because all their heads are down in shame. not wanting to tell their captain why they're once again causing a commotion. “serpents with me, now!” and he angrily stomps off into a secluded area hiding the team away with the surrounding trees.
we line up as james stands in front of us all. looking at us one by one. when he gets to me i finally follow the others' lead and put my head down. suddenly embarrassed about partaking in their antics.
“i don't know what's going on between you all. but right now, you all need to forget about it, okay. we're a team. and we're about to go to nationals, for merlins sake. why try and waste that on a petty argument.” his hands are on his hips as if he's a disappointed mom. it would be funny to look at if he wasn't also looking at me like he was disappointed.
“barty started it.” and that sets them all off.
“yeah, he even pushed remus.”
“and swore at him!” chimes in another
“they don't know how to mind their damn business”
“we asked a simple question, james.”
“yeah, if anything barty is the petty one.”
“enough! all of you. my goodness. what are you, a bunch of middle schoolers? we are in our last years of high school. some of you are adults. act like it!” now he's disappointed. he even raised his voice.
“all of you, we're going to go in a line and say what we like most about each other.” that...is not what any of us were expecting. well, he was always the optimistic one. but making us compliment each other. right now. really? is that his best idea? keeping my head low so i'm not the first picked for this stupid humiliation ritual.
it feels like an eternity goes by before he finally speaks up again. “okay fine, i'll go first.” what. i snap my head up. he starts with the end of the line farthest from me. thank merlin. this day has already been shit. i don't need james potter fucking complimenting me.
“bartemius crouch junior you have got determination that i could only dream to know, i am inspired by how much fight you have in you”. the two boys have a soft smile with one another, barty chuckles and only those who really know him recognize his admiration for the comment.
james moves down the line. “evan rosier, your smile and kindness is able to make anyone happy when they see it”. He continues to move down the line with his compliments. stopping on marlene next.
“mars i admire how resilient you are, and i love how you are completely yourself”.
evan jumps in. “she's also killer at exploding snap”. the team can't help but laugh which does well in helping the tension die down.
“well, go on then, tell her! i mean come on really guys, give it a try!” and who can say no to james potter? with huffs and sighs the team goes into groups of two, ready to share their compliments with one another.
turning to barty, i know its time now to take the high road and apologize. face to face with barty, i let the foolish drunk thoughts go and talked to my friend. “hey, i’m sorry about everything i said. you were right, it wasn't my place nor was it my problem. i know it was an accident, i'm sorry for making it seem like it wasn't.
barty looks at me and takes it all in. “i didnt mean..to hurt her…”
“okay”. because i believe him.
as i turn to walk away, i’m faced with potter walking up to me.
“hey”
“hey”
“are we good”
“hmm i dont know”. taking this chance to look around at the team. smile forming on my face with my next thought. “you haven't said anything nice about me yet”. turning back to potter, excited to see what he comes up with.
as always when presented with a challenge, a big smile forms as he begins to think and sway his body. “okay. regulus black, you are a terrible swimmer. and you are seriously clumsy like i have no clue how you’ve made it alive on your own, and you can't hold your liquor for shit”. he must be amused because at this point he's just laughing it out. but who am i kidding, his words made me laugh as well.
with a pause he continues, shockingly sweet this time. “but…you're the only one who’s always been there for me. regulus you give me hope that i can be the person i truly want to become, you make me want to grow. you’re the best friend i’ve ever had.” giving me a small smile i cant help but return. “you know that right?”
“yeah, i do”. this team makes it really easy to sober up. especially potter, with those pretty brown doe eyes and those pinkish brown plump lips.
“good, lets get you home then”. potter's voice brings me back. right, home would be nice. nodding my head, potter links our arms and walks us to my car.
~Private Jet~
“I cannot believe your dad got us our own plane to go on to get to nationals!”
dorcas, unimpressed, opens her overhead bin. “yeah guess it's the least he can do since he isn't much of a parent”.
evan continues to walk with her taking in the plane, in awe of it. “Well thank you, mr.meadows!” a unison ‘thank you, mr.meadows’ comes alongside a few other teammates.
almost everyone is settled in to their seats, either choosing to sit with another or going off alone. though the jv who is taking over for severus is looking around a little out of place. choosing to sit by herself. that is until lily takes that bait. with how easy the jv looks as a target i dont blame lily, though it looks more like flirting then teasing, but who am i to know.
“woah there jv, didn't they tell you rookies got to earn a seat”. Which would all be normal if she didn't lean over to pandora's ear to say it. While also leaning back with a wink. Like c’mon lily can you be more obvious. although the new girl doesn't seem to notice, more busy being scared.
“o-o-oh i’m sorry, i-i thought…”
“nah, i’m just fucking with you. do you want some chocolate frogs, i have like hundreds of them”. moving into the empty seat next to pandora. she really isnt trying to be subtle huh.
sitting down and buckling myself in, i heave out a sigh of stress. as i listened to the coach tell us to hurry with the long flight we have ahead of us, it didn't do much to calm me. naturally i looked over at potter, hoping for a source to help. catching onto my worries he gives me a small smile, returning it, i begin to scan the plane. that is until a voice catches my attention turning my head back to potter.
“hey, are you okay?” worry evident in his voice
i shake my head fast “yeah”
although over the system the captain is going over the weather forecast. with the long flight there is going to be a route change as there is a storm they are trying to avoid. none of this helps calm me down, and potter’s eyes on me and only me, is not helping.
that is until he started digging in his bag, reminiscing on the last time we flew together. this is not the time to go down memory lane, i need another method to help distract these thoughts.
“here, valium”. looking over at the two pills in his hand, the story makes a lot more sense now. even so, he could have spared me the embarrassment of remembering my fear of flying. all i can muster up right now is a smile but this is exactly what i need. sleep the stress off, and when this plane lands i wont have to worry about being in the air or potter. i just have to worry about winning nationals.
after taking the pill i see potter go for the necklace i’ve never seen him take off. it is a gold chained necklace and has an antler charm. since forever he has always called it his good luck charm. “now nothing can touch you”. our eyes stay locked onto one another as he puts the necklace onto me. softly touching my collarbone as he fixes the antler to touch my chest. as he lets go, we break eye contact, facing forward in our seats, my hand instinctively goes up to touch the necklace.
as the plane takes off, i hear the voices of my teammates chatting with one another go in and out, as the pill starts to kick in. with my head feeling heavy i go to the only comfort i know, with my head now resting on top of potters shoulder i feel my eyes start to slowly blink and drift off to sleep. the last thing i feel is james fingers combing gently through my sleek hair with his slow, rhythmic strokes.
~Up in the plane for, ??:??~
first it was the screaming, not one but everybody. as i finally began to wake my body was forcefully jolted around in my seat. unaware of the intensity because of the fuzziness from waking up abruptly from the pills, i am unable to fully grasp what is happening. until there is an oxygen mask placed onto my face can i finally focus on who is important. i tune out the screaming and how the plane shakes and screeches together. and turn to make sure james is fine. seeing that his pill hasn't worn off yet, in a haze i begin to check the hectic plane. my teammates either panicking themselves or even moving to where it is currently unsafe. with everybody in a frenzy, the state of panic begins to wash over, turning back to james side. i decided to look out the window, a big mistake. i was panicked before but now…now i want to fucking piss myself because i’ve never seen a plane soo close to trees. and with how fast we are going down, i don't think we can get back up from here. holy shit. holy shit. we're gonna die. we're all gonna die here. and we didn't even get to fucking win nationals.