Closed Common Ground

[Lucas Fletcher]

Lucas wasn't too nervous about Quiddich tryouts, but he still felt a little bit jittery about it. He had been the alternate seeker last year, but that didn't mean he'd get the spot again this year. Not if anyone else did it better. The boy was heading to the pitch early, hoping to get a bit of practice in before the tryouts later in the week. He really wanted to impress Elliot, to show he would be a worthy person to take his spot when he graduated. But was he? Lucas didn't really know a lot about Quidditch outside of Hogwarts, and still sometimes forgot some of the smaller rules or fouls. He had been trying to study up a bit more, but it was so much more fun to play the game than to read about it. Lucas had been hoping to get a few laps in and maybe practice diving, but he noticed he wasn't alone at the pitch. The quickly recognized the boy as Nikko Blackwood, a Gryffindor in his year. He'd spoken to the boy before, but not a whole lot. Lucas knew he was also an alternate on his team, though, and figured maybe he wanted to practice a bit as well before tryouts. "Hey Nikko!" He said, jogging up to him with his broom in his hand. "Guess we had the same idea."

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko was lost in his thoughts. Try-outs had snuck up on him and were fast approaching. As he’d expected, he didn’t get to practice much while he was home but he did take a few books to keep him company. But now he was back at school and needed to get back to it. He was in the middle of doing some stretches when he heard his name being called. He looked up and saw it was a boy from the Hufflepuff team. "Uhh, Lucas right?" he asked to make sure. Nikko was pretty good with faces but not always with names. "Yeah, looks like it." he said with a laugh. "Did you practice over the holiday?" he asked.

 

[Lucas Fletcher]

Lucas smiled as Nikko said his name, even if he didn't seem entirely sure of it. He nodded, smiling brightly at him. "That's right." He said. But at the boy's other question, his smile dropped slightly and he shook his head. "No, gets a bit difficult for me." He admitted. "I'm the only magical person in my family, we don't have a ton of neighbors but it would still be too risky to go around flying on a broom." He said with a wry smile. "Did you practice?" He asked the other boy curiously. "You're a keeper, right? Alternate?" He asked, even though he was fairly sure he was right. He'd been paying close attention to the Quidditch teams, especially of Gryffindor and Slytherin, who always seemed to play the finals.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko raised an eyebrow as Lucas explained his situation. "Oh yeah?" he asked curiously, a little surprised to hear there was someone else who had similar limitations when he was a home. He tended to feel like he was the only one who had to cut magic out completely when they were away from school. He doubted Lucas had to hide his interests they same way he did, but it still made him feel better. "No I didn't get a chance to." he answered somewhat vaguely, and cleared his throat. Nikko didn't really feel like getting into his whole family thing right now. But he smiled as Lucas asked about his position. "Yep!" he answered more enthusiastically. "Used to play goalie for my school team before coming to Hogwarts so it made sense." he said with a laugh.

 

[Lucas Fletcher]

Lucas nodded when Nikko said he hadn't gotten the chance to practice either, though he gave no real details as to why. It made him curious, but he figured the boy didn't want to talk about it. But Lucas did want to keep the conversation going, interested in this quiet boy. He was rather handsome, and if Lucas was trying to get over his crush on Lumio there could be worse people to like instead. "I see," he said with a smile, leaning forward a bit. "I think seeker suits me, apparently they're supposed to be small and fast, and I kind of am both." He said, shrugging lightly. "But I'm glad I don't have to do it myself yet, Elliot is a great teacher." He admitted. "But I think being a keeper is really impressive. You played in the match, right?"

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko grinned at the other boy's reasoning. “I guess those are both good qualities for a seeker.” he said with a chuckle and noticed he was a fair bit taller than the other boy. He had grown a lot in the past year or so and felt like he hadn't exactly filled out his new frame yet. Nikko was a little jealous to hear that Lucas was learning from his counterpart on the team. He had been too intimidated to ask Christian for help when he first joined the team, and after the game he was too scared of what the other boy thought of him to ask at that point. “Oh, thanks?” he said, unsure if Lucas' comment had been a compliment but it didn't stop his cheeks from heating up. “That’s high praise coming from a seeker. I don’t know if i could handle that kind of pressure.” he offered, and it was true. Keeper's had an important job but he didn't think it even compared. “Yeah I got to play in the first game last year. It was terrifying but there’s nothing quite like it.” he admitted. Some times he wondered if he could always be an alternate. Get to play during practice and have none of the stress. But deep down he knew that would drive him crazy eventually, The thought of always being on the sidelines and never getting to put your skills to work.

 

[Lucas Fletcher]

Lucas blushed a bit as Nikko said it was high praise coming from a seeker. He was enjoying the conversation and was starting to think that Nikko really could be a good guy to maybe ask out to a dance sometime. Though he had no idea if he would be interested in something like that. For now, Quidditch was a safe topic. "I mean, I guess so." He said, shuffling his feet. "I think all positions have their pressure though." He said vaguely, mostly because he hadn't let himself think too much about how terrifying it would be to actually play seeker in a game yet. He grinned slightly as Nikko described getting to play. "I hope you get to play again soon, and as long as you're not playing us I'll cheer for you." He said, attempting a flirtatious smile though he wasn't sure if he managed anything short of awkward.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko couldn't help but feel a little amused by the way Lucas seemed to get flustered at his compliment. He grinned and nodded along with him when he said all positions came with pressure. “Yeah.” he agreed with a shrug. But his grin widened when Lucas brought up the prospect of him playing again soon. “Me too.” he said with a laugh. Making the starting team sounded a little too good to be true, but part of him still dared to want it. “Oh yeah?” Nikko asked, allowing himself to sounds a little mischievous even if it also made his own face turn hot. “I’ll hold you to that.” he teased and immediately had to swallow hard. He had a feeling the tone of their conversation had shifted and he suddenly wasn't sure what to do next. “Were you going to practice?" he asked after a beat and clearing his throat. He gestured to the pitch behind him and despite how much he liked talking he did have a lot of work to do.

 

[Lucas Fletcher]

Lucas felt a flutter in his chest as Nikko seemed to go along with his flirtatious tone, at least... he thought so. He grinned shyly, searching the other boy's face carefully as he said he'd hold him to that. Was he just joking around, or was he flirting? Lucas wished there was an easy way to tell. But the boy then brought the subject back to practice, and Lucas blinked before nodding. "Yeah, we were." He said, feeling oddly disappointed even though he'd wanted to practice. "Let's do that."