Closed I Should Have Tried Harder

[Blake van Houten]

The more tenuous his situation with Lars became, the more committed Blake found himself to reform. If he could just... fix the mistakes of his past, make himself into the kind of person who deserved someone like Lars, maybe he could salvage the mess he had made of their relationship. So he had been turning the next two apologies he needed to make over in his mind, inarguably the most difficult ones. His bad blood with Jasper and Tyler ran deep, going back years, and Blake had no idea how either of the two would take an apology from him. Jasper, at least, was undoubtedly the safest option. So when he spotted his teammate having headed to the pitch at the same time as him, Blake decided to bite the bullet. He raised one hand, beckoning Jasper over and trying to steel himself to talk to the other boy. "Hey man, can we talk a minute?" He called out, trying and failing to keep his tone casual.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper was avoiding his homework, but he also told himself that he needed to practice. The final match was coming up, and Jasper really wanted Slytherin to keep its streak. And as the oldest chaser on the team now, Jasper kind of felt like he had to give the right example and maybe carry the chasers a bit, though he wasn't sure if the other chasers would agree with that assessment. He was thinking this over, when he suddenly spotted Blake beckoning him over. He frowned, heading to him. He hadn't even spotted Blake yet. He had no idea what Blake would have to say to him, but Jasper could only assume it would be some sort of criticism about how he had played during the last practice. If anyone wanted to win badly, it was Blake. And Jasper couldn't blame him for it, but it made him wary. He shrugged. "Sure. What's up?" He asked warily.

 

[Blake van Houten]

As casual as he was trying to be, as accustomed to Jasper's company as he had gotten over the years, Blake was still nervous about this apology. It was different to Tyler or Alice, there was no avoiding Jasper. Even if Jasper didn't accept the apology, Blake had to stay his captain, had to work with and lead him. But part of that leadership was owning his own mistakes, and he needed to keep moving forward. "I, uh.... I owe you an apology." Blake said slowly, shoulders lower than usual. "For what went down in first year, and for siding with Tyler. It was messed up." Blake shrugged quietly. "I dunno if he was planning to set you up or if it just happened, but either way...." He shrugged again, shifting a bit from one foot to the other. "I'm sorry for being a d*ck after that, too. I was... a really stupid kid and I was awful to you, and I'm really sorry."

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper frowned when Blake said he owed him an apology, trying to think of what this could be about. But then he realized that Blake was apologizing for what happened between them in their first year, which was actual ages ago. Sure, it still affected their relationship now, but Jasper had never expected Blake to bring it up again. "Yeah, it was."Jasper said when Blake said it was messed up. He gave Blake a skeptical look when he said he wasn't sure if he planned it that way. "He's Tyler." He said with a raised eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure he plans everything." Jasper shrugged. "But... thanks. I guess." Jasper said. "You didn't need to do that."

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake snorted softly and nodded in agreement with Tyler's statement about his former best friend. Blake was planning to apologise to Tyler, sure, but that didn't mean he was blind to Tyler's ways. Tyler was manipulative, and Blake had seen that now. However their conversation went, he knew they wouldn't ever be best friends again. He shrugged when Jasper said he didn't need to apologise, shifting a little. "I mean, I kinda did." He said awkwardly. "You know... However long it's been, it was still wrong, and it messed up our friendship. That's on me. I wanted to make things right."

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper was glad Blake no longer seemed to be blind to how Tyler could be, though he noticed the boy said nothing about it. Still, it was nice of him to apologize, and Jasper appreciated it. "Yeah I guess you kinda did." He said then with a small shrug. "Thanks, dude." He then said, running a hand through his hair. "Almost takes the sting out of you being named captain." He then joked.