I Think I'm Falling for You

[Taylor Mercer]

Taylor had her Quidditch training gear on, goggles resting on her forehead, gloves held in her hand and Nimbus 2001 resting over her shoulder. It was a gorgeous Spring day. As Taylor walked towards the pitch, she breathed in the fresh air, a cool breeze hitting her cheeks. Bounding to the centre of the pitch, Taylor rested her broom on the grass, pleased that she had the entire thing to herself today. She pulled on her gloves and brought the goggles down over her eyes. Picking up her broom, Taylor pushed off straight away, inhaling deeply and revelling the feeling of being free that came with flying. Barrel-rolling to the side, Taylor set off for a few quick laps around the pitch.

Her cheeks tinted pink from the wind and her heart pounding from the laps, Taylor flew down to the Quidditch shed to retrieve a snitch to practise with. Clutching it in her hand, the Gryffindor flew back up to the centre and let it go, waiting for a few seconds before tearing off after it. She had the golden ball in her sights as she pushed herself further and further to gain as much speed as she could. Taylor may be uncoordinated on the ground, but she knew she had serious skills in the air. Her fringe whipped across her face as her speed increased, Taylor always felt so alive on a broom.

The snitch flew straight upwards in an instant and Taylor pulled her broom up and tore after it, her speed not slowing. She flew higher and higher, straight up into the air, her broom almost vertical. Taylor's mind was blank, her movements instinct alone. She loved the zone she entered when chasing down a snitch. Nothing else mattered in the world. The snitch quickly made a move over the top of Taylor's head, causing Taylor to attempt to follow the movement instinctively, but she only managed to pull her broom backwards. Of course, gravity got the better of her and with a shriek, Taylor's legs slipped off her Nimbus 2001 and she found herself suspended in mid-air, hanging from her broom. The snitch was long gone and Taylor felt her fingers slipping as her gloved hands struggled to hold on. Her heart thumped in her chest, as Taylor realised she was extremely high off the ground, if she fell, she would surely die. Although perhaps she was being over-dramatic. Opening her eyes, that she had unconsciously closed, Taylor looked down, seeing nothing but a blurry ground that lay metres below her. Swallowing, she felt tears sting her eyes, terror gripping her insides and causing her breath to come out short and shaky.

Taylor tried to lift her legs back up to swing over her broom, but her broom only wobbled and fell down a bit. Letting out another cry, Taylor squeezed her eyes shut again, choosing instead to stay still. She wasn't going to risk her broom falling to the ground. Her arms began to shake from exertion and as one hand slipped, Taylor quickly snapped it back to her broom handle again, determined to withstand the ache. Taylor really didn't know how much longer she would be able to hold on.

 

[Austin Zhefarovich]

Austin wondered as he rested in his dorm on whether or not he should head down to the Quidditch pitch to fly some rounds and maybe hit some bludgers. Spring was in the air, and he wanted to get a piece of it firsthand. Austin was an outdoors person, and now that winter was finally over, he could get out and go play some. That was it, the day was settled. Austin jumped out of his bed, and he quickly changed into his Quidditch gear. He slipped on his gloves and his robes shone a brilliant blue upon his body. It was really happening. He was a Quidditch player. A beater no doubt. How could this year get any better? He had a best friend, he had a crush – well, two crushes but he didn’t know he was crushing on Arianna – and he was making good grades.

The Ravenclaw prefect made his way through the castle with his sapphire streak in his hand that his awesome stepmother had bought for him for Christmas. He was not used to getting Christmas presents as his family weren’t exactly those on other’s Christmas card list. They didn’t celebrate the holiday, and thought it was a waste of time. They were lucky to have a get together but it usually had the adults in one room and the children in the other. It was boring really. Austin sighed at the thought of it, and he continued on to the Quidditch pitch.

The sunlight hit him and swallowed his tall form whole. It was relaxing, and the warmth was enough to make him smile. With a newfound energy, he walked along the grass before he arrived at the lawn. However, what he heard was not the chirping of some birds or the waves from the lake, but a girl screaming. His green eyes glanced up and he gasped when he saw Taylor hanging onto the broom. If she fell, she would surely hurt herself. Austin shouted, “Hang on, Taylor!” He took a deep breath and he mounted his broom. Using the agility of the streak, he zoomed up in the sky, heading toward the distressed Gryffindor. Austin positioned his broom so that if Taylor would release, she would simply fall onto his own broom. He scooted his body up to the middle of his own broom, and he made sure that she could bit behind him. Austin held out his hand, to use as a guide, “Okay, Taylor, take my hand, and I need you to trust me. If you lower yourself, you will be able to get on my broom, all right?” He was amazed that she wasn’t panicking. Or was she? Either way, Austin was worried sick that something could go wrong.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

From a distance Taylor heard her name being shouted, but she was too terrified to recognise the voice. Instead she thanked Merlin that someone had found her like this, a sense of relief washing through her terrified body. Her only goal now was to hold on for dear life until the person below her came to help her from dangerous situation she had landed herself in.

Her fingers ached, her heart pounded and her arms shook with exertion, but still Taylor held on, until she could see the presence of someone underneath her. At the sound of her name again, Taylor slowly turned her head, seeing Austin's hand being presented for her to take. A frightened tear fell from the Gryffindor's cheek as she planned out in her head how she would achieve this manoeuvre. Austin's reassuring words helped to push away some of the fear and she took a deep breath before taking her hand off her broom and clutching to Austin's hand. At the action her broom descended and Taylor landed with a small thud on the back of Austin's broom. She let her Nimbus 2001 fall to the ground as her arms flew to clutch around Austin's waist from behind. "Oh Merlin." Taylor muttered, her body still shaking as the warm sense of safety wrapped itself around her.

After a moment passed, Taylor let out a breathy laugh and ran the back of her hand over her tear stained cheek before quickly snapping it back to Austin's waist again. With the knowledge that she was safe from any harm, the realisation of the situation she had been caught in was suddenly hilarious. "My hero." She said in a playful manner, although she was completely serious. If Austin had come only a moment later, or taken a little bit longer to fly up to her, she was sure she would have fallen. "I told you, you were a good flyer." She said, remembering their conversation from the prefect lounge. "Thank you, Austin." Taylor said softly, squeezing lightly with the arms that were still wrapped securely around the Ravenclaw.

 

[Austin Zhefarovich]

Austin smiled in relief as Taylor guided herself to his broom and was in safe hands once more. A blush rose to his cheeks when she wrapped her arms around his waist, and he rose the sapphire streak up a bit. “Everything is fine now, Taylor. I’ve got you.” With his other hand, he gripped the Nimbus 2001 and he slowly lowered themselves to the ground. Austin turned his head around to stare at the beauty behind him. He smiled at her and he said, “I’m no hero, I am just really lucky to have gotten to you when I could have.” He was just running on adrenaline. Then again, he just considered himself lucky. What if something went wrong and he dropped Taylor or something? Austin was glad that he did what he did, but his nerves was just calming down. It was not normal to save someone from hurting themselves after all.

He managed to lower both brooms successfully toward the ground, where he dismounted, and he grinned over at Taylor. “I may be a good flyer and all, but I was just going on the blood rushing to my head. I wasn’t thinking about what I was doing at all.” Austin was finally calming down himself on the inside, except for those butterflies he was starting to feel again – strangely enough they happened to be arising when he was around Arianna too. But he could never like a friend that didn’t like him in return. Austin used his hand to help Taylor off of his broom. “Are you okay now though? Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing, a drink, anything like that?” Austin would gladly assist Taylor if she were hurt or something. Why was he so worried? Well, it was just natural.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

Austin's words soothed Taylor more than he probably realised and she found herself smiling into his back. "And for that I'll be eternally grateful." She said in response to Austin claiming he wasn't a hero, but simply lucky to have found her. She didn't care in the slightest. All Taylor cared about was that she was safe behind Austin, actually sitting upright on the broom and not dangling for her life. So either way he looked at it, lucky or not, he was still a hero to her.

As they reached the grass, Taylor used Austin's hand to help her jump off the broom and she practically fell to the ground, lying on her back and relishing the fact that she had solid ground beneath her. She let out a sigh, breathing out the last of her anxiety. Her heart still beat fast in her chest, but now that she knew she was safe, it was beginning to slow to a normal tempo. Taylor grinned back at Austin, but reached out and smacked him lightly on the leg from her place on the floor for his modesty. "But isn't it instinct that makes the best flyers?" She said, before she realised that her flying before had been on instinct and she had flipped herself over. She decided not to mention her blunder from before. However, she knew that before the accident she had been flying brilliantly, Taylor never thought about what she was doing while flying. She would always be in the zone, just like Austin had described.

Taylor lifted herself off the floor and faced Austin with a smile. The fact that he was worried, made her heart beat for an entirely different reason than anxiety. "No, no, I'm fine." She said, feeling a blush tint her cheeks, she took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Austin's neck, enveloping him in a hug. "Thanks to you." She said, refusing to listen to any of his protests that it had just been a coincidence.

 

[Austin Zhefarovich]

Austin glanced down to see Taylor practically roll onto the grass, and he couldn't help but like that in a girl. Not afraid to get down and get on the grass with all of the critters. Austin felt her slap his leg from the ground, and he chuckled upon that. "I think you may be right on that, Taylor," Austin said with a soft smile. He debated on sitting down on the ground with her, but he changed his mind. He pushed his broom down on the ground, and made sure that it was not in harm's way. Then again, what harm was there outside here? Austin could see absence of any harm, but he was still cautious. Austin's green eyes watched Taylor lift herself from the ground, so there goes him sitting down with her.

He was thankful that she wasn't hurt or anything. Austin blushed heavily when Taylor hugged him, and he hugged her in return. He liked her, and he had known for a while. But what came out of his mouth was not what he had in mind, "So, I guess now would be a bad time to ask you to be my girlfriend, huh." Austin thought for a moment, thinking that he had only heard it in his mind, but no, his lips were moist and fresh with the words that he had just spoken. Austin slowly released himself from the embrace and he scratched his head. Well, he was so confused on whether or not he should take it back. Well, if he did, it might make him look like a jerk. And if he didn't, then it may seem like he only saved her to get a favor, and her being his girlfriend would do it.

Oh no, what had he just done? "Okay, I don't mend to offend you, in any way, but I kinda...adore you." Austin spoke the truth for that, and he just wondered if now was the right time. Well, it was a free time from his studies, and he rarely got that. And he had known her since the beginning of the year. Austin hated it when he just said what was on his mind and not think it through. Damn him being a teenager!

 

[Taylor Mercer]

Taylor smiled as Austin hugged her back, but as she heard him speak, her heart began to beat faster. She pulled back from the hug as Austin did so and she stared into his amazing green eyes. Merlin, he really did have gorgeous eyes. She wasn't exactly sure if she had heard him correctly, her heart had suddenly started beating extremely hard in her chest. She feared it would burst through her ribcage and roll away. It was this factor that made her believe that she might have mistaken the Ravenclaw's words. He looked like he was having an internal struggle and Taylor couldn't help but look hopeful. She had known she had been crushing on the boy since the first moment she met him, did he really feel the same way?

Taylor listened carefully and made sure to take in every word slowly as Austin spoke again. And this time Taylor could have sworn her heart had finally thumped out of her and rolled away to dance in glee. Austin saying the word adore played over and over in her head. She felt a smile split her face. "I don't know why on Earth you think that would offend me, it's possibly the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." She said truthfully. She wrapped her arms around Austin again and crushed him in a hug. "The answer is, of course!" She said cheerfully, the smile not leaving her face. She wondered briefly when she had began to feel completely herself again and not worry about the past. She wondered why she hadn't even stopped to think twice before giving Austin an answer, after all it was a big step to take. But Taylor realised, she wanted to risk it. She wanted to get on a fresh path of life. Nothing about this choice seemed wrong to her at all. "You're amazing, Austin." She said softly into his ear, and she meant every word. He had become a complete turning point in her life and Taylor had loved every second of being with him.

 

[Austin Zhefarovich]

Austin just hoped that he didn’t screw it up, screw up everything between them. There was a friendship built, and now he could have just ruined it by saying that he adored her and asked her to be his girlfriend pretty much. Why did he do that? He was beating himself up inside, and watched her reactions as slowly as he could. He could not read girls, they were so damn confusing! Austin shifted a bit in his shoes, and he wondered just what he was going to do now. Oh no, he made a fool of himself! But what came next completely and utterly took him from surprise. She smiled. He didn’t make a fool of himself! She wasn’t going to laugh at him! Or…was she? Oh good Merlin, she wasn’t going to laugh, was she? His heart pounded in his chest. The words that came from her mouth were not insulting or made him feel humiliated. Instead, they comforted his nerves, and she crushed him into a hug. It made his breathes even and even more relaxed.

He wrapped his arms around her back, and he closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling the light scent of her shampoo. Austin was no longer single! He had Taylor as his girlfriend. Arianna seeped into his mind, and Austin just reminded himself that she did not like him, she never would, and they were just friends. Yet, he felt just a bit guilty. But Taylor’s whisper reassured all guilt and he just knew that if it wasn’t meant to be, that was it. Austin gently pecked her cheek with his lips, and he grinned a smile as big as Hogwarts. “You are amazing too, Taylor.” Austin ran his hands to her waist and he smirked a bit, “Care to show me your skills on the broom, or do you have something else in mind?” Austin would be a good boyfriend. He could see them studying together and everything. Things were just beginning for the Ravenclaw. And he was going to tackle each force like it was nothing.

 

[Taylor Mercer]

Austin's arms around her felt comforting and right. Taylor had missed the fluttering sensation in her chest whenever she was hugged by someone that meant more to her than just a good friend. She felt her cheeks burn where Austin kissed her, positive she was bright red, but Taylor found she didn't even care. She replayed over the thought that she was no longer single. And that she was no longer concerned with what had happened in her past. It was an amazing feeling to feel not only completely free of her old troubles and back to her old self, but now moving forward to a new part of her life.

Taylor raised an eyebrow in response to Austin's smirk. At his words Taylor gave him a cheeky smirk. Her eyes flicked to her discarded broom lying on the grass a short distance away then back up to Austin. "You're on." She said, tightening her embrace briefly before darting out of the hug and bounding over to her broom. In a swift motion she picked it up off the ground and mounted it. Her previous accident flashed in her mind, but Taylor was in such a good mood it hardly stayed in her mind for a second. Taylor had been in dangerous situation like that before. She never let them discourage her. Quidditch was too important and she loved it far too much to ever let something that didn't even hurt her get in the way of her flying. She took in as a learning experience, a way to improve her skills. She turned her head to Austin and grinned. "As long as you promise to catch me if I fall." She said with a wink, showing that the previous events didn't bother her at all.