Closed Mistakes

[Lucas Ames]

After what he felt like was a disastrous practice and an even worse game, Lucas was feeling horrid. He was wanting to do better, to be better, but merlin he didn't know how. He snuck away from Einar, avoiding his brother, as he made his way down to the pitch. He had been there for a little while, trying to throw an old, ratty soccer ball through the hoops. He didn't know if it was helping, he could practically hear Adam's sneering in his mind, but he needed to do something. His arm was getting tired, and his aim a little skewed. He threw the ball again, yelping as it bounced off the side of the hoop and came hurling back at his face. He ducked, looking in dismay as his ball soared back to the ground. Sighing, Lucas flew down to retrieve it. He set down, walking over, but as he picked up the ball he felt the last of his confidence shatter. What we he doing? He slid down the side of the stands, pulling his knees up to his chest and holding the ball in his arms as he started to cry. He just wanted to go with Einar when he left the school, Lucas had trained hard to be enough to make the team. But between Adam's constant degrading and now Eli's behaviour as well, Lucas felt worthless. He laid his head on his knees, sniffling and crying quietly.

 

[Dominic Torres]

Dominic felt like there was a weight on his shoulders as he walked to the quidditch pitch. He thought maybe flying some laps would clear his mind and he could finally figure out a way to get the team to actually care about each other and act like a team. He knew Cayleigh and him were doing their best but it just felt so hopeless sometimes when Adam got on a roll and now Eli was starting to act up when he had always been more of an observer then an instigator. He sighed and held out his broom when he heard something that sounded a lot like sniffling. He followed the sound and soon found Lucas sitting at the edge of the pitch crying. Dominic felt like the wind got knocked out of him as he approached the younger boy. He knew the older people on the team were giving him a hard time but he had just hoped that it wasn’t as bad as he feared. But obviously it was and he felt horrible for not doing more sooner. “Hey bud. What's going on?” Dominic asked softly and nudged the toe of Lucas’s shoe with his own but he made sure to keep some distance, unsure of how much space he wanted right now.

 

[Lucas Ames]

Lucas nearly jumped out of his skin when someone nudged him, not immediately recognizing who it was as he scrambled back, his eyes wide. He relaxed a little bit when he recognized Dominic. He straightened, rubbing his sleeves over his eyes, not really saying anything as he picked up his ratty old ball. He wasn't really sure what to say- even now he still barely spoke to anyone that wasn't Einar. "Hello," He managed, softly, just staring at the ball in his lap.

 

[Dominic Torres]

Dominic raised his hands in a calming gesture as Lucas startled at being approached. “Woah there.” he said gently and eventually the other boy calmed down and clutched what looked to be a pretty rough looking soccer ball in his hands. Lucas didn’t answer his question and he sighed. It was a bit of a redundant question, with how awful Adam and Eli were being especially after the loss in France it was pretty obvious what he was upset about since he was here so early practicing by himself. Dominic gestured to the ball in his hands, “If you want to practice with an actual quaffle, I can go grab one. But...” he began but let his voice trail off as he took the chance to take a seat on the ground next to Lucas. “My brother’s and I actually used a soccer ball to try and play quidditch a couple years ago. It’s a good idea.” he said, leaning his head back against the wall behind them, trying to be there whenever he was ready to talk.

 

[Lucas Ames]

Lucas looked up at Dominic as he sat down, fidgetting nervously with the ball in his lap. He listened as the older boy spoke, unsure why Dominic would be nice to him. "My brothers aren't that nice," He admitted softly, not looking up to the captain as he spoke. "They're... more like Adam. But worse." He added, hugging the ball closer. The only thing that made Adam better was that Adam hadn't gone out of his way to bully Lucas.

 

[Dominic Torres]

Dominic's smile faltered a bit when Lucas said his brother's were worse then Adam. He found that hard to believe. Adam was a real peace of work but he guessed there was probably a human under all of that ego somewhere. "How many brothers do you have?" Dominic asked, realizing quickly how little he knew about the boy. "I have four older brothers. They were a lot to deal with growing up." he added, hoping that offering information about himself would make Lucas feel more comfortable sharing with him.

 

[Lucas Ames]

Lucas hesitated, glancing up at Adam. He... seemed nice enough. "I have two older brothers," He admitted gently. "Gabriel already graduated. Dawson will graduate next year." He wasn't going to admit how much he was looking forward to that. It was going to be a lot calmer for him when he was farther away from his brothers. He was fidgeting nervously with the ball in his hands. He had already gathered from Einar that his brothers weren't normal, and he couldn't help but wish Einar was here. Dominic seemed nice enough, but Lucas was still wary of the older boy.

 

[Dominic Torres]

Dominic nodded along sympathetically and Lucas spoke quietly. "Oh, so he's in my year?" he asked curiously. "I wonder if I know any Dawsons?" he wondered to himself. The name sounded familiar and he knew most of the people in his year but not everyone. And considering they way Lucas spoke about him it might be better if they never crossed paths. "Well, all my brother have long since graduated. I am the baby of the family too." he said with a sincere smile, hoping for some reaction from the younger boy. "So," Dominic began with a heavy sigh. "Do you maybe want to practice a bit? Maybe just some passes? To get you a little more comfortable." he suggested, unsure of what else to do to get Lucas to loosen up a bit.

 

[Lucas Ames]

Lucas's eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. He glanced to Dominic, almost looking hopeful. "Wait... you don't have your brothers here anymore?" He asked softly, his heart thumping a bit in his chest at the thought. Dawson would be in his last year next year, and then... then Lucas would be free. He could walk the halls without watching for his brothers, he could stay at the school over the holidays, and then he'd only have to deal with his brothers two months out of the year if they came home. Feeling excited by the thought, he hopped up when Dominic suggested they practice. "Sure! I-if you want to," He stuttered, smiling shyly at the older boy.

 

[Dominic Torres]

“Nope. Julian graduated last year.” Dominic said with a shake of his head. He hadn’t expected whatever he said to have such an effect on the other boy. But he was thankful that whatever gloom that had been hanging over Lucas seemed to lift a bit. Dominic raised his eyebrows as he hopped up and agreed to some practice. “Uh, ok. Y-yeah!” he stuttered as he got up himself, still reeling from the whiplash of the other boy’s emotions. “Just give me a sec to grab an actual quaffle.” he said with a grin and jogged off to the supply room. He came back a second later with a quaffle in one hand and his broom in the other. “Alright, let’s do this!” he said enthusiastically as he kicked off with his broom.

 

[Lucas Ames]

Lucas blushed when Dominic seemed surprised, looking at the tattered ball in his hands. He hadn't meant to get so excited at the thought of being without his brothers. He shuffled around shyly, tossing the tattered ball away. He smiled softly as Dominic came back, biting his lip and kicking up into the air, following Dominic and giving him a nervous smile.