Closed Out Of The Way

[Connor Holland]

With his friend group falling apart, Connor was desperate for distractions. If he hadn't already been furious with himself about Hufflepuff failing to make the championship, he certainly would be now. Quidditch would have been a perfect distraction from his problems, but of course he hadn't been that lucky. The best he could do was practice for next year, whenever Slytherin wasn't booking up the pitch to remind everyone just how important they were. Ugh. He had thankfully found a quiet moment and spent a good hour working on his shots, finally tumbling back to the grass in a sweaty mess. The air wasn't nearly as warm as it had been last time he played, and the cool breeze felt nice on his hot skin as he just rested for a moment, letting his body relax after the exertion. The sooner this awful year was over, the better.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko was bummed about not making it to the game against Beauxbatons and yet again he would be watching Slytherin face them again. He knew even if Gryffindor had one he probably would have spent it on the bench anyway but at least he would be watching his team. There was no use worrying about it now, but that didn't stop him. He made his way out to the quidditch pitch to get some flying practice in before he had to go home for break where he wouldn't be able to practice at all. Nikko had just set down his things when he spotted a sweaty Connor laying in the grass. "Oh hey." he blurted out before considering if he even wanted to talk to the other boy. "I didn't expect to see you out here." he added and ran his hand through his hair. He found it hard to look at the other boy because he kept staring at his arms. Nikko had grown quite a bit in the last year or so. Now he was just gangly, and didn't exactly look strong.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor hadn't expected to be left entirely alone somewhere as busy as the Quidditch pitch, but when he did hear a voice approaching he was relieved to find it was a friendly one. "Hey!" Connor smiled, sitting up quickly so as not to be rude. He hadn't talked to Nikko since their practice together at the start of the year, and he felt overdue to do so. "I never congratulated you on making the team, well done!" He said cheerfully. "You guys played really well this year!" He didn't mention that he had been doing his best to ignore the Gryffindor players during their last match, as he didn't want to see or think about Emma right now.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko wasn’t exactly in a hurry, and returned Connor’s smile. He put down his things and took a seat next to the other boy. He reached out to stretch a bit and touch his toes. “Oh right!” he said as he came back up, blinking quickly as blood rushed back to his head. “You too.” he added quickly, realizing he hadn’t spoken to the other boy since the beginning of the year. He had watched the games but that was about it. “Thanks.” he said warmly. Nikko was tempted to shrug off the compliment since he was only an alternate, but he had played the first game and they had won. “You guys did good too.” he replied automatically until he remembered Hufflepuff hadn’t won a game this year and he didn’t want to sound like he wasn’t being serious. “I mean your form has really improved.” Nikko added quickly and mimed swinging a bat to hit a bludger.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor grinned at the compliments, though his face slipped slightly when Nikko said they had done well. He didn't think last place was anyone's idea of a good job. But he took the next compliment, smiling slightly. "Thanks, I've really been working on it." He sighed, face falling a bit. "Not that it matters, Slytherin are apparently unbeatable." Connor grumbled, unafraid to share his bitterness with Nikko.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko smiled as Connor accepted his compliment, glad he hadn't stuck his foot in his mouth too far. "I can tell." he said, quickly realizing was just repeating himself. He turned his focus down at the grass to avoid having to look at Conner when his face felt like it was on fire. "Tell me about it." he groaned, his embarrassment temporarily forgotten. Nikko hadn't played in the second game, not that it would have mattered. But the lose had still stung, even if they were down their usual seeker. "It almost feels rigged at this point." he said frustrated.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor snorted softly, nodding in agreement. "It kinda does. Blake can't be that good." He sighed, wracking his brain for any non-Quidditch topics to talk about. The subject was just too depressing after all this time. "Do you... have any cool plans for the holidays?" He asked instead, curious about what Nikko got up to outside school.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko laughed at Connor's comment and started pick at the grass as a lull in the conversation fell over them. "Not really." he said with a shrug. "My parent's own an inn back home, so I help out with that a lot while I'm there for the holiday." he explained. He would never admit to his parents but he liked spending time at the inn, especially in the kitchen. "Won't be able to practice much but I hope to get some surfing in." he added with a smile, but didn't elaborate. It didn't feel like the time to talk about this dad. "What about you?" he asked curiously, realizing he didn't know much about Connor at all.

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor nodded as he listened, perking up slightly at the mention of surfing. "Oh, that sounds fun!" He said cheerfully. "So are you from like, the Bondi area?" Connor didn't know much about surfing, but sometimes he missed Australia so deeply it ached, and hearing familiar accents and words always lifted his spirits. He shrugged when Nikko asked about his holidays, looking away. "Probably just hang out at home. We don't really... do stuff for the holidays."