Closed Post-Practice Talks

[Odette Madison]

Odette felt the familiar ache in her muscles as she untied her hair, letting it fall to her shoulders. She had enjoyed the practice, glad for the distraction from her personal life. The breakup with Margo had hit her hard, and Odette had recently moved to a smaller apartment on her own. She had plenty of money, but didn't need much space for herself. She was barely home anyway, something that hadn't helped in their relationship. Practice was over, but Odette was in no hurry to go home. She grabbed her waterbottle and drank some water before stretching her muscles. Maybe she would linger and get some extra practice in on her own, she already missed the feeling of soaring through the sky.

 

[Blake van Houten]

After the stress of his final year at school, Blake had been overwhelmingly relieved to get an offer from a professional Quidditch team immediately. It wasn't until his final year at school that it had sunk in how thoroughly he had putt all his eggs in one basket, and he had no idea what kind of job he would have been qualified for if he hadn't found a team to take him. But the Macaws were a strong team, and he was happy to be playing for them. Especially because it seemed to be a team full of Slytherin alumni, and he felt proud to be continuing on his House's legacy in some way.

Of course, that legacy did come with some awkwardness. Blake was well aware that he had been horrendous to be around for most of his time at Hogwarts, and though he had worked to repair a lot of his damaged relationships with people his own age, there were plenty of older students he had never gotten the chance to apologise to. And Odette Madison was owed perhaps the biggest apology of all. Though he had never been outright nasty to her, Blake had spent far too much time resenting the captain for her position and decisions, wrapped up in stupid conspiracy theories. It had been eye opening to play alongside Odette again, and after a few months of practices he couldn't hold back anymore, knowing it would be cowardly never to apologise. So he approached Odette after practice, giving the older woman a nervous smile. "Hey, uh, can I talk to you for a sec?"

 

[Odette Madison]

It took Odette a second to realize Blake was talking to her. She had been surprised to see him join the team a few weeks ago, though she was mostly startled by how old he was now. Time had really gone by fast, she still remembered him as the small, angry alternate who seemed to think she was skipping him on purpose. She nodded, lowering her arms from the position she had been stretching them in. "Sure." She said after a moment. "You settling in okay?"

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake hesitated, once again struggling with well-practiced words when he was actually faced with the person he owed an apology. "Yeah, the team's been really great. I was really nervous about graduation, so it's been great to find such a good position so quickly." He said, stalling a bit for time, though quickly he ran out of small talk. "I, uh... I wanted to... apologise I guess, actually. I was kind of... I was a really crappy kid when you were captain, and I just... yeah, I owe you a big apology for being so... rude and entitled." He shrugged slightly. "So... I'm sorry. I don't even know if you remember, but.... but yeah, I owed you an apology."

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette frowned slightly at Blake, wondering what he wanted. The skeptical part of her thought he was hoping to use their previous connection for something, like if she could put in a good word with their coach or something. But then he started to apologize, and Odette raised her eyebrows in surprise. She let him speak, then shrugged. "Alright, cool." She said. "But you were like, twelve. I'm not holding anything you did as a literal kid against you now, you know." She said. "It's fine."

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake had been dreading this conversation ever since signing to the Macaws, and it almost felt like a letdown when Odette just shrugged in response. Almost. He laughed awkwardly when she spoke. "I... yeah, that's true, I guess." He smiled awkwardly. "I just... I've been trying to... you know, apologise to all the people who deserve it. Part of... being a better person, or something." He said with a small shrug. "So.... yeah, I'm sorry."

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette nodded when Blake said he was trying to apologize to people. She got it, kind of. But she felt like Blake was blowing things out of proportion a bit. "I get it." She said. "But it's fine, Blake. You were just an annoying kid to me, I wasn't really hurt by you." She told him with a shrug. "I was a pretty crappy kid myself. You probably won't have heard of that because it was before your time at Hogwarts, but I once lied and accused a girl of being a thief when she wasn't." Odette said. "I did a lot of stuff like that, but I was a kid with a pretty sh*t upbringing. I learned to be a decent person later."

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake nodded as Odette spoke, looking back at his own behaviour in a different light for the first time. Sure, it didn't make up for the hurt he had caused, but he really had been a child, still figuring out the world, and living in a situation where he couldn't even consider being anything else. He was surprised when Odette confessed about her own youth, laughing in disbelief at her past antics. He nodded when she explained her reasoning, a knot unwinding in his heart somewhere. He wasn't the only one trying to heal from the person their upbringing had made them into. "I... can relate a lot with that, yeah." He smiled sadly. "My, uh... I'm not speaking with my family anymore." He said, not quite able to admit they had disowned him. "I'm... glad that stuff didn't.... hurt you, though. I was so stupid."

 

[Odette Madison]

Odette wasn't sure if Blake could relate to what she had been saying, but she had her suspicions. So it wasn't a surprise when he admitted to it. Odette nodded when Blake said he wasn't speaking with his family anymore, feeling a stab of hurt and resentment as she thought of her own biological mother. The choice not to speak with her anymore had been taken away from her, but she liked to think she wouldn't be in contact with her anymore if she were alive. "Me neither." She said softly. "My old family, anyway." She added. Odette shook her head a bit to clear her mind. "It didn't hurt me, you're good." She said simply. "It's all in the past."