Closed Rolling to a Stop

[Jasper Night]

Jasper had been bored a lot. He knew a lot of his time would have been used up on studying, but it still bothered him a bit. He hadn't gotten in as much Quidditch Practice as he wanted lately, even though it seemed he was still in good form. The boy was pretty glad he had managed to score so much in their game against Gryffindor, though in the end, it had been Blake who had won the game. Jasper had taken around to carrying a muggle tennis ball with him as he walked to class, so he could bounce it in front of him and catch it. It never hurt to practice his reflexes. But as he walked through the Third Floor, he got distracted when a portrait looked at him disapprovingly and dropped the ball. It rolled away, stopping right in front of a girl. Jasper jogged up to her, holding out his hand. "Thanks- oh. Hey." He said, feeling a flush creep up his neck as he realized the girl was Lily. He had been sort of avoiding her and wondered if he would have gone after the ball at all if he had realized who she was.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily had been having a fairly normal semester; bake, knit, read. Jasper had been avoiding her and Lars, Clifton, and Blake were all busy with their interesting lives. She was trying not to feel too lonely, and trying not to dwell on the card reading that Elliot had done for her. She was pulled from her thoughts when a tennis ball rolled to her feet. She picked it up, curious, but her smile quickly faded when its owner came to retrieve it. "Oh, h-hello Jasper," she stuttered softly, offering his ball back. She could feel herself blushing, and she shifted nervously on her feet. "H-how are you?" she asked, gripping her books tighter to her chest.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper took the ball from Lily, immediately tossing it into the air and attempting to grab it again in a smooth move. Instead, he missed it and it dropped down next to his foot again. Flushing, Jasper bent down to pick it up again. Why had he done that? It wasn't like he still needed to try and impress Lily anyway. "I'm... fine." He said after a moment. "You know me, usually pretty good." He said easily, though even he could hear a slight strain in his voice.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily blinked as Jasper took the ball and proceeded to toss it again. The tension between them was almost palpable. She swallowed nervously, tucking her hair behind her ear. "That- that's good," she offered shyly, unsure what to say. She glanced away and back again. "How's Quidditch?" she asked.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper felt the awkwardness between them grow, and he wondered if it would only get worse from here. He shrugged when Lily brought up Quidditch, pretty sure it wasn't something she was particularly interested in usually. "It's... good, you know." He mumbled. "We won the match against Gryffindor and stuff." He paused. "Did you watch?"

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily smiled softly and nodded, feeling oddly shy. "I did," she replied quietly. "I know I'm not the... Loudest person in the stands, but I've always been to your games. And Elliot's and Lars." She added quickly, not wanting it to seem like she only went for him. "You- you did very well in your last game," she told him, biting her lip and looking up at him shyly.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper shrugged when Lily said she wasn't really the loudest person in the stands, he resisted pointing out that Lily wasn't the loudest anywhere, really. But that felt like the sort of joke he could have made before, maybe not now? He wished things hadn't gotten so muddled between them. "Thanks." Jasper said, feeling slightly awkward. He suddenly couldn't remember what he usually did with his hands when he was talking to someone and flailed slightly. "I think Slytherin has a shot again this year." He commented lightly, finally settling on stuffing his hands in his pockets.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily nodded, twirling a strand of hair nervously around her finger. "I- yes, you have very strong players on your team. I love Elliot, but Blake is his biggest competition," She scuffed her toe against the ground. "I, ah, I should probably get going," she gave him a shy smile. "Penne hid in my bag again and I was on my way to return her to Elliot," She bit her lip, glancing away before glancing back up to Jasper. "It, um, it was good to see you, we should- er, sit together for lunch sometime," She offered, thinking it was the most neutral place possible that they could meet.

 

[Jasper Night]

Jasper nodded when Lily said Blake was Elliot's biggest competition, it was true. Blake was frustratingly good, which didn't help his ego. Though he was a lot more tolerable lately. As Lily talked about having to go, Jasper felt both a bit sad to see her go and a bit of relief to get out of this awkward conversation. "Right, uh, say hi to Elliot then." He said, scratching his neck. He wondered idly if Elliot was still dating the former head girl. But he supposed that didn't matter. "Yeah, we should sometime." He said, though it sounded hollow even to himself. He cleared his throat. "Good luck with the rat, then." He said, waving awkwardly before shuffling past her

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily held still, not moving for several long moments after Jasper had hurried away. Her shoulders slumped, and she couldn't help but feel utterly dejected. She had hoped that breaking things off when she had would have salvaged their friendship. He wasn't ready for a serious relationship- or rather, a serious relationship with her, and they both knew it. She didn't mourn Jasper romantically. But she couldn't help but feel like she had lost her oldest friend. And all because she had been so insecure, because it had just felt so nice to feel wanted. Jasper's arms had been warm, and Lily had felt so cold anymore. She sighed and turned to shuffle away herself, wishing that she had Penne with her. The little thing was always good for a cuddle.