Closed Target Practice

[Connor Holland]

Although nothing he'd experienced in New Zealand could ever really be described as hot, Connor still lived for the days when the weather finally started to warm up again. The second it got warm enough for short sleeves, you couldn't pay him to stay indoors more than he needed to. Though there wasn't much Connor missed about Australia at this point, the climate was definitely on the list. He had decided to celebrate t-shirt weather by heading out to the pitch, hoping to get a bit of practice in ahead of their game against Slytherin. Connor had always gotten a.... weird vibe from the Slytherin seeker, and quietly thought he wouldn't feel especially guilty about sending bludgers his way.

Bat in hand, Connor had brought a few muggle baseballs to practice hitting. He wanted to work on his accuracy, so he had set up a target and lined himself up a good ways back from it, gripping his bat firmly as he tossed the baseballs up in the air, then swung hard when they reached his level. He wasn't making every single shot, but as Connor kept practicing until his arms ached, he was satisfied with more and more of them hitting his target. He didn't want to wear himself out before the match, but the workout was definitely helping with his aim.

 

[Lysander Summers]

With the first Quidditch practice of the semester out of the way, Lysander was feeling pretty pleased with the results, and with how easy it had been to captain with Sierra. His team had done well, he had done well, but the slow start had gone to show that he needed to practice a bit more often on his own to make sure he didn't get rusty. He couldn't go home and admit he'd not done as well as his family had expected, and disappoint his aunt and cousins. Quidditch was their life, and while it wasn't his life, he wanted to still be able to impress them.

It was warm, perfect for flying, and Lysander barreled down to the pitch with his bat and broom. He'd double-checked to make sure none of the other teams had scheduled to use the pitch so he'd have the space to play by himself, but found he wasn't the only one there. It wasn't unusual to find other people flying about the free space, but it was unusual to see someone not flying in the one area of the school they were allowed to. He stood there for a few seconds, impressed, watching Connor knock baseballs around, before he trudged over and set his stuff down on the grass next to him. "Hey! Couldn't find your broom, or what?" He asked with a laugh.​

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor could hear someone was approaching him, but he didn't want to lose focus, hoping he could get one more hit in as they got closer. He swung his bat one more time, pleased when the baseball flew straight into the target. He jumped slightly at the voice who spoke though, turning around with a nervous grin when he saw Lysander. He had been meaning to talk to the Gryffindor since their strange group conversation on the train, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity. "Hey!" Connor said brightly, laughing softly at Lysander's comment. "I'm practicing my aim, I wanted to get more accurate without bringing brooms and other players and stuff into it." He explained, setting his bat down for the moment. "Wanna practice with me?" He asked, hoping to seem casual before launching into what he actually wanted to talk about. "Hey actually, I meant to ask, you and Kas hung out over the holidays, right?" Connor asked much too quickly to be as casual as he hoped.

 

[Lysander Summers]

Lysander hadn't considered trying to practice his aim without the added difficulty of flying at the same time. He hadn't thought it would be all that helpful, but seeing Connor practicing, he figured he could give it a try. "Sure! I'd love to." He said, reaching down to pick up his discarded bat from the lawn. He rested it on his shoulder as he righted himself, and brought his attention back up to Connor, half expecting to be handed a baseball, rather than a question about him and Kas. "Huh? Oh, yeah, loads. He hangs around the menagerie a lot, and I hang around the menagerie a lot, so, you know." He shrugged, helping himself to one of the baseballs. He gave it an experimental toss in the air. "Why, what's up?" He asked, clutching the baseball as it came back down. Had Connor wanted to come over too? He was pretty sure he lived in like, Australia. The offer hadn't really seemed like one he could take.​

 

[Connor Holland]

Connor was relieved that Lysander didn't seem offended by the question, trying to keep his tone casual as he carried on. He had been wanting to ask one of the two about this ever since their conversation on the train, but now that he was actually here it was hard to remember the conversation he had rehearsed in his head. "Oh, I was just wondering..." Connor said a little too quickly, picking up a baseball and mirroring Lysander's throwing motion. "I mean, I was kind of wondering, like.... are you guys just... you know, mates hanging out whatever, or is it like...." He trailed off, fumbling even worse with his words. "I don't wanna assume anything, I mean! Um, just, like... you know... I mean, I was wondering.... like.... 'cause I realised last year I like guys, and I don't wanna assume! I don't know about... about you, or Kas, I mean, I was just curious, and if you're not, that's fine! And you don't have to tell me! I was just... just wondering..." The waterfall of nonsense that had burst from Connor finally slowed to a trickle and he stared at Lysander completely deflated, wondering how fast he would have to run from here to jump directly into the lake.

 

[Lysander Summers]

It took Lysander far, far too long to catch on to what Connor was even talking about. It was hard to keep up with the torrent of words, which for a few seconds may as well have been spoken in mermish. It also didn't help that Lysander had tried to divide his attention between the conversation and the practice, tossing the baseball into the air again and giving it a solid whack as it came back down, eager to show off that he too, was very good at this. Though as Connor admitted he liked guys, it caught him off guard, and the ball flew wide across the field instead of toward the target he'd been aiming for. He lowered the bat quickly, realising he really should be paying way more attention to the babble than he had. "What do you..." He started, mentally connecting the dots. "Me and Kas? Like, are we together?" He asked, turning slightly red in the face at the idea, while simultaneously just wanting to laugh. "No, we're not. I mean. We're just mates. He hasn't - we don't - we aren't a thing." He sputtered. They just hung out, as friends. He wasn't even sure if Kas could have feelings for anyone. He didn't seem to like too many people. Lysander wasn't entirely sure Kas liked him half the time, but that was just how he was. "But I uh, I do like guys. I've kissed, you know, a few." He admitted boldly. Connor had asked, maybe? In that mess of words. He'd never really discussed it before - his sexuality. Some people struggled with it, and he knew that, but growing up with his background, it had been easy to understand and acknowledge without any real confusion, and he'd never felt the need to bring it up. "Did Kas say anything to you? About me?" Sander asked suddenly, wondering if perhaps he'd mentioned something to Connor. Their hangouts over the holidays had seemed to be just that. If there was a hint that Kas had wanted anything more, he hadn't picked up on it, and he drew a blank trying to recall if there had been any to suggest that was the case.​