Open The Finest Skateboarder

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio had spent the break travelling, as he always did, but mixed in with some of the usual joy at travelling, the appreciation of new places had been the linger feelings from the yuleball. His time with jarica had been enjoyable, she seemed like a cool person he could easily be friends with, but it had been taking the picture of Nicole and her boyfriend. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about it, he should be happy for his friend, in the same way he would be if Chloe got together with someone or Lysander did, but there had been a weird jealousy in him and it couldn't be that he liked her, he knew he was crushing on Wangui, who just made him speechless in multiple languages, so why was he feeling like that. As with any matter he had to think a lot about, he had decided to just skateboard for a bit. he didn't have any homework, nor responsibilities and being just back from his holiday meant a lot of this was fairly fresh in his mind. He was just going mostly round in a circle, round and round the courtyard as his mind just tried to think about it. Tried to make sense of it. He knew it was likely better to pay attention to what he was doing but, he was a pro-skateboarder, he knew exactly what he was doing. ​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë's break had been pretty calm but she had to admit she liked it like that. Her parents had gotten half of the break off and for most part they had been helping her brother move. She had happily joined in, glad he had decided to stay in the country for a little while longer instead of moving straight back to france like he had often talked to her about in the past year. It had been nice to hang out with him, to tell him all she wanted about school. Most of the stories she had shared with her parents as well, like how her cousins were doing and how she was keeping an eye on them, as well as a highly detailed description of everything that had happened in quidditch. There were other things she didn't specifically felt like sharing with her parents yet though, such as having a crush on one of her best friends, which is why she was glad her brother had been there to confide in. No matter how relaxed her break had been, Chloë was never bothered to be back at school. Especially not since there were almost always plenty of good things to look forward to. She had planned on making her way towards the lake front, but as soon as she stepped out of the castle and noticed Ajax those plans went right out the window. "Well this definitely feels like a déjà vu." Chloë joked as she walked closer, clearly remembering this was exactly what he had been doing when they first met. It was only when she got closer that she realized he seemed to be deeply lost in his own thoughts and it made her wonder if he had even heard or noticed her as well how long he had managed to ride around like this without an accident, when he didn't seem to be paying much attention to anything around him.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio would’ve ridden round and round the courtyard for hours without stopping, but when he heard a voice and then spotted that familiar red hair he drew to a quick stop, stumbling a little and almost falling from the skateboard, ”Chloe!” he greeted warmly, he was always pleased to see Chloe, she a good friend, someone he enjoyed having in his life at Hogwarts. They had only grown closer over time and their relationship had never been anything mother than friends, for which he was quite grateful. ”How was your break?” he asked, all of his worries were slowly washing away and just the genuine joy at seeing his friend. He didn’t spend a whole lot of time with her the last semester they had both gone off and done other things, but he knew he could always count on her and he wished she knew she’d always be able to count on him. ​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë smiled widely when Ajax seemed to have noticed her and stumbled for a second as he stopped riding around in circles. "Hi!" She happily greeted her friend. She had already completely forgotten which plan she had that had lead her outside in the first place but now that it caused her to have run into her friend she couldn't really care about that anymore. "I'm surpised you even heard me, you seemed pretty lost in your own thoughts for a second there." She added in a light tone. She wasn't quite sure if it was her inherent curiousity or the fact that she cared a lot for her friends but she just wanted to be up to date with what was going on with any of them. "My break was fine, nothing special." Chloë answered Ajax with a small smile, before quickly returning the question to him. "What about yours? Where did you go?" She asked, feeling like she could just skip any questions about if he went travelling, pretty sure that it was how he spend almost every break they got from school. It was something that interested her though, and she always loved hearing his stories about wherever it was that his dad had taken him.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio gave a little smile, he hadn’t thought people would notice but Chloe knew him well, if anyone would notice it would be her. He gave a little shrug, ”Do you know Nicole Fisk?” he decided to just ask. He nodded as she talked about her break. ”Sounds fun! I saw you at the yuleball with one of the gyrffindors right?” he asked, he hadn’t taken their picture but he was sure he’d seen her with someone, but hadn’t been with someone because of the blind dating. He laughed lightly at her questions, the way they were phrased made him smile. ”I went to Japan for most of it. I spent time with the exchange student, she’s a slytherin, Wangui,” he told Chloe, it had been a good break, he had had good fun with the time he’d spent with her. ”We spent about a week where she was and then travelled a bit,” he said with a smile. ”It was really nice, my japanese really bad so it was good to improve it during that trip,” He told her, it was a slightly less adventurous holiday, but it had been nice.​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë nodded when Ajax asked her if she knew Nicole, slightly tilting her head out of curiousity as to what he was getting at. She was pretty sure that he had mentioned her before sometime, that they were friends at the very least. "Yeah, I do." She didn't get too much time to figure out what he was getting at before he'd likely tell her when he mentioned the yule ball. "Uh, yeah, I went with Sully." Chloë started her answer. "One of my friends." She added, trying to sound casual about it although she could definitely feel her cheeks flush at the very thought of it. "Oooh, that sounds cool!" She smiled when he told her about Japan. It wasn't like she had ever been there and actually knew what it was like but it had always seemed like an interesting place to her. She nodded when he mentioned his Japanese, still surprised by how many languages Ajax seemed to know, even if they weren't all fluent. "Well it could've never been worse than mine." She joked, not sure if she even knew a single word in the language.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio gave a little nod, ”Did you know she’s dating Eric Holland?” he only knew bits and pieces about the boy. He hadn’t heard the best things and he trusted Nicole but he still felt a little odd about it. Still wasn’t too sure what to make of things or why he was even feeling odd about it. He knew he wouldn’t have felt it if Chloe was seeing someone - which she maybe was with Sully or even if Andy had when they’d been friends. It didn’t make sense either because he liked Wangui. ”Oooh, yeah,, and how was spending it with a friend?” he asked, he didn’t want to make this all about him and wanted to hear about her experiences too. He nodded in agreement, ”Yeah I hadn’t been to Japan in a while so it was a really good fun,” he laughed lightly as she comment on her own Japanese, ”I dunno, you might be surprised and impress Wangui more than I have with my Japanese.” he laughed lightly.​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë shook her head at Ajax's question, although she now immediately started wondering if she might have noticed it. If they were dating then surely they would've gone to the ball together and she might have seen them together without even realizing it. Then again she had been pretty preoccupied with her own date at the ball. "So what's that got to do with you being all lost in thought..?" She asked him in a light tone, not wanting to implicate anything that might not be true. Maybe he was just worried about her. If he'd heard as many stories about Eric as she had then she could understand if he would, she knew he was friends with Nicole after all. "It was fun!" She smiled, giving a little nod before almost blurting out her next words. "I might actually like him as more than a friend though." Chloë added, feeling like she had to tell at least someone other than her brother since he wasn't even at the school with her. But Ajax was and he was someone she trusted with pretty much anything she'd share with him. "That's good!" She smiled when he mentioned Japan had been fun. "I highly doubt it." She laughed at what he said next, not too confident in it. "Is she nice though? I don't think I've met her."

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio shrugged a little, ”I don’t really know, it like bothers me, but I don’t know why. I’ve been crushing on someone else, it can’t be that I like or something,” he trusted chloe they had always been good friends so he had no reason to not, even with this. He gave her a little smile and then it widened as she said she liked him. ”Ooooooh,” he gave a little laugh and though it was teasing a little he did mean it. He did think it was sweet and he hoped for nothing but the best for chloe and sully, but it still had to involve a little teasing. Ajaccio had to pause at her question, Wangui was nice….mostly…..just not always….”I think she’s just very sharp, but god she’s so pretty!” He gushed, ”She’s in slytherin, but she’s only here for the year, so you might not meet her,”​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë nodded along when Ajax spoke, making a mental note of him mentioning he was crushing on someone because she was definitely going to ask him about that later. For now though that wasn't the thing to focus on. "Maybe it's just you feeling protective?" She offered, although she was sure Ajax would understand his own feelings better than she could his. "I mean Nicole is your friend after all and Eric doesn't exactly have a reputation of being such a nice guy.." She gave a little shrug at the last words. Sure, that didn't have to mean that he wasn't nice to Nicole but she figured it would still be a bit difficult to see a friend hanging around him. Chloë shook her head with a little laugh at Ajax's response to her telling him about Sully, still ready to ask him about his own crush he had mentioned before. When he started answering her question about Wangui though she almost felt like she didn't even have to ask him anyore, especially not with the way he was gushing about how pretty she is. She pouted for a second when he said she'd only be at the school for a year though, quite intrigued by the idea of meeting her. "She sounds interesting." Chloë smiled. "So.. is she who you're crushing on?" She followed up with a question, making some vague spiraling motion with her finger as if to refer to what he mentioned before about having a crush on someone.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio considered what she’d said, he’d of course heard things about Eric, but he didn’t know the guy and he was sure he’d seen him around Minnie at least once, or the two chatting and considering he knew that his captain was capable of punching people she didn’t like, so he wasn’t sure what to make of the Eric character, but perhaps it was protectiveness, perhaps he was just wanting what was best for her, but it was just manifesting in a new manner. ”Yeah, you must be right,” he agreed, he wasn’t entirely sold, but sold enough that he was willing to roll with it. He gave a nod, ”Yeah I guess I am, but like I know it’s not going to last, and I’m near certain she doesn’t like me like that at all, but…” he shrugged, it was fine, he wasn’t bothered by her not liking him, they could still be friends, that wasn’t going to change anything. ”If we’re hanging out and I see her, I’ll introduce you to her,” he assured Chloe, hopefully she might meet her before the years end. ”Or well, maybe you can spot her in class,” he reasoned. ”So, are you gonna ask Sully out?”​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë didn't think Ajax sounded confident in his agreement, still wondering if perhaps there was something more going on. They were his feelings though and she figured there was only so much she could say about it when he didn't seem to have figured why exactly he was so bothered by it out by himself. She nodded when he told her more about his crush on Wangui, making a mental note that she really needed to pay attention to the people around her, now even more curious about the girl. Ajax didn't seem too bothered by his own situation, by having a crush someone who he knew was going to leave again in a little while, but she felt like that still had to sting at least a little. "Sounds like a struggle." Chloë replied honestly, even if he had made it sound like it wasn't. She wanted to be a good friend though, make sure he was really okay with it all. If he was, she figured there was still plenty of time for him to hang out with the girl before the year ended and she knew he had always been quite good in handling goodbyes. "And if not, I'll just go and find her myself." She responded jokingly, not actually planning on seeking out the girl whatsoever. That didn't mean she wouldn't be quietly observing the girl if she saw her though. "I mean I've kind of been waiting on him to do that." Chloë let out a small chuckle at Ajax's question, feeling like she might as well give him an honest answer. "To get some sort of confirmation he likes me too, y'know? I know I like him and we've been hanging out over the break and I think he does like me, but he's so casual about everything it's just a bit.. confusing."

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio had never really considered that others would be surprised by his casualness with Mangui and his crush on her. Perhaps it really was that he was just better at saying goodbye than most. So he wasn’t bothered by her leaving, since he knew that she would, he was crushing on her but he knew it was temporary and part of him knew that though he found her interesting it was perhaps a more physical attraction he felt for her rather than some deep emotional bound. It was fine. Ajaccio listened her as she talked about why she hadn’t asked him out yet, and he got it. He maybe understood a little about how Andy had possibly felt, when she liked him...when he hadn’t liked her back, but if she’d just been open and honest about it, it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal. ”I get it, but maybe you just need to sit down with him. I’m sure he likes you, he'd be crazy not to...and isn’t it better to know...and be sure…” he was careful in his wording, not wanting her to feel pressured to talk to him about it, but knowing that it was pretty good to be open with someone about how they might feel and then able to just either move forward or move on..​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë gave a little nod at Ajax's words, figuring that he was probably right. Perhaps waiting around wasn't the way to go and she should just toughen up a little and straight up ask Sully whether he liked her too or not. Maybe she could just ask him to the valentine's dance or something. She smiled when friend said Sully'd be crazy not to like her. She thought he did, hoped he did. He was the one that had asked her to hang out after the yule ball anyways. That had to mean something, right? "Yeah, you're probably right." Chloë nodded, glad she had talked about it with someone that was not her brother. It was one of the things she valued about her friendship with Ajax really. That aside from the fact that he was fun to hang out and joke around with she could also talk to him about slightly more serious things. "Thanks. Don't know what I'd do without you." She softly nudged him with a chuckle, although she was genuinely happy to have a friend like Ajax around.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio smiled at chloe as she seemed to agre with what he said. He knew it might not work out like he hoped it would for Chloe, but he was sure, so very sure that Sully was probably interested in Chloe, they were close and he was sure that they would make a nice couple. He didn’t know if it would last but they were young and that sort of thing didn’t matter. He smiled at her and nodded, ”Same,” he replied honestly, his friendship with Chloe had perhaps half started because of Andy, but he was glad to have met her, glad to know Chloe and always thankful for the friendship she provided him. ”Do you wanna try skateboarding again?” he offered, he was feeling a little clearer in his head so he didn’t think need to ride around as a distraction but he did still love skateboarding, and perhaps Chloe would be interested in trying again. ​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

After their whole conversation Chloë was slightly surprised when Ajax asked her if she wanted to try skateboarding again. The last time she tried hadn't even been close to a succes, but then again that had been about two years ago. Which was strange to think about, really. Time seemed to move so much faster whenever she was at school. Even if she knew it moved exactly as fast as it did at home. "I mean it'd be hard top the last time," She joked. Back then she had been determined to figure it out, to get the board to move further than just a few turns of the wheels. Which it had, it just ended with her on the floor. Certainly not her best moment. "But yeah, sure, why not." Chloë nodded, not planning on falling this time around. She had obviously gotten older since last time and she liked to think she had also become at least somewhat wiser. Definitely more athletic since she had started quidditch and she had watched Ajax ride around plenty of times so maybe, just maybe, she'd actually manage to do a sort of decent job this time around.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio was a little surprised that she seemed to agree to it. But Chloe was the sort who would try, as far as he could remember, so why wouldn’t she have another go. Certainly, they were both older and Chloe was on the quidditch team. He put the skateboard down to let her decide when she’d get on. ”You should manage more, you’ve been doing quidditch,” he said to her. Before wondering if he should mention to Chloe that he wasn’t going to be on his team, they were in the same houses so he didn’t think he would need to, but then really maybe he should or she’d just find out when Gryffindor played Ravenclaw and he wasn’t there. Maybe he’d bring it up in a bit. For now, he’d just have to content with just letting chloe try his skateboard and to not say anything more. ​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë grinned when Ajax put the board down for her. She was more confident about it than she had been back in their second year, but perhaps she had also gotten less scared of getting hurt. Falling off would probably be nothing compared to getting hit straight in the ribs with a bludger. Especially not since she'd only be trying to get around the courtyard, not attempting any tricks like Ajax often would. "That's what I thought!" She laughed when her friend had been thinking the exact same thing as she had. Even if quidditch and skateboarding seemed nothing alike she figured a lot of was still both about balance. Trying her best to recall what had gone the previous time she had tried Chloë placed her foot on the board again, using her other to push off with a considerate amount of strength and trying her best to keep her balance as she board moved forward. This time she actually felt like she sort of had it down though, compared to last time she tried, and she confidently managed to push off a few more times to keep the board rolling and move a bit further down the courtyard. After a couple of meters though she happily jumped off, picking up the board and taking a few steps back to Ajax. "Guess I'm coming for your throne." She casually joked, adding a small shrug as if it was nothing. She was very much aware that her best performance at this point had just been to stay on the board rather than fall off though, which wasn't anywhere near what Ajax could do. Nevertheless, it was still a better outcome than last time.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio watched Chloe as she got up onto the skateboard and just stood back. Where his instinct was to go provide support she appeared to be much confident on it so he stepped back and just let her go ahead, do what she needed to. He watched as she managed it, getting further than before, manaing gto not fall and being overall just better. He smiled at her and gave a little round of applause. ”I’m sure you’ll take it from me soon,” he joked with her, he was actually quite impressed with how much better this attempt had been and without too much work how much she’d been able to improve. It was quite surprising, nice though. ”Does this mean I have to find a new hobby...if you’re coming for my skateboarding crown?” he laughed lightly. He would of course keep skateboarding and would never give it up but it was just a joke and he knew that Chloe would get it. ​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë laughed at Ajax's response to her joke, following up with a small shake of her head. Even if she had managed to go forward without falling of this time she knew that didn't mean she'd suddenly be a pro. She had probably gotten lucky. That or it had been her determination to get it right this time. "Nah, I think you're good, I think I'll just stick to quidditch." She responded with a chuckle to Ajax joking about finding a new hobby. "Plus I don't think you of all people need any more hobbies when you're already doing accio and quidditch as well." She added, listing what other things she knew her friend spend his time on. Then there was still classes to attend too. Between accio, quidditch and classes she figured that didn't leave him with too much spare time on his hands to hang out or go skateboarding anyways. It was one of the reasons she wasn't bothered if they didn't hang out for a while as well, she just knew he was busy.

 

[Ajaccio Skey]

Ajaccio nodded and laughed, ”You are very good at quidditch,” he agreed, but then gave a little smile, ”Well...actually, I’ll be leaving the quidditch team after this year…” he said. ”The amount of work I have for Accio is just gonna increase ten-fold when I take over and like I enjoy quidditch, but I wouldn’t be able to dedicate as much time to it, and I’d just be dragging the team down. You know there will be younger students who want it more than me, so I won’t be going back..” he said. It had been on his mind since the beginning of the year, he didn’t have of free time with all he was doing already and with it only going to increase he knew it was time to let something go. He loved quidditch, loved playing, but he knew it would be better for him. Especially since they’d be doing OWLs. ”Comes at the best time, since someone is coming for my skateboarding crown, need to start focusing on that too.”​

 

[Chloe Thompson]

Chloë had to admit she was a little bit surprised when Ajax said he wouldn't be joining the team again next year, although when he started explaining it wasn't hard to understand why he wasn't planning on trying out again. Taking over accio was definitely going to be a whole lot of work and she knew he'd have his hands full with that. "That's fair." She nodded, giving a small smile when he explained. It was slightly disappointing to know that even if the chance to play against him in an official match had already been slim they would now be non-existent. Nor seeing him play in one because whilst she quite enjoyed playing against her friends she liked watching them represent their house on the pitch just as much. Made her feel some sense of pride. "Right, because it's very much a neck to neck race right now." Chloë laughed, although she genuinely hoped that the pressure of both taking over accio as well as having OWLs next year would not leave him just cooped up inside all the time. "Seriously though if I don't see you riding around here every once in a while next year I will come drag you out of that accio room myself." She added, even if she knew they'd had to get through the rest of this year first before he would even take over accio.