Moon Tower- Scenes and Snippets

Hustlers

"So you'll do it?" Harry asked, circling back to their earlier conversation.

"Well, you never really asked," Luz teased, but they both knew she would do it anyway. She could never back down from a challenge or a chance to play her favorite sport.

So that's how Luz found herself across the Atlantic Ocean, wearing her favorite pair of cleats and shivering on a soccer field.

Harry had introduced her to his friends, and they'd all welcomed the extra help, even if some of them looked suspiciously at her height, lack of shin guards, cheerful grin, and the fact that she looked like she was about to freeze over like a popsicle.

The cold she could get over. This wasn't the first time Luz had played in less than favorable conditions, but it had been a while. Harry had asked if she was okay, noting her red nose and the way she hadn't uncrossed her arms since stepping out of the car. He didn't think it was that cold, but he was also used to London's weather. Luz reassured him she just needed to get moving and she would be fine, so that's what they did.

Before the game started, Luz told Harry to put her anywhere, but the one guy, who Harry had whispered in her ear was just a friend of a friend, relegated her to defense. She wanted to laugh, but she didn't, just nodded her head and took her place in a position that was more than familiar to her.

Harry tried to keep an eye on Luz when the game started, but he was busy keeping up with everyone else. And from what he saw, she was either holding her own taking the ball from a member of the other team or talking casually to one of his friends playing in goal. He also noticed that she was the only one who didn't seem to be out of breath, which he marveled at for someone who didn't play any more than the rest of the guys on the field did.

True to her word, after about ten minutes, Luz began to move quicker, was more aggressive if the ball came her way. It was enough that the other team started to notice that they weren't scoring the way they normally would against Harry and his friends.

Harry himself was quite pleased with how things were turning out. They were tied, but he was just happy to be on an even playing field for once. Harry and his friends were okay, but this team was just better. With Luz, however, they now stood a chance. It also made Harry happy to see Luz having such a good time. He often worried about her over exerting herself, mostly because she didn't worry herself, but watching her play tonight was a totally different sight to see. Luz had told Harry in the past what it was like to watch him perform onstage, and he had a feeling that watching her in her element on this field was a similar experience. And the crazy part was that he didn't think Luz was even trying her hardest.

And then someone on the other team purposely ran into her.

Luz had taken the ball from one of the other team's forwards with relative ease and was dribbling the ball, looking to pass it off to someone else. Harry was fully aware that she could probably take the entire team without much effort, but Luz stayed in her little bubble on defense, sending him a wink anytime their paths crossed. Apparently frustrated with this outsider who had been keeping them from scoring almost all night, one of the other players ran up and flattened Luz from behind. A surge of white-hot anger flared inside of Harry, and he stormed over to where she'd been knocked off her feet, ready to beat the shit out of whoever had pushed her over.

But before he could do any of what had been playing out in his head, Luz stood up and brushed herself off. One of Harry's friends had gotten to Luz first and asked if she was okay, and she just smiled and nodded her head like nothing was wrong. Harry walked over to her anyway, wanting to see for himself if she was alright, knowing that if something was wrong, she wouldn't admit it until the game was over or her limp was too hard to hide, whichever came first.