A/N: I mention a college from the Marvel Universe called Empire State University in this chapter. It's where a bunch of Marvel characters went to school, but it doesn't exist in the real world. Just in case anybody was wondering 😄
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I went out to the Quidditch pitch early Saturday morning, same as last weekend. The weather was slightly better, although it was still cold and wet. Hufflepuff was playing Ravenclaw, and I wanted to get everything in order just in case something went wrong during the match.
The best difference: this time I got to start my morning with coffee. I was practically floating on a cloud I was so happy.
Once I got to the stands, I started by checking that my AED would work despite the magic and rain. I fixed it as well as I could last night, but it couldn't hurt to check again this morning.
As soon as I finished with that (everything worked perfectly, thank God), I decided to go through a few drills to make sure I was ready to act in case of emergency. I put on my Stark glasses and had Ana give me scenarios to react to. I practiced and practiced until my longest time between a situation and starting CPR was twenty seconds.
I felt ready. Hopefully that meant I really was.
By the time I'd finished, the teams were coming onto the pitch to get ready. The students coming down from breakfast were sure to follow in a few minutes, and I just hoped this match would be calmer than the last one.
The rain kept coming down as the stands filled up, although it was still nowhere near the storm from last match. A few minutes later, I was joined by my group of friends (minus Lee, who was doing the commentary for the match).
"Why are you always down here so early?" asked Angelina as she settled into her seat beside me.
"I have stuff to do before the match," I said simply. I never talked to my friends about what happened after the first match, or how I felt about it. Maybe I would some day, but I didn't want to right now.
"Maybe if you'd been with us at breakfast you could've turned Wood down," said Fred. He left a space between himself and me in the front row, which made me curious.
"What are you talking about?"
Before I could get an answer, Oliver was joining us in the stands, taking a seat right between me and Fred.
"Alright team, this is a make or break moment for us," he said, staring at the pitch for a long time before looking at the people around him. He looked like a nervous wreck. "Where are Katie and Harry?"
"Uh... probably sitting with their friends..." I said, trying to figure out why Oliver was still going crazy. We lost a full week ago!
"Why would they do that?" he demanded, looking genuinely confused. "If Ravenclaw beats Hufflepuff, we may still have a shot at the Quidditch Cup. This is a team event!"
He started getting up like he was going to turn around and go find Katie and Harry, so I decided to intercept him.
"Hey, Oliver, don't worry," I said, gently grabbing his shoulder and easing him back into his seat. "I'm sure they're watching closely from wherever they're sitting. Besides, it could be good if we're a little split up. Katie or Harry might get a different angle on an important play that could help us later."
Oliver looked thoughtful for a minute, then turned his attention back to the pitch.
"I suppose you're right, Alexa," he said. Then, proudly and just loud enough for me to hear, "Smart thinking."
I smiled and shook my head, leaning back in my seat. Oliver was crazy, but he was a sweetheart. Like a hyper-focused, stressed out puppy.
The game started a few minutes after I got Oliver to settle down. While our match started in the morning and kept going until it got dark, this match was over before lunch.
Ravenclaw absolutely destroyed Hufflepuff.
"This is excellent," said Oliver brightly, popping out of his seat as the teams headed back to their locker rooms. "If everything goes right from here, we might just be back in the running to win. I need to start drawing up some plays."
Without another word he booked it out of the stands, muttering to himself the whole way.
"Wow. That kid is something else," I said, turning to Angelina and Alicia.
"You're telling me," Angelina scoffed. "You should've seen him after our losses the past few years."
"He gets so much worse when he's analyzing the entire season for every possible mistake," Alicia agreed.
"Hey, let's get out of this rain, yeah?" asked Fred, interrupting us and nodding back towards the castle. Everyone was soaked from sitting outside all match, but after weeks of near-constant downpour, we were used to it.
"Shouldn't we wait for Lee?" I asked.
"Don't need to," said George, pointing behind me. I turned to see Lee coming towards us with a massive grin on his face.
"Gryffindor house is back in it!" he said as he reached us. "Now let's get the hell inside."
I laughed and followed as the boys led the way out of the bleachers. Most people had left immediately, which meant we didn't have to deal with the massive crowd that normally came from a Quidditch match (I'd completely avoided that so far). We were about to turn for the castle when I saw a lone figure out on the Quidditch pitch, kneeling in the rain and looking seriously bummed out.
It looked like Cedric.
"Hey guys, I'll meet you back at the castle, okay?" I said, stopping short. "I uh... I forgot something."
My friends gave me weird looks, but they were so eager to dry off that they didn't bother arguing. I turned and trudged back towards Cedric, who hadn't moved an inch.
"Hey!" I called as I got closer. He looked up at me, and the disappointment on his face was approaching Oliver-levels. "You look like you could use some cheering up."
"Alexa. That's very kind of you, but I'm fine. Really."
His tone immediately convinced me of the exact opposite.
I plopped down in the grass next to Cedric, squinting up at the rain. I was already soaking wet, so a little more wet grass and drizzle couldn't hurt, right?
"Look, I know it doesn't always help to talk about what's bothering you," I started. "Especially since we've really only talked one other time before this. But last weekend I was feeling really shitty and you made me feel a lot better, so I want you to know I'm here to return the favor. Whether that's being someone to vent to, helping distract you, or just sitting with you in the rain until you're ready to go in."
Cedric sighed heavily. I didn't think he was going to say anything, but after a few long minutes he spoke.
"How could we possibly have lost that bad?" he asked. His question was directed at the ground, so I waited to see if it was more of a vent than an actual question. "Gryffindor house was supposed to be the team to beat this year, and we managed to give you a game! I wish the ending hadn't been what it was, but that's part of the reason I wanted a rematch. Our team could genuinely keep pace with yours. We can win."
He stopped again, so I kept waiting. Rhodey just listened to me, and it was exactly what I needed. Someone to just sit and listen until I got it all out.
"How the hell did we go from beating Gryffindor to letting Ravenclaw steam roll us?" he screamed, glaring up at the sky. He sank back down, looking defeated. He sighed. "I'm sorry Alexa, I-"
"No. No way, Cedric, don't apologize. You needed to get it out. You don't have to be happy or calm all the time, it's okay to be pissed and scream and hate the way things are, even when you know you can't do anything about it. You don't have to be sunshine all the time just because you're Hufflepuff."
Cedric smiled a little, so I kept going.
"Actually, I'm a little relieved to see you angry. I was starting to think Hufflepuffs were some bizarre form of magic creature that didn't experience negative emotions, and someone just forgot to mention it to me."
Cedric actually laughed this time, although it was short.
"Look, Cedric," I sighed, scooting closer to him on the grass so that I was right in front of him. "I don't play sports with the same intensity that you do, but I watch them. And if I've learned anything, it's that every team has their great days and every team has their bad days. There's nothing you can do about it, no matter how much you prepare. Sometimes you just lose.
"Besides, you guys played your hearts out last weekend while the Ravenclaw team got to rest up and relax in the bleachers. Slytherin was trying to mess with our game when they rescheduled their match, but they messed with yours too."
Cedric sighed and stared up at the rain again.
"I suppose you're right." He looked back to me, finally making eye contact. "I still feel horrible about it, though. Like I let my team down."
"Honestly, I don't think there's any way to get over that feeling. You just have to do your best to cope with it and not be so hard on yourself over time."
Advice I was desperately trying to take in my own life.
Cedric nodded for a second, gazing out at the rest of the Quidditch pitch. Then, he turned back to me.
"What were you saying about a distraction earlier?"
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"Okay, pay attention, because you're about to get a crash course in the best sport in existence, muggle or wizard."
Cedric and I were sitting by the fire in an old, unused classroom with my laptop open, waiting for the start of Empire State University's most important preseason basketball game. We were playing Duke, who was projected to be the best team in the nation this year.
"They're all so close to the ground," Cedric noted, eyes fixed on my laptop.
"Yeah, that's because there's no magic. Which means no flying. Now, basketball is a pretty fast-paced game. There's a lot of scoring, even if your defense is ridiculously good." I went on to explain the basic rules to Cedric. I didn't want to get into anything too technical; just the groundwork he needed to understand what was happening.
"Okay, I think I got it," he said, nodding his head as he kept looking at the laptop screen. "I may have a few questions as the game begins."
"That's totally fine, ask away." I stretched out on the few pillows we'd conjured, getting comfortable now that I was done explaining. "This is a really big game for the team."
"Is it to determine who wins the Cup? Or whatever the muggles use instead of a Cup?" asked Cedric. He was stretched out too, both of us lying on our stomachs and resting our heads on our hands.
"No, it's too early for that. These games don't technically count in who wins the championship, or really even who gets to play. It's mostly just a chance for teams to test their skills and challenge themselves outside of who they normally play. And today we're playing one of the best teams in the league."
Cedric nodded thoughtfully, taking in all the information. Then the game started, and all bets were off.
I enjoyed cheering and being loud for sports, but I didn't know enough about Quidditch to do that. Basketball, on the other hand, was something I understood well enough to yell and scream like nobody's business.
Cedric, for his part, got really into the yelling even though he didn't always understand what was going on. He laughed at some of my louder protests through the computer screen ("They can't hear you!"), and for the most part we just had fun.
Fortunately for me, ESU managed to beat Duke, which made it very easy for me to be happy.
"Hell yes!" I yelled, jumping up to dance around the room as soon as the game ended. "We beat Duke! We beat Duke! YES!"
I ran back over and pulled Cedric up with me, dragging him around the room with me in a victory dance. After a few more minutes of wild celebration, I calmed back down.
"That was fun," said Cedric, the smile still on his face.
"Hell yeah it was." I picked up my laptop, standing and returning Cedric's smile. "I'm glad you decided to watch the game with me. That made it even more fun."
"I'm glad, too. I feel much better now, Alexa, thank you."
"Hey, anytime," I said. I suddenly realized how close Cedric was standing. Was he standing that close before? He hadn't moved, but he seemed closer.
Neither of moved for a moment that seemed to stretch out, and then Cedric cleared his throat.
"Let me know when the next game is, okay?" he asked.
"Sure thing," I promised. We started heading for the door, ready to go to a late lunch now that the game was over. "ESU has a couple games a week, but I probably won't watch all of those."
"A couple games a week? That's insane!"
"Oh, just you wait," I said, tucking my laptop under my arm as we walked. "There's this thing called 'March Maddness' that starts in March... it's the best time of the year for basketball."
"I can't wait."
Cedric and I went our separate ways once we got to the Great Hall. Oliver gave me a suspicious, questioning look (for walking in with the enemy), but I ignored him as I waved to Cedric and sat down with my friends.
"Where were you this whole time?" asked Alicia, leaning forward and wiggling her eyebrows at me. Everyone else leaned in to hear my answer, and I had to work not to roll my eyes.
"Watching basketball."
"Ugh." Every single one of my friends groaned and leaned away, disgusted.
"One of these days I'm gonna get you guys to like that sport," I vowed.
They all started laughing their heads off.