The Deal I Made With Theodore Nott - NL x TN

2

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"Tell me why this is necessary?" I asked, facing Theo in far more gear I have ever seen any quidditch player use.

Theo looked up from the quidditch case he was rummaging through. He laughed out loud at the sight of me, this made me more self conscious.
And irritated.
It was him who put me in this in the first place.

"Yes it's necessary, I saw you attempt to fly first year and I'm not taking any chances." Theo explained through chuckles. He stood up and straightened the helmet on my head. Finishing it off with a heavy pat that I could swear took a few inches off of my height.

"I've flown since then." I grumbled.

"Successfully?" He countered, a cheeky grin tugging at his lips. He really knew how to get under my skin.
The silence I replied with answered his question.

"It's alright Longbottom, it's the easiest part of quidditch." He explained as he handed me a broom.

Easy for you to say.

My thoughts were quickly silenced when Theo grabbed my hands, moving them into a different position on my broom.
"See, like this." He said proudly while I looked anywhere but his eyes.

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It took Theo 45 minutes to teach me how to fly without falling off my broom. The next hour after that was spent attempting to defend against Nott's deadly Quaffle throws. He thought it best I practice the 'less dangerous roles' as he put it. When it was obvious I couldn't fly fast, the last choice we had was Keeper.

I was surprised and relieved to find Theodore was a good teacher, he wasn't impatient and he was harsh when he needed to be. Best of all he never yelled.
I hated yelling.

When we finally landed, we were both out of breath. The day was hot and I felt like it had just rained with the amount of sweat I was drenched in. Theo took off his gloves and ran his hand through his wet hair.

I felt weird staring, but who wouldn't? No one could deny Theodore Nott was a handsome bloke.

"Hey Neville." Ritchie Coote greeted as he and a few other quidditch playing Gryffindors walked onto the field.

"Oh- Hey Ritchie." I practically stuttered. I mentally slapped myself for acting so awkward each time he spoke to me.

"You were pretty good out there, Weasley might have some competition for Keeper this year." Ritchie exclaimed with a bright smile.

"I guess I'm a good teacher then." Theo noted, throwing a friendly arm over my shoulder. I rolled my eyes and shook him off me.

Ritchie studied Theo curiously, slightly confused by his presence. Then he looked back towards me.
"I didn't know you hung around Slytherins." He stated.

I knew it would cause something the second it left his mouth, though I was slightly taken back by it as well. Ritchie never normally insulted Slytherin's to their faces, of course there was a decent rivalry between our houses. Even more so when you are close mates with Harry Potter himself.

Theo took a step towards Coote.
"What was that?" He asked, a rigid tone in his voice.

Ritchie smiled towards him then looked back at me again.
"See you around Neville." He said with a smile. He walked passed Theo and I, making sure to bump Theo's shoulder as he did so.

I started off towards the locker rooms immediately, not looking back or saying anything to Theo. He quickly caught up to me, holding the two brooms under his arm, he walked backwards so he could face me. He threw his hands around like a maniac.

"What? Now you have a problem with me too?" 

I didn't answer him, just stayed silent as I pushed through the locker room door. I started removing all the gear I had piled on, thinking about how I probably looked like an idiot in front of Ritchie.

Nott removed his shirt swiftly while he continued berating me with questions.

As I continued to ignore him I thought about how jealous I was of him. He was so confident in front of other people.
I still changed in the bathroom.

It wasn't because I was gay, it was simply because I quite literally hated myself. I hate how I look, sound, think.

Things would be easier if dad was here.

"Fine! Keep ignoring me!" Theo huffed loudly as he slammed the door behind him, leaving me alone in the locker room.

As I sat in silence I let my brain drift again, as if it wasn't always that way.

I couldn't stop thinking about Dove in this moment. Was Theo a good match for her? He seemed alright enough but he could tell he was unpredictable when he didn't get his way.

Why was he so upset though?

Malfoy speaks to him poorly all the time, and I've said choice words to him more than once. How could a snide comment about his house really rile him up so much? It was an odd red flag to come across, I thought I had him figured out but it turns out there's some mystery behind Theodore Nott Jr.

I knocked my head against the wall wondering why I was giving the Slytherin wizard my personal time by thinking about him so hard. I never actually intended on Dove and him ever working out in the first place, so why was I thinking so hard about him? It was almost as if I was personally deciding if he was worthy of dating.

I had to get that idea out of my brain, it was simply too outlandish to linger on.

I threw on my jumper and stepped out the door. As I walked passed the field I caught sight of Ritchie catching a Quaffle passed to him.

I couldn't help but gawk at the sight of him. He was sweating like how I picture a Greek god would sweat. He flew on his broom without his hands so he could catch and pass easier, and something about it made my stomach flip.

Theo was a distant memory.