Wizards in New York

Well, That Was a Disaster...

*George's POV*

It was the night of the first Quidditch match. The pitch had been lit up, and all of Reyna's team Hades had gathered at the sidelines.

Practices had gone okay, apart from the fact that Reyna had been giving me the silent treatment. I had tried to explain to her about what had happened on the beach, and how stupid Fred had been, but she refused to look at me.

Ever since I saw that photo, I hadn't been able to get this girl out of my mind.

"Okay, team!"

Reyna's shout broke me out of my trace.

She looked at us each in turn. Her eyes hardened as we made eye contact.

We broke contact, and Reyna began her lecture.

"Now I know we've only had two practices but I expect us to dominate Elysium out there. Let's work some magic, alright?"

The word magic sent shivers down my spine.

Cheers exploded from the crowd as we marched onto the pitch, waving. Percy Jackson's team, Elysium, was already in the air.

"We'll play down our skills a little, yeah?" George whispered.

I ignored him, which physically hurt. I had been so mad at them that I was basically doing the same thing to him that Reyna had been doing to me.

We mounted our brooms and flew into the air. I hefted my bat, and the game began.

The demigods were better than I would have thought after two days of playing.

Gardener hit a Bludger straight at a kid named Will Solace, but I batted it away easily. Our seeker, Nico di Angelo, zoomed above. Reyna got a goal, bringing up the score to 10-0.

"George!"

It was Reyna. I turned, and for a second I was mesmerized by the way her high ponytail blew in the wind, her fierce eyes that I could see from all the way back here...

Smack.

Pain engulfed my head, and I saw the Bludger zoom away.

"George!" Reyna zoomed towards me, but before she could get to me, a Bludger aimed by Zhang smacked into her back, sending her flying into me. We fell off our brooms and tumbled towards the ground.

Reyna's screams pierced the air as we fell. She clutched my shirt until a pegasus swooped in and caught us.

"What were you thinking?" she shouted as we soared to the ground.

My face burned red. "I was distracted," I mumbled.

Reyna scowled as we climbed onto our brooms, but there was a sudden cheer, and Percy Jackson swept past, the Seeker clutched in his fist.

Elysium had won.

"You idiot!"

Reyna shoved me back.

"It wasn't my fault!" I yelled back. "You were the one who shouted my name."

"I wanted to warn you!"

"So you care about me? Could've fooled me."

Her face was tomato red. "If you would just listen-"

But I wasn't done. "You know what I was distracted by?" I spat. "You. You looked so pretty in the moonlight. I like you a lot, Reyna, but apparently you're just too dense to see it."

Without waiting for an answer, I stormed away from the roaring crowd and towards the woods.

******

My eyes were blurry when I emerged in the grove. Wand out and lit, I stabbed it into the ground and left it as a lamp as I sprawled onto the grass.

What had I done?

She was extremely mad, no doubt. I had called her dense in front all of the other demigods. But would she just ignore him, or would she try to talk? I didn't know.

Did I want to talk?

I didn't know.

At least I admitted it, to myself more than her. I did like her a lot. Even after just one conversation, I could appreciate a lot of things about her.

"You screwed everything up again, George," I muttered.

Oh, well. Reyna hated me, I had hurt Fred, and the whole team probably blamed me for their lost game.

Who cares? At least I have myself, and this grove.

I smiled as I settled into the grass. I may not have been okay, but I could survive for the moment.

I closed my eyes.