Conflict (Mal x Harry)

The Pirate and the Witch

CHAPTER EIGHT

"What does any of this even mean?" Gil groaned, hitting his head on the table.

"Careful mate, you need every brain cell you can get left in tact," Jay snickered, munching on a pastry Lonnie had made him.

A group of them sat outside on the benches beside the tourney field. The sun was beating down on them that day and they'd decided to make the most of it.
Gil was trying to do his math homework but due to the sub-par teaching on the Isle, he was very behind.
Mal made a note to self to advocate for greater educational funding for the Isle in the near future.

She smiled over at him wryly as he tried to figure out what on earth he was trying to figure out. His tongue stuck out slightly and his eyebrows pinched in the middle.

"I would offer you help, Gil. I really would, but I fear I'd do more damage than actual good. I'm hopeless in math," Mal chuckled, turning her attention back to her half-hearted doodlings in the corner of her English assignments. However, most of her attention was directed at the tourney field, where a practice of sorts was taking place - the other reason the group were currently studying outside.

Jay was resting his shoulder after a niggle appeared post-match last time, and Gil had been ordered to touch up on his grades before he could officially join the team, hence neither of them were on the field.
That left Carlos and Harry to dominate the field. Carlos was goal keep; he was small and could jump high, and his hand eye coordination had been crafted over his many years aiding and abetting the VKs on the Isle.
Harry, however, had a firm build and incredible athleticism which came from hours working his dad's ship. This made him prime material for the mid-field; both strong and agile - he was almost slippery.
Mal felt herself smirking as she watched Chad Charming, red in the face and puffing, stumble over his feet as Harry rolled around him and towards the opposition's goal.
Everyone watching cheered when he scored for the seventh time, the team included, who gave him fist bumps and fond slaps on the shoulder, finally warming up to the cold pirate. She tried to pretend to be interested in the essay in front of her but every few minutes she found her eyes drifting back to the field where the tourney boys were rolling around.

"It's fine, I'll just ask Harry," Gil said, perking up at something to Mal's left, "Oi mate, over here," he beckoned with his hand, making Mal whip her head around to face the person he was addressing. It was, of course, Harry, except now, as the boys had taken a water break, many had decided to take off their tourney vests due to the blistering heat, meaning Harry's toned and tanned chest came directly into Mal's line of sight. She felt her cheeks heat as she remembered all the times she'd seen it before. It was littered with old and fresher scares, ranging from a silvery white, to a pinky shade, emphasised by the golden colour of his skin. She could see the perspiration beading on his skin, and his breath was coming out in pants from sprinting around the field. She had to consciously force her eyes away and onto the paper on the table.
Mal was feeling utterly hot and bothered, and it was not because of the weather.

"How's it going out there?" Jay asked, his tone indicating he was assuming his role as team captain in asking the cordial question.

Harry couldn't contain his grin, even if directed at Jay, "It's wicked."

The table chuckled then, amused as the normally stony pirate took on the appearance of an excitable puppy.

"What did you need, mate?" Harry asked, turning his attention to Gil, whose face still hadn't relaxed from trying to solve the math problem.

"It's the math homework, I can't crack it," Gil huffed, not looking up from the paper.

Harry strolled around the table, one arm behind his back and the other leaning on the table over Gil's shoulder. This put him not only next to Gil, but in suffocatingly close proximity to Mal as well, his shoulder brushing hers causing her to stiffen, and causing her already shallow breaths to shorten further (she had also just seen the veins flex with his muscles in his arm they pressed into the table - this was the most skin she'd seen on a man in a while, lord forgive a girl for being appreciative).