Call It Home - Prinxiety [COMPLETED]

Chapter Eleven: Quidditch Scare

The day of the Quidditch match arrived. Surprisingly, Roman felt nervous as he hovered around his team. They were awaiting the signal to walk out onto the pitch and he was feeling his stomach twist and turn unnaturally. He frowned to himself as he rolled out his shoulders and fussed with his hair. 

Come now, Roman, he thought to himself with a shake of his head. This isn't like you in the slightest. You're not the type to get nervous. Don't start doing it now. 

"Oh gosh, I hope we win today," Val said, laughing as he came up beside him. He was significantly taller than the Chaser and it was hard not to feel a little jealous of his muscular form as he looked toward him. The Beater smiled with a bit of an airy feel about his expression. "You know the squad is in the stands! And Virgil! It's his first game! I've gotta do good!"

Roman concealed a slight scowl as a pit settled in his stomach. It was an indescribable feeling, but he just didn't like how much Val wanted Virgil to like him. "Yeah, I'm going to do good," he said firmly, determination filling his tone as he stared ahead. 

Across the Quidditch pitch, Virgil Black was sitting in the bleachers next to Patton. It was crowded, noisy, and screamed at him to go hide in his room; it was situations like this that were a breeding ground for his anxiety. He gnawed on his bottom lip and picked at his fingernails, unable to stop himself from fidgeting as he waited for the game to start.

The Hufflepuff beside him looked at him in concern. "Hey, you alright?" he called over the noise. Virgil nodded despite the thumping of his heart in his chest. Patton smiled brightly and pointed to the field as a deafening amount of screams rose from the bleachers. "THERE THEY ARE!"

Sure enough, Roman, Val, and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were making their way out onto the field. The darkly dressed boy's eyes widened as they landed on the boys he knew of the team. The sun reflected off of their skin and hair, giving them both a glow. 

Virgil found himself tuning out the noise and chaos of the pitch as he looked at them. Val looked up toward their spot in the bleachers and waved enthusiastically. Patton, Luis, and Melissa all cheered and waved back ecstatically. He, on the contrary, shyly raised his hand to make a tiny waving motion. Roman looked up toward them and smirked, saluting toward them.

"It's a good thing they're not playing against Hufflepuff," he mumbled, looking toward his friends.

Patton laughed at his remark and shook his head. "We don't worry about the house rivalries even when we do face each other! To us, it's just a game! We just want to support each other," he explained before turning his attention back to the field.

The players were mounting their brooms and flying into formation. Roman and Val both looked striking in their bright red uniforms. The warm pallet of Gryffindor was completely opposite from the blues of Ravenclaw on the other half of the field. Virgil wasn't sure who he should pay closer attention to, Val or Roman. 

On the one hand, Val had been nice to him from the get-go. He accepted him into the group immediately and had shown him unbelievable amounts of kindness. Roman, on the other hand, had been less than pleasant when they first met, but was becoming more and more likable the more he got to know him better. 

Once the whistle was blown and the game started, it became increasingly more difficult to choose who to pay attention to. It wasn't until he noticed Roman scoring the first couple goals of the game that he decided to watch him.

"GRYFFINDOR LEADS RAVENCLAW 40 TO 10!" the announcer said through the megaphone as Roman darted away from his opponents goal posts.

That's it! That's how we start this off! Now let's go kick some more ass! he said, high-fiving a fellow Chaser before the next ball toss. He was about to go for it when a Bludger soared past his head at alarming speed. He would've been knocked unconscious for certain if he hadn't ducked in time. That was close... let's not get ourselves knocked out during Virgil's first game, shall we?

He flew after his fellow Chasers, prepared for a Quaffle pass if it became necessary. "ROMAN LOOK OUT!" Val shouted, swerving in front of him suddenly. He batted away a fast-moving Bludger with a loud thump. 

"Thanks!" he called before taking off toward the goal posts. 

The Quaffle was thrown his way and he dived to catch it. A Ravenclaw Chaser was also going for it, but Roman was a better flyer. He snatched up the Quaffle and soared past the bleachers as he turned back toward the goal posts. He got too tunnel visioned though, letting his guard down as he flew. He raised the Quaffle and punched it forcefully toward the center hoop. 

That's when all the breath in his lungs left them with a sudden pain. Roman felt himself lose his balance on the broom as the Bludger bounced off of his chest. He was struggling to hold onto his broom as he spiraled toward the ground. 

Virgil's heart was pounding in his chest, his system flooded with adrenaline and fear as he watched Roman fall toward the field on his broom. The crowd was gasping and screaming. He felt like he was going to have a panic attack; the Gryffindor Chaser could be killed if he hit the ground at the speed he was going.

Everything was spinning around Roman and his vision had spots in it. The pain of a Bludger to the chest was still prominent but his adrenaline was taking over. He steadied his breathing and focused on his broomstick, readjusting his mount on it. 

He was breathing heavily with the effort to stay conscious as his broom continued to spin, but he focused on the ground and pulled his broom upwards. He skimmed the grass of the field before shooting back toward his teammates, shaking off the pain and refocusing on the task at hand with determination. He'd be damned if they lost because of him taking a Bludger he should've dodged. 

"Hey! You okay, Roman?" Val called as he flew up beside him briefly.

"I'm fine, just focus on winning this," he replied, eyes focused on the goal posts.