Flying High (Joe)

[Deleted]

Kinsey was waiting for Joe just outside the entrance hall, about ten minutes earlier than the time they agreed on. She had her broom with her as she waited. Years ago Dustin insisted to her parents that she should have a broom, while he was still trying to convince her to join the Ravenclaw team. He'd given up on that, but only after she had a broom, which she was grateful for now. Kinsey liked flying, liked the feeling of wind rushing through her hair and the feeling of freedom that she experienced once her feet weren't on the ground anymore. Still, she felt uncomfortable waiting out here. People were going in and out of the school, giving her weird looks for just standing there. She ignored them, deciding instead that she'd rather just keep an eye out for Joe. Maybe he wouldn't be able to make her blush so much if she knew he was coming. Doubtful, but still it was a possibility. 

She sighed, eventually turning to look out across the grounds as she waited for him to come. It was still early November now and snow hadn't quite fallen yet, but the air was chilly and she knew it wouldn't be long before the weather turned colder. That was another reason why flying today was probably a good reason. Kinsey might not want to as much once it got too cold. She wasn't that dedicated to it. She smiled as she watched other students chasing one another, laughing and playing. It was nice that things at the school were a bit more relaxed than they used to be. No one had been attacked here in a while, which was a nice thing. Having the Americans here also made things feel more relaxed and she enjoyed the feeling. School felt safe again, which meant she could enjoy her last year here. Not in the way she'd originally planned- with Riley- but she was starting to accept that idea, even though it didn't make it hurt less.

@joseph

[Deleted]

Earlier today in Arithmancy, Kinsey had agreed to meet Joe to mess around on the pitch for a bit once classes were done for the day. They had talked about it on and off for the past couple of weeks, and today was finally the day. Anytime Joe had the opportunity to get on the pitch, he was there. Physical activity and fresh air had always been a great release for him, other than cooking, but quidditch was the passion that he shared with others. He was a bit cocky when it came to games and sports in general, but today, he was just looking to have a good time playing with Kinsey. Since she was typically a meek and shy girl, he knew better than to go in too strongly, not that he was going to 'go easy' on her, since she admitted that her brother was a quidditch star. Recently, he had learned a lot more about her on an emotional level, which had started to form a stronger bond. As much as he enjoyed teasing the adorable Ravenclaw girl, Joe found Kinsey extremely endearing and sweet, sometimes it was hard resisting kissing her. But he knew she was complicated right now, so whatever was going on in the moment would suffice.

As Joe approached the pitch with his broom strapped over his shoulder, he could see Kinsey standing at the pathway leading to the pitch, her typical awkward but cute demeanor while standing in her lonesome. The distance quickly closed between them and stood in front of the girl with a smile. "Hey, cutie" he greeted chipperly, offering her a quick embrace, before pulling away and asking with curious green eyes, "You still game?"

@kinsey

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Earlier today in Arithmancy, Kinsey had agreed to meet Joe to mess around on the pitch for a bit once classes were done for the day. They had talked about it on and off for the past couple of weeks, and today was finally the day. Anytime Joe had the opportunity to get on the pitch, he was there. Physical activity and fresh air had always been a great release for him, other than cooking, but quidditch was the passion that he shared with others. He was a bit cocky when it came to games and sports in general, but today, he was just looking to have a good time playing with Kinsey. Since she was typically a meek and shy girl, he knew better than to go in too strongly, not that he was going to 'go easy' on her, since she admitted that her brother was a quidditch star. Recently, he had learned a lot more about her on an emotional level, which had started to form a stronger bond. As much as he enjoyed teasing the adorable Ravenclaw girl, Joe found Kinsey extremely endearing and sweet, sometimes it was hard resisting kissing her. But he knew she was complicated right now, so whatever was going on in the moment would suffice.

As Joe approached the pitch with his broom strapped over his shoulder, he could see Kinsey standing at the pathway leading to the pitch, her typical awkward but cute demeanor while standing in her lonesome. The distance quickly closed between them and stood in front of the girl with a smile. "Hey, cutie" he greeted chipperly, offering her a quick embrace, before pulling away and asking with curious green eyes, "You still game?"

@kinsey

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[Deleted]

Kinsey was so distracted watching the students playing around on the lawns that she actually didn’t notice Joe until he stood in front of her, calling her cutie. She rolled her eyes, but blushed a tiny bit. Luckily enough, he was hugging her by then, so when they pulled apart she hoped that he couldn’t tell. “Hey Joe,” she answered with a happy smile. She was excited to go flying with him today, excited for the opportunity to have some fun with him and let out some of her energy.

Kinsey nodded vigorously when he asked if she was game, “Oh yeah. I want to see if you’re all talk,” she teased. While she still couldn’t help but blush and get embarrassed almost any time Joe teased her, she found that she was feeling more and more comfortable teasing the Slytherin boy. He was just so agreeable and fun to be around, she was certain he didn’t mind. “Let’s go,” she added after a second, turning and starting to make her way to the Quidditch Pitch sort of quickly. Kinsey was excited to get there. “How has your day been so far?” she asked curiously.

@joseph

[Deleted]

"Oh, I will show you.." he challenged with a wink, sending her a boyish smile as he scanned his competition over. Where did that sudden confidence come? He really liked that! Joe turned to the Ravenclaw, slightly surprised by her eagerness, but still smiling as they walked side by side toward the quidditch pitch. "Someone is eager to get up..." He commented with a laugh, unable to hide that he was impressed. Joe was going to ask her about her day, but she beat him to it. His broom bounced behind him as he walked, "It's been good. About to get better because I'm with you.." he commented, sometimes the sweetness came too easily with Kinsey he didn't even realize he was doing it. Joe enjoyed being flirtatious toward the shy girl, her blushing and reactions were just too good. "How was you day?" he asked with interest. They quickly reached the gate to the pitch,  he opened it so Kinsey could walk in first and he closed it behind them, "And what would you like to do? Ladies choice." Joe said. He was cool with whatever she chose, whether it be hitting bludgers around, scoring hoops, or racing - he was just glad that Kinsey agreed to play today.

@kinsey

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"I'll believe it when I see it," Kinsey retorted back, smirking at him. The Quidditch Pitch was one place where she always felt comfortable, mostly because she'd been able to keep it separate from Dom. All her experiences with the game or even just on a broom were positive ones, so she found her excitement rising by the second. On a broom, she could let herself go more easily than when her feet were on the ground. Maybe that was strange, but that's just how it was. It didn't hurt that she and Riley never flew with one another. Doing something on her broom wouldn't remind her of the boy she normally couldn't get out of her thoughts. Maybe Joe would be able to distract her.

She nodded when Joe commented about how eager she was. "I love flying," Kinsey answered simply. It reminded her of better times, of the hours spent playing with Dustin before things went bad between them. Growing up, flying had been a release and she was just now realizing how long it'd been since the last time she flew. She glanced over to Joe, "It's been way too long since the last time I got on a broom." Kinsey laughed when he commented that his day was getting better since he was with her. "You don't have to flatter me," she teased, wondering if he was just saying that because he knew about Riley now. Kinsey wouldn't ask though. She didn't want to offend Joe.

Kinsey shrugged when he returned the question. "It's been a good day. I've been looking forward to this since Arithmancy, so that definitely helped." Not that today had been a bad day. It was always nice having good plans though. She entered the pitch with a grin, waiting about five seconds before mounting her broom and kicking off, before Joe even asked what she wanted to do. She laughed as she rose into the air, closing her eyes as she felt the wind whip through her hair and rush past her face. "Race, definitely!" She called down to Joe. "Come on, slowpoke." It was amazing the difference being on her broom made. Kinsey almost felt like a different person, like everything was simpler now. All that mattered was speed and the feeling of her broom underneath her. 

@joseph

[Deleted]

"I know I don't have to." he stated knowingly with a smirk. She was teasing back so easily now. This would be fun. As they entered the pitch, Joe looked up into the sky, and Kinsey was surprisingly already mounting her broom. He wasn't expecting her to be so eager, but it was a good surprise. At least she was confident about something. Joe smiled as she kicked off the ground, and calling him a 'slowpoke'. "I have been called many things, and a slowpoke sure isn't one of them." he snorted, shaking his head. Joe tossed his things into the grass, mounted his broom, and kicked off the grass.

He shot up into the sky, stopping directly next to Kinsey and hovering next to her with a grin. "It looks like we found something you're actually confident with. Let's see if you're all talk." he challenged flirtatious, winking playfully, but smiling and laughing to show that he was joking.  But not about the race. That was definitely happening. And Joe wasn't going to go easy on her, since he recently lost to Ashley fair and square and needed to redeem his ego still. He couldn't keep getting smashed by girls on the pitch.

"Map your preferred course, babe..." he called out to Kinsey coolly, more to see what she would do. 'Babe' wasn't much of a pet name, but it would probably get some sort of rise out of her. The snake was curious to how many laps she'd choose and if she'd have any silly rules. Joe always liked to tell Ash to stay above the stands to piss her off...because that should have always been a given.

@kinsey

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Joe said that he knew he didn’t have to flatter her and Kinsey couldn’t help but laugh and swat his shoulder. “You are a tease,” she declared, realizing in that moment that she actually liked his teasing. She knew that Joe wasn’t trying to be mean, and knowing that made it all the more fun. Kinsey felt like she could tease him back, like she didn’t have to be serious all the time and it was a nice thing to know.

She heard Joe’s retort, saying that no one ever called him a slowpoke before. Kinsey grinned, “Well, I’m calling you one now.” She couldn’t help it. She was obviously the first one in the air, and it didn’t seem like Joe was in any rush to join her. Besides that, she was fully enjoying her broom. Why did she wait so long since her last time flying? Honestly, it didn’t make any sense. After a few moments, Joe pulled up next to her, commenting that she was confident on a broom. Kinsey thought about that for a moment and nodded, “I might not be the best flyer out there, but I like flying,” she told him, hinting that she might not win a race or whatever it was that they did. Kinsey didn’t fly for the competitive aspect of it. She flew to have fun, to let go of all the tension in her life.

Joe told her to choose their course and Kinsey rolled her eyes, until she heard him call her babe. Her eyes widened and she instantly started shaking her head while wrinkling her nose, “Babe? You’re seriously calling me babe?” She didn’t want to talk about that though, she could already feel a blush coming on. “Umm, let’s go around the outside of the stands,” she suggested. “Does that sound all right?” Kinsey felt certain that he’d agree with it, but she figured it was better to ask than to just assume. “On three?”

@joseph

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"Yeah, who else would I be calling babe?" he quipped, smirking at her. He felt like that was clever. She was so easy sometimes. Joe smiled, listening intently as she mapped out their course. It was easy enough. No silly rules, so that was good. Joe straightened himself up on his broom, tightening his form and preparing himself for take off. "Simple enough." he stated coolly, always up for any challenge. 

Joe turned to Kinsey and prepared to count down, "One....two....three!" he exclaimed. Within a second, they were both off, zipping across the pitch in a tight formation around the curve. Joe wasn't going to go easy on Kinsey because he couldn't take being beat by a girl. Especially since Ashley beat him last week and he was still salty about it. Joes hair was flicking in his face as he torpedoed past Kinsey with a sing song voice, "Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me!" he sang playfully, leaning into his broom to go faster, trying his best to keep her behind him.

@kinsey

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Kinsey's jaw dropped when Joe asked who else he would be calling babe. "No one has called me that my entire life," she muttered under her breath, hopefully too soft for him to hear. He obviously liked coming up with new names to call her and Kinsey wasn't entirely sure that her arguing with him about them would ever stop it. So really, what was the point? As she glanced over at him, explaining the course, Joe looked more serious than she'd ever seen him. He cared that much about flying? It was a bit of a surprise to her, since she got the impression that he was more of a jokester than anything else. Then again, he did tell her he was into sports.

Joe counted up, shooting off when he said three and Kinsey was only a split second behind him. He was good. That much was obvious in the first few seconds of their race, as Joe zipped around the pitch. Kinsey wasn't going to give up though. She pushed her broom, leaning down closer to it and urging it to go even faster. She grinned as her broom increased in speed, but lost her focus momentarily when Joe teased her, saying that she had to kiss him. "In your dreams!" She called back to him, hardly even thinking about the teasing as she pushed her broom faster, grinning when she realized that the two of them were level now. There was a chance that she could win this and if she could ... she was going to take it. It would be hilarious to see Joe's face if she did.

@joseph

[Deleted]

Joe just kind of smirked when she said that no one had ever called her 'babe' in her life. Well, there was a first for everything. He loved how awkward the comments made her, but she was starting to tease back, which kept him on his toes. It was great. He was loving that Kinsey was starting to get comfortable with him. The race went by with the blink of an eye, he was surprised by how quick the laps went, he was so focused on not letting her get ahead of him. She was glued to his side though and didn't falter even by the kissing remark. She was probably expecting him to say something like that.. Both Kinsey and Joe crossed the finish line at a fair tie. He was quite taken aback by what a good competitor she was. Joe halted the broom to a stop and turned to that he was facing her, "That was a good race." he couldn't hide the impressed look from his face, or from his tone. "I wasn't expecting you to be such a speed demon, Kinsey." Joe laughed, offering her a high five out of good sportsmanship. Something that Joe was working on, honestly. He was a sore loser, but he could take a tie, especially to a cute girl. "How are you with beating?" Joe asked curiously, ready to release the bludgers, since she seemed comfortable enough on a broom. 

@kinsey

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It was a tie! Kinsey could hardly believe that she'd been able to basically keep up with Joe during the race. It'd been a while since she last played with Dustin and she was glad that she hadn't lost everything since then. He turned to her, admitting that it was a good race and looking a big surprised but pleased. Kinsey couldn't help but shrug proudly while she smiled at him. "It was. I haven't raced like that in a while. Thanks." She laughed when Joe called her a speed demon. "What, did you think I was going to be as slow as a turtle?" she asked, answering his high five with her own hand. She made a face when he asked about beating. "I'm okay. I can keep them from hitting me, normally, but I don't have very good aim." Kinsey laughed, wondering what Joe would think about that. She started drifting to the nearest hoops. "I'm willing to try if you don't go too hard on me. I don't want to end up in the hospital wing." Kinsey laughed, certain she was good enough to keep that from happening. Still, maybe it would be good if he underestimated her abilities a bit.

@joseph

[Deleted]

Joe was pleasantly surprised by the race. For some reason he didn't expect Kinsey to be so good. Maybe it was because he kind of considered her a dork, but maybe she was more sporty than she liked to put herself out to be. She admitted to not having the best aim and Joe didn't judge her on that. At least she knew what she was comfortable with, so he could respect that. "Well, hey, keeping them from hitting you is a really good start. Hittin' back is a whole new ball game but I think you could handle it!" Joe encouraged her.  "I promise I won't let them hit you. Maybe you need to hold differently for better aim." Joe removed his wand from his zippered pocket, swished and flicked towards his backpack where the bats were strapped in. Two bats slowly floated up towards where they were floating.

One of the bats hovered over to Kinsey, and the other to Joe, who  gripped onto his own while maneuvering the broom with ease. "How do you hold the bat?" Joe asked her with a quirked eyebrow, "And don't be self conscious, everybody holds it differently." he reassured her, surprisingly non judgey or teasing. They were just two friends on the pitch trading pointers...no big deal..

@kinsey

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Kinsey laughed when Joe agreed that keeping them from hitting her was a good start. She shrugged a little. "I never really needed to do more than that before. Sometimes Dustin and I would practice and I would try to hit them at him, but I was never really good at that, so I think he found other people to help him with that ..." she trailed off, thinking about it for a moment. She and Dustin practiced racing and playing with the Quaffle and Keeping, but there were only a few times when they got out the Bludgers. "Or maybe he didn't want me to get hurt while we practiced," she mused, thinking about it a little more, probably more than the situation warranted, but still. Then the rest of Joe's words started registering in her mind, him telling her she could handle hitting the balls and promising that he wouldn't let them hit her, telling her maybe she needed to hold the bat differently. She smiled at him, grateful that he was determined to not let her get hurt. She nodded, willing to give it a go, at least for a little while. 

The bats floated up and Kinsey took the one that came to her, holding it and then shrugging. "I don't know how to describe it," she said after a second. "Come and see for yourself. Then you can give me pointers or tips or whatever." If she was being honest with herself, the bat definitely did not feel sturdy or balanced. She felt like there definitely was a better way to hold it, so she might as well let Joe show her what that was. Besides, he seemed to be entirely serious about wanting to help her. He was smiling and all, but didn't seem to be teasing her, which was oddly reassuring and Kinsey didn't quite know why.

@joseph

[Deleted]

Joe was slightly taken aback when Kinsey invited him to observe her bat holding. It was a pleasant surprise, he was glad that she was getting more comfortable. As she gripped the bat, he cocked his head to the side while digesting her. It didn't seem to kooky handed or anything. Joe adjusted her hand on the bat so it was gripped in a more relaxed position, "Try..this.." he coached in a friendly tone, not teasing, or mocking, he was honestly trying to help in his own way. "I hold it like that. It will help keep you balanced and probably help with aim a little bit." Joe said, demonstrating the technique he adjusted her hands for. "Oh, and always aim for the center of the bat if you can." he laughed, already knowing that she warned him about not having good aim.

Joe raised his wand and pointed it toward the chest with the bludgers strapped in. "You ready?" he asked in an encouraging tone. He wasn't worried about bludgers taking her out, he'd do everything in his power to keep Kinsey from getting hurt. As a Beater, Joe did this practically every day, so he was confident in his skills. He was also glad that Kinsey was willing to play with him. It was nice to get out in the sunshine before the colder months started creeping in. He wasn't looking forward to that. If at any moment she seemed uncomfortable, he'd be happy to put them away.

@kinsey

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Joe came nearer, seeming just a little pleased that she asked for his opinion, but he didn't say anything about it. She was a little relieved that he wasn't teasing her about this. Sure, she felt pretty confident on a broom, but Beating was the part in Quidditch that she honestly wasn't the best at. He touched her hand, showing her another way to grip it and Kinsey closed her eyes for a second, surprised by the protective intentions she sensed coming from him. Yeah, she was sure he wanted to play with her and have fun, but she knew from that short contact that he wasn't about to let her get hurt. It was ... very reassuring. She nodded when he told her to try it his way and then smiled, "It already feels better than the other way." Joe instructed that she wanted to get the bludgers to hit the center of the bat and Kinsey nodded, trying to make herself remember that. There were no guarantees though. The second a bludger came her way, she was likely to just start swinging, not even paying attention to how it came or hit the bat. 

She nodded, tightening her grip on the bat when Joe asked if she was ready. She wanted to do well at this, even though she knew Joe would help her. It was more a matter of pride. "Yeah, go ahead and do it," Kinsey encouraged, looking over at him with a smile. She could do this! Or at least, she could try to.

@joseph