Return of the puberty monster? on Quidditch Pitch

Ginger Pierce

July 27, 2016 4:16 PM

After the game (Jake) by Ginger Pierce

Ginger was bummed. She wasn't the blubbering mess she had been after the first game she had ever played against Pecari - this loss hadn't been the humiliating massacre that one had been, and she'd done alright for herself, though she had let some goals past despite her best efforts. It just felt like a much closer and fairer game, and while knowing that kept her from despair, it didn't prevent the disappointment and glumness that came with losing when they'd actually looked to stand a shot at winning this time around.

So she lacked her normal chipper disposition as she touched down and fell into step beside Jake. He looked about as glum as she felt and she gave him a hug on impulse. The human contact made her feel a little better, and she pulled out a genuine smile to maybe help reassure him that she at least did not hold the loss against their first time Seeker.

"It's okay, Jake, life is bigger than a single Quidditch game. You've at least got a date for the ball and -" she stopped abruptly, suddenly remembering that he hadn't asked her yet and she frowned at him in consternation, not quite sure if she'd put her foot in it or not. "That is, I'm assuming we are going together, right? You didn't ask somebody else, did you?" Fearing that sounded too assuming and demanding, she quickly backtracked, "I mean, you could, if you don't want to go with me, but I was hoping we could go together as a date."

Well, she might as well get a proper answer one way or the other, now that the subject had been breeched. "Does that work for you?" she asked, her voice rising on a hopeful note at the end and she briefly wondered if that was a sentence that adding the word 'please' to its end would help improve the chances of an affirmative answer, but the window to do so closed before she could decide one way or the other.

Ooc: Jake's emotional state okayed by his author.

Subthreads:

Return of the puberty monster? by Jake Manger with Ginger Pierce

Don't mind me. by Alistair Johnson ft. Daniel Fintoc with Liliana Bannister

1 Ginger Pierce After the game (Jake) 302 Ginger Pierce 1 5

Jake Manger

July 30, 2016 5:00 AM

Return of the puberty monster? by Jake Manger

It wasn’t just a loss.

Even beyond the obvious responsibility Jake felt for the defeat since the Seeker was basically the deciding factor for most games, he landed his broom feeling rather poorly. But it wasn’t about the game itself, he supposed, but what happened up there, how it happened. He’d been sad before the Snitch was caught. Jamie hurt his feelings.

For most of his life, he’d been positive and happy simply by nature, no choice, no reason not to be. He was just happy. Jake liked making other people feel happy, too. Feel important. A lot of people were a lot sadder than they really wanted anybody to know, so even the cheerful people with seemingly true smiles were people that he wanted to see succeed.

But along the way, things changed. Jake found out deep, dark things he’d never wanted to know, gotten information that had challenged everything he thought he knew and put him in a very difficult place. In the end, he decided not to let it change him. So he stayed nice, and he stayed happy, and he stayed considerate. He liked himself better that way. He wanted to be the kind of person that most people needed, that the world needed.

So yes, maybe he made assumptions, deciding he was friends with somebody too soon just based on simple factors. In Jamie’s case, specifically, he thought their older siblings dating was enough of a reason to be friends. Jamie didn’t seem to agree, though; he said some pretty mean things to his Teppenpaw opponent in the sky, things that made Jake lose the Snitch and, ultimately, lose the game.

Jake was, therefore, pretty bummed out. He felt a little better when he turned to look at who it was walking beside him and he found it to be Ginger, and even better still when she hugged him, his face flushing red, which he hoped he could push off on the cold weather biting at his cheeks. He felt even better when she started babbling.

“You've at least got a date for the ball and -" Jake’s eyes lit up, his dark eyebrow raising in optimistic skepticism. And the more she talked, the more surreal the world around him felt. She wanted to go with him? She’d even been planning on it? So maybe his feelings were more obvious than he’d realized, and if so, she was okay with it! She didn’t hate him for the way he thought of her, even though all this time he’d felt like such a weirdo for it. “Does that work for you?"

He didn’t have the words. He was too blown away. Ginger was bold and beautiful and kind and wonderful and wanted to go to the ball with him. There was no memory of the heartache his not-friend Jamie had dealt him; there was only Ginger, their past thus far and their future ahead. And their present, too. Because their present, he realized, was a very important moment: their first kiss.

Wait… I’M KISSING HER?!

He didn’t know when he’d done it, but apparently, he’d been so overwhelmingly happy that he’d grabbed her by the shoulders (thankfully not hard) and pulled her into him. Jake, realizing his probable mistake and definite overstep, pulled back the moment he regained control of himself. “O-oh, jeez,” he fumbled. Despite the cold, his face felt like it was literally on fire. “I’m sorry that was, umm. That was pr-probably too much. I mean-... Sorry. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-... Sorry. I definitely would love to go to the ball with you, but, uh, if you don’t want to anymore, I totally get it. Sorry.”

12 Jake Manger Return of the puberty monster? 280 Jake Manger 0 5

Ginger Pierce

August 04, 2016 10:01 PM

Eh, I've hit puberty, too by Ginger Pierce

Ginger watched Jake, hoping for a sign that her suggestion did, in fact, work for him. At first, he showed mostly surprise and shock, which in turn kind of surprised her. She had mentioned she liked him, hadn't she? She had never been able to keep a secret very well, but she'd also kind of just assumed he already knew, so there was no secret to keep, which meant she maybe hadn't said anything . . .

The shock began to morph into joy, and Ginger grinned, feeling that they were back on track, and her dreams were about to come true . . . and then they were surpassed as he pulled her closer and kissed her.

*I'll take that as a yes,* Ginger's brain babbled, but her mouth was currently occupied doing real kissing to be able to voice the thought, which was probably for the best. She threw her arms around him and kissed back, instead, figuring that was by far the better response to what was currently happening anyway.

After too short a time, Jake pulled back, and Ginger let him with only a slight amount of disappointment that it was over already. But he'd kissed her, and he was babbling something that was mostly incomprehensible but she'd gotten the part where he said he would go to the ball with her, so this was just about the best day of her life anyway, even if Teppenpaw had just lost, but who cared about that now? Jake had said yes! And kissed her!

"Great!" she beamed, and gave him another quick, impulsive hug. "But why in the world would you think I'd change my mind now?" She could not stop smiling and there seemed to be something wrong with gravity because she kind of felt like she was about to float away any second now.

1 Ginger Pierce Eh, I've hit puberty, too 302 Ginger Pierce 0 5

Alistair Johnson ft. Daniel Fintoc

August 06, 2016 7:01 AM

Don't mind me. by Alistair Johnson ft. Daniel Fintoc

Alistair had been keen to see how his old teammates fared on a team of their own and also to find out if they were in any way strong competition (which he had highly doubted). Crotalus were out of the running for the Quidditch Cup this year as they’d already been beaten by Aladren but that didn’t mean their time wouldn’t come and it was still important to prepare for next year.

Not all of the current Teppenpaw players had actually been a part of the Teppalus team in previous years. There was, of course, Ginger Pierce who Alistair still very much missed getting to spend time with regularly at Quidditch practices. Her pretty smile had always brightened his day considerably, something that he’d very much needed when he’d had to co-captain with the awful Liac Reinhardt. Said awful human being was not playing today which left Tobi with a first year reserve who Ali was not at all familiar with. Technically Jake Manger had been on the Teppalus team but since he’d never had the opportunity to play for them, Alistair didn’t really count him (okay, maybe there was more to his dismissal of the older boy that just that). The entire Chaser trio was new - surprisingly Andrew Carey had been totally mum on the Quidditch scene since the beginning of term.

Arne Reinhardt was supposed to be Alistair’s assistant, apparently, as reluctant as he had been to give anyone that title but Alistair didn’t feel as though he got on particularly well with his nemeses’ younger cousin/brother. He was willing to bury the hatchet, however, in order to benefit his team as a whole but he found it much easier to seek out his fellow Chaser, Daniel Fintoc, who always lapped up everything he said and gave him the appropriate level of respect his position deserved.

Daniel was more than happy to sit with Alistair in the spectator stands. He had been planning to watch the Pecari-Teppenpaw Quidditch match anyway and his captain offered good commentary and picked up on points in the play that he would otherwise have missed. Whatever people may say about the older Crotalus, it really couldn’t be denied that Alistair Johnson knew his stuff and he was good at it. With Alistair’s eyes sharply watching the game, Dan’s fervent hand scribbled down the important comments Ali told him. The second year’s own eyes were also trained regularly on the action, partially due to his own interest and also because Alistair insisted he observe multiple elements of the match.

Alistair was surprised that the Teppenpaw Chasers had managed to hold their own against the much better and more experienced Pecari Chasers and he only hoped that luck had somehow been on their side today and that next time they would be put firmly in their place. Fortunately their luck didn't extend so far as to actually win the game, however. It wasn't that Alistair was fond of Pecari as a team in any way but he'd much rather they make it through to the finals than his old teammates.

Today wasn't just about watching the game, although that was a large part of it, but today was also the day that Alistair was going to “man up”. His deep talks with Alfredo over the summer had been significant in him recognising his self development and learning what was really important. And he'd realised there was no point ignoring his feelings or trying to hide them because they didn't quite fit with his plans, with society's plans for him. Propriety meant a lot to Alistair and the last thing he wanted to do was leave all his opinions and morals in the dust but the fact remained, he liked Ginger Pierce.

Ginger would likely be in low spirits about losing the match but Alistair thought his ball date proposal (and potential declaration of affection) might help cheer her up, or at least take her thoughts elsewhere. She had played well, only letting in an equal amount of goals to Liliana Bannister which was impressive.

Alistair made his way towards Ginger with a purpose in his step but found himself stopping dead in his tracks when he saw her… KISSING JAKE MANGER!

A jealous rage sprung up through Alistair’s body and a large part of him wanted to wrench the two Teppenpaws apart and draw out his wand, or even just his fists, on the older boy. But that wasn’t his style and he knew he had absolutely no right to complain seeing as he had not made his intentions clear to Ginger. It infuriated him that just when he finally decided he was going to do the right thing and push aside his beliefs for the girl he cared about, this had to happen and ruin everything.

Alistair couldn’t stand to watch so turned around sharply and stormed off the pitch with a murderous look in his brown eyes, brushing aside Daniel in the process as the younger boy tried to accost him with a notebook.

8 Alistair Johnson ft. Daniel Fintoc Don't mind me. 306 Alistair Johnson ft. Daniel Fintoc 0 5

Jake

August 08, 2016 6:38 AM

Oh gosh, we're real <em>teenagers</em> by Jake

Jake’s brain stalled out when Ginger hugged him again, but he recovered quickly and found himself able to reply. “Because,” he said, not in a way to shame her or make her feel silly but definitively implying she should have known the answer. “I shouldn’t have, like, grabbed you like that. It was super uncool. Next time I’ll ask. Not to say that I expect there to be a next time, necessarily,” he babbled, his speech increasing in speed in proportion to his flailing, animated limbs. “Unless you want there to be a next time, in which case, there could definitely be a next time. I mean… Um….”

Despite how quickly it had been going, he completely stopped talking in a single instant. He couldn’t quite make his thoughts feel linear, but there was some things he knew for certain. It was five-hundred percent not okay to just grab girls. Nice boys asked girls if they wanted to be kissed. They didn’t just assault them like Jake had just done to Ginger, a girl he claimed to care so deeply about.

Maybe he was overanalyzing and over-cautious, but in the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but question everything he thought he knew about relationships. He knew things now about his parents’ marriage, things that had been very wrong and he’d never noticed. He didn’t want to ever hurt Ginger like how his dad and hurt his mom so very often and for so very long. But he didn’t know how to express that, or if he even wanted to: that part of his life wasn’t really something any of them talked about. They made their individual peace in their own ways. His mother and Arnold painted, Sally did… whatever it was Sally did, and Jake… well, he did his best.

“I guess what I mean is that…. It’s not, you know…. proper,” he concluded weakly. “But I do really want to go with you. I’m really glad you asked. I was trying to work up to asking you, honestly.”

12 Jake Oh gosh, we're real <em>teenagers</em> 280 Jake 0 5

Liliana Bannister

August 08, 2016 3:30 PM

Cheer up, mate, it's not the end of the world! by Liliana Bannister

Liliana, ecstatic with winning, just happened to glance over to the posts as Ginger left the pitch. Her special project had played well, Liliana thought. She had let in the same amount as Liliana herself—thirty points that Liliana was still upset about letting in since she was a seven year veteran and a trio of first and second years really shouldn’t have been able to throw her like that. After hugging about every teammate in sight—especially giving Jamie a robust squeeze after leaping off her broom and running to congratulate her larger-than-life-ego’d Seeker who had never caught the Snitch in a real match before, she felt as though she needed to say something to the opposition’s Keeper.

As was customary after any sports match, Liliana offered her condolences to the Teppenpaw captain who had been benched for the game, and then made her way over to the Assistant Captain, Ginger. Such interactions were expected, they were simply part of sports ettiquette, but Liliana planned to offer more than just her condolences to her young friend. However it seems as though someone else had gotten there first and was doing a much better job at cheering up the Teppenpaw Keeper than Liliana thought she could ever do.

“Right,” she said to herself, smiling, and turned about to rejoin her team. Her condolences could wait. Ginger had some important face-sucking to do.

10 Liliana Bannister Cheer up, mate, it's not the end of the world! 274 Liliana Bannister 0 5

Ginger

August 10, 2016 11:17 AM

Scary, isn't it? by Ginger

Ginger listened to his concerns over his own behavior but he was Jake and the nicest, sweetest, most thoughtful guy she knew, so she really couldn't help but feel he was being a bit too hard on himself. Still, she let him say his piece without interruption or obvious head-shaking disagreement.

When he finished, she nodded to convey that she understood and even agreed with some of his points. "Good," she said first, pleased that he had been planning to ask her and she hadn't just totally and completely blindsided him. Then she continued, addressing his impropriety as he called it. She wasn't into all the manners and ettiquette that Jemima's class emphasized, but consent was a good thing by anyone's measure, so she conceded, "And fair enough, but, really, it's okay to be a little impulsive sometimes, especially when we're both really happy about something like going to the ball together. Kissing is totally permissible then, okay?" she smiled warmly, nodding her own head to encourage him to agree with her.

"Kissing is good, I like kissing, we can definitely do some more of it." She looked around, noticing for the first time that they were still in full public view of most of the school, "But maybe right here and right now isn't our best choice for further practice," she concluded, her lips twisting wryly. "I'm not against it, mind you, there's just a lot of people watching."

Her blue eyes shone brightly and she bounced excitedly on her toes, as she beamed up at Jake. "So am I reading this right, and you'd be cool being my boyfriend now?" She held up two thumbs up hopefully in front of her.

1 Ginger Scary, isn't it? 302 Ginger 0 5

Jake

August 15, 2016 3:07 AM

Terrifying, but in all the best ways. by Jake

Man, she’s perfect, Jake thought to himself as Ginger spoke, a crooked, lovestruck smile ever-present. She was understanding and intelligent and beautiful. And she liked him, clearly. That was, like… so awesome. It kinda felt like the butterflies in his stomach had butterflies of their own. (Or maybe humans in their stomachs? That would be really meta. But it was neither here nor there.)

He’d somehow gone this far into the… situation? without his face burning too bright a red, but as Ginger talked more about kissing and things, he felt his cheeks flush. Especially when she pointed out that there were a lot of people watching, and then it suddenly really sank in that there were a lot of people watching. Oh God. Ginger said it so matter-of-factly, though, so it didn’t seem to bother her horribly. That meant Jake would be okay, too.

“So am I reading this right, and you'd be cool being my boyfriend now?”

“Ohmygodyes,” Jake breathed, the words rushing out as one. As his body relaxed, a major stress lifted in a single moment, he slouched forward, losing a solid couple of inches in height. His grin reached its peak, stretching almost literally from one ear to the other. “There is literally nothing I want more in the world,” he half-laughed, too giddy to contain himself.

He offered her his open hand, for the purposes of winding her fingers up with his. “Let’s get out of here, though. Wanna get lunch or something?”

12 Jake Terrifying, but in all the best ways. 280 Jake 0 5