we're gonna be legends

“Yeah, well, by the looks of it, you don’t look so good yourself, so why don’t you go pick on someone your own size.”

“Everything okay here?” Callum asked, coming up behind Hazel and looking between her and the kid that she was standing up to. Neither looked to happy to be in the situation. “Hazel?” he said, raising an eyebrow at her. 

Laurel stayed quiet for a moment, originally wanting to just bark some snarky remark at him and have him leave. But, as much as Laurel would claim otherwise, she didn’t actually want to be alone. “Well you’ve surely noticed there’s a member missing from your team, haven’t you?”

“I have,” he said, having guessed that that was what was bothering her. “But I doubted that you wanted me to bring him up.” He moved, sitting down beside, deciding to stare ahead like she was doing instead of looking at her. “Did he tell you he was leaving?” 

“Perhaps. But it definitely seems fishy,” she replied, shooting him a brief look. “I can give you a few minutes if you want to think about what you possibly could get out of this. If it’s the practice slot at 8:30 today, guess what – you win. You can have it.”

Callum raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. He hadn’t come over to talk to her about the slot, he had noticed her mood and wanted to know if she was okay, and this answered it enough for him that he knew she wasn’t. “Do you want to talk about whatever’s bothering you?” he asked, his voice lower. 

“Are you just giving me these so you don’t have to read them yourself?” LIly questioned with a raise of her eyebrows.

Callum scoffed, pressing a hand to his heart as if wounded. “As if I would be so transparent. I read,” he told her, shaking his head as he placed his hand back down on the table. “However, only when it’s required.” 

“It looked at me funny,” she joked, but her tone was not filled with its usual spunk and instead the delivery was more hollow and distant. “What do you want, Segal?” Laurel finally asked, looking over to him standing to the side with his arms crossed.

“Can’t I just talk to my rival without there being a motive behind it?” he asked, letting his arms relax and come out, his hands raising defensively. 

Laurel sat in silence - a rare thing for the brunette - boring a hole in the wall with her gaze. She didn’t even acknowledge whoever had sat down across from her, continuing to stare out into space as she wished she could just disappear.

Callum looked between the wall and back towards Laurel, a curious expression on his face. “What did that wall ever do to you?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Okay, I know what I’m doing,” Lily told the other. “I’ve read at least five books on the topic.”

“Just five? You sure you don’t want more?” Callum teased, smiling at her as he sat down at the table, in a chair across from her. He placed a few of his own books in front of him. 

Mackenzie sat on the other end of the couch, cross-legged. She let a small laugh, “Wow, a break from quidditch? I don’t know what that is,” she joked. “I feel like I’ve been so behind in quidditch since I was out, it’s killin’ me.” She took a drink of cider. “You better be holdin’ up my team though, Segal.”

“I think it’s a little unhealthy how obsessed we are with Quidditch,” he chuckled despite himself. He was so stressed about his captaincy, he didn’t know what else to think about besides the sport. “Of course I’m holding up the team. I would never let you or James down,” he scoffed. 

Callum sat down on Kenzie’s couch, a glass of cider in his hand as he relaxed back against the cushions. “You know, I might be a little excited about having a break for quidditch, at least for a week or two. I’m so tired,” he laughed. Leaning his head on the back of the couch, he smiled at his friend. “Thanks for having me over.”

“Oh, come on!” Callum groaned, wiping his face of snow that had slammed against the side of his head, cascading over his shoulders. “You’re going to get it!” Leaning down, he gathered a handful of snow and packed it down, moving and throwing the ball directly at Rowan, all for revenge.

“Ah, you mean graduates?” Adeline asked, “You’re Callum right?”

“Yeah, them,” Callum nodded. He looked over at Adeline for a quick second, and then nodded again. “Callum Segal. Can’t say I remember or know your name, though.” 

“I suppose that’s the most anyone can do, right?” Alastair said with a smile, “Yeah, I’m having a great time. I came with my girlfriend, Holly.”

“Exactly,” Callum nodded his head. “Holly? Holly Wood?” Callum hadn’t exactly kept up with the times. He was sure the last thing he heard about Holly was far into last year, when Alek Krum was talking about hooking up with her. 

“Wh-What? Oh! No, he r-really is just a fr-friend. Hi-His name’s Th-Theo. He’s the qu-quidditch captain for Rav-Ravenclaw, you probably kn-know him. He ju-ju-just likes to d-dance a lot.”

“Yeah, I know him,” Callum nodded his head, sticking one of his hands into the pocket of his trousers. “I mean, he hasn’t asked me to dance. That must mean something.” 

“Oh come on, you’re doing a great job. You can’t compare your captaincy to mine. I wouldn’t have given it to you if I didn’t think you’d be just as good, if not better.”

Callum sighed, licking his lips before speaking again. “I had some scouts come to our last practice,” he told his friend, looking at his feet. 

“I whole-heartedly agree,” James said, “Welcome to what my seventh year was like,” He said with a chuckle, “Are you at least enjoying your captaincy?”

Callum rolled his eyes, shoving James away from him. “I knew you wouldn’t give me the pity I want,” he teased, but there was a hint of seriousness behind it. “Yes, for the most part. It’s tough making the hard decisions. And, you know, coming in after you.” 

Alice smiled bashfully, “I’m hiding fr-from my friend. He’s b-been making me dance al-all night and I’m tired.”

“A friend?” Callum raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Do we mean friend or friend?”