Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
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Post by Sam Spade on Jan 14, 2024 22:18:27 GMT -8
If it was up to Sam they would have left without packing a thing.
Regardless, it didn't take long for Sam to pack all of his California clothes into his backpack. He met Stella in the living room with a bright smile and he took her hand for the bright trip. The special thing about being a magic person was that you could pick everything up and move pretty quickly.
The next day, Sam was sprawled out over the beach enjoying the Pacific Ocean. He turned to Stella with one of his big smiles and he asked, "So you were serious about moving in with me last night, right?"
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
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California
Jan 14, 2024 22:21:49 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 14, 2024 22:21:49 GMT -8
Stella had to go back home to pack and even though she wasn’t sure what to bring, she tried to be fast and efficient. She grabbed the essentials and anything else she’d have to buy when they arrived in California. She didn’t like spending her money on unnecessary things but this was an exception and she could splurge a little on vacation. She met Sam back in his living room and they were off.
So far, everything had been peaceful. One kid did recognize Sam from his college years and asked for an autograph but other than that, everyone else had let them be. They laid out in the sand, enjoying the rays of sunshine and Stella was drifting off into another little nap when Sam pulled her back from it. “Hmm?” She slowly turned her body to face him, getting sand all over the towel they were sharing. “I was being serious. Were you not?”
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
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Post by Sam Spade on Jan 14, 2024 22:25:24 GMT -8
Maybe it was weird that Sam and Stella hadn't discussed moving in since the evening before, but everything has moved so quickly once they started packing. It wasn't easy to find a place to stay so close to the holiday, but a retired teammate of Sam's offered up his vacation home in Los Angeles for them to stay in, and they'd spent the rest of their night enjoying each other in the unfamiliar space. "Of course I was serious," Sam said the next morning when he finally found the courage to bring it up again. "I just wanted to make sure that it was real. I mean this whole thing feels like such a dream sometimes, you know?"
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
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California
Jan 14, 2024 22:27:21 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 14, 2024 22:27:21 GMT -8
Stella was surprised that he even brought it up again because in her head, they had already decided that she would. Maybe she was reading too much into this. But that couldn’t really be it. She pushed her sunglasses off her nose and let them rest at the top of her head. She leaned on her side and watched him, her hand resting on his bare chest.
“You feel very real to me,” she said and smiled at him. “But I know what you mean. When I woke up this morning I wasn’t sure if the last few days were all just one long dream. I’m really glad it wasn’t.”
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
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Post by Sam Spade on Jan 14, 2024 22:47:45 GMT -8
Sam's hand came down to rest on Stella's. "I'm thankful that we can do things like this. Just go anywhere we want to, whenever we want to," within reason of course. "And I guess it's a bit of a Christmas miracle that we haven't run into any magic reporters, since I told them where we'd be. Were you worried?"
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
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Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 14, 2024 22:49:08 GMT -8
They did have a lot of freedom and resources, thanks to their careers, but that also came with drawbacks. One of them being the media. Stella saw how they ripped Anya to shreds when she was younger, making an already confusing situation worse. She’d seen them print gossip about other teams and their players’ private lives. “A little,” she admitted. Everything was fine so far though and it wasn’t like Stella and Sam were doing anything wrong. “I’ve just always been a private person. And I don’t want people to think they can just intrude on peaceful moments like this. Were you worried too?”
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
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Post by Sam Spade on Jan 14, 2024 22:49:16 GMT -8
Sam was a little bit used to the fame. While he wasn't born into a storied Quidditch family like Stella, he'd been on scouts' radars since he was a kid and you know what? He didn't hate the attention. But his time with Stella was something for himself, not anyone else.
"A little bit," Sam said. "I was so caught up in my feelings for you after the game that I just...I really wasn't thinking what I was saying. I'm glad that I didn't ruin this for us."
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
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Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 14, 2024 22:49:35 GMT -8
While Stella was a Quinn, she was more adjacent than anything to the main stars of her family. She enjoyed the spoils of the wealth her father and uncle amassed but her dad made sure he kept her and her older sister out of the limelight. Stella was able to enjoy a nice, quiet life until around her sixth year when the Quidditch world started to look more closely at her. And even that bit of pressure, which was not a lot compared to the amount she had now, had weighed her down. But she didn’t have Sam back then. He was only a moving picture on a poster belonging to someone else in her dorm.
Now, Sam was here with her. And she felt like she could take the world head on.
Stella moved her hand to push his hair out of his face then she placed it back on his warm skin. The only trace of their dip in the ocean was his salty, damp hair. “You didn’t, you couldn’t,” she said being completely honest. “It felt good to hear you say it. Maybe I’m crazy but I want the world to know I belong to you and you to me.”
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
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Post by Sam Spade on Jan 14, 2024 22:49:40 GMT -8
If Stella was crazy, Sam would have to be too. All Sam could think about going into the team facility Christmas afternoon was that he didn't want to hide this thing they had anymore. He'd spent so many months as the good friend, but he wanted everyone to know that he was her love.
Stella looked good fresh out of the ocean in her bikini. He couldn't help but think that she was going to kill the Wizard Sports spread.
"You're not crazy at all," Sam said. "I felt the exact same way. All I could do was think about this, being right here with you. And now we have the whole break to ourselves. What do you want to do?"
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
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Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 14, 2024 22:50:05 GMT -8
Stella had expected them to still keep things quiet for a little while if only to spare their teammates and managers from having to deal with the chaos their relationship could cause. But they knew, way before Sam and Stella even put a label on this, they had acted like a couple. She liked grabbing his hand when she talked to him, he liked leaning in close when he explained something. It was only a matter of time before everyone found out anyway.
“I’m going to talk about you nonstop, they’ll be sick of it,” she joked leaning over him and she booped his nose with her index finger.
It was unusual for them to have this much time off and usually doing nothing would be driving her crazy. Except, the sun and salt water made her sleepy. She was fine doing absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. But if she had to pick something…
Stella looked around, the shoreline of Crystal Cove was quiet, the only other people were off in the distance - only little speckles that Stella didn’t have to worry about. She grabbed Sam by the shoulder, pulling him toward her, and kissed him. She could taste the salt on his lips and her hand ran through his hair. She let out a soft hum as her lips moved against his.
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
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Post by Sam Spade on Jan 14, 2024 22:50:17 GMT -8
Now that the world knew about them, it was only a matter of time before everyone got sick of them. That's how things work in sports, the media becomes obsessed with one narrative until everyone who isn't a Chudley Cannons fan decides to hate the team. Could it be a hassle for their teammates? Maybe, but this was Sam's life and he couldn't make every decision based on how it impacted the team. This he wanted for himself.
The waves crashed around them as they kissed. Stella's hair was still wet from the ocean as his fingers weaves through matted strands. So much of Sam's life was dedicated to Quidditch that it was hard to imagine living for anything else, but now lying down on the beach with Stella, it was hard to imagine living for anything else but this.
The kiss took Sam's breath away. He spoke in shallow breaths when they leaned away. "We can do that all day," he said, running his hand over Stella's stomach. "But I hope it's not just a vacation thing."
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
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Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 14, 2024 22:50:21 GMT -8
“Of course not,” she said, laughing at his touch as he traced her fingers along her stomach. She could have kissed him all day under the hot sun, but they had plenty of time to do that later. Stella laid back down on the towel, bringing her sunglasses down to the bridge of her nose again. “Are you getting restless already, Sam?” He was always on the go and she had to wonder how long it’d been since he even took a vacation.
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
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Post by Sam Spade on Jan 14, 2024 22:50:30 GMT -8
"Nah," Sam shook his head. "I've barely even mentioned Quidditch once this whole trip." It had been less than 24 hours and Sam has mentioned Quidditch 76 times.
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
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Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 14, 2024 22:50:33 GMT -8
Stella had half a mind to send him running on the shore just to get him to relax, but he was stubborn and probably wouldn't do it. "Well, what do you want to do? What do you do on vacation?"
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Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
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Post by Sam Spade on Jan 14, 2024 22:50:41 GMT -8
Sam had to think about his answer for a second. As a kid, most of the Spade family vacations revolved around Quidditch anyway. "When my dad was a scout for the Kenmare Kestrals we'd travel all over the world visiting different schools. We'd watch tape of players in the hotel room!"
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