Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
|
Post by Sam Spade on Jan 24, 2024 9:04:48 GMT -8
Sam was waking up even earlier than usual to go to the practice facility. Since their Christmas loss, everything had started to go downhill. If it wasn't Dan's benching it was his tell-all to the press, or the constant badgering from magic paparazzi, the nickname "Sad Sam" after his outburst at The Drip at Diagon Alley. With the Cannons slumping, Sam was in serious danger of accusations of fraud, and he was determined to correct the course.
"I just have to get right," he explained to Stella as he slipped out of bed, eyes still half matted shut, at one in the morning.
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
|
Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 24, 2024 9:36:38 GMT -8
They are definitely in a slump, but it wasn’t just in regard to the team. Ever since Dan was benched, all Sam could do was talk about his feelings on the subject. He’d talk over the tv, he’d talk over it during dinner, and worst of all he’d talk about it in bed. Stella was fed up. When she felt Sam move around, she opened eyes and immediately looked over at the clock. Everything was blurry with sleep but it was still one hour before they had to be up. She let out a loud groan.
“Are you being serious right now?” She asked, sitting up in bed too. Of course he was, but she was asking dumb questions because she was upset that he was disrupting their regular schedule. If he didn’t want to train with her, he could just say so.
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
|
Post by Sam Spade on Jan 24, 2024 10:13:40 GMT -8
"Absolutely," Sam nodded with his most Serious Sam face. "I have to be better, Stray. Without Dan...our team could spiral, we could tumble down the standings. I can't keep letting people down." Tears had begun to well up at the corners of his eyes.
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
|
Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 24, 2024 10:30:54 GMT -8
“Oh my god, not Dan again,” she started but immediately shut up when she saw the look in his eyes. Stella didn’t know what to do or say, she’d only seen tears in his eyes once before but the circumstances were vastly different.
“Sammy, I’m sorry,” she said climbing over his side of the bed. “You didn’t let anyone down.” She leaned against his back, placing a hand on his waist and her chin on one of his shoulders, pulling him close to her from behind. “Is this really all because of Dan?”
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
|
Post by Sam Spade on Jan 24, 2024 10:42:51 GMT -8
Sam was tired. He could survive the crazy in-season workout schedule that he'd created with Stella, but somehow losing Dan and being a public power couple had taken its toll on him. Now when he went to work, all he could think about was being alone with Stella in California. He feared that he was losing Quidditch, but he didn't want to speak it into existence.
Stella's warmth did settle him down a bit. She kept him together.
"Maybe," he said. "I just let him down, you know? I promised I'd take care of him and I believed that I could make him into the player he needed to be. I failed him, and now I'm failing everybody."
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
|
Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 24, 2024 11:36:33 GMT -8
If Stella knew how troubled he was about the whole situation, not just the Dan stuff, she would have been more careful out in public. The whole date incident only happened because she felt like she had never experienced a real first date and she dragged him along. But Sam would never admit that, instead he focused on Dan.
”Sam, how many times do I have to tell you? You did all you could with him, he couldn’t keep up.” She wanted to let him go from the hug, but she felt the had been apart lately and she wanted to feel his back against her chest. She missed when all they could do was focus on each other. Obviously that couldn’t always be the case. “And, yes, you promised to keep him safe, but look at what he did the minute the press turned to him.”
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
|
Post by Sam Spade on Jan 24, 2024 11:47:08 GMT -8
From the moment they had gone public with their relationship, Sam felt like he was being pulled between two worlds. At first, Quidditch and Stella had been two sides of the same coin. Sam could love his sport and his girl, but now with everyone constantly labeling them he felt like he was being forced into a position where he had to choose one life over the other. He hadn't backed away from the first date because it was something that he really wanted, but their Quidditch life continued to interfere.
"I would have done the same thing," Sam lied. It was hard for him to accept that maybe Dan had been an asshole. "Stray..." He paused, considering his next words carefully. "I think I love you more than Quidditch."
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
|
Midseason
Jan 24, 2024 14:10:54 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 24, 2024 14:10:54 GMT -8
Sam probably would have gone to the press to take accountability, not to throw his former team under the bus. Stella also had to keep reminding herself that she wasn’t in Dan’s mind and she couldn’t completely judge him for feeling hurt when they brought in a younger player to replace him.
Stella closed her eyes, pressing her lips to Sam’s shoulder as he paused. She wasn’t sure what to expect… but it wasn’t that. She titled her head to the side, resting her cheek on his shoulder, and studied his side profile. Why did his words make her feel so sad? Quidditch was his life, she didn’t want to be the reason it was pushed aside.
“You love me as much as Quidditch,” she tried to correct him. She felt her lips form into a pout and she softly bit down on her lower lip to stop it from quivering.
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
|
Post by Sam Spade on Jan 24, 2024 14:16:10 GMT -8
Sam caught the bit of sadness in Stella's voice when she corrected him, and he immediately realized that what he said had hurt her. He sniffed his tears away then said, "It's not that I love you more or it less, it's that you are Quidditch. My whole life I played the game because I wanted to be the best, because I wanted to be a champion. But it's different now. And it's really good that it's different, but...suddenly all the things I loved about the game stress me out. Because if I'm just playing the game for you, I don't care if we win. But if we lose, real people get hurt. Does any of that make sense?"
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
|
Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 24, 2024 14:50:14 GMT -8
Stella knew she could be extremely sensitive. It was one of the reasons she had kept everyone at a distance in the past. She also knew Sam didn’t mean to hurt her and this wasn’t even truly about her.
“But I want us to win, Sam. For us, for all the work we’ve put in together. It really sucks to wake up and read another article in the news, but it only fuels me more. I want to hold that championship cup and kiss you while doing it. I didn’t want any of it a year ago. You reignited my passion for Quidditch. What am I supposed to do if you don’t feel the same way?”
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
|
Post by Sam Spade on Jan 24, 2024 15:16:13 GMT -8
"I want to win with you too," Sam said. "We've been winning together, and I thought I was playing the best Quidditch of my life until all of the drama with Dan. I already loved Quidditch, but being with you gives it a whole new dimension." He sighed for a moment as he caught his breath. His eyes were so heavy. He sunk back into Stella so easily it was as if the weight of the world were being lifted off of him. "I'm sorry," he said, closing his eyes. "I didn't know I was worrying too much about Dan."
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
|
Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 25, 2024 14:01:55 GMT -8
Stella held him closer, letting him rest his back against her chest and she stayed quiet. He was always pushing himself so hard and normally Stella wouldn’t say anything, but it was getting to a point where it was affecting everything around them.
“You need to rest, baby. Quidditch will be there tomorrow morning.” She ran a hand through his hair and leaned forward to kiss the top of his head. “You don’t have to apologize to anyone, especially not to me. Everyone understands how hard this has been for you. And I’m sorry the energy has been off between us, I’m just worried about you.”
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
|
Post by Sam Spade on Jan 25, 2024 14:23:24 GMT -8
It hadn't even occurred to Sam that the energy between them had been off until Stella said it, but now that she had he could she what she meant. They were always balancing their relationship with the team, but lately it felt more like the team was winning as Sam obsessed over Dan's sudden departure. Stella had seen Sam's obsessive side before, but never quite like this.
"I love you," Sam whispered, his eyes still closed. "And the deeper I fall in love with you the more I need this team to succeed. I want to do something incredible with you, Stella. I want to be in history with you forever."
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Seeker
Everything good happens after midnight. |
Steph
|
Post by Estrella Quinn on Jan 26, 2024 11:17:39 GMT -8
“We’re going to win everything. The question is how? You can’t keep going like this. You’re going to burn out eventually.” She was worried about the extra hour he added to his workout recently, but most of all she missed waking up next to him and she missed the routine they had built together. The apartment always felt so cold an empty whenever she woke up, rolled over, and found the empty spot next to her in bed.
|
|
Year/Job
Chudley Cannons Chaser
"Don't ask me for my autograph, ask me about the rage inside me." |
Travis
|
Midseason
Jan 26, 2024 11:27:34 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by Sam Spade on Jan 26, 2024 11:27:34 GMT -8
Sam loved waking up extra early when it was him and Stella together, but now that he was pushing it earlier every day and going in to train alone, Quidditch felt a lot more like a job than usual. How was a good question, because Sam was pretty sure he couldn't do it without Stella. He didn't want to. He'd fought hard for his no trade clause because of that.
"You really think we'll win together?" He said in a small, sleepy voice.
|
|