Who: Delilah and Matt
What: Shit goes down
Where: Duel in Liverpool
When: Today



Delilah had almost forgotten the exhilaration she felt while dueling, it had been so long since she had been in a proper duel. She was barely even distracted by the fact that Matt was somewhere in the crowd watching her dodge and throw hexes. By her third duel in, she had forgotten he was there completely, too busy focused on her opponent who had a penchant for seeing how far he could push the line.

Case in point when she narrowly spun to miss a hex aimed for her face, which was strictly forbidden in fair play. That was so close, Delilah swore she could almost feel it. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as her heart raced. She barely acknowledged the screaming from the crowds. The referee must have accepted the excuse that he wasn’t aiming for her, it was a misfire. Typical. Rolling her eyes, she was about to wave her acceptance of the ridiculous call when she felt the hair falling around her ears. It wasn’t until she went to readjust her bun that she realized it was gone. Frantically she felt at her hair with both hands, feeling the rough ends that fell only inches from her head, the rest unceremoniously on the floor by her feet.

“You have got to be kidding me!” she roared, her anger the only thing save her from crying. Her hair. “Clearly this is a foul!”

The Italian dueler tsked from across room. “This is why women shouldn’t duel, if they are to cry foul every time they lose a bit a hair or break a nail.”

Delilah blinked once before her hand dropped from her ruined hair and she charged across the platform, hate and rage filling every fiber of her being. It must have been clear to someone that she planned to claw his eyes out with her pretty nails as she was stopped just short of taking a swing at the foul man.

“Let me go!” she demanded struggling against whoever had a hold on her. “I want to knock his teeth out and then see if he still wants to say that I shouldn’t duel.”

Matt had never been to a professional dueling match before today, and he wasn’t sure if his heart could handle another day’s worth. Even when it wasn’t Delilah that was getting vicious spells flung at her Matt found himself wincing and grabbing at his hair. Bludgers getting hurtled at him at alarmingly fast speeds while he teetered precariously on a broomstick a mile up in the air? Sure! Hexes whizzing past your head that could cut off your hair----

“Oh, hell,” Matt let out, jaw dropping as seemingly all of Delilah’s hair tumbled to the ground.

He watched with wide, shocked eyes. She was going to murder that bloke, he was sure! When the referee finally grabbed hold of Delilah to keep her from pummeling her opponent, Matt snapped out of his shocked state and pushed his way through the crowd.

“‘Scuse me! Excuse---sorry, I’ve just gotta---”

He jumped the last few steps down to the main dueling floor and rushed toward where Delilah was being dragged away. Matt waved his pass at the security guard and ducked past the curtains. His girl looked ready to start foaming at the mouth with rage, and Matt hoped he could be of some help.

“Are you all right? Holy hell, I think I’m having a heart attack,” he let out, unable to calm his own emotions to help relax Delilah. Though from the looks of it, it would take a miracle to cool her down.

Delilah could not remember the last time she was this angry, having to be literally dragged away from the other man. By the time the managed to get her out of sight, she couldn’t even recall half the things she yelled at him in her rage, just that she wanted to get back out there and see if she could hex off his beard. It wasn’t even about her hair anymore, (though the thought of it made tears well in her eyes) it was about the fact that he thought she, any woman shouldn’t duel. The nerve. She could beat him on her sheer talent let alone the years of training she had. She ought to just storm back out there and show him ---

She whirled around at the familiar voice that interrupted her vicious thoughts. Right, Matthew was here. Oh. Oh. Her hands flew up to her frayed hair, not that she could cover what happened. Or change the fact that Matt most likely saw her attempt to maim another dueler in a fit of rage that was still bubbling under her skin. Though now it was being pushed aside by a bit of embarrassment

“I-- My--That git--” a noise of frustration escaped her lips as she dropped her hands from her head. “I’m fine. It was-- It was just my hair.” She couldn’t keep the sadness out of her voice. Of course she could always charm it back, but it was never as nice and she hated the way it felt afterwards. She glared at the curtain that separated them from the dueling platform, wondering if the Italian was even getting a lecture in proper dueling etiquette. Probably not. If only she had been quicker, then she would have at least managed one hit.

“I am not bleeding, so I’m fine,” she said bitterly finally turning her full attention to her boyfriend. Her anger ebbed slightly when she actually took in just how concerned he was. She had forgotten what it was like when people who cared watched her duel for the first time. Daniel’s first duel, he’d tried to stop her from going out the second round deeming it not safe. That lasted until she pulled her wand on him said the only way he was going to stop her was if he beat her in a duel himself, and it he didn’t want to take that challenge.

“I am fine,” she repeated a bit more sincerely yet still not entirely convincingly. “I’m not hurt. I’m just--” Her hand waved aimlessly trying to convey mass of emotions. She couldn’t very well murder a guy with her boyfriend here to witness.

He ran his hands through his hair, resting his hands on the back of his neck. Holy hell. He’d been so excited to go to one of Delilah’s duels because she had always been so supportive at his games. And before his games. And after his games. So Matt had jumped at the chance to be in the stands for her. And now when she actually need his support, he was at a loss for words.

“You were amazing out there,” he said, finally able to move his feet and come up to Delilah. His hands went to her shoulders, completely in awe of how strong she’d been out there, “Honestly--I’m going to carry around a white flag so I don’t have to actually get into a fight with you, that’s how amazing you were.”

Matt grinned sheepishly, bending and twisting to keep his gaze locked on Delilah’s eyes. There was no need to mention the hair, right? That would cause---trouble. Unless she was okay with it, which he didn’t think she was. He wouldn’t be okay with it, but he’d like her in a potato sack so the fact that yes, she wasn’t bleeding was enough for him to feel relief.

“Do you--have to go back out there? Or is that guy too scared?”

Delilah tried to avoid his gaze for as long as she could while he complimented her skill, but he wasn't having it, forcing a small smile out of her as he mentioned a surrender flag. Dropping her head to his shoulder, she let out a long sigh. At this moment she didn't feel like she was doing great. Not now, she had let him get under skin. Let him rile her up to a point where--

"I am not sure. I may have forfeited when I crossed the line to punch him in his smug face. Physical violence is generally frowned upon." The referee who dragged her back behind the curtain told her that under no circumstances was she to go back out onto the dueling floor until he came to fetch her. The judges would evaluate the duel and decide who would get to continue onto the next round. She wasn’t even sure how long that would take, if they wanted they could wait until all the other duels for the round finished. “He should be scared though,” she murmured into his neck.

After a few moments of silence, Delilah stood straight again running her hand through her hair. Her hair. She had never worn it short. For as long as she could remember, she had long hair. When she was small she would barely sit still long enough to let her mother braid it to prevent it from tangling while she run around playing with her brothers. She always whinged about having to deal with it, yet now that it wasn’t there she already missed it. Charlie was going to have such a laugh when she showed up with hair not very much longer than his. She didn’t even want to think about looking in a mirror.

“Well, now you’ve seen me try to maim a man like a crazy person and I have no hair. Last chance to run before things get really out of hand.”

Matt stared at her, incredulous, “Run? That was the hottest thing I’d ever seen!”

Also one of the scariest, but holy hell did he think his girl was a hellkat. The spirit of competition ran strong through Matt’s veins, no matter the good guy image he lived in his daily life. When he stepped on the pitch, the only thing that mattered was his team and that snitch, and it was good to know that Delilah could understand that intensity. Sure, she was allowed to hurl hexes at her opponent whereas Matt could only wish he could, but athletes understood each other in that way. Delilah had definitely not overreacted, not to Matt.

He came close and touched the ends of her singed hair (he’d avoid letting her know that a bit of it had still be smoking). Even though hair grew back, it was still sad to see it go. It also showed how close she had come to actually getting hit with a dangerous spell and Matt forced down the bubbling of anger toward her opponent.

“Let’s get out of here, yeah? I whip up a mean cup of hot chocolate that I think can help,” Matt said, smiling sheepishly as he played with Delilah’s hair. “You pull this off quite nicely, can’t say that about most impromptu cuts.”

He flinched, anticipating getting hit for the comment.

Delilah ducked as Matt reached to touch her hair, flushing at his words. She smiled at the fact that her ferocity on the dueling floor did not unsettle him. That if anything, perhaps if she agreed to go, she’d get more than just a cup of hot chocolate. Rocking back on her heels, she scanned the otherwise empty room. There was still a chance that she could make it to the next round, if the judges decided to be lenient. And being an entry level duel, they most likely would be.

That being said, an entry level duel didn't mean much to her in the grand scheme of things. A loss was always a loss but a win here didn't gain a whole lot more than bragging rights. She would be better off saving her energy for the invitationals that would be starting in a few weeks.

“Hot chocolate, huh?” she asked poking him in the side for his remark about her hair. At least he said she could pull it off, though Delilah wasn’t certain that meant the same thing as looking nice. Henry was going to have a fit. ‘I don’t set up these duels for my own health, Spinnet!’ She could leave with her very handsome boyfriend now and watch her agent have a meltdown tomorrow. All in all seemed like a better time than staying.

“It’s tempting. I’ll only agree if there are marshmallows.”