Who: Haterade and Honeybadger
What: BIG CHANGES
Where: Thomas's flat
When: Now?
One would think that Kendall would have shown up at Thomas’ doorstep far earlier than right now. His agent first contacted him about the offer just before he left for Istanbul, but Kendall didn’t think anything of it, because management and agents discussed offers all the time and often, nothing ever came of it. So there was no point worrying about it during Eurocup. But he returned to England, his agent told Kendall he had set up a meeting for him with the Wanderer’s management, finishing by telling him that it would be in his best interest to wear his best robes for the occasion.
Even after the meeting, Kendall still found himself not bringing it up to either Rose or Thomas. Mostly because he still didn’t feel that it was
real. There had obviously been some mistake. Even he could admit he’d been in a terrible funk the past few months and no team in their right mind would think that this was a good idea.
But now, with a contract he was supposed to sign and send back by the end of the week, Kendall couldn’t imagine why he
hadn’t told Thomas. He told Thomas everything. He was the first person he turned to for advice or help and he hadn’t said a word. What was he thinking? Had he spoken up sooner, he wouldn’t be so jittery right now. Kendall knocked again getting impatient waiting for Thomas to open the door. Really, how long did it take to walk across the flat. What on earth could he be doing that was more important than this. “Come on, Thomas. I need to talk to you. This is important.”
He popped his head out from behind a high stack of boxes, unsure if he’d heard a knocking or not. Thomas narrowed his eyes, listening again and---ah! Yes, someone was here. He pressed his lips together as he figured out how to step over the various boxes he had strewn about his bedroom, and finally with some careful steps and one risky leap he managed to make it out of the room without problem.
Thomas had bought a house. He had been looking in the Appleby area for one during his off days during the season, and when he’d returned from Istanbul the real estate agent had literally been at his door when he’d arrived back. He’d won the option to buy and the moving process had begun. He was terribly excited and had been packing all morning.
Peering through the peephole, Thomas looked back at his mess before opening the door. He’d wanted to make a big, happy for once announcement to all his friends, but he supposed Kendall really was half of the portion of people he really cared about telling. So.
“Important?” Thomas said as he opened the door. “Did your favorite sushi place close down?”
“What?” Kendall asked a slight panic in his voice. His favorite sushi place was closing? What! It took a moment with all the thoughts running through his head to even process that it was a joke. “That is not even a
joke, Thomas.” He said stepping into his friends flat. “No no. This is so much
bigger than that. It’s---”
Kendall stopped mid-thought as he looked around his best friends flat. What the hell were all these boxes doing every where.
Everywhere. This was not what he was expecting when he came over here. Obviously Thomas had something to share as well. “What is all of this? Wait no. Don’t answer that,” he held up his empty hand to stop whatever answer his crazy Ravenclaw friend was going to give. He could not deal with that yet.
“Me first.” he said very much like a five year old, shoving the roll of parchment he had clutched in his hand since he left his flat. He tried to be patient, let Thomas read over his contract on his own. That lasted all of two minutes before he was over his shoulder hovering, shifting from foot to foot. “It’s a three year contract. That’s a major commitment.” And its leaving the Kestrels, he added silently. Kendall liked his comforts. He
hated change. He moped for
weeks after each of his friends moved out. He had all of his teammates quirks down, what was he going to do when he had to learn about a whole new set of people.
Thomas was used to Kendall’s interruptions and held back any questions until the barging in was complete. He unrolled the parchment and his eyes scanned it quickly, widening as it became clear why Kendall was having a bloody conniption.
“Wow,” Thomas let out, astonished. This was... “This is brilliant, mate!”
He whirled around, only to find Kendall right at his shoulder, so after a bump he stepped back and handed the contract back to his friend. “This is amazing! Congratulations!”
He smiled proudly; this was something that they had both talked about since they first took the pitch at Hogwarts. Captains of professional, soon-to-be cup winning teams. He and Kendall both had success in their own right and had worked hard to become two of the best players in the league. With all the life drama that seemed to follow them around, it was astonishing that they had managed to find themselves where they were, and pretty functional. Intact. Though, he did know his friend well enough, and Thomas’ gaze took on a suspicious sort of frown.
“Should I be congratulating you? Are we happy?”
“I don’t know.” Kendall let out honestly taking back the contract staring at it for a good long minute. There were two completely different emotions warring within him and he didn’t know which was going to win out. Or win. He ran his hand over his head.
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” he admitted quietly. “Wanderers’ management talked to my agent before Eurocup. Everything was going great and I was going to tell you and Rose once it was all final. But then this got delivered and-- and--” he shrugged focusing on one of the boxes nearby labeled ‘living room’ in Thomas’ neat handwriting. Thomas was moving. Kendall couldn’t ignore it if he tried. He was moving somewhere
else. And he didn’t know. There was just
too much going on. Everything was changing. What if everything fell apart. He took a deep breath trying to settle his thoughts.
One thing at a time.
“I panicked. They want me to lead the
change. Help turn the whole team around. The Wanderers were a joke last season. That is-- It’s a huge responsibility Thomas. What if I am throwing my career away with this move? Kestrels had a bad season, but we are a good team. We proved that.” What was he thinking, not talking to Thomas about this. He almost signed three years of his life away on a whim. All because of the shiny title of captain dangling in front of his face.
“I don’t know, Thomas. I can’t decide if I want to celebrate or vomit.”
He understood his friend’s concern. Thomas had gone through the same sort of panic attack last year when he’d been approached by the Arrows. He’d gone to Odette for advice, the teammate he’d played with longest and whose opinion he trusted the most. He had won his Cup with the Magpies, and while he did hold the team and its fans very close to his heart, Thomas had never felt...like it was his own. The Magpies were most definitely Odette’s team, and even Drake---those two were the faces of the franchise. He’d been given the opportunity to create a name for himself on a new team, a place where he could really use his mind to help the Arrows reach the top of the standings again.
“You need a list of pros and cons,” Thomas said with a nod, heading toward the kitchen to find some parchment and a quill. He and Odette had gone over a variety of scenarios before Thomas had accepted his trade and promotion, and Kendall should do the same before signing on the dotted line.
Rustling through the drawer, Thomas found a scrap of parchment long enough to do what they needed. He pushed out a stool for himself and for Kendall, and gestured his friend to take a seat.
“Come on. Pro?”
What Kendall really needed to hear was something along the lines of, ‘Shut up, you can do this’. Though, he really shouldn’t have been surprised when instead he got ‘You need a pro con list’. A
pro con list. Really. And Thomas was moving before Kendall could say a word, leaving him to helplessly follow to the kitchen. He was definitely needed to add this to the list of why he needed friends that were not analytical Ravenclaws.
Kendall had a list. He had done this already. Practically everything was on both sides of the list. Pro; he would be Captain. Con: Oh merlin, he would be
Captain. Con: He would be leaving the Kestrels, which had become like a family to him. Pro: A crazy insane family and thank goodness he was finally moving out on his own. Con: It was the
Wanderers. The team was terrible last season. Pro: They were terrible last season, so he would get major credit if they turned things around. Pro: It would piss of his dad. Con: I would piss off his dad. Con: He could crash and burn and destroy his career. Pro: At least he had a Quidditch career. He could be playing Quodpot.
“I don’t need a list of pros and cons, Thomas. Hufflepuff, remember. We don’t do lists,” he joked weakly ignoring the seat Thomas offered, still too jittery to sit. He just needed to know that he wasn’t crazy for thinking he could do this, but had no idea how to convey that to his friend without admitting the shaky faith he had in himself. But in a way Thomas’ suggestion still helped, because even with the worst cases running through his head, he still wanted it. More than he ever thought he would. But wanting something didn’t necessarily mean it was good for you.
Finally he sat down in the stool and spread the contract out on the counter. “I just-- I need to know that its more than just the desperate managers of a terrible team and myself who think that this is a good move. I already know there are those who are going to think otherwise.”
Even though he’d only been in the captain position for one season, Thomas felt like it had been years ago that he had panicked and stressed in the same way as his friend. It was a hard decision, it was a life-altering choice, but he wouldn’t take it back. At the end of the day a team was just a team, quidditch just a game. He would probably be hanged if he ever said such a thing, but if you found yourself happier on the pitch with a bunch of players who couldn’t shoot a quaffle straight, then what was so terribly wrong with that?
The Chudley Cannons had seemed to develop and embrace that philosophy, and
they didn’t seem ready to jump off London Bridge every day their miserable league record extended..
“Any move you make is going to be a good one,” Thomas said earnestly, clamping his hand on Kendall’s shoulder, “You’re the best seeker in the league and you care more about just winning which is what a good captain needs when the pressure starts to be too much. You’re the best man for the job, the Wanderers are lucky to have you to rebuild their team around.”
Thomas shrugged, tilting his head, “Plus, with all my training tips you’ve earned over the years, I mean--how could you really go wrong?”
Kendall couldn’t help but smile at Thomas’ words. To hear him say that he was the best seeker in the league, whether or not it was true, meant a lot to him. It was just what needed to hear to feel confident in his decision. And just how cool would it be to be a captain along side his best friend. He felt like he could breathe again.
He took the quill from Thomas and signed his name with a bit of flourish. “I want you to remember all of these kind words now, because I don’t want to hear you complaining when my team beats your team next season.” He said with a smirk, pointing the quill at his friend.
“Now. You.” Kendall poked Thomas with the feather end of the quill. “What is all this mess? Explain.”
