the runaway found

[Lucas Smith]

It had been a while since Lucas had been out to shoot some hoops. Classes and homework, as well as some not to pleasant weather had kept him inside for the last little while and now the Ravenclaw was just itching to get back on the court. Lucas really hoped the courtyard would be empty today because he really wasn't in the mood for any trouble. He knew it was Drew's court and if the other Eagle was already there, he wasn't going to impose. But Lucas really did want to get out and have a little fun.

As he walked down the hall, dressed in his favourite grey sweater of Keith's, black track pants and sneakers, Lucas dribbled his basketball around him and in between in legs. He was a little rusty after not playing for a few weeks, but it wasn't really something he could ever forget how to do. The sport had always been a big part of his life and there was no way he'd ever let it go. Coming onto the court, and thankfully finding it open, Lucas dribbled around the edge of the concrete, lining up for a shot. He jumped and released the ball, watching it sink nicely into the old basket attached to the wall. Maybe it would be a good afternoon after all.

[closed]

[Drew Thornton]

There was a lot to think about and with the lake frozen over and swimming a near impossibility, the next best thing to clear one's mind, or at least when that mind belonged to Drew Thornton, was shooting some hoops. He was in his standard warm-up gear: shorts, hooded sweatshirt, sneaks, and a backwards baseball cap.

His old basketball was bouncing at his side as he walked to the courtyard, really not expecting anyone to be out there, so he was a little surprised to see Smith already on the makeshift court. Drew knew he had no actual claim to the area, other than he was the one who had put up the hoop, but not to many people actually used it, so it was a little weird to him to see someone else there.

Plus, it was Lucas. Drew knew that Felicity had no interest in the other guy, but it still bugged the Head Boy that Lucas tried. It was only because of the pretty Griffindor girl that Drew even bothered trying to get along with the guy. Instead of just up and leaving to find something else to do, Drew approached the other Ravenboy and waited on the sidelines for Lucas to shoot the basket.

"Nice shot," Drew said, really not wanting to get into any sort of competiton with the guy. All he wanted to do was practice his three-pointers.

[Lucas Smith]

Lucas jogged forward to grab his basketball that was staring to bounce away. Just as he picked it up, he heard a voice behind him. He knew who it was before he even turned around. With an internal groan, he did end up turning around to see Drew standing there, looking ready to use the net as well. Lucas assumed that was his cue to leave.
"Thanks," he answered sullenly, "Guess this means you want me out of your way." That was fine with him; he could always find a different spot to bounce the ball around and just not shoot. If Drew wanted his court, he could have it.

[Drew Thornton]

Drew heard the attitude and didn't care for it. Apparently the Head Boy was a tyrant who didn't like anyone touching his stuff. Of course, when it came to Lucas, that might be a good rule to follow. The guy had a thing for Felicity after all.

But this was basketball, not girlfriends. There really wasn't any reason why Lucas had to leave except for the fact that Drew didn't like him... but even the lanky eighteen year old knew that wasn't a good reason.

"Why would you say that?" Drew asked, dribbling his ball closer and taking the jumpshot. It swished through the hoop and Drew jogged over to retrieve it. As much as he'd like to have the court Lucas-less, there really wasn't a legitimate reason why they couldn't share.

[Lucas Smith]

Lucas hadn't meant to get snappy at Drew and he knew it wasn't benefiting his attempt to actually be friends with the Head Boy. He sighed slightly, tightening his grip on his basketball in frustration at his inability to control his anger. Lucas shook his head, dribbling the ball again and taking another shot.
"Nevermind," he answered, now sounding more defeated than irritated, "Forget I said anything."

The Ravenclaw watched the ball he'd just thrown as it bounced off the corner of the basket and in the other direction. With another sigh, the Ravenclaw chased after it, scooping it up once more.

[Drew Thornton]

"All right then," Drew answered, figuring it was over whatever it had been. Drew let Lucas take his shot, stayed out of the way as the ball was retrieved, and moved towards the outer edge of the court to set up his own shot.

He dribbled the ball for a few seconds by his side, pacing along the three point line. When he was ready, he set the ball and took the shot, watching as it hit the backboard, bounced on the rim and fell to the side. Drew was on it without hesitation, grabbing the rebound and making the layup.

[Lucas Smith]

Lucas followed suit, staying out of way while Drew took his shot. He watched the Head Boy miss, but make a nice recovery and end up with a nice shot in the end. Lucas took his turn, dribbling around a little and trying another when he lined himself up and tried to concentrate. But he knew he was in trouble the second the ball left his hands.

Once again, it bounced off the rim, shaking the basket dangerously when it hit. Lucas let his arms drop heavily as he watched the ball get away from him. He never missed. Jogging to pick it up again, Lucas dribbled and kept his head down, waiting for Drew to take his next shot. Maybe it wouldn't be such a good afternoon.

[Drew Thornton]

Lucas took his shot and Drew fell back from the hoop, bouncing his own ball, but otherwise staying quiet until the other boy was done. Lucas missed, hitting the rim instead. As the other Ravenclaw retrieved his ball, Drew went back to the spot he had previously tried, determined to make it from that point before trying a new one. Keeping his eye on the basket, he slowly dribbled the ball at his side, concentrating and focusing on getting the ball through the hoop. When he felt a certain sense of readiness, he took the ball up, aimed, and tossed it up. The ball arched towards the hoop and Drew was sure it would make it in this time. Instead, it toilet bowled around twice before shooting off to the right. Cursing slightly under his breath, he jogged to retrieve it and freeing up the court fot Lucas.

[Lucas Smith]

Lucas pulled the sleeves of his sweater up, starting to get a little hot. Even light jogging in the bulky sweater was enough to start a little sweat. You wouldn't be jogging of you just sunk a damn basket, Lucas thought angrily to himself as he waited his turn. He watched Drew miss the shot too, but he wasn't in any position to get smug about his missing. Lucas lined himself up again, taking a deep breath as he dribbled a couple times. It was usually a lot easier for the Ravenclaw to get his concentration back, but somehow Drew had managed to get inside his head, even though the boy hadn't been trying.

When the next shot missed, Lucas was borderline furious. The ball bounced right back to him and he hurled it in anger at the wall and it slammed it hard. His ratty old ball bounced away from the two boys and Lucas' hands rested on his hips as he paced. He didn't want to look at Drew, so he kept his blond head down until he came to a stop and shook it in disbelief instead. Picking it up, Lucas dribbled angrily, waiting for Drew to go so Lucas could just miss again.

[Drew Thornton]

As he had on the previous shots, Drew stood off to the side and dribbled his ball, staying out of Lucas's way. It was tempting to just shoot how ever and when ever he wanted, but Drew really wanted to try and get along, if only for Felicity. He certainly didn't care about being besttie mates with the other guy.

Neither of them had been doing well, and while he still thought he had been robbed of his last basket, Drew wasn't really concerned about it after all. It definitely wasn't worth the tantrum Lucas decided to throw when he missed yet another basket. Drew narrowed his eyes at the other boy, adding to his mental list of reasons why Lucas better stay away from Felicity.

"You okay?" Drew asked, wondering if there was more than just basketball going on here. It was just supposed to be a simple game of toss-up. Notihng to get worked up over, right?

[Lucas Smith]

With a slight sigh, Lucas turned and looked over his shoulder at Drew again. The boy didn't seem all that genuinely concerned about him, so he wasn't quite sure why he'd asked. Lucas' hand ran through his hair, thinking about what actually was bothering him. Other than the fact that Drew was exceptionally intimidating, Lucas' shy streak of playing in front of other people was kicking in. That and the things on his mind from back home were only adding to the emotions school was throwing at him. At home, things weren't vastly different from normal; there were money problems and his mum was feeling along because there was nobody there but that was how it always was. Money was a little tighter than usual, but Lucas didn't know what to do to help. She had insisted he stay in school.

School, on the other hand, was coming to a close and all of a sudden, Lucas had to decide what he wanted with the rest of his life. He didn't know what he wanted. Losing basketball scared him, but he knew there was no future in it. Writing however, was even scarier. What if he wasn't good enough? What if he never got a job anywhere? He needed money, his mum didn't have any to spare. All of this, including Drew's intimidation, was leading to a lot of concentration being lost.

Unfortunately, all Lucas came out with was a "it's nothing", in a very unconvincing tone.

[Drew Thornton]

Drew eyed the other boy warily. "That didn't look like nothing," he answered, dribbling his ball again and averting his eyes to focus on the basket. Drew wasn't about to get all emo on the guy, but figured he could lend an ear if Lucas wanted to talk. On the other hand, Drew wasn't going to push the guy any to open up and share feelings. That kind of stuff was for chick flicks.

Drew took his shot from the three point line exactly as he had before, giving Lucas time to figure out if he wanted to talk or play ball. The Head Boy was fine with either option in the big scheme of things, but until the other guy figured it out, Drew was going to shoot hoops. The ball left his hand and bounced on the backboard once before sinking neatly into the hole. Drew pumped his arm and hissed a self congratualtory "Yessss!" before going to retrieve the ball.

[Lucas Smith]

Lucas was silent as he watched Drew take another shot and sink the ball. He lowered his head, shaking it in a last attempt to rid it of the unwanted thoughts and lined up for another shot. As expected though, the ball hit the stone wall instead.
"Just got a lot on my mind," Lucas mumbled as he sauntered past Drew to pick up the ball. The Ravenclaw knew he'd feel better if he talked about it with someone and it was times like these that he hated not being with his best friend all the time. Even sending her an owl wouldn't really help because he needed to talk to her face to face. That wouldn't be possible for another few months and Lucas knew that. Maybe talking to Drew wouldn't be the worst thing...

"It's just the end of the year, you know?" Lucas continued, a little wary about spilling him problems to someone who hated him, "I don't really know what I'm going to be doing and I'm...not really sure I can stay...in the wizarding world, I mean."

[Drew Thornton]

Drew hadn't wanted to get stuck in a Dr. Phil episode with the other Ravenclaw, but there wasn't much he could do when Lucas started spilling his guts. Drew had been prompting him after all. Felicity just better appreciate how hard he was trying to get along with Smith.

But the guy was talking about things Drew had been mulling over as well: the end of the year, a major change in his life, what the heck was he even doing? It was the last part, though, that made Drew wonder some more.

"Why wouldn't you be able to stay in the Wizarding World?" he asked, knowing some people chose to live predominantly Muggle, but that didnt' mean you stopped being a Wizard. You still had those ties whenever you wanted, didn't you?

[Lucas Smith]

"Well...my mum," Lucas confessed quietly. He was really comfortable with talking about his family because he knew it usually led to discussing his Uncle Keith. Lucas hated talking about Keith; it was still hard for him to do and he knew it was even harder for Abby to talk about it. He had barely seen the girl around school and had no idea if she'd ever told anyone about him or not. With another look at Drew, the Ravenclaw could tell the Head Boy really wasn't interested in what was wrong with him, so he cut it short.
"Just money stuff," explained the boy with a shrug, as though it was nothing, "Kinda short, is all."