Batter, Batter

[gabriel]

Gabriel stepped up to the handmade pitcher's mound, spitting as he did so, ball in hand. His keen eyesight saw the fence he would toss the ball at, and preparing to throw as he lifted his leg, he narrowed his eyes to improve his aim. A moment passed as his arm creaked silently, poised to throw its entrapped victim toward a metal plate hanging upon the fence. His fingers hung over the red lines until quickly they released the boy's fury into the ball.

The ball zoomed quickly, merely a blur, nearly invisible to anyone's eyes, until a loud clanging noise echoed around the field. As the ball hit the ground, Gabriel bent down to scoop up another by his feet, and threw it again. A couple of more clanging noises followed the day, echoing around the field until Gabriel sighed. He thought to himself, "This is boring..."

[emmawinters]

Emma Winters was flying casually above the Quidditch field when she saw another first year by the looks of it, doing something below. Curiosity got the best of her and she swung down to see what he/she was doing.

"Hey!" she called, as she stepped off her broom. She walked over to the Hufflepuff with broom in hand. Looking at the ground she noticed a few balls and smiled. "Do you play baseball?"

[gabriel]

Gabriel jumped at the sudden appearance he hadn't really been expecting. He sighed as he clutched his chest, "You gave me a start," he spoke calmly as he picked up another ball, and then nodded, "Yeah, I play baseball. Do you?" The boy didn't really know what to say, then he started to appear formal by brushing down the front of his shirt.

"Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners?" The boy chuckled, "I'm Gabriel Michael Dylvans, Hufflepuff in my very first year here." The boy smiled, extending his hand for a friendly handshake. "You can call me Gabby or Michael, I don't care."

[emmawinters]

Emma smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to scare you." She reached down and picked up one of the balls. "Do I play? Nah, I have a strong arm but I have no aim what so ever. I tried to play once, and all I did was smash a window. Which," she added. "I had to pay for. It stunk."

Emma returned the handshake. "Emma Duerre Winters, also a first year Hufflepuff. I like Michael," she said decidingly.

[gabriel]

He raised an eyebrow quizzically at Emma, "Emma Winters, a girl who likes my middle name? Heh. That's nice...I guess." The boy only shrugged as he picked up another ball and threw it sharply at the plate upon the fence. "Why don't you show me what you got, girl? I bet I can do this better than you can." The boy winked quickly at her. Indeed, he was inviting her to a challenge.

"Loser gotta kiss the winner." That was sudden. Too sudden. The boy closed his mouth quickly and frowned, "Oi, sorry. I just say that a lot when I challenge a girl...Old habits die hard..." He was lying, though. Would she know that?

[emmawinters]

She raised her eyebrow, her eyes narrowing. But then her lips twitched and formed into a smile. "Yeah, old habits huh?" she smirked and picked up one of the baseballs. Turning it slowly in her hand, she suddenly threw it towards the fence where it hit it with a loud clang that shook the entire fence. "You're on."

[gabriel]

Gabriel grinned as he scooped up another ball and tossed it quickly with enough strength to cause the fence to rattle from the impact, a loud clanging noise echoing throughout the field. Suddenly, he looked back at Emma, and said, "Your turn. First one to get ten clangs is the winner." Indeed, it seemed the plate was getting ready to fall, even if it was still linked to the fence.

"Don't miss, and don't get too close. Those wouldn't count." The boy smiled as he dug up a line with his toes where they would stand at to toss the balls. "So far, two for me, and one for you."

[emmawinters]

Emma laughed and picked up another ball. She looked at Gabriel and purposely took 10 steps backwards away from the fence. She rolled her eyes, this is too easy. She casually threw the ball straight towards the fence. It hit it and the clang echoed around, but wasn't as loud as before.

[gabriel]

"The score is two to two." The boy grinned as he snatched up another ball and stood at the line, tossing it violently. The clanging noise echoed loudly in the air as the plate rattled against the fence in what seemed to be an endless amount of time. When it finally stopped, the boy looked at Emma and grinned, "Three to two. C'mon, try to catch up." He nodded as he spoke quickly, "You throw like a girl."

He winked, hoping that would make her laugh. He loved to joke around, as usual, and this was as good as any other time when he was happy.

[emmawinters]

"I throw like a girl!" she said sarcastically, pretending to be offended. She lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Say that again and you'll learn I don't fight like a girl!" A small giggle escaped and she began to laugh.

She grabbed another ball from the ground and flung it at the fence. But her balance was off and the ball merely landed a few feet from the fence as she lanced on her butt. Laughing, she got up and dusted herself off, but then realized that she was losing. "Oh shoot," she muttered to herself.