show the world just who i can be [hazel]

"No, you were supposed to step with your outside leg first like we agreed," JR told Hazel right back, his hands on his hips, the long strip of fabric that had tied their legs together for the three-legged race lying forgotten in the grass now that the race had ended. And they had lost. In a terrific fashion. Teddy had paired them up in girl/boy teams because apparently some of the boys teams had gotten too rowdy last time. JR pretended that Teddy hadn't been looking at him and shrugged off the subtle admonishment. It hadn't been his fault he had tripped and had squished a little French girl into the grass under him. It's not like he ran into her on purpose, geez.

However, when Teddy had paired him up with Hazel, he had smiled and shuffled over to stand next to her, a little excited. They were both Slytherins and if there was one uniting trait for their house, he thought it was their love of competition. He knew Slytherin had a particular.. reputation, but it had been years since the Dark Lord had reigned over the UK so it felt like a distant memory. He had tied his left leg to her right leg with the long fabric tie and he had tried to plot out the best strategy, but it had all gone downhill pretty quickly. He wasn't even sure if they had made it to the official finish line or if they had stopped short of it as he had tried to tell her the best strategy for this sort of thing.

Teddy was off awarding the winning team with an extra dessert coupon so they could get an ice cream sundae at dinner tonight and JR frowned as he slid his gaze back to Hazel. While he didn't particularly care about the sundae, he all of a sudden wanted one and of course the win would've secured him that little treat. Crossing his arms in front of him, he watched as Teddy called for another round with another sundae coupon as prize. "Is it same partners?" he muttered, shifting his gaze away.

@Hazel So

From afar, she had crinkled her nose at the thought of participating in these barbaric events. Sat on a bench – which had been wiped down several times with some napkins – Hazel observed the odd activities. Her legs were crossed at the ankles and her hands rested on her lap. She wore an expression of blatant disapproval, but when she caught her friend’s eye, she tried to smooth it out by smiling. She’d come to support Sienna who had signed up to do something called ‘an egg in spoon race’. It sounded rather silly to her, but Sienna was so excited and Hazel wanted to be a good friend.

Somehow, amidst everything, she’d gotten pulled into the festivities. Sienna had come in second place and she clapped as if she were in a theatre. It caught her by surprise when their counselor – Teddy, resident prince charming – encouraged her to join in. Naturally, her first instinct was to refuse. But how could she say no to Teddy? Moments later, there she was, leg ribboned to JR’s, and hating every second of it. The only thing propelling her forward besides her crush was her competitive spirit, and even that had dwindled once they’d tumbled into a French student.

Hazel stood, dusting off her blouse and jeans in fast movements like she’d seen a bug on herself; really, how far off were insects from dirt anyway? “Maybe if you had more coordination,” she continued, tugging at the hem of her sleeve to be rid of a pesky grass stain (ugh0, “we wouldn’t have tripped.” She shot him a glare. As Teddy tried to gather everyone for another round she had the immediate thought that she would not be doing that again today or ever in life, only for JR to insult her, earning an offended huff. Hazel bent down to rip the fabric that joined them but couldn’t undo the knot. She wiggled her foot around impatiently.

“I’d bet that you’d lose again anyway! It’s not my fault you have two left feet.”

"Me?" he asked, shock paired with amusement with a side of incredulity all mixed together to form one inexplicable expression on his face. "I was trying to tell you which foot to use," he told her matter-of-factly, shrugging as if he didn't care. He idea that he was the uncoordinated one softened the idea of they losing a bit, just because the idea was so funny to him. How did she not know that he had been training for agility and coordination and speed since before he could walk? If he was confident in anything, it was in his athletic ability so her attempted insults didn't faze him. Much..

He took a step forward with the leg that was still tied to hers and nodded at the new starting line. "C'mon then. I'll take you up on that challenge," he told her as he tried to take another half step forward, the fabric between them straining. Sure, he had just been looking for a new partner, but So had thrown not only insults but also a challenge and JR and his pride were more of a duo than peanut butter and jelly.

Teddy zipped by them just then with a cheery smile that JR found annoying, urging them to get lined up so they could start another race. JR just looked at Hazel and perked his brows. "Or are you giving up that easy?" he asked before smiling smugly at her, hoping to antagonize her. He had forgotten how fun that could be, considering he hadn't seen his sister Nola these past few weeks at camp. Did he miss her? Not exactly. But he did miss annoying her. That was almost the same thing, right?

Challenge? Her eyebrow quirked. Oh no. What had she gotten herself into – again? She raised her arms to refute when Teddy stopped by and she was suddenly rendered a hazy daze-y shy caricature of herself. Hazel’s heart did about ten million flips in the span of five seconds, another reminder of why she wasn’t going to give up just yet.

Hazel crossed her arms, knowing that she couldn’t just issue a refusal – not when JR had that smug determined look in his eye, and certainly not when she remembered that he’d just had the gall to insinuate that she was a bad teammate. She could feel that need to prove herself rising, not wanting to back down from his challenge. Most of all, she wanted to prove that she was right – it was his fault they hadn’t won. “Okay, JR, you’re on,” she told him, completely forgetting that they were supposed to be partners and not competitors.

During the race, however, it seemed she’d also forgotten her lack of athletic prowess. If only she’d forgotten her aversion to insects too; rather than a misstep, it was a dragonfly flapping in their way right before the finish line that stopped Hazel in her tracks. She shrieked to the high heavens and went right when JR went left, sending them tumbling.

And it worked like a charm.

He grinned wider at her as Hazel agreed to his challenge. He didn't spend a ton of time with So, even despite being in the same house so he hadn't been sure how she would have reacted, but he was glad it did work. Their competitiveness was sure to give them an edge this time now that they were both on the same page with wanting to win, right?

But nope, he spoke too soon. They had been going pretty well, their steps timed up, JR alternating his gaze between watching their feet to make sure he was making his stride the same length as hers and watching the other pairs and eyeing the finish line. They had almost been there when he had jumped at her shriek before finding the ground coming up fast to meet him as they went in opposite directions, making them fall. He had been quick about getting his hands out in front of him to brace his face, but a slick swoop of disappointment swimming through him as he realized they had lost. Again.

JR sent an unhappy look at Hazel, but then the memory popped up of the look on her face when the bug had flown in front of her. And while he wanted to be angry at another loss because of her, he couldn't help the roll of laughter that emerged as he recalled her reaction. "Did you really freak out over a bug?" he asked, still laughing.

“You –” she started, rose tinging her cheeks, “oh, shut up! Don’t act like those things aren’t the worst creatures in the world!” Hazel turned her head away and tried to spin on her heels, haven forgotten the fabric that chained them together. The sudden movement led to another graceless tumble to the ground, and Hazel emitted a frustrated “ugh!” then went to untie the ribbon around their ankles. She fiddled with the knot for a while before finally figuring it out, and in a few seconds, they were free. Hazel got up once again, patting her outfit. She reached into her pocket for her embroidered handkerchief and started using to to wipe at the dust on her knees.

“This has been… not fun,” Hazel said, folding the kerchief and returning it to her pocket. She was ready to turn to leave again when Teddy approached them once more, wearing a sheepish smile. He gave them a thumbs up and said they’d done a good job, which had made Hazel blush and giggle bashfully. Teddy really thought they’d done well. Instead of leaving it at that, however, the counselor invited them to play yet another game – and not just any game, either. He’d asked them to join their Quidditch game, which was apparently going to happen tomorrow evening. Hazel blanched. Heights? Her answer was a definite no. It was on the tip of her tongue when Teddy attached a charming please at the end of his sentence. She faltered. Love was such an evil thing.

Hazel advanced on JR immediately. “You. Teach me how to fly.”