26. The Storm

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The second that Cosette and Ben made their way into the spectators box, she instantly stopped in her tracks before they could find their seats.

Ben noticed her hesitancy and raised his eyebrows, "Everything okay?"

Cosette raised her hand and pointed a finger at the man near the beverage cart on the other side of the platform. Ben followed her line of site and right away he started to laugh.

Standing there, ordering a beer, was none other than Nicholas O'Connor.

"Did you know he'd be here?" Cosette asked, briefly glancing at Ben before back towards her brother.

"I honestly didn't, but I don't think we should be surprised."

At that moment, Nick looked over his shoulder and spotted the two of them. He quickly paid for his drink and started to approach them, sporting a massive grin as he walked. Cosette then recognized Elliot following behind him.

"Not going to lie, Sets, I thought you'd find a way to cancel," Nick told her once he stopped in front of them.

"Why are you here?" Cosette asked and out of the corner of her eye she noticed Ben stifle a laugh.

Nick peered over at the Quidditch pitch and then back at Cosette, "You really think I would miss out on this game? All the players on the Falcons got tickets but I figured I would be nice and give you two my pair."

"Which meant that I had to give him my extra ticket," Elliot interjected, cracking open the can in his hands. Cosette noticed that his accent wasn't as strong when he opened his mouth but she wondered if maybe his alcohol consumption had something to do with that. He took a sip and then nodded his head at her and Ben, "Don't worry though, we're sitting a few rows up I'll make sure he doesn't bother you."

"Thank you," Cosette smiled at him and watched as Elliot nudged Nick back towards their seats, even though everyone could tell that he still had more to say.

"Shall we?" Ben asked her, holding his arm so that she could lead the way to their chairs. They were lucky that their section of the box was covered because the clouds overhead had gotten much darker. Through the lights shining around the pitch, they could see just how bad it had started to rain.

They sat down and Cosette crossed one leg over the other as she looked out towards the field. The game wouldn't start for a little while still which meant that they had to keep themselves entertained for the time being. She pressed her lips together tightly as her eyes scoured the seatingboxes on the opposite side of the pitch while trying to think of something to say, but her mind was drawing a blank.

Cosette felt so awkward, but at the same time, Ben hadn't said anything either so maybe he was struggling to think of what to say as well. She glanced in his direction at the same time that he looked at her and the two of them exchanged a nervous smile.

"I don't go on dates," Cosette blurted out. "Ever."

"But you have been on one before, correct?" His lips tugged upwards again.

"Not in a long time," She admitted. "So I'm not too sure what I'm supposed to do."

"You're not supposed to do anything, Cosette, just tell me about yourself." Ben's eyes darted back towards the pitch as he lifted one of his legs to rest over his knee. Cosette instantly noticed the Hogwarts class ring on his middle finger and she wondered why this was so difficult for her. She had gone to school with him, yes he was a few years older, but it wasn't like he was some stranger she met on the street. Hogwarts was something they had in common, that would be a good starting point for this conversation, right?

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