Silver Lining [Mick Schumacher]

Old Ways

"I'm not down again, I turned the page
The story's mine
No more watching the world from my doorstep
Passin' me by."
Old Ways; Demi Lovato

-

"How does it feel to get absolutely destroyed?"

"I wouldn't say losing 2:0 is getting absolutely destroyed-"

"You are one of the best teams out there, so not scoring means you got absolutely destroyed."

"Whatever helps you sleep better at night."

The match was over, and even though the atmosphere was rather gloomy in the beginning, the first goal pumped up not only both competing teams but also the two superfans seated next to each other. It was a tough fight, no matter what Hestia's biased opinion said. But the bald eagle defeated the golden one in the end, ripping his heart out.

Somehow , Hestia and Mick managed to happily forget the preceding events as if they had power over time. To a curious observer, it would seem that none of it before was real. That we got caught up in an illusion, imagining things we wished to see.

"So, what now?" Mick broke the silent wall, watching Hestia take the empty plates to the kitchen. He was so full that he didn't dare to make more moves than necessary. If he could, he would throw himself on the bedsheets and immediately fall asleep. But since he was in the house of a person that was keeping him wide awake for too many nights, it wasn't an option.

"We can watch something...a movie perhaps. I have some Twinkies in the kitchen-"

"Are you trying to kill me?" Mick blurted out. The idea of more food almost made him puke.

Hestia returned and, to Mick's delight, with nothing in her hands, "how did you know?"

He wanted to say something along the lines of Because I know you'll be the death of me but managed to hold back. They somehow restored the hardly readable situation between them, and only a fool would break something they'd spent so long repairing, "what is your favorite movie?" Hestia asked curiously, "I don't think I've ever asked, otherwise I would definitely remember." Hush, butterflies, hush.

"Avatar. And the whole Harry Potter franchise."

"That's cool!" She moved closer to him, "what house are you?"

"Gryffindor."

Hestia's smile dropped, "really? That's interesting." She could have had a whole room full of trophies and awards, and yet Mick would be able to pinpoint the exact moment when she lied. While she seemed like an ancient Greek epic poem to others, to him, she was like a children's book.

"What house are you?"

Hestia said the name as if she was the only rightful owner, "well, I am Gryffindor-"

"Therefore I can't be?"

"I didn't say that," Hestia became defensive, lifting her hands, "but you seem more of a Huff-"

"No." Mick was quick to answer, almost too quick, which raised Hestia's amusement.

"What's wrong with being a Hufflepuff?"

"Nothing," he shrugged, playing with the remote controller, "but I am a Gryffindor. Don't look at me like that," he playfully nudged her shoulder, "it's true and I stand by it." His pulse raised when Hestia gave him the look of a cheeky child. When she had that expression on her face, he knew she was up to no good. She showed it to him the day she broke into a locked building without batting an eye. From that moment, he would safely recognize it under any circumstances.