I'll Take My Chances

" You're kidding, right?" Cedric asked skeptically as he eyed the small bag of cockroach clusters in my hand.

I shook my head, eyes glinting mischievously and a sly smile stretching my lips.

Cedric raised his eyebrows. " You want me to eat that entire bag?" He asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"Yup." I said smugly.

Cedric furrowed his eyebrows, looking thoughtful. He finally let out a sigh of defeat which only made my smile grow stronger. But then a smile of his own crossed Cedric’s handsome features. My smile turned into a frown and I and gave him a suspicious look.

" What?" I demanded, placing my hands on my hips, the bag of dried insects still in my grasp.

" If I do eat the whole bag, what do I get? Cause I'm not doing this for nothing." He asked, his grey eyes twinkling.

I groaned loudly, before looking back at Cedric, my own golden colored eyes sparkling dangerously. He had just turned the tables on my game yet again, just like he had with the whole detention incident. I couldn't believe I had fallen right into that trap.

I bit your bottom lip, a bit apprehensively. " What do you want? Want me to buy you something?"

Cedric shrugged his shoulders." I don't know. I'll think of something though...." He trailed off, giving me one of his crooked grins smirk.

" I'm almost scared to know what sort of ideas are forming in the pretty little head of yours, Diggory." I said, rolling my eyes slightly.

Cedric grinned, shrugging his shoulders again.

" Okay, well here's the deal then." I stopped, eyeing Cedric sharply, waiting for him to show any sign of backing out. He didn't. I went on. " You eat this whole bag, I mean all of it, without puking it up or anything....you get whatever it is you want. But if you don't finish it, or toss your cookies, I get something out of this. Deal?" I asked, holding out a hand.

Cedric didn't even hesitate, immediately taking my hand. My stomach began doing gymnastics once again as his hand grasped mine. I swallowed hard and gave Cedric's hand a firm shake.

I let go and held up the good sized bag of dried, shiny cockroaches. " I'll even pay for them for you!" I said in my best sweet and sugary tone.

Cedric didn't protest, but gave me a wry smile. " How nice of you." He said sarcastically, smirking slightly.

I simply scowled at him, hurrying towards the counter to pay for the unique candy. The lady behind the register raised her eyebrows slightly. She probably wasn't used to someone actually buying the candy. I gave her a smile. " They're not for me. They're for him." I explained, nodding towards Cedric. " He loves insects....full of protein." I continued, keeping a straight face. The woman's eyes widened slightly, giving Cedric a strange look before handing me my change. I gave Cedric a grin, handing him the bag. " Come along....I want to see you eat this whole bag."

Cedric took the bag, eyeing it with disgust, before following me from the shop. I stopped just outside the door and placed my hands on my hips, looking at Cedric. " I want to watch you eat the first one. Just to see how gross they really are." I said wickedly.

" Why don't you try one for yourself." He said with a grin, offering me the bag.

I quickly shook my head, shoving the bag back towards him. Cedric shrugged and reached a hand inside the clear, plastic bag. He picked up a medium sized insect and instantly popped it into his mouth. His nose wrinkled slightly as he chewed. I could hear the bug crunching and squealed in disgust, smiling gleefully all the same. I watched him swallow.

" I bet that was yummy." I teased, giving him a smirk.

Cedric grinned right back. " Yeah...but you'll never know unless you try one." He said, offering me the bag.

I could tell by the look on his face that the candy was utterly repulsive and declined. " No thanks...maybe later." I said sarcastically. " Let's go into the Quidditch place." I suggested.

Cedric nodded, popping another cockroach into his mouth. I shook my head, tearing my eyes away from him. It looked as if Cedric was on a roll with the candy. I wondered what he would request this time...if he did manage to eat the entire bag.

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A little bell jingled somewhere in the back of the shop as I pushed open the door, Cedric right behind me. The shop smelled of wood and leather, every type of Quidditch supply imaginable crowded into the tiny room.

“I love it in here.” I sighed, wandering down one of the aisles. I reached out and grabbed a pair of black leather Chaser gloves from the shelf.

“ You’re a Seeker, right?” I asked Cedric, glancing over my should at him.

He nodded. “Been playing all my life.”

I placed the gloves back and moved further down the aisle. “Me too. I’ve been flying ever since I could walk. It’s like second nature to me.” I explained. “Best feeling in the entire world.”

“Agreed.” Cedric voiced, reaching my side and smiling down at me.

I quickly looked away and wandered off a few feet. A shelf of Quaffles was in front of me and picked one off the shelf, holding it between my hands. It was a familiar feeling, one I lived for on the Quidditch field. A smirk stretched the corners of my lips and I turned. “Think fast!” I said suddenly, tossing the Quaffle in Cedric’s direction.

His eyes widened and he held out his hands for the catch, stumbling backwards into a shelf. It wobbled, nearly falling over before it finally steadied. I snickered, holding out my hands for him to toss it back.

“Nice throw.” He commented with a smile.

I shrugged. “I’m not a Chaser for nothing.” I grinned back. “So who’s your favorite team?” I asked curiously.

“Probably Italy.” He answered.

I made a face. “Their okay. I prefer the American team. At least this year.” I commented.

“Eh….they haven’t been to the World Cup in over one hundred years. I think it might be a couple more hundred years before they’re good enough to even qualify.” Cedric grinned, brushing past me on his way to a display of Snitches.

" No! You don't know anything! The American team has got some really good players this year. I'm already betting on them going to the Cup." I argued, following after him.

Cedric shook his head." They've got some decent players. Their team doesn't even compare to Italy's skill." He shot back.

I was convinced I was going to win this argument. I knew Quidditch better than most people. I tore my eyes away from the Beater's bat I was eyeing and grinned at Cedric. " You only like Italy because they have that one really pretty girl as Chaser...what's her name?" I racked my thoughts, trying to recall the beautiful, dark haired Quidditch player's name.
" Franchesca Maria." Cedric answered almost right away, grinning sheepishly.
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" Aha! See, I knew it! You only like Italy because you can stare at her when she plays!" I accused him, crossing my arms over my chest.

Cedric smirked. " That's one reason, but not the only one." He admitted.

I smiled, finally satisfied, and looked back at the shelf of Quidditch supplies. " See? That wasn't so hard to admit, now was it?" I teased Cedric. I moved towards the door of the Quidditch store, ready to head towards the next shop. I looked over your shoulder at Cedric. " And since you admitted to that, I'll admit one of the only reasons I like the American team is because the Keeper is drop dead gorgeous."

Cedric grinned, laughing. I

grinned back, pushing open the door to the shop and stepping outside. Cedric followed after me, falling into step with me as I began walking down the stone street. I glanced down and saw the cockroach clusters were nearly gone. I glanced back up at Cedric and smiled.

" How's the insects working out for you?" I asked, my eyes twinkling mischievously. I was surprised at how comfortable I suddenly felt around Cedric. It was like the longer I was around him, the more relaxed I felt. I had lost the sarcastic, cold attitude some minutes ago and was now, dare I say it, having fun.

" Delicious." Cedric said, taking the moment to pop another candy into his mouth. " It's still not too late to try one...." He offered.

I sighed heavily. " You won't leave me alone till I do try one, will you?" I asked, raising a single eyebrow.

Cedric shook his head, holding open the bag to you. I was surprised to see it was more then half way empty as I reached in a hand and picked up one of the dried insects. I held it in front of my face, chewing the inside of my lip.

" It's really not that bad..." Cedric said with a smile. I raised both eyebrows at him in disbelief. He grinned at me. " Okay, they're horrible...but just try one. Just so you know what I've been going through."

I smiled, giving in." Fine. Here it goes." I closed my eyes tightly and bit off a tiny piece of the cockroach. As I chewed it, I couldn't taste anything. But then, suddenly, the taste hit you. It wasn‘t absolutely horrible, but it definitely wasn‘t good either. It tasted sort of like crunchy dirt, covered in chocolate.

“Ugh….” I exclaimed, scrunching up my nose at the awful taste. “That was…different. But not in a good way.” I commented, shaking my head. “I give you credit because that was pretty bad." I said, now laughing slightly.

I let out a sigh." Well...now that I'm scarred for life... what do you want to do?" I asked him with a small grin. Cedric looked around the smile village, his eyes coming to rest on the Shrieking Shack. He looked at me with a sly smile.

" Race you to the Shrieking Shack." He challenged.

I narrowed my eyes. “You sure that's a wise decision, Diggory? I'd kick your butt... do you really want to lose to me?" I questioned teasingly.

Cedric rolled his eyes. " I doubt it." He said with a grin.

I grinned right back. " Alright fine. On the count of three..." I said, looking towards the Shrieking Shack. " One.."

But before I could even finish counting, Cedric was already sprinting full speed.

I stared after him dumbfounded before hurrying after him. " Cheater!!!!" I hollered after his retreating back. There was no way I could catch up to him now.

But I'd give him a piece of my mind once I reached the top. Oh boy, was that boy in for it.