Comfort Zone Finished

Aldor scratched the back of his head, as he started to realize that he was actually comfortable with the current conversation, he felt more into the zone now that he found something that they both enjoyed, it was rather hard to get Aldor to feel comfortable when he was speaking to someone he just met, for that same reason Cosmo should be incredibly proud, it was an achivement not many could get.

''Sure, I would really love that, what about tomorrow? I-I mean, if you had some homework I could help if you wanted, you know, so you could have some more free time to read something that isn't for a class?-''

His cheeks turned red, he had a hard time trying to put the right words together, he didn't want to make it sound as if he was asking her out on a date, which was exactly what it sounded like before he added the offer on helping her with work. In reality, Aldor was pretty bad at understanding some emotions and thoughts, sometimes asked the first thing that came to his mind in order to keep conversations going, but most of the time he didn't think this questions twice.

''Do you like anybody?- ''

Seconds after, his whole face turned red, which became increasingly obvious because of his pale skin, he started shaking his head, and placed a hand on his forehead. He tried to smile, pretending it was a joke and that everything was alright.

''I-I didn't mean it, I wasn't thinking clearly, sorry.''



@Cosmo Keith

Cosmo felt her cheeks begin to hurt from smiling. She had made a new friend! And he wanted to meet with her. She was absolutely delighted, and completely oblivious. Cosmo had grown up in a very small town, and been homeschooled her whole life before coming to Hogwarts. Perhaps if she'd even had more than one friend before now, she would have understood why Aldor was blushing this time, but instead she assumed it was because he was still nervous.

"We should absolutely meet up tomorrow! And I don't think I have anything overdue right now, but I do have my copy of nargun and the stars with me, maybe... maybe you could read some to me?" It wasn't something that Cosmo had ever imagined asking someone her own age to do, but she found herself trusting Aldor.

His next question didn't seem to quite add up, his reaction much more pronounced than what Cosmo thought it deserved. Maybe he was trying to figure out if she had enjoyed talking to him? She smiled in bemusement.

"Yeah, I like loads of people," she faltered, still feeling as though she was answering wrong, "I absolutely like you!" Cosmo gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I don't mind if you speak without thinking, I do it all the time," she chuckled, trying to ease the boys worry. There was a flurry of activity across the benches, and Cosmo looked up to see dinner being replaced by fruit jellies and apple crumble with ice cream. She grinned, any awkwardness forgotten and offered a piece of crumble to Aldor.

"Here! Do you like dessert?"


@Aldor Humbleglow

Aldor had a big smile in his face, it was a completely different attitude from how he was acting when they just started talking, which was impressive, since they had bassically started talking only a few minutes ago. But he was way too focused on the conversation to remember how nervous he actually was.

He nodded, answering possitively to her question.

''I-I would love to, I have a long time of not reading it, it will be nice to feel like being at home again. ''

He kept his smile, listening carefully to every word she was saying, at this point the Hufflepuff students, who gave Aldor a couple weird looks as he was called towards the Gryffindor table, were barely paying attention to them, except for a few who were still a little concerned on why someone from another house would sit with a Hufflepuff, and specially with Aldor. But the Irish boy didn't mind anymore, he was happy with how kind she was being with him.

Then, Cosmo offered him a bit of dessert, he was hesitant at first and took a few seconds to decide, but in the end, the food got the best of him and he accepted it with a shy smile.

''Thank you-''

Aldor did not really eat anything, at least until she offered the piece of Apple Crumble, maybe he didn't eat much, he did seem to be quite skinny, and most of the time, he was already done eating before his classmates, in reality, he had a great apetite, but he refused to act like that in front of other people, at least in front of people he didn't quite know just yet, most of the people he called his friends already knew his strange eating habits. If he actually ate the way he does when he feels comfortable in front of others, that was probably a signal that he found them trust worthy.


@Cosmo Keith

Cosmo grinned happily back at her new friend, before chomping into her food. Tonight had been a huge success, especially compared to the other nights before it, and Cosmo was filled with excitement about the next day. She found that even though they had finished their conversation it was really nice to just sit quietly in Aldor's presence, and so she did, even after she finished her dessert. As she relaxed Cosmo's mind wandered back through the evening and she began to realise Aldor hadn't really eaten much. A small furrow appeared between her brows, and she decided to keep a watchful eye on him.

The chatter of students died down one by one as people left the great hall for their dormitories, and soon Cosmo felt sleep dragging at her consciousness, so she gathered her bag up from the floor and turned to face Aldor.

"It was really lovely to spend tonight with you! Thank you for sitting with me," she smiled happily at Aldor. "I have two questions for you, what time do you want to meet up tomorrow, and would you like a hug?" Cosmo was asking first because she couldn't gauge where Aldor's comfort levels for affection was, and she hoped this way he would feel comfortable to say no.

@Aldor Humbleglow

Aldor smiled, for once he was glad to give someone company and making them happy, instead of being an anoyance to the person he was spending time with. He was going to ask her questions, but the second one seemed to make Aldor feel a little uncomfortable, he remained quiet for a few seconds before he would answer.

''We can meet up at any hour, I-I will be in the library the whole day so, at any hour that you get there I will be there.''

He looked away for a few seconds, he wasn't exactly good at physical contact, handshakes were one of his worst enemies, but hugs, they were probably the most unsettling sensation he could ever feel, Aldor knew that some people expressed their affection by wrapping their arms around a friend and share a little bit of their love with everyone. But the Hufflepuff was NOT that type of person, he always struggled with this.

He didn't want to seem mean, but he didn't want to go through it either. He wasn't sure if the decision he was about to make would end up in him losing a friend, he didn't know if things were going to work out as he wanted. He was overthinking everything again, this was not taking him anywhere, but he decided that for the sake of letting Cosmo be herself, he would have to accept his fate, and allow her to give him a hug.

''I guess, I mean- Sure, you can. ''

It was rather obvious that Aldor was not really into this, and he was merely doing this because he wanted to seem kind, poor Aldor didn't know that he didn't need to have physical contact with others to be a good friend.


@Cosmo Keith

Cosmo's face showed shock at first that anyone could spend their whole day indoors, but it quickly turned to a smile once more as she realised that it was also rather impressive. Aldor was going to grow up to be very smart if he read so much, and although Cosmo never could, she admired it.

"Okay! Well tomorrow is Thursday, so how about I come a bit after my last class! I'll meet you at four O'clock," she shuffled around in her bag to find a quill, and hastily scrawled it on her wrist, determined not to forget. Then Aldor began his thought process about the hug and Cosmo cringed internally at how much mental pain she accidentally caused her new friend. She hurried to fix the mistake.

"Hey, hey. Aldor it's okay I promise," she hugged her bag a bit closer, subconsciously drawing his attention to her arms for a moment to show him that she definitely wasn't about to hug him, "you never have to do something you're uncomfy about. Especially with me." Cosmo was more than willing to find the best way to give Aldor affection, and just as willing to fight anyone who would lay a single hand on this boy when he didn't want it.

"You let me know if anyone pressures you into something you don't want, yeah? Cos I know it's hard to say no sometimes, and if you need help with that I can!"


@Aldor Humbleglow

He smiled softly, he was glad that his new friend understood the way he felt, he would feel terrible if he had to reject hugs from someone who had that as the only possible way to give affection to others.

''Thanks for understanding, I just have a lot- of reasons as to why I am not comfortable with it. Eventually, I think we can work this out, but for now- I believe this is alright''

Aldor would stretch out his hand, offering her a hand shake, he seemed really joyful now that things were working in a way in which he could handle them, he was sort of proud about tonight's succes, he managed to get used to someone else's pace, and had a conversation which was relatively normal, no worrying, no panicking too much, things were fine, for one single night, maybe luck was actually by his side this time.

''Tonight was wonderful, thank you for spending time with me, I have not had this much fun in a few weeks. I appreciate it.''

Weeks might have sounded exagerated to Cosmo, but he wasn't lying, he had a very slow and calm life most of the time, except for those times in which he receives those strange letters from people he barely knows and he has a new reason to stay in the library the whole day, trying to find out why they do this. It wasn't clear to anyone, not even his closest friends, but Aldor always found trouble when he wasn't even looking for it.


@Cosmo Keith

Cosmo was glad to see Aldor smiling again, and shook his hand happily.

"You don't have to explain, and of course I understand! You should always tell me if something isn't comfortable for you," she said, hoping she would never do anything that might make him uncomfortable before he could tell her.

Making friends had never been an issue for Cosmo, she'd made lots back in her home town, but she had only become close with one and she really wanted to make close friendships at Hogwarts. For now though she could feel sleep tugging at her eyes, and all the candle lights in the great hall were turning fuzzy at the edges. Feeling that the night was coming to a close, Cosmo stood and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"I had a lot of fun too, and I can't wait for tomorrow!" she turned to go, smiling one last time to Aldor as she did. The night had been a success as far as she could tell, and she decided adamantly to bring something to show how good a time she had had. Flowers seemed a little odd to bring to the Library, maybe another book? She'd have to brainstorm.

@Aldor Humbleglow

Aldor gently waved goodbye to his new friend, it was a strange feeling, he was glad that things were alright, and everything was wonderful this night, for once, the boy managed to make a friend without feeling like an absolute mess, of course, it wasn't the first time a conversation actually worked out, but considering how different Cosmo was to Aldor, it was surprising how well it went.

She reminded Aldor about his aunt for some reason. His aunt was extremely energetic, brave and smart, but she was always worried about other people's needs too, she was kind and caring. Compassion was always an important reason as to why the Hufflepuff respected his aunt so much. She always helped anyone who needed it, sick people, elders who simply needed someone to talk to and constantly visited the two Wizards to have a chat with a cup of tea.

She was definetely special, for that same reason, comparing Cosmo to her, was probably the biggest compliment Aldor could say to anyone, of course, this time he was only able to think about it, but tomorrow was another day, full of new chances, another moment to make things even better than they were, or at least he hoped that.

And so, Aldor went back to the Hufflepuff dorms, thinking about all of this things carefully.


@Cosmo Keith