A Time to Study? Open Closed

"So he's a rescue. No wonder he likes you so much. You must be proud, saving him like that." He exhales dreamily, unfazed by the feeding of the insects. They didn't bother him. The only things that really gave him the chills were roaches. They really, really, disgusted him. Especially the hissing variety.
In his peripheral line of sight, he caught a glimpse of red that stood out quite well. Upon further inspection when he turned his head to see just what it was, he learned it was the girl's face. Was she blushing, or running a fever? "Are you alright? I didn't say anything embarrassing, did I? If I did, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
It's hardly a complaint. Even Asher, the boy who only ever thought of animals as being cute, could agree that the Bowtruckle's owner was quite adorable. But he wasn't going to be a creep about that, whatsoever. He wasn't a playboy at all, and his flirting skills were poor, to put it simply. In the end, he marked it off as an innocent observation, rather than what it actually was. What was it exactly, anyways?
"I'm from Chudley. If that's what you mean...?" He states, and questions simultaneously, his voice wavering with amusement.

"Oh! No you didn't do anything wrong, I just hate it when I blush so much, I just get so nervous." She chuckled nervously again. Then she nodded "Cool, I'm originally from Scotland." She said in her thick accent. Verla had to get used to the bugs since she had Oliver. 
She began to not care about her blushing cheeks, so she quit trying to hide them. He must've thought she looked funny, and she was pretty sure she did. Of course, Asher looked perfect. Though her speaking skills were that of a five year old. She pulled out her sketchbook from home and looked over all she had drew, she drew lots of animals, and she showed it to Asher "Just to prove that I love animals, I drew them all the time at home when I had no friends. My mom says it looks like a professional drew it, but I think it looks like a two year old drew it." She giggled as her face got redder. She hoped it was just blush and not a fever, the last thing she needed was to be getting sick in front of a boy who looked gorgeous. In fact, in front of anyone else too.

"I couldn't tell." Is his sarcastic, playful remark. Her skin, red as a firetruck now, was only getting increasingly more discolored. He'd never say it out loud, but that was a very endearing thing to behold. That she was getting flustered over someone as insignificant as him baffled him to no extent. He wasn't intentionally charming. It happened more often than he realized. It often gets chalked up to him having poor skills when it comes to interactions, but truthfully, he gives the sweetest compliments.
As she produced her sketchpad, he was captivated again. Not by admiration, but by the skill level this girl has. She just kept getting better and better. She'd make a fine friend, for sure. If they could keep this atmosphere going, that is. He sees so much potential in her work that he just has to make a comment. "Well, mothers usually make a big deal out of their kid's accomplishment, but this is really impressive. You could totally make a career out of this, you know?"
The pad of one of his slender fingers lingers over one of the creatures on the page. "This. What is this one? I haven't seen it before. And it looks beautiful." It never failed to amuse, how easily he could say those kinds of things about animals, but never about humans. Eesh. He's so awkward sometimes.

Verla giggled "yeah, especially my mother. But thank you, and that is Willow Warbler, I saw it in front of my house. It's a muggle animal." Well duh he probably already knew that Verla! She loved where this was going with Asher. She rubbed her cheeks and the color began to come back. She began to relax and wasn't so tense since they both love animals, and he gives the sweetest compliments since he liked her drawings. Then she got an idea "I could draw you, if you'd like. I've never done a portrait of someone before, so it might not be very good." She smiled sweetly at him. She never saw herself to being an artist, though the idea seemed like a good way to make a living and find a home and such. She began to start sketching the outline of the side of his head. He was gorgeous that way. She never thought she'd being drawing a person she'd just met, but she didn't care, for once, she actually didn't. He was looking down at something as she drew the side of him. She got it down to the tiniest detail of him. Then something jumped in her chest, how weird.

"Willow Warbler.. Oh, yes. Now I remember. I read about it in an ornithology book once!" He'd never seen one in person though, and this drawing was the closest he's gotten to the real thing. That's expected when your childhood is cut short, and you're made to live alone.
When she mentioned drawing him, he was thrown for a loop. He has so many questions to ask her, none of which he actually does. It's not like I'm the prettiest subject. But that pesky artistic, enthralled half of him won him over, and purely out of the need to look edgy for this sketch, he turned his head to the side and looked back down into the book he'd been reading, keeping still so the shadows on his face wouldn't change. He picks up at where he left off, allowing him not to be bored while the doodle of him was being made.
His heart has skipped several beats, but that's primarily the anxiety's doing. It's a recurring reminder that he could mess up any minute now, and turn her away from him, and then he'd never make any friends. He wasn't the coolest, wasn't the funniest, wasn't the best looking, wasn't the most courageous. No one would see him as anything but an outcast and a coward for the rest of his life if he didn't do well in the few talks he's had.

When she finished her masterpiece, she showed it to him and smiled happily. She had so many questions to ask him, how he was, what was on his mind, what he liked to do. Of course, she thought the drawing was awful, but he seemed astonished by it, and seeing his face light up made her light up. I think he's rubbing off on me she thought. Something inside asked is that such a bad thing? She replied with no. She was happy with her portrait, she thought it was good enough. Oliver sat on Asher's shoulder and looked at the drawing with him, he nodded with approval and gave a thumbs up. 
She tickled him and he let out a little squirm. She began to laugh, not a maniac laugh, but a cute little laugh. Verla was looking forward to getting to know this boy, if he wanted that was. They seemed to have a lot in common, "So, um...how are you liking Hogwarts, is it more interesting here than at home?" She asked with a happy smile, one that she didn't have to fake. She hadn't given a real smile to anyone for a long time, what was he doing to her? Her heart leaped again, and she felt something she'd never felt before.

"That's excellent! It looks just like me. Feels like it's going to come to life." He swoons, leaning in closer to the female to further inspect her artistry. She even got that weird birthmark on his neck! A shifting on his shoulder told him that her pet liked it, too. What a sweet little thing. I didn't know pets could share such a deep connection with their owners.
Dainty digits poked and prodded at the little stick-man-thing, and the writhing got him to twitter, since his nape was being brushed against, blood rushing up to his ears, and only his ears. How embarrassing, to be discovered as ticklish. Now everyone would be tickling him half to death. He's officially doomed himself.
Equally as eager to learn about her as she was him, he straightened his back out and escaped her personal space so that he wouldn't disturb her while they spoke. "I love it so far. Maybe not so much the people, because they make me so nervous, but the classes are fun, and I'm learning things that I couldn't in my books at home. Although, I do miss my mum. She's all I know for the most part. So I think that if she could be here, school would be a lot more comfortable. How about you? Have you made any friends yet?"

He was ticklish? Aww and his ears went red as he got embarrassed. Verla giggled softly at him, in a nice way. "I've made a few, surprisingly. Have you? if not I could be your first friend" Verla said boldly and lifted her chin like a superhero then laughed, then she accidentally snorted and she gasped and covered her mouth, seeing what he would do. Oh now she'd done it, a girl who snorts when she laughs, great job. 
Oliver crawled down Asher's shoulder and went to hers. Then he handed her drawing to him, indicating he could keep it "I never knew you had a birth mark, I have a small one on my back, it looks like a dirt smudge" She giggled then began to feel uncomfortable. Did she really just talk about that stupid thing on her back? No one cares about what is on her back. She face palmed herself "I really need to work on my social skills." She said while she held her hand to her face still. Then she thought of her dad, who had a birthmark on his stomach that looked like a turtle, it was kind of funny, and she missed him. 

The snortgiggles were comforting. Not because they were flawed, but because they're unique. Being that he's a little out of the ordinary himself, those kinds of qualities were dear to him. Good things to look for in friends, besides loyalty, respect, things of that sort. He thought he was at least being reasonable with his standards. "Don't worry about it. It's a cute laugh, and I won't judge you. I'm not like that. This is a safe place."
It wasn't meant to sound flirtatious, since the way he spoke about it was closer to fawning over a puppy, than like one would address their significant other, or romantic interest, even. "You'd be a good friend. We're both pretty awkward, it seems. And we both have birthmarks, so our oddities must be aligned. Destiny calls!~" He doesn't want to talk about the friends he hasn't made yet, so he avoids that question when it's asked. He doesn't know why he feels so ashamed admitting how lame he is in front of someone more popular than him, but he is, strangely enough.
The animal pounced away from him, and he let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Maybe he was worried he would frighten it, and that it wouldn't like him any more if he made it upset?

"You, you like my laugh? Huh, you'd make a good friend too, you just got to put yourself with other people or be completely shy like me" Verla said and bumped his shoulder a bit. Did she just do that? Was she really trying to flirt? What was wrong with you.
She tried to make it seem like it was just a friendly bump, Oliver didn't approve of it. Verla didn't care, this was the closest thing she's ever gotten to flirting without really doing it. Which she took, not for granted of course, she just never experienced it before. She thought of her assignment she got and E on and she got super excited and showed it to Asher, she hugged him because she was so proud of herself. Then she backed off, and blushed super red again "Sorry, I've never gotten an E before on an assignment, I'm super proud though." She squealed and sent it to her sister Lilith.
Verla wanted to have it framed, she hadn't worked super hard on it either, she was happy. Oliver sat on the table with his feet dangling over it as he looked at Asher in such an adorable way, and Verla drew him looking at Asher and Asher looking at him. It was a cute thing to draw.