Warning; watch where you're going pv

Studying was something took no joy in, it was painfully dull, incredibly humdrum, and it made him want to gouge his eyes out of his head when he was forced to stare at a problem that he could not for the life of him understand. But he still forced himself to do it, forced himself to do it so regularly and with such rigor that he was almost always in a foul mood. His grades were important, even if the focus of his thoughts and plans had drifted elsewhere in the preceding months. The library, for the most part, served as a decent place to ensure that they remained as high as they had been. The Gryffindor common room, as it was want to become, was far too loud and far too obnoxious to do any form of proper study. The less said about Niffler Niche and the lovesick boys that made up the majority of occupants the better. Naturally, the library was the sole remaining option.

He held his few textbooks before him as he wandered through the shelves, looking for a particular tome that would help him boost his rather terrible transfiguration mark. His dark brows and eyes narrowed as she stared at spines, trying to sort through the relative mishmash of books in search of one that could actually help him with his studies. Not a thought was cast toward other inhabitants of the library, he was in his own head, content to happily think of only his own requirements and needs.

The sudden thunk he felt confirmed that was a foolish thing to do. All at once he found himself stopped, the feeling of another body before him as he collided into another student, obviously also not paying attention their surroundings. His books tumbled out of his hands, and narrowly avoided landing on his own feet. Naturally, they fell onto the other person.

A hiss of frustration rose through Nicholas's parted lips as he looked up from the fallen books and to the other student. A girl, he noted, short and with dark skin and wearing a tank top and shorts. In many ways, his own appearance was her exact opposite, pale and dressed in loose-fitting work jeans and a flannel shirt, it seemed almost predestined that they should collide.

Without bothering to check to see if she was ok, truthfully he forgot that was even something he was supposed to do, he let out a small, muttered apology, "Sorry," and reached down to pick up the assortment of books.

Stats: STA: 12 | EVA: 6 | STR: 8 | WIS: 6 | ARC: 4 | ACC: 6
Abilities: Foulplay | Statistically Relevant
Interacting with @Paige Grant
Action: Oopsy, collision time

Maybe when Paige looked back at this, she would laugh. Or maybe she would wonder why she didn't look where she was going. Or maybe she wished she had moved her feet in time before they got smashed with books. Okay, maybe not smashed, but it definitely Hurt whatever you want to call it. Just moments before, she had pulled out a book, and scanned the pages before holding it in her hand and going back to looking at the books. She wasn't one to get lost in books, but she was one to not pay attention. Someday she really should listen to her mom and watch where she was going. She would remember this time the next time she didn't.

She felt herself collide with a figure and to her horror, she felt a sudden pain in her toe to signal that whoever the other student was, they dropped their books. On her toe. She inhaled sharply and covered her mouth so she wouldn't yell 'ow'. Because tough or not, she still felt pain. She couldn't feel her toes. Actually, she wished she couldn't. She took a couple of deep breathes to ease her pounding heart. "Ow. "

She looked at the boy who had mumbled... something. "Huh? Oh- it's okay. I should of looked where I was going, too, so.." She said, trailing off. Was it his fault or hers? Really, he didn't seem like he was in any pain so should she say sorry back? Deciding to be safe, she spoke up. "so, uh- I'm sorry, too for not looking." She said rather awkwardly. Suddenly noticing that the boy had gone down to collect his books, she bent down, too.

"Here, let me help." She said. Being at his level, as he was crouching, gave her an excuse to study his face. She couldn't tell if that was his normal face or if he was annoyed... with her? Or because he dropped his books? "so... uh.... My name is Paige. What's yours?" She asked, because after all, if you walk into someone literally, it's less embarrassing if you become friends and laugh at it later on, right?

@Nicholas McCowan

Nicholas gathered the texts with a sort of mechanical automation, not bothering to address the girl as he did so. He had apologised, after all, why bother with needless words when there were more pressing matters to attend to. Namely that of ensuring that he didn’t leave anything on the floor. Such was his focus on the collection of the tomes, and his relative lack of care for the other girl’s condition, that he didn’t even register her hastened breaths and spoken confirmation of pain. Nor did he truly register her apology or other words, once more he had found himself failing to undertake the most basic of listening techniques. Had he been aware of it, he would have chastised himself to the sheer lack of care he had taken toward the girl’s feelings and speech. But that therein lay the problem, he wasn’t aware, for Nicholas McCowan, most of the world stopped and ended outside of his realm of thought. Particularly when he was focused upon a given task, and in this case, the task at hand was getting to desk and studying to ensure that he could finally pull an O in Charms.

So it was that his thoughts were turned to questions of magical castings instead of the girl with whom he had collided. That was, of course, until she bent down to join him in picking up the books. He looked up and met her eyes, his own expressionless and demonstrating the dourness that served as his default expression. He held the look for a moment before he realised that it wasn’t exactly the most warm and inviting expression, and regardless of his frustration that the books had been sent tumbling to the floor, he had to at least try to be more personable.

“Thanks,” He told her as he added another book to the pile, “I appreciate it.”

The final book was soon picked up and re-added to the motley assortment of study texts that he held, and Nicholas almost found himself ready to return to his feet and then to continue with his plan to spend the rest of the afternoon trying to wrap his head around the intricacies of enchantment. Then the dark-skinned girl introduced herself.

He blinked and paused in sudden confusion. Did she want to talk, now? Did they not both have places to go? He waited too long before replying, he knew that, but he had thoughts to contend with. After all, he was hardly the most social of students. Yet, he had been pleasantly surprised with his few attempts at active socialisation when he would have otherwise been left by himself. So he forced away the desire to leave and do what he was intending to do and instead took to introducing himself.

“McCowan,” He responded and gave her a small smile, his lips twitching somewhat as he did so.

“Pleasure to meet you,” That’s what people said when meeting new people right? He vaguely remembered that as a lesson that his nan had insisted that he and Travis learn after they had showed up to the Residence covered in dirt and acting like muggle children.

He rose to his feet, raising up from the crouch with all the spryness of youth, and shifted the collection of textbooks into one hand. With the other he reached down, extending it to help Paige up. He knew she was almost certainly capable of getting to her feet on her own, she was crouched, not seated. But he felt that he had to at least make some attempt at politeness, it’s what the old woman would want after all.

Still, he was by no means adept at conversation and he soon found that a metaphorical cat had gotten his tongue, for he could not find the words to fill any potential awkward silences that may arise.

Stats: STA: 12 | EVA: 6 | STR: 8 | WIS: 6 | ARC: 4 | ACC: 6
Abilities: Foulplay | Statistically Relevant
Interacting with @Paige Grant

──────────────────────────────────────── Interacting @Nicholas McCowan Words words Mentioning @namety name Words words words words

Crouched upon her feet, she began to collect the books that had fallen as a result of the collision just moments before. She picked up the books and felt the worn covers in her hands before she would stack them up in her left hand. With her right hand, she helped the boy pick up his books, and she shifted her gaze to his face as he looked at her as well. Their eyes met, and Paige examined the emotionless expression before her with great interest as if the boy was a subject to be explored. The boy's brown eyes betrayed no emotions at all, and Paige could not figure out what was on his mind. She returned her eyes back to the task at hand and collected the last of the books. She handed them to the boy, who had stood up, and brushed her hair from her face. The boy introduced himself as McCowan, and Paige found herself confused. Was that his NAME? Or was he a formal guy who introduced themselves with their last name? Paige never understood that not really. If one was asking for a name, why don't they give their first name? It was simple. She was sure that McCowan had a nice first name, and found it unnecessary that he gave Paige his last name. Paige looked up at the boy's face with searching eyes. McCowan seemed very formal, in fact, Paige found it strange. Who, if anyone, would act this formal at SCHOOL? Maybe that's just the way he acted, but to Paige is was very weird. She was most likely one of the LEAST formal person in the castle and on its grounds, and that's including the giant squid. The boy extended his hand to assist Paige up. Although she could of gotten up easily, she accepted the offer because it was the thought that counted, right? She pulled herself up and smiled at McCowan. "Thanks." She said. She glanced at the books in his hands. "So, are you doing homework or something?" She asked casually.

Nicholas quirked his head slightly to the side when she asked if he was doing homework. Why else would he be in the library? It wasn’t exactly as if he was the type to actively enjoy sitting indoors and pouring over pages of dusty tomes, had he had his way he’d be out in the field, enjoying the weather before it turned properly foul as autumn set in. Perhaps he’d be out doing something he actually enjoyed, and not struggling to understand the most basic aspects of magical theory and its application. Were there really students who came to the library for the purposes of entertainment? Did Hogwarts even have a section for novels in the library? Admittedly, he hadn’t put too much stock or time into exploring every nook and aisle of the dusty old room, perhaps there were avid readers amongst the student cohort. Perhaps Paige was one of said readers, he wouldn’t have picked it, given her choice of attire. But who knew?

Instead of all those thoughts, however, he simply responded, “Yeah.” He didn’t exactly wish to admit the fact that he was struggling in class, but he knew that a single-word response was the height of rudeness, and so he forced himself to tack on more, “You know how it is, some of these lessons are like Latin.”

It was only after he spoke that he realised that he had all but admitted that he was not understanding the classes, albeit in an entirely roundabout and non-committal way. He cringed internally at the realisation but did his best to hide it, he was getting better at that.

“How about you?” He pivoted the subject, “Homework?”

Once more, he found himself thinking after he spoke, looking down to see that she hadn’t actually been carrying any books. Were all the ones that had fallen during their collision been Nicholas’s? A hint of rose touched his cheeks at the thought, that was just downright embarrassing. He had to think of a way to alter the context of that, quickly. Part of him knew he was socially floundering, despite the fact that he had barely spoken, and his words had been simple, he felt much like a fish washed ashore, gasping for breath. He was normally so much better at this; he had been improving drastically as well. What on Earth was going on?

“Are you looking for any book in particular?” He queried, “I can help you find it. You know, to apologise for the whole collision thing.”

He hoped she would say no, then he could finally return to his study.

Stats: STA: 12 | EVA: 6 | STR: 8 | WIS: 6 | ARC: 4 | ACC: 6
Abilities: Foulplay | Statistically Relevant
Interacting with @Paige Grant
Action: How do I social?

Paige glanced sideways at Nick, watching as he thought. "Let's, let's sit down." She offered up, pointing to a nearby table. She strode over, turning to glance back at him. "C'mon." She pulled out two seats, and plopped down in one. She felt as if she had forgotten something, but she couldn't remember what. What was the point of knowing you forgot something when you couldn't remember what you have forgotten. In any case, the only thing it did was give you dread, it didn't help. What had she forgotten? She didn't know. How useful her brain is.

However, her panic subsided when Nicholas answered her question with a simple "yes." She nodded slowly, waiting for him to elaborate in any way. That's how conversations usually worked. She wasn't supposed to give yes or no questions if she wanted to talk, and she mentally cursed herself for doing so. Yes or no's led to simple, one-word answers which led to awkward silence. However, she needn't have worried, because Nicholas added a comment. She raised her eyebrows, because she did know how it is. Actually, she thought she was the only one. She lifted her legs, pushed against the table, and leaned back on the chair.

"I do, actually." She sighed, eyeing the boy. "Probably more than you, you seem smart." She admitted. The boy seemed so much more behaved and focused than she would ever be, but in any case, it could just be the boy's eyebrows that gave him that look. He definitely seemed like he got better grades than her.

She stopped leaning back, and the chair fell forward back to the table. "Yeah, unfortunately." She looked at the table, confused. She bent her head to look under the table, then looked around. "Hey, was I holding books when we collided? I dont even remember. She frowned. She opened her bag, pulling out some parchment. "I was just working on History of magic, but I-" She pulled out her soggy ink covered History of magic, her face red. "Bit I spilled ink on my book and I dont know any spells to fix it, so I was looking for other books to help."

@Nicholas McCowan

Nicholas wasn’t entirely sure as to why he followed the girl over to the table, but he fell into the seat all the same. His true desire remained to retire a quiet nook of the library to crank out his homework, but for better or for worse, he now found himself engaged in socialisation. It would be far too rude to run away from the girl mid-conversation, and it was certainly a conversation at this point. His attempt to escape the social bounds and requirement of the common room had failed spectacularly and the failure was entirely upon his shoulders. Had he opted to keep his eyes up then perhaps he would not have crashed into her. Yet, there was no point overthinking the conundrum at the current juncture, she was hardly unpleasant, and the conversation thus far had been polite enough. Maybe he would be able to make a few more overtures at general good natured small talk then sink himself into his study, it was a simple desire, one fraught with hope.

Hope that did not last long, for Paige continued to speak and Nicholas found himself forcing a polite smile, his thoughts already elsewhere. The compliment she paid, however, easily cut through his half-baked attempts to revise laws of magic in his head, and he soon found himself blushing ever so slightly. Unaware of how to respond, he merely cracked a smile and hoped that his lack of wordiness would not be taken to be an acceptance of her gesture that she wasn’t intelligent. Surely it wouldn’t? No, he was merely overthinking once more, that was the only reasonable conclusion to his worry.

And besides, there were other matters to discuss. Namely how she had managed to cover her copy of her History textbook with ink. Nicholas blinked twice as he examined the soggy paper and he could not help but feel a twang of pity, as far as situations went, hers certainly appeared frustrating.

“Not that I can remember,” He offered in response to her question, and it was the truth. He hadn’t paid much attention to her prior the collision, nor had he done much better after, he couldn’t place whether she had held a single book in her hands, “I mean I don’t think so.”

As he spoke, he pushed the small pile of books across the table, examining the titles one by one.

“Nay,” he drawled, “These look like the ones I had.”

He’d offer to assist with helping fix the book, but he wasn’t aware of a spell that would work as intended. Surely the cleaning charm was far too general.

“I can help you find another copy if you need,” He offered before he realised what he was doing.

No, that wouldn’t do at all. He had plans, he had things he needed to do and tests to study for if he didn’t want to fall further behind in his weaker subjects. What was he doing offering assistance when it hadn’t even been requested? His stupid bloody gut had jumped before he could think. He wanted to retract the statement as soon as it was said, but he knew that the words were out there, and that meant that she may hold him to the offer.

Another lazy smile was shot toward Paige, but he certainly didn’t feel lazy at that exact moment.

Stats: STA: 12 | EVA: 6 | STR: 8 | WIS: 6 | ARC: 4 | ACC: 6
Abilities: Foulplay | Statistically Relevant
Tags: @Paige Grant
Action: Jus' talkin'