The gentle ring of the bell above the glass parlor door mixed with the sound of incoherent chatter as a small boy stepped in, gentle blue-green eyes scanning the parlor. According to her sister, ice cream was a great way to make friends. And according to himself, he didn't plan on really trying to make any more friends yet, but she encouraged him to at least try before giving up. He had already made friends with three great people! Alan- His friend and partner in Charms Class, Alan seems to rely on Marco for a lot of his emotional support, and one of Marco's best friends. Charles- Practically his savior and protector. Charles helped Marco when he was hurt and has stuck by his side ever since, even seeming quite adamant on Marco letting him come with him today, though Marco kindly refused. This was a thing Marco needed to do on his own for once. He can't let everyone hold his hand through all of it.

It took a small shove from someone behind him and a 'you in the way' comment to get him to actually walk inside, glancing around nervously as he stepped up to the counter, ordering a scoop of raspberry ice cream before sitting down, setting down a small basket of pastries he had made on the table. Alright, now we wait. What he's waiting for exactly, he doesn't know, but he still waits.

The ice cream parlor, a magical - pun intended - place that was all too scarce where John was from. Indulgence in the frozen cream that was often considered a treat, was extremely rare for the boy, so hearing that such a place was within walking distance from Hogwarts? Well, let's just say it was a pleasant surprise.

Today, the young country hick decided it was time to experience what many kids from the city were able to, and see if the treat would truly live up to all of the hype surrounding it. Not too far from the school, John found himself entering the small parlor - bell ringing overhead - and looking at the crowd surrounding him. It was a bit unsettling, but hopefully the treasure that awaited him would be worth all of the noise and commotion.

After several minutes of consideration, the child decided on a single scoop of mint ice cream, it sounded the most refreshing at the time. Now for a place to sit... Scanning the room, there seemed to be only one table that had ample enough space to allow for plenty of room for everyone, and it was occupied by only one other person - a student it seemed, around his age. Conversation wasn't the ideal result, but if it happened, John would have no complaints. For now, he approached and claimed a seat for himself, licking the ice cream he had recently purchased.

"I think this stuff really was worth the trip..." He thought to himself, licking faster and faster...

Marco was in the same boat of not having the pleasure of enjoying much ice cream, and only ever really getting to try it once he moved to York with his sister. She took him out for ice cream almost every other weekend, and it seems to have become sort of a stress food for him. Whenever he was stressed, anxious, or feeling down, Lyrell would just take him to the parlor down the street.

Now, he sits and licks at his own ice cream, catching a glance at the boy who now sat across from him before quickly looking away. Is this how it works? Is this how you make friends. Marco silently offered a small wave with his free hand. He looked up, offering a shy smile. At first, he seemed lke he was going to speak, but only seeming to shut up before he could. It'd be best to play it safe the first round, right? Don't want to jump into the game straight away.

A few moments of awkward silence changed his mind. "Hh... Hallo." Just saying 'hello' gave away how hardly-English he was. "Mint is good, yeah?" He tried. Is this how conversations work? Is he doing this right?

"Oh no..." It seemed the boy across from him was attempting to make contact. Shy smiles, quick waves, all of these things warning signs for what was to come.. For a few moments, John pretended not to notice the boy's advances, but inevitably he failed.. Looking to the boy, he smiled.

"Oh, hello!" A foreigner? Or just someone who struggles with speaking? Hopefully the former was true, because making the wrong assumption would simply be... Embarrassing. "Mint is very good, you're right. It's been a very long time since I've had ice cream." Small talk like this was going to become unbearable very quickly, and with his new acquaintance's supposed lack of speaking ability, it may be up to him to steer the conversation in a more interesting direction...

"So where are you from? I'm not actually familiar with your accent." John's heart raced, if he was wrong about this... There could be a scene, and for someone who dislikes even casual conversation, an argument was the last thing he needed. He may as well just walk out if that happens.

"Please be right, please be right..." Internal breakdowns are always the best... The boy rarely dealt with them, but when under pressure this great? Well, maybe he's overreacting, but his little eleven year old heart could hardly bare the social pressure he was creating for himself..

Marco gave a nod. "Same, it has been awhile for me too." That sentence was well put together, surprisingly. Though he could feel the anxious aura radiating off of the other, it was making him nervous as well. Was it wrong to engage conversation?

At the mention of his accent, he almost deflated. Right, the first thing the other noticed was his weird voice. He still smiled as he tried to answer. "Ah, yes. I am from Russia. Not common to find many Russian folk around here." He stated. "What about you? Where you from?"

The other would be very wrong to assume such from Marco. He's not a very argumentative boy, in fact, he's quite the opposite. He's very passive, and even if he found something someone said wrong, he'd just silently agree without acting upon it. One might even think he's too passive for his own good. He probably is. That passiveness has and will continue to get him into unnecessary trouble in the future.

The other's anxious, almost panicked, aura was suffocating, even if it didn't show in the other's face or voice, Marco could feel it. He almost felt tempted to apologize for perhaps annoying or bugging the other with his mindless chatter, but would that make the situation any better? Probably not. For now, he'll keep quiet about it.

Tension...

Even the other boy was feeling it, was someone holding a gun to his head? Or a wand, in this case. Did someone think of some sick way to torture a fellow, antisocial lad by forcing him into conversing with others? John could only hope that wasn't the case...

"Russia, eh? No, not common at all around here." There was no way John could find to add to that. No way he could think to take some of this awkward barrier between them down. "I'm from Essex, in England." He replied to the boy's inquiry, thinking of any way he could to keep the conversation going. Would one of them explode if they tried too hard? Was that possible? They may soon find out... John thought hard, licking his ice cream all the while. What could he possibly say now?

"Sooo, do you go to hogwarts as well?" There was no telling why this boy was here, but most seemed to be students if they were here. Hopefully he was right.. More embarrassment now would be rather unfortunate. John began eating his ice cream faster... Maybe if he finished it, he would have a better excuse to leave, and in turn leave behind this whole situation and just forget about it. Entirely.

The other's aura makes him feel queasy at this point, he's drowning in the other's sense of regret. He should have just shut up and eaten his ice cream. Why did Marco decide it would be a good idea to talk to the other? He probably hates him. No, not even probably. He knows that the other hates him. He can feel it in his chest. It's suffocating. It's clogging his lungs and gripping him by the throat, shouting in his ear. He can feel the weight of their awkward conversations trying to crush him, trying to break his spine. But he says nothing, letting his mind continue its turmoil with him rage on behind his murky blue eyes.

"Yes, I attend Hogwarts. It... hasn't been good so far. But it's getting better." He offered a nervous smile. "How for you so far? Good, yes?" He asked. There was a bit of bruising around his nose, along with a band-aid on top. Had this poor boy already gotten into a fight? Was he a troublemaker? One could only guess. Marco doesn't look like the troublemaker type. In fact, he actually looks quite small and fragile. He probably couldn't do much damage to someone in a fight.

Things, at this point, had become bad. Just bad. Both boys were beginning to crumbled under the pressure that they had created, both absorbing the negative energy that was practically spewing from their being. John felt bad, but angry, but embarrassed, and really he just wanted things to be better. "Out of everyone I've ever spoken to, this has to be the most ridiculously painful conversation I've ever had..." Perhaps he should do something, perhaps he should step up and....

"Is there any way that would actually work?!" John had an idea, a stupid one, but an idea all the same. Just treat the other boy... Like an animal. Maybe that would make things less awkward. Maybe it would make things spiral into an even worse social hell but... Anything goes at this point. Taking a deep breath in... The farm boy prepared for the worst.

"You seem distressed, you know. Am I bothering you?" Perhaps the boy's outward innocence wasn't just a show, and the signals John was picking up from him were right. If he could just somehow defuse the tension... Maybe the two could actually have a human conversation. "Why do I always do this to myself..." He muttered, wondering how he always found himself in these situations, and hoping the general noise of the parlor would drown out his words. His heart slowed, imagining the other boy as an animal was... slightly working. Although it could be viewed as pity..

"I'm John by the way, apologies if I've made things awkward for you at all. I'm just not... Well I'm not really social." The boy felt as though that sounded untruthful, his way with words generally contradicted his unease in any social situation..

The other caught on, and for that half a second, Marco seemed to crumble a bit, his shoulders threatening to slouch forward with defeat. He was ready to give in and just fall flat to the other's words. The light in us eyes flickering, as if they were about to go out. He opened his mouth to admit it, to spill just how he felt at that right moment.

Before he realized.

What would this do to the other? To the boy sitting across from him, who also seemed to be crumbling after trying so hard? He couldn't do that. It wouldn't be horrible of him. He wouldn't forgive himself for letting his own distress get in the way of another's emotions. In the way of being able to brighten his day, even just a little bit.

He let out a sigh of relief, offering a small chuckle at the other. "Nono, do not worry. I'm probably equally awkward right now, yeah?" He smiled a bit, though it didn't look as forced as before. " Really, am fine. I did not mean to make you feel that way. I'm not social butterfly either, if not obvious. Thank you for being kind and talking to me, most would just act like not hear me." He commented.

He says all of this gracefully, licking at his ice cream momentarily as the other spoke his name. "I am Marco, pleased to meet you, John." He said, his honey-glossed words slipping from his lips and slithering into the other's ears softly. His eyes reflected thoughtfullness, hiding his internal panic well. Though it seems, it may only take a small pebble to but a crack in his dam.

Clearly the boy was bothered... Shoulders don't just crumple when you enjoy the words another have spoken, and so John felt disappointed. In himself, naturally. He'd failed to brighten up the conversation, and so was there really any point in continuing it? Both children were struggling to even keep it alive, isn't this where you're supposed to cut your losses and call it day? John pondered for a moment, he wasn't even sure what was up with the kid - freaking out over how distressed John had been.

"Well, Marco. It's okay." With that, John had finished the last bit of his ice cream, and stood up. This is what he gets for trying to be nice, perhaps it just wasn't possible for an anti-socialite such as himself to properly make friends? If it simply leads to situations like the one he'd just experienced, was there even a point?

"Well, I've gotta get out of here. Nice to meet you!" John released a sigh of relief on his way out. It was finally over... Now he could go nap somewhere more comfortable, or even... Study... The former was far more desirable, but unfortunately responsibilities were equally as important. School had never been his environment...