A Cold Day In Hell

[Axel Jacobson]

It was a rather dreary day at the Durmstrang Institute, and Eliot Michaels was trying to make the most of it by reading in the student lounge. He had taken the windowsill seat, prefering its cushions over the armchairs in the room, and watched as the rain battered against the glass windows. The book he was reading wasnt a particularly interesting one, but it gave him something to do, none the less. He tried to concentrate on the words, but his mind was in another place. He was thinking about Quidditch. The season was starting soon, and he was hoping to go for Seeker or Keeper.

He sighed to himself, shaking his head clear and closing the book. He pulled his ipod out of his pocket, curling up and playing a random song on his playlist. A Cold Day In Hell by Parkway Drive started playing, and Eliot couldnt help but smile at the irony that song help as he stared at the rainswept grounds.

 

[Rue Undersee]

The student lounge seemed like the quietest place Rue could find, as everywhere seemed busy when it rained. Rue adored the rain, but there was only so much she could take before she needed to come in and put her feet up inside. Her lessons were done - and homework - and she had nothing to do for the rest of the afternoon. Struggling a little to open the heavy wooden door, Rue pushed with all her strength and squeezed through the small gap. Exhaling, Rue looked around the lounge. It was fairly quiet, except for a few younger students, and a couple about her age. For a normal rainy day, it was quiet.

Rue stumbled to an empty armchair and hauled herself up. Her feet didn't touch the floor by a long way, and she twisted her ankles, relaxing her feet. The warm fire blazed, and, sure nobody was watching her, she withdrew her notebook from her robe pocket and began to sketch. First, the room itself, though she scribbled it out furiously when it went wrong. Trying again, Rue sketched a rose, shading it perfectly and smiling to herself, tongue poking out as she drew. Finally, she looked around again for inspiration, and started to draw the people around her. In particular, one boy sitting a few meters away from her, listening to his ipod.

((Electronics don't work at Durmy, but meh ))

 

[Axel Jacobson]

Eliot frowned when the song ended, and after looking hoelessly through his ipod for another song he felt like listening to, turned it off and put it away. He played at his stuble, noticing he was getting a small beard again, and made a mental note to shave when he had the time. He looked around the lounge, and raised an eyebrow at a girl who seemed to be paying him alot of attention while scribbling something on her notepad.

He wasnt sure what to make of it, and after a few seconds, decided to get up and walk over to her. "May i ask what it is you are writing?" he asked curiously, and as he looked at the pad, noticed she had been drawing him. "Oh wow... Thats pretty good." he commented, scanning the detail she had put into it. "Im Eliot." he said, holding out hishand in greeting, a smile on his face.

 

[Rue Undersee]

Rue gasped as the boy she'd been drawing suddenly came over to look at her drawing. She hid it in her lap quickly, but he'd already seen it. Noticing she was frowing, her face softened and she cautiously took the boy's huge hand. 'Thank you', she mumbled quietly, slipping her notebook back into her robe pocket. 'Rue', she replied simply, not wanting to take any more interest in him than that. He was either about to tease her, or his 'mates' had dared him to talk to her. She didn't think it was possible for somebody to actually want to speak to her. Always the quiet one in the corner, face hidden by her hair, nobody would pay any attention. She preferred that.

Rue hid her face now, lowering her head and slipping off her shoes before pulling her legs up onto the armchair. She fitted snugly. The armchair hugged her tiny body and made her feel secure, loved. Not many people hugged Rue. Aware that Eliot was still standing in front of her, she glanced up at him, a tiny smile on her face to prove she wasn't trying to be ignorant, but wasn't sure what to say. There had been a time where Rue hadn't said anything. That was when she'd had cancer, and nobody seemed to understand the pain she was going through. It brought a tear to her eye to think about it, and she rubbed at her eye furiously, only to smudge the tear around her eye. Panicking, Rue looked down again. Her hair was a great shield when she didn't want people to see her face.

 

[Axel Jacobson]

Eliot smiled at her softly, and shook her hand gently. He wasnt the usual type of Durmstrang student, and that was obvious to the normal observer. He was the suffer in silence type, and though he only had very few friends, he was generally a really nice guy when given a chance. He gabbed one of the nearby empty armchairs, and pulled it over, taking a seat and making himself comfortable. He then studied Rue, and noticed that she was rather shy, or guarded. Either fitted the description, and he smiled as he watched her.

He frowned however, when he saw a tear roll down her face, and as he leaned forward, pulled out a clean hankerchief, and with he free hand, gently pulled her face back up so he could see her. He gave her a reassuring smile as he softly and carefully wiped the smudged make up and the tear from her cheek. "Thats better... No need to hide that face." he said with one of his charming grins, and sat back in his seat. "Have you been drawing long?" he asked curiously.

 

[Rue Undersee]

When the boy touched Rue's head, her instinct was to pull away and scream. But she hid this, instead giving a short gasp as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. She froze, every muscle in her body rigid until he moved away. Not realizing she'd been holding her breath, she attempted to gently exhale as so he didn't notice, and failed. 'Uhm', she started, looking down but then remembering what he'd said and immediately looking up again. 'Thank you', she mumbled quietly, shaking her head to his next question 'I don't like my drawings', her voice was muffled and quiet, and she hoped she wouldn't have to repeat herself.

Rue was never proud of what she drew, unless it was, in her eyes, perfect. Other people seemed to like what she could create, but she would most often rip it to shreds in anguish. She still had a scar on her index finger where the paper she'd been ripping had cut her. It was fading now. Rue had plenty of bumps and scrapes covering her legs and arms where she'd been in accidents, fallen over or simply done something clumsy which had resulted in her hurting herself.

'Do you draw?' Rue asked Eliot, smiling softly and hugging her legs as she tried to regain her confidence, which she had lost as quickly as she could loose money, which was very fast. Rue was trying to change to be a more confident person, but every day, something would bring her down. Whether it was a bully, some bad news, or a new bruise to add to her collection, her days seemed to be filled with endless pitfalls which she struggled to get out of.