Closed A Klutz

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily was up early that morning. At least, early for a Saturday. She yawned as she made her way down the stairs. She had started to rub her eyes when she felt her foot catch on the stairs. "Ah!" She cried out as she started to fall. Thankfully, she was only three steps from the floor. Unfortunately, she landed on her face. She sat up. Already she could feel the blood dripping down her face. Ugh, why did she have to be this way? It wasn't her first bloody nose. She held a hand to her face to try and hide the blood while she dug in her bag for some tissues.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton was well practiced in keeping his head down at his previous schools, and that was exactly how he intended to get through Hogwarts. Things were going well for him so far at this school, and the last thing he wanted was to mess that up. He had branched out a few times and talked to people, for better or worse, but so far nobody seemed interested in actively picking on him, and Clifton was very eager to keep it that way. So he had his head down as he made his way along the corridor, only looking up at the sudden sound of thudding nearby. He looked over, alarmed to see a girl at the foot of the stairs with blood running down her face. The blood turned his stomach slightly, but Clifton wasn't just going to leave her there. "Oh my goodness, are you alright?" He asked, crouching next to her nervously, doing his best not to look at the blood itself.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily felt a blush color her cheeks a deep red as someone crouched next to her. "O-oh," She stammered shyly, "I-I'm, ah, I'm alright," She pulled the tissues from her bag and covered her nose. "I... I'm sorry to worry you," She apologized quickly. "It... it's nothing, I, ah," She giggled nervously. "I do this a lot. Please don't mind me." She sat back before noticing who it was. "O-oh, ah... Clif... Clifford?" They shared a class, so she was sure she'd heard his name before. "N-no, that, that's wrong, I'm sorry," She blushed and wondered briefly if she could just catch fire from the heat in her face, turn to ash and disappear.

 

[Clifton Ward]

((Sorry to reply so late, I somehow lost track of all of Clifton's threads ))

It was difficult to both try to help this girl, and avoid looking at the blood, but Clifton kept one hand on her shoulder uncertainly as he stared firmly away at the ceiling. He shook his head slightly when she apologised, stealing a glance at the girl for a moment before looking away fast as his head started to spin. "That's... that's quite alright..." He said, voice shaking. "Do you, um.... need to go to the hospital wing? I don't think it's far..." Clifton said weakly, patting her shoulder while he continued to look away firmly. A nervous laugh escaped him when the girl tried to guess his name and he shook his head, surprised anyone had actually noticed him. "It's... it's Clifton, actually, but you were close." He laughed nervously. "I'm afraid I don't remember your name, I'm sorry..."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily smiled softly as Clifton tried to help her. She could tell he was uneasy. "No, no, but thank you. It will stop soon." She reassured him. She pulled the tissues away from her nose. The bleeding was already subsiding, but it hadn't stopped completely. She pressed them back to her nose a little more firmly, hoping the blood would stop soon.

She grimaced. "Clifton, that was it. I-I'm sorry." She grimaced. "L-Lily. Lily Lockwood." She smiled nervously. "You're.. you're one of Elliot's dormmates, aren't you? We, um... We have classes together." She offered uncertainly. She almost said they were both Hufflepuff, but it seemed like overkill.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton winced slightly when the girl said she didn't want to go to the hospital wing. Sure, getting her there would be a problem all itself, one he was glad not to have to deal with, but the thought of just sitting around with her until she stopped bleeding made Clifton's head spin slightly, and he nodded to keep himself from retching or feeling woozy, still adamantly looking away from her. He felt terribly rude for not remembering one of his classmates names, relieved when she introduced herself as Lily. "Lily, right, of course, sorry I didn't remember." Clifton laughed shakily. "Yes, I remember you from classes, I'm sorry. I'm rubbish with names..." He laughed nervously, still staring into the ceiling. Clifton nodded when she mentioned Elliot, almost glancing at Lily for a second before the sight of the bloodstained tissue sent his head spinning again. "I... ah... yes. Elliot. Yes, we're friends."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily pulled the tissues away from her nose and touched her fingers there. The blood had stopped, thankfully. She put the used tissues in her bag and pulled out a small package of wet wipes. "Oh, it's alright," Lily giggled. "I'm easy to forget." She teased him lightly, wiping the blood from her nose. It was still very tender but she was used to that. She put the wet wipe in her bag when she was done and gave Clifton a shy smile. "Alright, all better. I'm sorry you had to see that." She fiddled with the sunflower pins in her hair nervously.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton didn't know at all what to do about Lily's remark about being forgettable, beyond shaking his head quickly. "No! Not at all!" He said hurriedly. "I'm very sorry, I'm really just terrible with names, I promise. My mum used to say I'd forget my own if it wasn't on the tag of my jumper..." Clifton stammered out quickly, then flushed. Oh, that had been... an embarrassing thing to say, hadn't it? He kept his head pointed away from Lily, not quite daring to glance at her when she said it was all over. "Are... you sure you're alright?" He asked nervously, wishing he had done more. It felt weak and pathetic, being too alarmed at a little blood to even help a girl in need. If his bullies back home had seen this, Clifton knew he would never live it down.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled at Clifton's saying. "It's really alright," She told him gently. "That sounds a lot like what my mum tells my little sister Rose." She moved her hands down to her lap. "Do you think parents all have same joke book?" She asked. She giggled as he asked if it was really alright and laid her hand gently on his before quickly moving it away. "Of course. I'm... really very clumsy," She admitted sheepishly. "This happens more than I'd like to admit," She told him shyly.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Gathering all of his nerves, Clifton finally decided to sneak a peek at Lily. He was relieved to see the girl was indeed no longer bleeding, and relaxed visibly at the sight, finally looking at her properly. "I... suppose they must do." He said slowly, trying to collect himself enough to make normal conversation. His face fell when Lily said this sort of thing happened a lot, wincing in sympathy. "Oh dear, that's terrible..." Clifton said gently. "I'm awfully sorry."