Open A Little Run-In

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper was always nervous anymore. This school was so big, and trying to stick close to Addy had proved a little harder than he thought. He knew she didn't mean to leave him alone, he knew she tended to just wander wherever her mind took her. Thankfully, he often could guess where her mind wandered. He held his journal tightly to his chest as he hurried down the stairs, eager to catch up with her. Addy always tended to wander to breakfast alone. She was notoriously thoughtless when it came to food and sweets. At least, when it came to getting them. She was always quick to share what she had. Casper had been watching his feet, not wanting to trip, when he reached the bottom of the stairs and ran right into someone else. He let out a startled cry, falling back onto his rear. His journal hit the ground and a few loose pages fell out, rough sketches of the castle fluttering to the floor. "I'm sorry!" He squeaked, hurrying to grab his pencil that had rolled towards the stairs and gathering pages. "I'm so so so sorry,"

 

[Malachi Ryu]

At first, Malachi wasn't sure what had hit him. He took a step back, shocked into silence, his ribs throbbing a bit where the boy had ploughed hard into them. Then he crouched down and helped gather up the loose pages that had fallen out of his journal. He did this without looking directly at them, afraid he might discover something personal or embarrassing, though in his peripheral vision he couldn't help but see that they were drawings of some kind. Still unable to speak, he rose back to full height and offered the drawings back.

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper held his things to his chest, blushing terribly. "I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry," He stuttered again, standing and brushing his hair behind his ear. He glanced up through his bangs at the person holding out his papers. He couldn't help but blush more. Oh, he's cute. What? No, no, he's not cute. Shut up, he chided himself, biting his lip and taking the papers from the taller boy. "Thank you," He spoke softly, putting the papers back in his journal. "A-are you okay?" He inquired, fiddling with the edge of a piece of paper and staring at the boys' feet.

 

[Malachi Ryu]

"It's OK!" Malachi assured the boy quickly, when he at last unstuck his tongue. "I'm OK. Did you get hurt? Oh-" he broke off to collect one last stray page that had drifted several feet and landed face up "-here. Did you draw these? I wasn't trying to look! But they are very good."

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper quickly shook his head as the boy asked if he was hurt. His knee felt a little scraped, but he wasn't about to say so. Casper blushed as the boy picked up the last page, taking it quickly and putting it in his journal. He felt like he was glowing red by the time the boy complimented him. "Y-you really think so?" He bit his lip, hugging his journal to his chest. "I'm not supposed to draw," He said softly, "Mother says it distracts from my studies." He looked up at the boy through his bangs. "T-thank you," He stuttered, giving him a shy smile. "I'm sorry I ran into you," He took a breath and held out his hand, trying to stand a bit taller like his dad had shown him. "I'm Casper."

 

[Malachi Ryu]

"Oh," said Malachi, suddenly feeling bad. He hadn't realised he was complimenting the boy on something he wasn't allowed to do. Personally, Malachi thought drawing was quite boring, so it wouldn't have much mattered if his mother forbade him from doing it. He took Casper's hand and shook it awkwardly, unused to such formal interactions with children his own age. "I'm Malachi. And don't worry. Now I know your name." He smiled, hoping Casper could be brought around to see the positive too. "Do you want to... sit with me for breakfast?"

 

[Casper Kinnek]

Casper smiled shyly back at Malachi, pausing as he looked at the boy. Wait... weren't they dorm mates? He immediately felt guilty for not noticing right away. He bit his lip and nodded as Malachi asked if he wanted to sit together for breakfast. "Yeah," He agreed quietly, before clearing his throat and trying again. "Y-yeah," He said again a little louder. "That would be pretty cool... are you sure you don't mind?"