Open Calm down

[Ilija Olaf]

By the time Ilija got to the lavatory,, the sweat was literally beginning to drip from his forehead. Not caring whether or not he was alone anymore, the fifth year dropped his bag next to one of the sinks, and ran the cold water, splashing it with both hands over his face, trying to calm himself down. He lent over the bowl, looking in the mirror at himself for a moment, rolling up his sleeves before leaning with both arms on either side of the sink and closing his eyes. "10..9...8.." he knew exactly what he was supposed to do in a situation like this, but it was so much easier said than done, especially when he felt like his heart was in his throat. It was only when he'd been doing this for a few seconds that he realised he should have checked if anyone else was here, and his eyes flashed open, looking behind him in the reflection of the mirror to see if it was obvious if any other students had caught him. It didn't seem so, although Ilija didn't have the strength to go round and look, he just had to trust. Holding on the sink for what felt like his life, he continued to breath deeply and try to calm his racing heartbeat. Why did this have to be so complicated? It wasn't like he was doing anything especially scary! He'd just wanted to join his friends to help study, and now he wasn't even able to do that. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut for a moment, thought about how frustrating and annoying this whole situation was. Why couldn't it just leave him alone? ​

 

[Katy Miller]

Katy had heard a lot of gossip about the bathroom up on the fifth floor, ranging anywhere from 'it's haunted' to just being where the burn-out kids hung out, but she was curious enough to want to check it out herself. She hadn't really expecting it to occupied though, double-taking and almost ducking out of the door again when she saw someone already inside having a bit of a moment at the sinks. "Oh, sorry, didn't know that this was a legit bathroom or not- Wait, is this legit bathroom?" The place looked like a mess, but honestly you never knew with school bathrooms. Teenagers were just a nightmare sometimes and the groundskeepers were (usually) only human.

Speaking of messes though, the guy in the bathroom was looking in a bit of a state himself. "You okay?" Katy asked, leaning as casually as she could against the doorframe, hoping to convey friendly and approachable in case the guy needed someone to talk to or confide in or something. "I'm a pretty good listener and stuff if you need an ear or whatever," She offered, peering at the guy. He was a Hufflepuff, but Katy didn't recognize him beyond that, not that she'd really been here long enough to know nearly enough people yet.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija heard the girls voice first of all, but hoped that she had a friend and it wasn't actually him she was talking to. Or if she was alone, perhaps she would just leave him to it when she realised that he wasn't exactly in a chatty mood. His eyes flashed open again, and he turned his head very slightly to see if he could see her in the reflection of the mirror in front of him. He aren't move too much, and was still gripping onto the sink as though his legs could give way at any moment, as he realised whoever this girl was, she was looking straight at him. "Yeah I'm fine," he said quickly. It was obviously a lie, his face flushing even more having been caught out, feeling almost guilty for being in someone way, inconveniencing their afternoon with his own problems. Please, go away, the words were running through his head almost angrily. Whoever she was, she should just go before Ilija had a chance to bring her down too. The fifth year didn't recognise the girl, although she didn't seem to be moving, instead offering an ear. "I'll be okay," he pushed, not wanting to vent to a complete stranger. He didn't need word getting out that he wasn't even able to attend a simple study session.​

 

[Katy Miller]

Katy raised an eyebrow when the guy insisted he was fine, considering he looked like he was maybe two seconds from keeling over on the spot. "Are you sure?" She asked again. Something was bothering him it seemed and Katy kind of wanted to know what had the poor dude so spooked. Exams were right around the corner though so half the school right now looked like they were ready to drown themselves in their pumpkin juice most mornings. "I guess if you're gonna be fine you won't mind if I just wash up real quick," She said in a false bright voice, walking over to the sink next to him and tentatively turning on the taps. Katy still wasn't convince this was a real bathroom but at least the sinks worked. She washed her hands before fussing with her hair in the mirror, humming quietly under her breath as she tried to discreetly watch the boy next to her in the mirror.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija was sure that most people would probably just walk away from someone who looked as though they clearly didn't want to be bothered, but this girl continued to push it. Instead of leaving him to his own devices, she actually began to use the sink beside him. Even under normal circumstances this would have been uncomfortable to the Hufflepuff, who immediately looked away and tried to ignore the fact she was in such a close proximity to him now. He didn't even have the energy to be himself, instead he was almost frozen to the spot as she washed her hands, unable to move or say anything to her at all. The fifth year closed his eyes, listening to her humming along contently and wondering whether she was even aware that she was bothering him. His pale cheeks that almost matched the colour of the basins was the thing that was giving him away the most. He was waiting with increasing impatience for the brunette to get on with it and leave him alone, but before she did, he could tell that he didn't feel quite right. A little weaker and a little more tired than he usually was, he took a few steps backwards and sat on the floor, back against one of the wooden cubicles and lowering his head. In that moment he didn't really care what the girl did, he just needed to look after himself. He fiddled with some loose thread on his sleeve, willing himself to focus everything he had on something so insignificant so that he could centralise himself.​

 

[Katy Miller]

Katy continued to play it cool, glancing out of the corner of her eyes at the boy next to her. He still looked pretty frazzled, but Katy had found sometimes silence was the best way to get someone to spill. When Katy's hands were about as clean as they were going to get, but still the boy next to her hadn't said a word. Maybe for once she should just let this one go, the guy looked ready to pass out already without her bugging him too much, which was a shame. Turning off the tap, Katy turned, turning off the faucet and shaking out her hands. She was surprised when the boy shuffled backwards himself and sat down abruptly. "Oh hey, are you sure you're good, you kinda look like you're going to hurl," She said, hover a hand nearby but deciding not to touch him. "I can go get a nurse or something.." Katy said, turning back towards the door uncertainly.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilijas eyes shot up when the girl offered to go and get a nurse, “No. Please don’t,” the last thing he wanted was for the nurses to have to pull him back to the hospital wing. He was already down there enough as it was, he had to do this for and by himself. “I just, I just got nervous that’s all,” he tried to explain, hoping that if he did that the girl wouldn’t go and tell anyone. He looked away again, glancing down at his sleeve as he continued to fiddle with it. Even if he did tell her what had happened, would she even knew what he meant? Ilija hugged his arms over his chest, “I don’t think many people actually use this bathroom,” he said, answering her earlier question. It had been part of the reason he’d thought of coming here to get away from the others. “It, saved me from going back to the common room.” There would have been even more people there anyway. He stole another glance to see if the brunette seemed as though she was about to dart away despite his efforts, “I wanted to join some of my friends at their study session, but” Ilija shrugged. Every time he found he couldn’t just spend time with his friends, which ultimately would have probably helped, he felt like he was taking another step backwards.​

 

[Katy Miller]

Katy slowed when the boy finally responded, looking at him with a frown and a raised eyebrow. "What's got you so nervous?" She asked slowly, as if sudden movements might make the guy retreat back into his little meltdown bubble from before. Katy did feel a small kernel of concern for the poor guy, he really looked terrible, but she was also curious what had him so worked up. Maybe he was just one of those kids with a nervous disposition, like Elliot could be, but Katy was kind of hoping for something a bit more interesting.

She glanced around the bathroom wrying when he mentioned that not many people seemed to use it, nodding in agreement. "I'd kinda guessed. I think maybe the custodians have given up on this one," She said, eying some of the graffiti by the sinks curiously. Sitting down slowly, Katy made a point to keep a bit of space between her and the boy, tucking her knees up under her chin to match him. "Maybe talking about it would help?" She offered lightly. "I'm Katy, by the way." She said, aiming for the most sisterly, encouraging tone she could manage.

 

[Ilija Olaf]

Ilija wasn't convinced that if he told her what had him nervous, that it would actually make sense, but with since she was threatening to get an adult, he didn't really feel like he had much choice. At least he felt a little more confident when she sat down, it appeared as though she wasn't going anywhere any time soon. "I'm Ilija," he began, rubbing his sleeve on his forehead for a moment, more because he found himself feeling a little uncomfortable about someone looking at him at it gave him a few seconds to feel as though he was hiding. His therapist always told him that talking about it was supposed to help, although he hadn't really found that to be the case yet. Then again, Padme was the only person he'd really told, and while he appreciated everything his girlfriend was doing for him, he still felt like a stranger to the rest of the population. He swallowed nervously, lowering his hand eventually but not looking up to meet Katy's eyes. "I er, I have social anxiety." It was just a statement, but being able to say it out loud made him feel as though at least he could give it a name, and he wasn't just acting strange around people for no reason. "I see the nurse for it already," he added, just in case Katy thought he needed to talk to someone about it in the hospital wing. At this point Ilija was feeling much better than he had a few minutes ago, although he was still disappointed in himself. "I just wanted to hang out with my friends," he shrugged, not knowing what he'd done to make that such a large challenge. At the back of his mind he did try to remain positive, but then every once in a while Ilija didn't really know why he kept trying, he knew he couldn't do it.​