'Studying'

[Reuben Pendleton]

Since his brief and accidental kiss with Phoebe, Reuben had been by degrees growing concerned, until he could no longer sit idly and do nothing about it. His cause for worry was not that Rudolf would have killed him should ever the news have reached his ears, but that he had not found it even the slightest bit enjoyable. He was nearly fourteen now - definitely old enough to start liking girls, as far as his peers were concerned. So why had he only felt discomfort on the lips of Phoebe? There was a good chance this had everything to do with his not finding her attractive, and very little to do with anything else, but Reuben was not all convinced.

Rudolf was in the library, and, not feeling inclined to join him, having not so long ago kissed the girl he'd been crushing on since their first year, Reuben took his books down to the student lounge to study. The room was quite quiet; only one or two students had comfied themselves in the farthest corner of the room. The Hufflepuff set his books down on a table hidden mostly behind a bookshelf, and then deposited himself into a chair. Perhaps some light reading would take his mind off things for a little while.

 

[Amy Rosemary]

Amy was having a pretty good day, she was close to catching up all the lessons she had missed and she was revising for everything else, debating whether she should go to the library or stay in the common room. She wanted to make notes now so that she did not have to during exams and become stressed for not studying early enough, as it had happened the previous years on a few occasions. As she stepped out of the hufflepuff common room and headed to her special place, as she has come to name it because she loved books, she could not help but think about how her parents were doing back at home. She knew they were always rather busy; she would have to remind herself to send them an owl later. They might not even reply, or if they were going to they would take a while. Not that Amy blamed them, sometimes even she forgot to reply because of how busy she got.

Before she knew it, the blonde was in the student library. She noticed how noisy it was and therefore wanted some quiet, so she sighed and instead went all the way to the student lounge - the only other place where she managed to study. She took a seat, somewhere deeper in the student lounge and opened her books. She started studying, writing in the process. She had barely written the first word when a movement caught her eye and she glanced up, briefly, before staring, unable to help herself. She blinked, embarrassed what was going on with her? She had never found him attractive, so what was the reason now?, and bent down to pick up her quill which she had dropped on the floor when she had looked up at her housemate. Unfortunately her day's luck ended here and because the fates completely disliked her, Amy hit her head, albeit hard, on the table. She winced. "Ow," she muttered, rubbing her head. Hopefully no one saw that. She was not going to become a fool for being clumsy in the eyes of her mates, so she quickly buried her face in her book, holding it up to cover her now burning face. Only her eyes were visible. Amy sank down further in her seat, non-daring to make a sound to humiliate herself more in front of her housemate.

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

Reuben was an entire three sentences into his book when he heard a very loud thud behind him. He whipped his head around to locate the noise, and saw that Amy Rosemary was rubbing her head as she sat up. Reuben winced in sympathy and returned to his book, but though his eyes swanned the page of text, he was no longer reading it. Amy was quite cute. Actually, she was very cute, and the Hufflepuff was surprised this hadn't occurred to him until now. Of course, she didn't think the same of him. They'd shared enough lessons together for Reuben to be fairly certain of that fact. He sighed, lifting his eyes from his book when he realised he'd reached the bottom without having taken a single word in. It wasn't just Amy who didn't feel that way about him. It was every girl. And with all his friends having their first kisses and beginning to develop crushes, he felt as if the friend zone was where he would stay for the rest of his life.

An itch on the back of Reuben's head reminded him of Amy. He looked around again, and, seeing that all but her eyes were now concealed behind her book, he laughed. "Are you OK?" he asked quietly, hoping not to draw any more attention to her than necessary. From the sounds of things, she'd hit her head pretty hard.

 

[Amy Rosemary]

Amy had not expected anyone to approach her during her 'studying' time, especially not Reuben. Amy stared for a second, daydreaming, before getting it together and replying, considering she had blanked out. She was thinking of how similar yet how different the Lagowski twins were. She was however thankful that her housemate spoke softly. "I-I'm fine," she lied, stuttering (hating herself for it) and smiling at him brightly to convince him that her head did not hurt and that she was perfectly okay. Or maybe she was trying to convince herself of the fact too. Amy knew that she was not the best liar, in fact she was the worst, but it was worth a try. She didn't want Reuben worrying about something small and insignificant.

She subtly raised her hand as if to rub the back of her head but when her arm was raised in mid-air decided against it, and instead she slowly lowered her arm down. "What you doing?" she asked him curiously, nodding once towards where he sat. It seemed like a silly question but the hufflepuff knew better than to assume things. Besides, he could easily have been spying on her as she was him. Oh who was she kidding. Of course he wasn't - who would? She shook her head slightly, disappointment already evident on her expression. A moment ago she was happy, now her face expressed how she felt - glum. Quite glum, if Reuben really didn't see her that way either. First she thought James liked her but she had been proven wrong. How Amy saw it, it would be a long time before anyone might like her. She lacked some confidence after all and she blamed it on her past.

 

[Reuben Pendleton]

When Amy didn't immediately reply, Reuben began to wonder just how hard she'd actually hit her head on that table. But eventually it came, and though it was stuttered and unusually nervous, it was sufficient for the boy to relax into a smile and return to his book. He flipped back to the previous page, supposing he ought to take another crack at it; but no sooner had the paper settled than Amy was speaking again - to him. He swivelled in his chair, his eyes flicking between Amy and his book. Wh.. what did it look like he was doing? Ignoring the redundance of the question, he said, "Studying Ancient Runes. Professor Kingsley wanted us to translate our names into the runic alphabet." Reuben paused, and then added brightly, "Want me to do yours?" He waved a hand towards the chair beside him, where, if Amy so desired, they could more easily talk without disturbing anybody else in the lounge.

 

[Amy Rosemary]

Reuben didn't seem so uncomfortable with where he was, talking to her and so Amy took this opportunity as he glanced back down at his book to take a proper look at him, forgetting about the random book she pulled out of the library that was sitting in front of her on the table. After a few moments of silence it seemed as if he didn't really want to talk to her anymore and Amy pondered on whether she should say something. Usually she wasn't bad at making new friends but she could improve her skills. After all, the hufflepuff was known for her chatty behaviour. She was really grateful when Reuben replied. She mentally facepalmed at her stupidity. It was nearing exam time so naturally he'd be studying. "I blame the table for my silliness," she muttered to herself, not realising she was making even more of a fool of herself in front of Reuben by thinking out loud. She did blame the table, if it hadn't been there she never would have hit her head in the first place. Amy thought about his offer and decided to accept it, now curious. Once she was curious she couldn't let it go. "Sure, go ahead!" Amy was excited. She smiled brightly at him, more than happy to sit next to him and once she did, waited patiently for him to translate her name.