The Shy and the Beaten

[Nobody Marsters]

Nobody had calmed her activity, closing herself off from everyone to concentrate on her studies. Most days now, she could be found in the library, researching something. She didn't mean to push them all away, but it had gotten hard to think, now that she was being pressured. It was no surprise that she would take position of Seer of her tribe, she had dreams constantly that have made vague positions. But if only her tribe knew what she really wanted to do, the innocent girl sitting in the library was not so innocent. Nobody adjusted her skirt as she sat down on a ledge of a window.It was her perfect spot, one where she could look outside and get natural light to read by when it wasn't too dark. She yawned and leaned her head back, not even looking as she searched through her back. Anyone who saw her might make fun of her. Because of her cloths, maybe; or because of her position. Maybe they would because of the flute sticking out of her bag, which she had been to lazy to put up. But, did Nobody care? She really did not.

It had been a while since she had come to Durmstrang, and she was used to the mockery. She had been beaten, made fun of, and not to mention the different people who have just plain hated her and glared her down into tears. But, nobody was determined to stay here and become a Seer; she knew she had the talent for that. She opened her little bag of stones, and put it back, grabbing the other book out that she had. She took quiet notes, becoming as invisible as her name.

 

[Yosif Olaf]

Invisible though she may have been quickly becoming, someone did see the quiet girl. He'd been watching her, again. To him, she was incredibly interesting and the only person he seemed to have something in common with. Yosif was stood reading a book on Quidditch. Well, not really reading, but he was pretending, not allowing the girl to know he was looking at her. Her name was Nobody, and that had been the first thing to intrigue the boy. The second had been that they were both made to suffer by other students; Yosif often served as a punchbag for his twin brother, or his brother's friends, or his brother's friends' nemesis. Nobody had been hurt by others, and Yosif had seen, unable to do anything. But one day he would- one day he would leap to her rescue, pushing down the monsters, letting her know of his existence..

That day was a long way off.

Yosif put the book away, pretending to browse for a new one. He was not currently very convincing in his act, and it was slowly becoming more obvious that his eyes were fixed upon Nobody, considering what to do. Perhaps it was time that he introduced himself- the other victim. Yes, maybe they could become friends. Maybe he could gain some courage and stand up to the bullies, and get the girl.. Unlikely, but he wanted to make it true. He took the first step, approaching Nobody. He'd grabbed a book on the way. "Mind if I join you?" he asked, gesturing to his book. He paused. Tell her your name.. Come on! "I'm.. I'm Yosif." This was the first time he had spoken to her, and his eyes were avoiding hers in an awkward fashion, choosing instead to focus on his book.

 

[Nobody Marsters]

Nobody had that sixth sense tingling, it was always in her nose. She reached up and rubbed it gently with her hand, then looked over and noticed a boy. He looked to be around her age, but she could be mistaken. She had seen him before, from time to time in the library, but had never actually spoken to him. He was cute; she couldn't deny it. Nobody looked back at her book, she needed to get some reading done. However, she couldn't, not with him right there. From time to time she would glance without turning her head. She was far too shy to just talk to a boy, no she left that kind of thing to Larissa, her fire-cracker of a friend. Oh if only she could be that way. For weeks she had been thinking about asking Larissa to teach her, but now she would sway her mind to the boy.

He stood there, a cute thing with strange hair. She eyeballed him for a second, and then remembered that she had forgotten to speak. She stuttered a bit, some vowel sounds coming out, before moving her bag so that he could sit down. She didn't want to tell him her name; she didn't want him to think she was a Nobody. She was slightly hurt that he couldn't even look at her. She looked down and said, "I'm Nobody..." She cursed herself, since she had chosen her own name really. She let her brown eyes look up, maybe in hopes of catching his. Though, it was doubtful that she would even register in his mind. Maybe she should just leave, so he could read; this boy was far too good for her, by looks at least.

 

[Yosif Olaf]

The awkward atmosphere between the two of them, was almost something beautiful. If only Yosif had been a mind-reader, he would have not been half as shy. Of course, he knew her name, so it came of no surprise to him where for others, it may have sparked a downpour of teasing. In fact, it was quite suspicious that Yosif, who had supposedly only just met the girl, did not even look confused by her name. She had spoken to him. To him and that was all that mattered for now. "H-Have you been going to Durmstrange for long? Only, I know there are some tr-transfers." Yosif very nearly raised his hand and slapped himself across his face. He was stuttering like no-one's business. It was causing his cheeks to redden and his eyes to continue avoiding hers. He wished he could be like his brother; all strong and handsome and confident. But then, Yulian Olaf was also a bully. Yosif didn't want to be that. He almost hated himself for thinking it.

He barely gave her the chance to answer before he stuttered "I-I like your.." He looked straight up at her, diving deep inside her brown eyes. Immediately, his eyes fell back downwards, in time for him to finish his sentence. "Brown eyes." Had Durmstrang ever witnessed a more cringe-worthy, socially awkward conversation within its walls? Yosif doubted it as he began to wish the ground would just swallow him right up.

 

[Nobody Marsters]

Nobody shifted her weight a little bit, still curled up against the wall, now covering her slightly visible stomach with her arm. She was feeling a bit naked and cold, and she wasn't sure why. She looked up at him when he spoke and smiled. He was actually talking to her, did not tease her for her name, and he seemed genuinely interested. She smiled a little bit at him. He reminded her a lot of a little puppy dog, it was quiet cute. Her cheeks were red when she thought that, it was true though. A cute boy was speaking to her. "Um... a bit over a year." She said. She managed not to stutter, but her voice came out as a tiny chime. If only they had met while she was preforming, she oozed energy when she danced and sang. She was about to make a comment about transferring but he beat her to it.

Was it the pause, the sentence, or the way his cheeks lit up that made her suddenly go red? Maybe all three, but after a compliment like that Nobody couldn't form a single word. "I... uh, well..." She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Th-thank you." The sentence was quiet again, and she looked at her book. What was she supposed to say? 'You're cute'. Ran through her mind over a thousand times, but that was replaced with a nervous giggle.

 

[Yosif Olaf]

She giggled. Yosif wasn't sure how he felt about this. She sounded as though she had taken his words as a compliment- which he hoped she had, but he began to wonder if maybe she was laughing at him, if his stammer was really that pathetic. It was quite pathetic, and Yosif knew it. There was a long, silent pause. They were both a little red in the face, though no-one else present seemed to notice this. He almost wished he could turn and run in the opposite direction to Nobody, but he couldn't out of politeness.. And the fact that his feet were practically nailed to the ground with fear.

He grasped at the nearest thought which didn't reflect his current situation, and read it out loud. "I once fell off my broom because my brother told me I had a spider in my hair, and I lost control and when I checked for the spider, there wasn't one." He said all of this at a great speed and in a very matter-of-fact way. After he had said it, he tried to pretend that the words had never even existed, let alone, stumbled out of his mouth in such a manner. "D-Do you fly?" He asked as casually as possible, though this failed as it was obvious how awkward he felt by the second-by-second change in his voice.

 

[Nobody Marsters]

She looked at him and waited a few seconds, another awkward silence dawning on them once again. She looked outside for a few moments, trying to cool her face down. She looked back at Yosif, trying to convince herself that he was just another boy, and he wasn't really interested. it would make it easier. Even if he was, with how many enemies she had, they wouldn't want to get too close to her. She looked at her nails, the perfectly rounded things without decoration. She looked up and listened to him speak again.

It was harder now, not to giggle. Because the story was a cute, and funny one. She did giggle though finally, and said, "I don't like spiders." It was all she could say as a reply. She didn't have many intelligent things to say, just that same sentence. "No... it wasn't allowed where I came from." She said, not thinking. She then looked at him again. She finally decided to give a little deeper look, looking into his dark eyes and smiling more. "You... " She paused. She couldn't get the words out.

 

[Yosif Olaf]

Yosif's head tilted to the side, a little, but because he was looking down, the angle was a little odd. What did she mean by that? That it wasn't allowed where she came from? Yosif opened his mouth- and immediately closed it. He wasn't sure it was the right time to be asking such intrusive questions, and instead he tried to forge a smile. There was one conversation point that he managed to catch in the palm of his right hand. It wasn't particularly thought through, but she hadn't pushed him away, yet.

"How many of them are there-" she managed to say without stuttering, which was incredibly difficult. "The people that bully you?" He possibly knew the answer, but Yosif wasn't going to let Nobody know that he possessed that knowledge. However, a new thought in his mind was finding a way to help Nobody, and the first step was to find out how many people he was up against. Little did Nobody realise, but her very faint and brief conversation with Yosif, had sparked ambition within him, something that was thought long since dead.

 

[Nobody Marsters]

Nobody smiled at the way his head had tilted. He was so cute, that was now the first thing she would tell him if they talked again. If she had guts to do it. She looked at him and said, "You can sit." She said. Her voice wasn't steady, but no stutters came from her mouth. Nobody was not the stuttering kind, she was more of a blush and quiet voice kind. And that part of her had come out as soon as he spoke next.

Nobody's head jerked up and her brown eyes widened. How many were there, the children who picked on her for her name, and the one person who prevented sleep for many nights. Kyouhei. How did Yosif know though? "I um... a few." She replied, looking down. Was it really that obvious? The scars were covered, and she tried to remain unnoticed in that way. "How did you... you know?" She asked, the obvious hint of fear in her voice. She was afraid to make friends because of what Kyouhei might do.

 

[Yosif Olaf]

Though he was invited to, Yosif did not sit. He remained standing as she answered his question- and tagged her own onto the end. He wasn't ready to tell her the truth just yet, but he would not lie. Keeping parts of the truth from her, was the only resolution. Thinking on his feet, Yosif came up with the only real answer. "I.. I've sometimes seen you before, with that blonde girl and.." He wasn't sure how he was going to finish the sentence. "I've seen how you act around her. I've seen it before.. I get bullied by my twin brother."

Yosif knew he could not make it up to Nobody right there and then, though he had thankfully not given away that he had seen more than just the slight twitches, the nervous glances to check she was safe; that he had witnessed the worst case of bullying he had ever seen, and he had not helped her. The guilt would rot away at him until he confessed it to her. Right at that moment, he had no intention of putting himself in that situation.

 

[Nobody Marsters]

That word and any variation of it bugged her; bully, bullying, bullied, bullies. Every one of those words made her cringe, and worse, they brought memories back. Kyouhei was the worst of all the bullies who had taunted her. She could recall the time that Larissa had gotten her out of cleaning up what could have only been a bloody sight. Nobody shivered. She looked up at him with quizzical eyes and all she could say was, "Really?" She felt less alone, and it actually made her smile to know she wasn't the only one.

It may have been sick in a way, to feel better the someone else was bullied, but that's not how Nobody viewed it. "The blonde saved me... she's really sweet." nobody said, having not known Larissa's reputation in her past school. "So you have a brother?" It was lame to bring it up, but she wanted to talk to him now more then before. Get to know him... He seemed nice enough.

 

[Yosif Olaf]

Whoever the blonde girl was that the two awkwardly spoke of in brief conversation, had already gained a small amount of respect from Yosif.. Although, he may not have felt the same way, had he known who she really was, was her past was and what she was up to at that moment in time. But she had saved Nobody. She had done what Yosif could only dream of doing, because surely he could do no more.. Right?

Fortunately, the conversation of bullying was dropped, and now the two students were no longer entirely avoiding each other's gaze. It was progress and Yosif almost felt proud of himself. If only he could be that much better at fighting.. If only. "I have six. And a half-sister." Yosif had always been shunned in the family, for being so physically weak. His half-sister would be starting at Durmstrang, soon, and she was far stronger than him. "A right nightmare.." Was this okay to say about his family? Would it drive her away? Yosif quickly added "Of course I still care about them." Love was not a word Yosif could honestly use to describe his feelings for the family he belonged to: His siblings teased and bullied him, his father frequently disowned him and as for his mother..

 

[Nobody Marsters]

Nobody listened to Yosif, now looking up at him regularly, and she put her book into her small bag. She picked up the little black baggie with rune stones in it, and her black leather journal. That black leather journal that nobody had seen, not even her sister. She looked up at him when he spoke of his family. His real family. She smiled slightly, she wanted to say 'you have a small family'. However, Nobody didn't have a real family. Of course, they had taken her in, the Gypsy Tribe, but they weren't blood.

instead, she said quiet the opposite. "Big family." She sounded unenthusiastic. Maybe it was jealousy? Had she known what it was like for Yosif, maybe she wouldn't be that way toward him. She nodded. "I get that. On off season, I share a tent with three girls. It's hell." She giggled slightly, not really understanding. She didn't know what to say after that. She didn't want to drudge up too much about the Clan. But, she wasn't interesting outside of her Gypsy heritage.