[Library] a little clueless

[Shaun Zinn]

The School year was almost over and according to all his professors, Shaun was failing. Great, he could already hear the voice of his father in his head; the disappointment, the anger, the sadness. Guilt. The worse feeling ever. The only thing Shaun could do was hit the books and that was exactly what he did. Waking up early wasn't the worst part. it was nine in the morning and he had only finished one late essay. three hours. Three long hours he had put in at the library and all he could come up with was an essay just over a page in length. What a bookwork he was.

Astronomy. The next subject on his list. What was it he had to do again? Riiight; two essays, five books and a worksheet. If a page essay took him three hours, how long do you think all that would take him? Forever. Or thats what he kept telling himself.

Shaun took a deep breath and threw his head back so his face was towards the ceiling. He needed a break, he needed a distraction, but what? Shaun sat up straight and stared down at the parchment, quill in hand. Softly, he began to tap the tip of the quill against the paper. Soon, the tapping became a bit louder and had a beat. Next thing you know, the boy had two quills in hand was was hitting not only the table but the chairs sitting next to him as well. At least the melody playing in his head sounded great.

Ok, so he was getting a little out of control but what could you expect from a sixteen year old boy? He continued to screw around for a few more minutes until he kicked his foot out from under his chair sending the seat across from him to fall to the ground.

"Oh, Sh-!" he gasped as he shot up and picked up the fallen chair. Great, that was the last thing he needed; Marsh coming around the corner and sending him flying across the room with a simple blasting curse. He was in enough trouble with his father. If only the boy could concentrate for more than 5 minutes.

[Alexis Heart]

Another owl arrived this morning at 6 am no less. Her mother was becoming impossible just because the end of term was near there was no need for the woman to put so much pressure on her about exams. O.W.L.'s will be coming up soon and you will have to do well so good grades on these end of year exams will do well to help prepare you.

There were a ton of these letters in the trash by her bed. She sighed as the owl hooted louder and louder Alexis wanted to ignore it but he would not let her be so she got up took the note and let the bird fly off back to her mother, back to let her know that Alexis took the letter in hand. This time she didn't even open it, there was no need she could already guess what it would say.

Problem was though now she was up she couldn't sleep. It was now almost seven and she was wide awake. Grrrrrrr it was too early to be up, but just laying there was annoying her too, so she got up and went to dress. Trying to be as quiet as possible so that she wouldn't put anyone in the same predicament.

Sitting around in the common room she soon found herself bored watching someone's cat chase a fly around the room. At around 9 in the morning she heard stirrings but instead of staying around to see a friend. Perhaps she could get some studying done in the library.

The moment she walked in she heard a loud bang. She walked in further and she saw a boys chair fall out from under him. Eyes all looked in his direction and Alexis felt kind of bad. People started snickering, some were nice and tried to hide it but then there were others who couldn't care less and laughed right out loud. To those few rude ones Alexis rolled her eyes then walked over to the boy. "Hey there you OK?" she asked sounding concerned.

[Shaun Zinn]

No, it wasn't his chair that fell nor did it fall out from under him but by the sound of his exclamation and the fact that he got up so fast, he could see how the others around him could conclude it. With an annoyed sigh, he lifted the chair up off the ground and set it back on all four legs. Nothing Broken, he thought as he inspected the wood carefully. At least he had no damages to pay for, just simple stupidity.

Yay. Not only was he behind in school work but now his cheeks were burning with embarrassment. How could it possibly get any worse?

A Voice. A voice directed at him.

Instantly his cheeks burned a bright red again as he turned and faced her. She was a Ravenclaw, he could tell by the small blue emblem on her robes. Of course, his yellow badger showed like a bruise on an albino. Not to mention he took it in his own hands to paint a bigger one on the back of his robes. Hey, at least in his mind it looked better.

Shaun shook his head and laughed, "Naw, I'm fine. Just kicked a chair over. Thanks for asking, anyway."

Feeling a bit stupid, he ran a hand through his hair and gave a slightly embarrassed laugh then held a hand out to her, "Shaun, er- Shaun Zinn."

[Alexis Heart]

Alexis could see the red on his cheeks. This was something she had experienced so many times before. Feeling embarrassed well that was just part of the daily routine for her. Alexis decided that she wouldn't say anything else about the chair. Stuff happened and the library quieted down some.

"Some excitement is always a good thing I'm Alexis Heart," She grabbed his hand and shook it. "So do you mind if I uh join you. Most of the other tables are full and all."

She could see by his robes that he was a Hufflepuff she liked the Hufflepuff's so many of them were pretty cool. Ellie whom she didn't know really well was one of them. Plus he seemed nice enough and a lot less stuffy then some of the others with their heads buried deep within their books. Yeah they were there to study but they didn't have to look so bookwormish did they? Anyway he wasn't bad to look at either that was probably the other reason she was keen on sitting there.

[Shaun Zinn]

Shaun wasn't the best at the flirting game unless he was surrounded by the group of guys he called his friends. Scratch that, he was never good at flirting so this wasn't going to be much of an improvement but why not try anyway? Heck, she was beautiful and even asked to sit by him, then again, his table was the only one that had empty chairs. Why couldn't he answer her?

Shaun nodded and ran a hand over his head again. A nervous habit of his you could say. For some reason he just couldn't get the yes out of his mouth but the nod should have been enough of an answer for her, or so he hoped.

He pulled out a chair for her, a gentleman's move but yet, Shaun believed in the little things. Besides, he had to counterpart his hyperactive, unusual self. "Take a seat," he said with a smile. Maybe this was the distraction he was looking for? Either way, she was easy on the eyes and it was always great to have some company.

(short, sorry)

[Alexis Heart]

Alexis was standing there for what seemed like forever. The same rude people were staring at her and she started to feel like a complete looser. He wasn't answering her so maybe that meant he wasn't interested in her sitting anywhere near him. Perhaps she should just bow out gracefully and act as if she changed her mind, maybe she could say she thought going outside would be better or something.

She started to play with the sleeve of her robes that's what she did when she was nervous. Looking at him she almost blushed herself. If it hadn't been for people staring at her she might have just run out of there. She was thinking of which excuse was the best excuse and decided on something when she saw him pull out the chair for her to sit.

Alexis kind of just stood there staring at the chair like it was something new to her. That was probably the most polite thing anyone had ever done for her. A smile appeared big and bright her blue eyes were twinkling as she took the seat. She didn't really hang around many guys and well he was a real looker.


"So what were you studying? I'm not bothering you right. I know some people just do polite things." She was babbling that was another bad nervous habit of hers one she really hated because she usually sounded like a boob when she did it. Biting her bottom lip she wondered if he thought her a boob now.

Perhaps she should just focus on her own studies, that way she wouldn't keep babbling like that. She was finding it hard to be herself around him, she wasn't normally the type of girl that flirts or goes after boys but for once she saw a cutie and took a chance, but hen now she wasn't quite sure how to behave. Her bright smile turned into a weak one as she looked over at him then away again.

[Shaun Zinn]

The look of unease on Alexis' face made Shaun feel a little more idiotic. Why hadn't he answered her simple question? Eh, too late now but thankfully she did take a seat at his table. When she smiled, it was enough to make Shaun give her a cheeky grin in return, after all, a smile was contagious. Shaun cleared his throat softly before taking a seat across from her.

Picking up his quill once more, he started to doodle a small swirl on the top left hand corner of his essay, or what was supposed to be an essay. He looked up at Alexis and smiled, there was something about this girl and Shaun wanted to figure out what that something was. She spoke and he listened. At first he thought the question to be a little rational because he had about five books on Astronomy laid out on the table for him yet as she continued, he realized that she was just trying to strike up a conversation and instantly he chuckled.

"Um, I'm working on an Astronomy essay at the moment," he answered as he pointed to a rather large book sitting to his left, "and by all means, you're welcome to bother me all you want. To be honest, I'm not at all thrilled to be writing this. I should have had it done months ago."

Shaun stared down at the blank parchment, aside from his massive swirl, and sighed. He was never going to get this done no matter how hard he tried so why bother? Alexis was far more interesting than the meaning of constellations. He shot a quick glance up at Alexis again and smiled. It was his turn to come up with a convo starter, but what?

"Did you come in here to study?"

Of course she did you nimwit! It's a library, he thought to himself as he realized exactly how stupid his question was.

[Alexis Heart]

Maybe he wouldn't say another word to her. She didn't like that but then there you had it. Alexis Heart scardy cat. What was it about boys that could make a rational girl such as herself act so silly. Feeling silly didn't seem to stop her from looking at him and she was pleasantly surprised to see he was looking at her and smiling too. She didn't make such a dunce of herself as she originally thought. That was all it took to calm her down some, her shoulders became less tense she relaxed.

She had seen all the books he had on the table top but he didn't seem much into them craning her neck she saw him doodling on his paper. How many times had she done that in a class her notes were full of them.

"Oh I enjoy astronomy I like professor Owen she's pretty cool. It is a lot of work though the essays are killer so much to know. I usually get sidetracked doing them. Procrastination is a student's best friend, but if you want any help I'd be happy to give you a little bit of my knowledge." Alexis looked at him and for some reason batted her eyes. Ick did she really just do that? Oh boy this was so not her but she couldn't help it she wanted to flirt with him.

Did you come here to study? Reasonable question why else would someone come to the library. She was planning on it but she got sidetracked by a cute boy. "Yeah that was why I came in here but something else seems to have caught my attention" by something else she meant him and she looked right at him when she said it. Boy oh boy her mouth was moving she heard her own voice, her eyes were locked, but she was having trouble believing she had been that bold...

[Shaun Zinn]

Shaun watched as Alexis became more comfortable around him. It made him feel more at ease and made him more confident to be himself, if he even knew who he actually was. Either way, they were sitting at the same table and sharing a conversation, thats more than he could say for the rest of the bookworms in here.

"Yeah, Owen's a very interesting teacher. I really do enjoy her class, don't get me wrong, but these essays are going to be the death of me," he joked but of course, she offered help so he couldn't say no, "Um, ye-yeah, that would be great. I could use some help," he answered with a smile.

Ok, so maybe he wasn't great at flirting but he was trying. Maybe if he didn't think about it, flirting would be easier... or maybe that was just some stupid saying for fear. Either way, it could work. The answer to his question caught him off guard and he just stared at her for a moment. A smile found its way onto his face and he looked away. He didn't think her to be so... forward? But none the less, he liked it.

"I guess you could say something's got me distracted as well," he said sending her a small wink. Riiight, now what was with him? Shaun took a deep breath and let a small chuckle escape his lips as he made a large scribble on his parchment.

[Alexis Heart]

"Good I enjoy helping people out makes me happy. Plus astronomy is the kind of class where sometimes a little help isn't such a bad thing. Those essays if I didn't have friends to help me with them I can honestly say it would have been the death of me. A Ravenclaw would have failed something." She giggled it was a joke, she knew what people thought of her house, they were all bookworm know it alls who would die if they got a question wrong. She poked fun of it all the time because that simply wasn't the case. Alexis had problems in some of her classes just like everyone else. She knew what it was like and she was willing to help.

She scooted her chair closer to him looking down at his book. Several others in the room were again staring. It seemed like their studying wasn't half as interesting as the two students sitting next to each other in the library. The phrase take a Polaroid it'll last longer entered her mind, she was longing to shout it but one look at the librarian told her to keep it quiet or risk getting booted.

Focusing on him rather than them Alexis could see that maybe just maybe he was a bit shocked at what she said before. Boys were never shocked by her well that was unless she used her powers around them. She still remembered that night she turned herself into a boy in front of all the other boys in the dorm they whooped and hollered asking her to turn into their most hated professors.

Smiling at the thought she almost missed what he said to her. Almost, she caught every single word and the wink that went with it. Oh boy he wasn't playing fair, he was too cute to just sit there and wink at her like that. Alexis bit her lip again and looked down just so she could calm herself a bit. No use in having him see her act like a really giddy school girl after all.

Lifting her head when she felt it was safe she said, "Distractions can be a really good thing sometimes don't you agree?" Now she winked bold as brass like she did this all the time. Inside she was a nervous wreck afraid that at some point he'd shuck off her advances and tell her she was wasting her time.

[Shaun Zinn]

Shaun had to admit, help was always needed and well appreciated when it came to schoolwork and he was sure Alexis was true to her word. Besides, it wasn't everyday when a cute girl offered to help you out with homework. Shaun could definitely see him and Alexis becoming friends rather quickly.

"I'd have to agree with you on Astronomy. Help is almost always needed in that class." For him at least.

Shaun made room for Alexis as she scooted closer to him, moving his book so she could see it better. He leaned over so he was a bit closer to her, taking in the soft sent of her perfume. He didn't care about the stares they were receiving, besides, it wasn't any of their business now, was it? All that mattered was the fact that Shaun was on the verge of receiving Trolls in most of his classes and Alexis had offered to help. It was the most anyone had even thought of doing for him. Good thing she probably didn't know what he was like with his friends, although it wasn't who he was.

Alexis' comment, followed by a wink, caused him to laugh in embarrassment. He wasn't sure how to respond now but there was no way he was gonna act as if he wasn't interested, in truth, he sorta was. He pursed his lips and nodded.

"Alexis, being distracted by you would have to be the perfect way of getting out of this essay," he said with a laugh. Of course, any distraction would have been great but Alexis was definitely a better distraction than one he could wish for. She was smart, witty and definitely brave and confident.

(Crap post... sorry bout it.)

[Alexis Heart]

All the times she had come to the library and nothing all that interesting happened. Ok maybe that one time when she got caught eating the chocolate frog at her table. The librarian had a fit next thing Alexis knew her bag, and books were floating out side and she had a finger pointing her in the direction of the door. She got such a telling off for that, something about the purity of the books not being ruined by the dirtiness of her chocolate covered fingers.

So when she walked in there that day she never expected anything like this to happen. She never expected that she would meet a cute boy who was having trouble with his Astronomy home work, never expected she'd be sitting so close to him offering her help. As angry as she had been at that owl for waking her she was really happy that it had if it wasn't for that she might still be in the room sleeping or something.

He moved closer to her and she could feel heat rise up her neck, placing her hand behind her head she giggled nervously. Boys as friends she knew and could do boys she was crushing on well that was something different entirely.

Trying to answer him without having her voice crack she took one or two deep breaths. "Yeah it's one of those subjects where there can be too much for one person to have to know. I had a lot of help to pass so I figure I should offer the same courtesy to." Plus it gave her the chance to be around him and possibly get to know him better. For once her brains would come in handy.

Also, what captured her attention was his reaction to her, after she winked he gave a weird kind of laugh one that told her she might have gotten to him even if only just a little bit. Proving her right he flirted with her right back. Alexis couldn't help it this time the blush stained her already rosy cheeks she tried to hide it but knew it was fruitless. "You're very good at making me blush and even better at keeping me thoroughly distracted. Who knew the library could be such fun." Feeling her cheeks they were very warm to the touch this let her know she was still red. She started to fan herself "boy oh boy I wish this would just go away already" now she laughed nervously.