Reading Soothes the Mind. (Open)

There were many shelves in the amply sized Library of Whisper Hallow Academy, and on those many shelves were, of course, many books. A small girl around the age of fourteen peeked out from behind one of the chestnut colored bookcases, which seemed much larger than they actually were because of her size.

Her large and innocently twinkling blue eyes took in her surroundings, only being interrupted by the occasional flutter of her thick, long eyelashes as she walked into the main area of the Library.

She wore a deep blue skirt that came to mid-thigh and a white blouse-like shirt with a red bow in the center and a blue collar around the neck of it.
Her blue shoes (preceded with knee-high white socks) clicked quietly across the linoleum floor to a section with books in it that were supposed to be for young adults.

She sighed quietly and tucked her short but bright blond hair behind one ear, a strand of it disobeying her intentions by going right back where it had been before.

She picked up a book called "The Tale of Despereaux" and walked gracefully to one of the small sofas and sat down quietly, deciding that her first few moments at her new school should be spent reading.

No! Imposiblé! Just when he was in the thick of it, the most horrid, wretched thing had happened:

Writers block.

And it was a bad case to boot. Richard stared at the screen of his Macbook, watching the cursor blink in and out of existence. He had begun to count how many times it blinked, and at the moment he was at 545 (546...547...). He groaned softly, finally shutting his Mac and setting it on the low-rise table in front of him. He got up out of his chair, adjusting his blue sweater. He needed to walk around, find something that would inspire him to continue. Or you could not think about it at all and pick a new book to read. You finished The Hunger Games how long ago?.

Letting out a sigh, he began to walk around the library. This was his second favorite place on the entire campus (first being his dorm). It was always quiet, the atmosphere was perfect for writing, and he seemed to have a knack for making new friends here. He made his way to the young adult section, and movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He saw that it was a blond girl, and he watched her through the bookcase. Kinda cute, he thought, grabbing a random book. He walked around the bookcase and took a seat in one of the chairs next to the sofa, closest to the girl.

"Hello," he said, opening his book in the middle.

The girl aforementioned, who's name was Celeste, had immediately lost herself in her chosen book, reading a short passage from it aloud to herself quietly and slowly in her soft and meek voice. She read it smoothly and perfectly, having no trouble at all:

"Despereaux looked down at the book, and something remarkable happened. The marks on the pages, which Merlot referred to as squiggles," Celeste giggled softly here at the word, "Arranged themselves into shapes. The shapes arranged themselves into words, and the words spelled out a delicious and wonderful phrase..." She sighed and smiled softly, much like a love-struck preteen, "Once upon a time..."

Celeste almost lost herself in the next paragraph, which described Despereaux's love for reading. 'I know the feeling,' She thought, beaming. 'Books certainly are amazing. And their authors, even more so!'

Suddenly, a voice belonging to a male muttering a "Hello" came from the chair next to her. She jumped slightly and looked up quickly, her blue eyes alert and wide, and her soft pink lips slightly parted.

Celeste blinked a couple of times and blushed, looking to her lower right and turning her head in that direction. She looked back up at him and smiled a very timid and small smile.

"...H-hello..." She blushed a light rose again, kept the small smile on her face and looked down at the picture of her book's subject, a small mouse who was "such the disappointment" to his french mouse mother.

Alright, now what do I do? I've said hello, so should I introduce myself? I should know how to handle this situation, but it has been a while since I've flirted. I don't really want to mess it up. If I did and she ended up hating, that would really be a damper on the day. Hmm..

He pondered the situation a bit longer, and read a few lines out of his random book. There seemed to be something a little off about it, almost as if it didn't really belong in the young adult section. He looked at the front cover, and immediately saw that it wasn't. Someone had been quite rude and put an adult romance into the young adult section, and I just happened to pick it. Just my luck.

He set the book on the small table beside his chair, and put his hands in his lap. He looked at the girl out of the corner of his eye, and decided that he would indeed introduce himself...

"The Tale of Despereaux. I've heard that was a good book,"

...eventually.

Celeste listened to him read a couple lines from the book he held, frowning slightly. "I..I wish people didn't do that...It makes it hard to find the books.." She smiled shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear, the same strand as earlier opposing her again. Her bright eyes looked him up and down slowly, feeling quite awkward. She blushed as she noticed herself staring at him, but then she heard him speak again. "The Tale of Despereaux. I've heard that was a good book," He said. "I did too... that's why I picked it up. And it is a very good book!" She said, coming out of her shell a bit more. That's the way it was with Celeste. You had to get her to come out.

"I wish the book that I had chosen was any good. Some prankster put an adult romance novel in the young adult section, and I had no idea! Sheesh, the jokes some people will play," Richard said. "Not to say that I haven't played jokes on other people myself. Nothing major, but small tiny things that really have no ill effect in the long run,"

He paused for a moment.

"I'm Richard, by the way, and current student at Whisper Hallow Academy. Then again, you must already know that part, being a student yourself," he said, leaning forward and extending a hand.

Celeste smiled softly and gently took his hand in hers. She blushed slightly. "M-my name is Celeste.. current, but very new, student at Whisper Hallow Academy..." She squeezed his hand gently, but enough to where he could feel it, and withdrew her hand, placing it back on her lap. "Forgive me for being so timid...I've had next to no experience with people other than my family, since I was homeschooled until now.." She made sort of an awkward apologetic face then pressed her lips together slightly. Her bookmarker lay on the floor, so she picked it up and adjusted her skirt, making sure it wasn't too short.
Celeste blinked her shiny eyes and played with the hem on her skirt.

"Well, I can assure you that there are plenty of friendly people here on campus. Trust me, in a couple weeks, you won't be as timid as you are now," Richard said.

He leaned back into his seat, placing his arms on the armrests. He took a little bit of time to look at Celeste, and felt his face go slightly red. He thought she was rather cute, and her shyness seemed to add to it.

"If you don't mind my asking, what made your parents decide to send you here to Whisper Hallow? Why not just stay in homeschool?" Richard asked. Maybe not the right question, but oh well. It's been asked, and there is no taking it back,

Celeste hummed for a moment and tucked her hair behind her ear, the same strand always coming out. "Well, my mother doesn't want me under peer pressure, because I give in to those kinds of things easily," She sneezed softly, a small squeak coming from her mouth afterwards. "Excuse me!" She giggled quietly, then continued on with her story. "But my father wanted me to experience prom and having people around me, so my mom decided to bend to his suggestion. Like mother, like daughter, I suppose." She laid her book beside her and smiled at Richard, waiting patiently for his reply.

"Bless you," Richard said, then continued to listen to Celeste.

"Well, that seems like a plenty good reason. You're in luck, I believe that prom is going to happen the next couple months or so. Look like you made it just in time!" he said.

"I came to Whisper Hallow because my mother and I believed that Fate was calling upon us, and that if I didn't come here bad things would happen. Luckily, we both avoided that. My father, however, just liked the school in general. So far, I'm really enjoying it here."

He lifted a hand to his hairpiece, making sure that it was on straight. Satisfied, he turned his attention back to Celeste.

"...Fate?" Celeste cocked her head to the side curiously. "Interesting!" She smiled. All of a sudden, something caught her eye. A stake of holly sat cleanly on Richard's head; three bright red berries and three veridian green leaves. 'Pretty!' Celeste thought, unconciously bringing a hand up and touching it softly.

It was only after a few seconds that she relized what she was doing and brought her hand down so quickly that it hurt when it made contact with the couch. "Ouch.." she said, frowning. "I'm so sorry, I didn't even really realize what I was doing," The girl said, her eyes downcast. The area over her cheeks and nose flushed then turned bright red. She looked up at him nervously, her head still down in a pout. Her eyebrows slanted up in worry and her mouth formed an apologetic look. "...Forgive me?"

Richard stared at Celeste, a little confused as to what she was doing. Once he felt her hand touch his hairpiece, he understood. He didn't mind it, really. There had been several people in the past that, for some reason, felt compelled to touch it. When she smacked her hand on the couch, he winced from surprise.

"Is your hand alright?" he said, moving forward slightly. He stopped once he saw Celeste's look, and smiled, partly out of embarrassment (although where it came from was anybodies guess).

"You're fine, really," Richard said. "I don't mind at all. It's real holly by the way, and my mom gave it to me when I was about six or seven. I've worn it every day since then. It hasn't yellowed in the slightest. I think my mom put an enchantment or something on it,"

Celeste stared at the holly while opening her eyes wide in awe. "Wow..! An enchantment," She gaped at the hairpiece. "I'm sorry for touching it." She closed her eyes and straightened, like one would do when reciting for their mentor. She folded her hands on her lap. "It isn't polite to touch what isn't yours," she said in a soft voice, keeping her eyes closed then opening them after she said this.

Celeste then returned to an "at ease" posture, relaxed but not quite slouching. She shivered. "Drafty in here..." She said not particularly to Richard, but she was sure he could hear it. She picked up her book from the couch cushion next to her and laid it on her lap.

(So... is this RP dead, now?)

((Maybe not))

"Damn it, you two really are noisy. This is a library, you know?"

Ibumoto Noro looked up from his book, "A game of thrones" by George R.R. Martin. He sat at a table a little furter down the room, and had been reading peacefully up until recently.

Annoyed, he glared at their direction, and directly found eyecontact with the already embarrased girl.

Celeste looked up and her face flushed immediately. "Oh," She said, looking down and playing with the hem of her skirt. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't know that there was anyone else in here." She finished speaking in a soft voice and looked down again, feeling quite flustered. She was acting very rudely. Not giving any thought to anyone else who might be in here.

Ibumoto chuckled.

"Yeah, I get that alot. People tend to avoid me."

Damn, he thought, that sounded more morbid than I wanted.
When he saw the girl stare at her lap, obviously more than simply embarassed, he noticed how cute she was. Blond hair wasn't usually in his tastes, but he had to admit, it kind of completed the aura of perfection around her.

He memorized the page he was on, closed the book and started to walk towards the girl.

"Well, as long as we are all disturbing each other, I think introductions are in order. I'm Ibumoto Noro."

"...I'm Celeste Hikamaru..." The fourteen year old declared quietly and looked up at Ibumoto. "It's nice to meet you. Sorry for being so rude," She sighed softly. "I suppose I was talking awfully loudly." She tucked her hair behind her ear and blinked her wide eyes twice down at the picture of her book's mouse subject. The girl then sat her book down on the table, but not before putting a bookmark in it. Dog-earing it would be disrespectful.

"It's no big problem, really. To be honest, I was even a tad bit bored."
He tried to put on his nicest smile, which never really worked, his eyes just made any facial expression look intimidating.

He studied her face again. Despite his efforts, he couldn't read her at all, something that annoyed him slightly.

"I don't often see people in the library. They simply borrow a book and then they're out of here."
He paused, still trying his best to smile.
"So, what brings you here? Are you like me, hiding from reality in the embrace of literature? Or is it a different matter?"

Celeste studied the man's face. "I like your eyes," She said, smiling brightly. "And I'm not hiding. I love books. They're my favorite thing. They can take me anywhere I couldn't go normally."

(Sorry its so short >_<)

((No problem, it's no good trying to force something out anyway ^_^))

Ibumoto blushed heavily. He couldn't remember anyone ever complimenting him for his eyes.
"You have very scary eyes" was the norm.

Not finding a suitable answer, he simply listened to her answer. After thinking for a moment, he came to a conclusion.

"I'm pretty sure that's what I meant." He said, lifting one eyebrow. After a brief pause, he continued.
"You're not intimidated by my eyes? That's something new."
He chuckled again.

"No way! Why would I be? They're unique. There isn't anything truly unique anymore, really." She blushed softly, a light rose colour trailing over her small nose and filling her cheeks. She sat back on the small couch she was on and inched over a bit. "You can sit down if you'd like," She smiled, feeling just a small bit more confident.

"Unique, huh? That's one way of putting it." He smiled, part because of the compliment, part because of Celeste's spreading blush. She was truly a cute girl.

He thanked her as she moved over and suggested that he would sit down. He did as he was told and crossed his legs. He thought of what to say next while he studied her face even closer.

"What do you usually do, part from reading?" He said with a slight smile.

Celeste faced Ibumoto slightly as he asked his question. "Well..." She brought her hand up to her mouth as she thought for a moment. Her eyes lit up as she remembered everything.
"Well, I like to listen to music, cook, draw, and play soccer." She said, then beamed. "Oh. And I can't forget singing." Celeste smiled again as she remembered the first time she sang in her room, and what a rush came with it. "I love to sing, but I'm too shy to sing in front of anyone." She pouted here, feeling slightly embarrassed and blushed again. "It's stupid, I know, but I wish I could sing in front of someone who wouldn't judge me."

He let her speak, she hadn't spoken with such enthusiasm yet, and it was good to see her get past the gates of shyness, if only for a moment. She mentioned singing.
"That's not stupid at all. It just means you're singing because it's what you want, and like to do. Not because you want others opinion and admiration."
He smiled. "I'd like to hear you sing sometime. But only if that's what you want, deal?"