I'm not clumsy, I'm accident prone. [Stewart]

Kitty was observing all the books on the shelf, noting most were covered in dust. People don’t usually go further than the books they need for their studies, but Kitty always enjoyed a little bit of extra reading. Running her fingers along the spins of the books she took a deep breath enjoying their scent. Musty pages always offered a comforting feeling, and books never ask more of Kitty then to be heard.  The brunette swiveled around and then proceeded back along the shelf; this time actually taking note of the titles. They were all quite obscure but the sans serif font and golden text makes them all seem legitimate anyway.

Three quarters of the way down the shelf she stopped at a book. Why I Din’t Die When the Augurey Cried, by Gulliver Pokeby. She opened the book and started flipping through. After reading a few paragraphs it became clear this book was about a bird by the name of the Irish Augurey. The myth followed this idea that hearing the cry of said bird was a warning about death, however instead it just cried when it was about to rain. Kitty shut the book and scoffed. Sometimes books were kept in the back for good reason.  The slid it back into its place on the shelf, where it would likely stay for a very, very, very long time.

She heard a jingle from the front of the shop signifying someone had just entered. Curious she popped her out of the side of the aisle to see who it was. Upon discovering the mystery shopper a smile lit up her face. There were not many who would have that effect on her but Stewart Ackerly always made her feel happy, and more like a girl; an idea that Kitty wrestled with in her mind. She had always secretly had a crush on her fellow Ravenclaw but was definitely not going to tell. Especially since Kitty had always assumed he would end up with someone else, someone who would be way more interesting than herself. 

She moved around the aisle and went to put her hand up to wave when suddenly she felt her hand hit something. She quickly turned her head to see what was there but it was too late. A pile of books that were neatly organised on the desk behind her began tumbling down, each one smacking the ground. Oh god, oh gods run, run away right now. Kitty you are so dumb why did you do that?!? She looked up bitting her lip, an anxious look across her face. “I’m so sorry, I was just waving to ..uhmm… my friend over there and I .. I’m so sorry” She was fumbling over her words, frozen with fear. She shop assistant looked horribly upset and began making her way to the mess. Kitty looked over at Stewart and waved reluctantly. “Uhm… Hey Stewart”

He was running out of books to read, and while it might of been the case that Stewart was doing some last minute shopping for the school term for school books - he really did that a few days after he got his school supply list. So he was already on top of his game in that regard. But no, the ravenclaw ran out of books in general to read. The summer was just that comfortable that he read his collection. He also visited friends, or attempted to anyway but they seemed to be busy when he wasn't and he would be almost finished with a book when they were free.

He entered the bookstore with a pocket full of money expecting to find a nice book, or maybe two, or three, or five. It wasn't like his father was against him buying so many books, it made their extra bedroom that they called their library seem more full. He'd read the books again too. The little bell on the top of the door caught his attention like it always did when he entered stores that had them. He knew how the whole contraption worked, from the metal bracket that held the bell in place to the bell being just low enough for the pendulum with a string inside of it to hit the door.

He closed the door watching it go before his amusement was interrupted by loud sounds that were books tumbling off of something, turning his head toward the noise out of habit. Someone was a little clumsy today weren't they? He watched the assistant become annoyed and upset, heading towards the fallen books. That's when Stewart found Kitty to be the one at fault. "Hello Kitty," the boy smiled, walking closer and bent down to pick up a few books while the assistant scrambled to collect the rest. "It happens," he stated, tapping the collection he placed back on the table, "the books." It actually was a common thing, "you'd be surprised." He was sure the assistant would agree with him one way or another.

"So," he trailed momentarily, "how was your summer?" That's what everyone asked didn't they? Seemed like something he should ask too in some way. "Looking for books?" They were in a bookstore. Seemed obvious.

Kitty was mortified at what she had done, but Stewart seemed to be pretty cool about the whole thing. He started helping the assistant pick up the books, whilst going on about how she shouldn't be embarrassed before finally asking her about her summer. The brunette was a little embarrassed to say what she had done, because looking back on it she didn't do very much at all. Sitting at her mother’s café in the back with a novel almost every day only interrupted by her mother’s calls for help when it became busy. She did catch up with a few people she supposed, but it mostly them just talked about their summers while she ate or drank. To be perfectly honest though, that was usually the height of her social interactions.

“I have been doing a lot of work for my uhm my mum” she laughed. “But you know the café isn't always busy so I have been hitting the books” She signified ‘hitting the books’ by knocking on the book pile nearest her, but that only caused the small pile to fall again. They thumped down to the ground, one hitting the hand of the shop attendant before making one final bang.

It was all getting worse and worse. “How was yours … your summer I mean” She smiled, but her brow was furrowed and her cheeks were bright pink. It was clear she was very embarrassed. She bent down to pick up another book and placed in on the table. Oh why? Why do I do this? “Uhm maybe do you want to tell me away from these piles of books, they are tempting the clumsier side of me” She let out an airy laugh and held out her hand to lead him to a different area  further back in the store. Pull back your hand! But it is too late, what if he takes it and you pull away.  Just don’t over think it. She looked up from her hand and bit her lip through a half smile. Stewart was so normal, Kitty just felt plain stupid. 

Stewart wasn't sure if hitting the books was a pun of some kind but he momentarily smiled out of the thought that she was being a bit literal today tossing the books again onto the ground. He was thankful that he wasn't all too clumsy today, though he understood his fellow Ravenclaw when it came to that sort of thing. Luckily he was calm today and in a decent mood to not let it bother him and that someone else was having a rough day. Though really he wouldn't want her to have a rough day anyway. Seemed to be the case though. He blinked when the final book landed on the ground. For a moment he debated on whether or not to pick up the books again. Decided not to if she was going to continue to knock them on the floor.

So her summer was spent helping her mother. That sounded like a nice kind of summer. Doing stuff. Stewart didn't do much, so when she asked about his summer the first thing he did was shrug. The girl in front of him was turning pink - probably due to the attention of the falling books. It made sense to Stewart in that way and was alright with moving away from the table and any sort of bookshelf. "That's fine." He stated without much thought. It might be a good idea anyway. Because who knew, maybe he'd be next to knock books on the ground. The sixteen year old never knew sometimes. His mother always said it was because he was growing and his clumsy lankiness was due to that.

She stuck out her hand and the boy froze for a moment wondering what that meant. In an awkward silence he took her hand and shook it, providing a quick hand shake before letting go. It was an odd time for something like that wasn't it? The social norm was to shake hands upon greeting. At least he thought it was. Then again he did say hello to her in some fashion. The logic of it all was screwy to him. He found himself a little confused for a moment. Clearing his throat he tossed his head to the side to state there was a spot in the store that was away from the books.

"My summer wasn't special," he shrugged again walking to the spot he saw before turning around to face her, "just the same old things really. Reading, friends, occasionally talk a walk around London when time permits..." he trailed off to silence wondering if his summer was more boring because he said it out loud. "Did you get a letter?" That was vague. "I mean that there was a Prefect position open and I know they were sending out letters to fill it. I got mine so I would assume a Ravenclaw female would get one as well," as she was a Ravenclaw, and female. On top of that he was sure she did well academically too. A good candidate for the position.


{{ So sorry. he's normally this awkward... and apologies for the super mega wait... <333}}

Kitty was relieved by the events of Stewart’s break. She wasn't only one who hadn't done anything particularly notable. She relaxed and felt the flush in her face subdue. She let he regular smile show. She hoped he would forgive the oh-so-embarrassing events that occurred just minutes before. It had turned out that Stewart was in fact the other Ravenclaw prefect. Kitty would be lying to herself if she said she wouldn't enjoy the extra time with him, but she would never let anyone know. She may confide in Freya, but even that would be a stretch. Kitty was just happy to have him as a friend, and as a friend he would take a more leading role in the social aspects of being a prefect.

Kitty wasn't kidding herself, she was quite intelligent. She didn't believe that she was wrong for the role. In fact she was proud of her new title and wouldn't trade it for all the pumpkin pasties in Diagon Alley, but that doesn't change the fact she was more awkward than a cat at a canine party. While the brunette didn't mind her anxiety, she it had only recently dawned on her that she needed to be able to socialize just a bit better.

Kitty was going to give social a try, she swallowed her fear and uttered the best attempt at an invitation she could. “So I was going to go get something to drink at my mum’s café… would you like to join me? To talk about all things prefect, drinks on me.” Her face remained unflushed.  “If you are busy though, I totally understand.” They fear of rejection was high and Kitty was focusing all her energy on stopping the blood from rushing to her cheeks. The brunette smiled with both her mouth and eyes. Now she just had to wait for a reply.