A Helping Hand

"Oh my...! I'm so sorry... I wasn't paying attention." Roselyn quickly apologized as she moved to help the boy in collecting his books and scrolls.

"It... It is alright... Y-you aren't the only one at fault..." The boy muttered in a small voice as he tried to grab all his stuff and squash them into his arms which seemed to be proving a hard task considering he was being too hectic and the materials were a lot to be carried just in his arms.

"Here, let me help you carry them. There's still time before my class will start." Roselyn offered her help when she noticed the boy struggling. Now, it might sound weird that she was offering help to a shadow bearer but just looking at his fragile and meek self, she couldn't help but feel like helping him. He just gave her the vibe of a student who might get bullied by the stronger ones and the seniors.

"It's... It is alright... I can do... do it on my own..." The boy muttered back in response as he continued grabbing his stuff and adding them to the pile in his arm that was already on the verge of falling all over again. Just as he reached for a scroll that had rolled a little bit farther, it caused him to bent a little more and the books and scrolls in his arm eventually rolled down on the floor.

"Hey!" Roselyn called in a soft voice as she crouched down beside him and reached out for him only to see him recoiling just as her fingers came into contact with his arm. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I just want to help." She quickly apologized while retracting her hand.

The boy finally looked up to face her for the first time and Roselyn got to see his full appearance. He had short sandy brown hair that appeared a little messy as if someone had ruffled them. His skin was white as milk which made her wonder if he was a vampire but she kind of doubted it. 

His eyes were probably his best feature - bright blue with a shine that reminded her of the seas in the Light Realm but there was also a heaviness, fear, and sadness in them which left her surprised. 

Since they were crouching, she couldn't tell exactly how tall he was but he didn't seem to be anywhere near six feet, probably just a couple of inches taller than her. His school uniform consisted of a white shirt and black pants with a red and white striped tie along with a dark red blazer. He undoubtedly belonged to the Shadow Group among the four Academy houses.

"You seem like a newcomer." He commented probably after he was done assessing her just like she did with him. It was the first sentence where he didn't stutter but he still seemed anxious about something.

"Yeah, I'm a first-year student," Roselyn informed him and watched the boy nodding his head before he turned his attention back to the books and scrolls that were scattered on the floor and spoke, "You should stay away from me. I'm the last person you would want to be friends with in this Academy."

Roselyn was both surprised and intrigued by his choice of words but before she could have asked him why he was saying so, her attention was pulled toward a couple of students who were entering a room not too far from where she and the boy were crouching among several scattered books and scrolls.

She took a glance at the boy and then at the books before she let out a sigh and stood up, heading in the direction of the students that she just watched entering a room.

The boy watched her leave and just shook his head before turning his attention back to collecting all the stuff that he needed to bring to the library on the first floor as soon as possible or he would be in great trouble.

He wasn't surprised that the girl actually left him just because he asked her to, she made the right choice by doing so. Being a first-year student, getting into trouble with seniors would be the last thing on her list unless she was actually a troublemaker which he highly doubted considering just how pure she appeared.

He let out another sigh as he kept struggling with adjusting everything in his arms, he definitely needed someone's help to put the items in his arms but the problem was that he had no one to ask for help. Even the students passing through the hallway ignored him like a plague.

The sound of rushed footsteps pulled his attention toward the person heading straight toward him and he was left completely surprised when he saw the same girl with beautiful strawberry blonde hair as she put a carton right in front of him.

"Here, let's put all the books and scrolls in the carton. That way, you can easily carry them." She didn't wait for his response and started collecting the books and arranging them properly in the carton.

The boy was too lost to say or do anything for a couple of moments as he was just too taken aback but then he noticed how quickly the girl had collected most of the books and scrolls on her side and it finally made him move.

He still quickly spared a quick look around the hallway and let out a deep breath of relief when he found the hallway empty except for the two of them. He didn't want the girl to be caught with him and end up in some trouble only because she was too innocent to take his advice seriously.

It barely took them a minute to collect everything and arrange them in the carton and once it was done, the boy quickly bowed to Roselyn in gratitude and picked up the carton. "Thank you for all the help. You should head over to your class now."