Interrupted studying

Hearing Arthur say that he got it made Kiku unexpectedly happy. "That's good. You are welcome. I'm glad I could help."

He turned in the first year's direction has he heard him sigh. "Oh, I'm sorry," Kiku said, his voice once again losing it's confidence. "I just took over there, suddenly...I didn't think..."

Was there a problem? Had he offended the younger student? He wasn't sure what to say.

---

Didn't forget you, Neko!

Had he done that out loud? Oh no. Not good. He had offended an elder student. Oh no. Not good.

"Oh-Oh-Oh its okay....really. I was just...oh, no." he squirmed, fiddling with the cover of his book. "I was just worried that....I was bothering you. I am not very good with people so I can never tell."

Arthur smiled and nodded at Kiku. He felt a bit guilty, as he heard the other sigh. He hadn't mean to be rude or anything. He fidgetted a bit with his pen and listened to the other two.

"Oh, no, you weren't bothering me at all!" Kiku told Nekolis, a short, nervous laugh escaping him. "I'm not very good with people, either. I don't usually...talk much..." He trailed off and stared down at his notebook.

The Japanese student sighed. He was so socially inept. He looked at the other two out of the corners of his eyes. Maybe he wasn't alone in being usually alone...if that made any sense.

Nekolis nervously laughed and fidgeted. It seemed like people here were like him, awkward and a bit skittish around other people. "Me...me neither. My brother usually does all the talking....but he's not here. So..um."

He sank into his chair. "Sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

Arthur noticed those two were very alike him. He didn't talk much either and how he hated to admit it, he wasn't very social. He fidgeted with his pen and smiled nervously. "A-ah me neither as well." He scratched the back of his head. Was this a starting of a new awkward friendship?

So he was right. The two others had just admitted to basically being like him. It seemed likely that they had all come to the library right then expecting to be alone, and instead had found each other.

He smiled at them and blushed a bit.

"What are the odds," he wondered aloud, "that all three of us would sit at this same table today?"

Then he looked back down at his paper, embarrassed.

"M-Maybe..it was coincidence?" the freshman interjected quietly. "We all gravitated towards this table because it was quiet."

He looked up at each of the boys and smiled faintly. His cheeks turned a bit red. Quickly, he pulled the book closer to his face.

"M-Maybe we could.....meet here tomorrow....?"

Arthur smiled a bit nervously. "M-maybe...yes." He said nodding, he felt his cheeks turning red as well. He looked at the two boys as he hugged his notebook close to his chest. "A-ah perhaps..." Arthur fidgeted again. "I-I wouldn't mind to meet up again tomorrow." He cheeks reddening as he hugged his notebook closer.

"Ah...un." Kiku nodded and smiled with a faint blush. "Yes, I think that would be fine."

Was it possible that he had just made some more friends? Well...his count still wasn't to the point where he would need more than one hand to count them on his fingers, but it was a start.

And regardless, he sometimes felt kind of lost with the other two. Outgoing and confindent, respectively, and they spent a lot of time alone together.

Had he, perhaps, finally found some friends that would make him feel more like he fit?

Maybe. But, for now, perhaps this moment was enough.

A smile slowly grew on the young boy's face. They wanted to meet with him again. He couldn't help but feel butterflies flutter in his stomach.

"Really?" he asked, doe eyed and hopeful. He was making friends. He really was. First Trang in the hallways and now hopefully Kiku and Arthur had joined the ranks.

This quiet trio of awkward fellows, maybe here he could just be himself. And maybe just maybe, he could grow.

Arthur nodded gently and smiled kindly at Nekolis. "Ah yes." He hugged his notebook tight and felt his cheeks redden.

He was finally making friends and not just annoying people that just drag him along with things, but some people who were a bit like him. Perhaps they weren't so bad. And it was nice to have some friends.

He wondered if the other two thought the same thing.

"Yes, really," he assured the first year.

And now what? He was used to someone knowing what to do...or talking his ear off.

Lacking someone like that, what were they going to do? Just sit there and study, occasionally helping each other, but mostly ignoring? Were they supposed to talk? He had no idea.

Did any of them know?

"T-Thank you" Nekolis blurted out, pulling the book away from his face. "Th-thank you both for being so nice to me."

He smiled faintly and glanced down as his book. "Well, maybe we should study a little bit. Um.....I think."

Arthur smiled gently at Nekolis, with a blush across his face. "You're welcome, a-and t-thank you too." Arthur was pretty stubborn in admitting he liked people and thanking for their kindness, which explained the blush on his face right now.

He nodded. "Yes, perhaps..." Ah yes, studying, suddenly Arthur really didn't feel like that anymore but he didn't know what to say to his friends. Normally they'd just bother him and he continued to act annoyed back, that's what his old friends were like. But these two were just as quiet as him and prefered to be alone as well. It felt a bit awkward, but it was nice to have some new friends.

He played idly with his pencil as he had went back to studying. He was playing with the idea of asking them if they could lunch together some time
, but still had to find the courage to ask them.

"You are welcome," Kiku responded to Nekolis. Then he bowed to each of them in turn. "And as we say in my country - arigato gozaimasu."

He turned back to his books, but occasionally looked at the two other boys out of the corners of his eyes again.

...Had he ever experienced actually wanting to talk to people before? Not that he didn't like talking to the friends he had already, but he never really got the chance to want to.

Nekolis smiled again, looking back at his books. He bit his lip, carefully trying to form the words in his mind. Bunches of questions formed, each one fighting for the chance to escape. What was strange is that this time he actually wanted them to escape.

"Mr. Kiku.....may I ask? Where is your country? I-I'm from Cyprus."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Nekolis-san," Kiku answered, and blushed in embarrassment again, "I am from Japan. What I said means thank you."

Not wanting to leave him out, Kiku turned to Arthur, "You are from an English-speaking country, right?"

He thought he could have guessed which country the boy came from, but it would have been more embarrassing to be wrong.

Arthur looked up from his books. Cyprus, Japan, countries where he'd never went to. The cultures were probably extremely different from the Brittish culture. He wondered what it was like to live in Cyprus or Japan.

He turned to Kiku. "Ah yes, I'm from England." He said nodding. "W-what is it like in your countries?" He asked Kiku and Nekolis curiously.

"England? Like where Big Ben is?" he asked, then blushed. "Sorry, stupid question."

He smiled and flipped his book's page. "Its nothing like here. Its warm and sunny in the summer. Nicosia, the capital is where I was born. Its a large city but its not like what London must be like. Its fun, the people are really nice and when we have family dinners its a real big deal. I like to look at the shops and statues sometimes. There are festivals sometimes and we play football, basketball, and volleyball."

He stopped. "Sorry, I must sound like a tourist ad"

"That sounds nice, Nekolis-san," Kiku commented. He smiled for a moment, thinking that he would have to visit Cyprus sometime.

Then he remembered that he'd been asked as well.

"Ah! I suppose what it's like in Japan varies a lot on where you live, but I am from Tokyo...like many people," he told them. "The metropolitan area of Tokyo is the most populous in the world. And one of the largest. Many, many people live there. It is very hard to be alone unless you are in your own room."

Although, you most certainly could feel all alone, even in the mass of people, he didn't say.

"We have many festivals," he continued. "Most are at shrines. One has a parade. There's also a big fireworks display the last Saturday of July. Oh, and a lot of people view the cherry blossoms when they first bloom in spring, and that's a big event as well.

"As for sports, baseball is the most popular sport in Japan. Soccer is also popular. A lot of people watch Sumo, which is traditional. And also other martial arts like Judo, Karate, and Kendo."

After a brief pause, he blushed again. "I went on for so long, I'm sorry." He bowed his head again as well.

---

OMG, I haven't done a paragraph break in the middle of dialogue in so long. I stared at it for a bit, and was like 'that's right, I don't put the " at the end of the first paragraph if he's just continuing. I almost forgot that.

And oh...he called Association Football "Soccer" around a Brit...heh...but the Japanese for it is obviously adapted from that word (sokkaa). So yeah.

Arthur chuckled. "Yes, where the big ben is. I actually lived in the capital, London." He answered Nekolis.

He then turned to listen to his story. He shook his head. "It's fine, it really sounds like a nice place." He had to admit. England was really different from cyprus, if only England was more sunny like that. He sighed a bit and flipped a page.

Arthur listened to Kiku's story as well. He smiled. "It's okay Kiku, it was nice to hear so much about your country." He told him.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ooc: S-sorry I didn't reply for so long, I'll be more active from now on.

"Wow. I heard there is a big Ferris wheel there too. Have you been on it Mr. Arthur?" he asked, his young mind filling with questions.

He nodded. "Yes, the beaches are really nice to walk along in the spring. The marketplace has a lot of really fun places to shop. We visit my Nana sometimes in her town. Its not as lively as the capital with more farms, but her stew is the best." he grinned, thinking about it.

He turned to Kiku. "Japan sounds so intriguing. It seems so modern compared to my home. But the festivals...thats one thing we have in common. So maybe we are not so different."

He smiled at Arthur. "If I may ask what kind of things did you like to do at home?"

_________________________________________
No worries! Glad you are back!

"Thank you," Kiku told both his new friends. He nodded to Nekolis, thinking about the festivals. Although he supposed their festivals might be quite different.

He listened to the last question asked and waited, looking back at his notebook.

---

Yay! You are back! ^.^

Arthur nodded at Nekolis. "Yes there is, you mean the London Eye, I've been in there several times." Smiling as he thought back about the first time he had ridden that big ferris wheel. "The sight is really amazing."

He titled his head a bit and thought about what he used to do at home. "I'd like to drink tea and read a book and watch the rain fall down." he said a bit fidgitting. "it's nice to do, it makes you feel happy and warm, because your warm and dry inside." Arthur blushed a bit. "It sounds boring, doesn't it?" he played a bit with his pencil.