Temperance; Xavier Thorpe

☆ two ☆

The next morning, Roselyn found herself walking with Wednesday into Fencing class. While the Addams girl has an extreme disdain for colour, wearing a special black uniform instead, Roselyn didn't mind wearing whatever was normal. Sure, the purple stripes on the uniform was atrocious, and the length of the skirt - to which she luckily knew how to hem shorter the night prior - but it wasn't the end of the world for her. She would rather fit in physically with the crowd than cause more insecurities being abnormal. Not that she considered the Addams girl to be in the wrong for making this new lifestyle tailored to her, but Roselyn didn't have the confidence to execute it.

Entering the class, the Aiyers witch trailed behind her roommate. She couldn't help but fiddle with the face guard in her hands, becoming twitchy all of a sudden. She was anxious. Suddenly acutely aware of her every move, Roselyn's eyes flitted around the room, looking for a distraction for her suffocating emotions.

Fortunately for her, Wednesday had challenged Bianca to a fencing match.

Deciding to stand away from the heated match, Roselyn tried to keep her eyes on Wednesday's shoes, trying to follow every slide, step, crouch. A few minutes of intense observation, she realised she couldn't keep up with the Addams girl's movements. At this moment, she realised she forgot her charmed bracelet in her room. It had been enchanted one night to calm her in moments of disarray and despair. She didn't have it.

She felt completely overwhelmed. The students might as well have been vultures by the way they eyed up the new students in the room. Silent gulps of air only sustained her so much; the aura in the atmosphere was suffocating.

Next thing she knew, she was nudged on her upper arm, jolting her gaze upwards to the cause. She didn't realise that during her spaced out moment, Xavier Thorpe had moved closer to her, still angled towards the match everyone was watching. The melting emerald in her eyes met his olive ones, brimming with unshed pools of tears.

Standing quite close, he furrowed his brows slightly at her expression before offering a gentle smile. Roselyn didn't realise she looked so distraught until he frowned, quickly wiping her eyes before reciprocating a watery smile back to him. At the time, she assumed he was being a normal person, just checking up on her. If it weren't for the overwhelming feeling of tension in the room, maybe she wouldn't have been to blind to his compassionate look.

When Xavier looked back towards the fencing match - at the same time Wednesday upped the stakes for a first blood drawn match - his elbow didn't leave Roselyn's arm. It was like a lifebuoy in a torrential storm at sea. It grounded her, whether he meant to let his limb linger on her or not, and she was eternally grateful. She felt the haze clear slightly, less starved for oxygen than before. Perhaps it was the fact someone was there that helped her, or maybe he just had some sort of magic powers.

All she knew was that Xavier Thorpe seemed like a genuine guy. That was enough for her to know that it might be okay at Nevermore.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Entering the Nurse's office just as Wednesday was leaving, Roselyn noticed the asthmatic kid talking to her. She vaguely remembered his name; Rowan. He was telling Wednesday about her being an outcast giving him a run for his money. He seemed odd to Roselyn, not in an awful way, but he had a weird air about him. Not overthinking it all, she left with Wednesday.

As the girls walked around the outskirts of the building, they heard an odd noise above. Following the onyx-haired girl's gaze, the brunette widened her eyes at the sight of a statue moving off the infrastructure. Noticing Wednesday's fixation, Roselyn tugged her arm in alarm.

"Wednesday!" She tugged her sleeve hard enough to yank her out of the way, the girl's balance failing at she fell back out of the way. Roselyn assumed she was out of the way, but it didn't stop the sudden tackle she received from a large body as the gargoyle hit the ground. A jagged huff was all she could let out, winded from the sudden contact. The person apologised profusely, the sudden weight of their large body provoking wheezes from the 5'2 girl.