The day I met you

Rushing up to the owlery I ignore Nova's shouts for me, taking the steps two at a time. Once I reach the top i waste no time in finding my cubby seeing my owl Xena waiting patiently for me. Cooing at her I stroke her brown feathers, smoothing them down soothingly for her whilst she nestles into my touch. I wrack my eyes over the cubby, my heart dropping as I realize it is in fact completely empty.

I disappointedly bid goodbye to Xena, turning quickly on my heel trying to ignore the burning behind my eyes. Casting my eyes downwards, I try to make a swift exit not taking notice of anything else happening in the owlery. Carelessly I turn the corner, colliding into an oncoming student painfully. A pair of strong hands shoot out to steady me as I stumble backwards in shock. I gasp, heat rising to my face as embarrassment sets in.

'Oh Merlin, I am so sorry I wasn't looking where I was going an-' I'm cut off suddenly by a hearty laugh coming from the person in front of me. I drag my gaze up my eyes meeting the ones of a fair skinned boy with the most striking hair I have ever seen. Freckles adorned his face and I found myself drawn to look at each one of them. Again I'm snapped out of my thoughts by a cough, the boy in front of me now looking back at me with a teasing brow raised. A blush rises up my neck spreading across my face, I clear my throat and take a step back from the mystery boy.

'Sorry' I mumble out not meeting his gaze.

'And who might you be?' said the boy, his voice ringing with mischief. I open my mouth trying to spit out who I am, but nothing comes out. I stand there like a fool with my mouth hanging slightly open. At this he raises an eyebrow taking a step towards me. 'cat got your tongue?'.

'No' I manage to mumble out weakly, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. He chuckles and the sound reverberates through me, a flutter erupting in my stomach. The boy opens his mouth to speak again but is cut off by Nova shrieking my name. She appears at the arched entrance of the owlery soon after, hunching over taking large lung fulls of air before looking up to speak to me. As starts towards me her gaze snaps to mine ‘Evie, you know I can’t run up those bloody stairs like you can’ she says still out of breath. She quickly notices the boy standing opposite me, her brows immediately furrowing as her stance becomes stiff. ‘Who’s this?’ she says to me not sparing a glance at the boy in question ‘Is he bothering you?’ she asks, jumping to conclusions and directing her body now to the boy opposite me. I quickly hold up my hands in front of me walking forward so that I am more clearly in her sight. ‘Nova I’m fine I bumped into him’ I say as reassuringly as I can manage, stepping forward to link our arms together and gently tug her in the direction of the exit. Before we leave I manage a quick glance over my shoulder only to find the mystery boy staring back at me, a playful smirk resting on his lips.