Clue barely knew his classmate, and indeed said classmate barely knew him, and what was more Clue did not really know how to make friends or reach out — and thus he wasn't equipped to outwardly empathise with Nichols. Perhaps he might one day learn to. But in the meantime, all Clue could do was gaze at him with his cold grey eyes, interested, attentive, quietly sympathetic.

Clue was an oddity, and thus had unconventional ways of doing things. Hence his next suggestion:

"I like to sketch, and draw. Sometimes I don't think before I sketch, and so what I'm feeling is expressed on the parchment. Maybe it would work for you if you tried that. Or some other means of expression... like writing. You could start putting quill to parchment and see what the ink makes of your feelings."

  

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Aleksei chuckled in response to the suggestion. "I already do that - sketching and drawing, I mean - maybe I'll show you one day." If they became friends. Aleksei didn't know what the other boy would make of the fact that they liked to draw a certain sort of person. Or that they had a multitude of sketches of Jason Zakarian, former best friend of Aleksei, in a variety of expressions. Or worse yet, the ones of themself in certain types of attire. But Aleksei did have some not so damning material but Aleksei was also shy when it came to their talents.

  

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aleksei is non-binary. in ooc narrative, aleksei goes by they/them, IC people would percive them as he/him

Clue let his grey eyes linger on the other for a few seconds longer than he might normally, musing on the multiple things it seemed they had in common. One thing was very complex, along the lines of being lost and unwanted. But the other thing was far more tangible — they were artists, both. "Same", he finally replied; though he didn't show his sketches to just anyone.

"I'd better go and pack", he said with a sigh. It being the last day before the Summer holidays, he'd been putting it off; but this strange conversation with Aleksei Nichols had reminded him that time must move forward, no matter how much they desired to change the way things were.

"Maybe see you on the train tomorrow...?" he asked softly as he got to his feet.

  

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Aleksei smiled as the other boy said 'same'. It was always nice to meet a kindred spirit.

"I should probably do the same," Aleksei said with a slightly wrinkle of their nose. They did not mind doing it but it took up time that could be spent doing other, more fun things. "Of course," Aleksei said with a smile as the other boy got to his feet. Another school year had come to a close and soon all the students would be like scattering mice. The graduates had already left the evening before upon the completion of the Coming Out Ball but the rest of them still had the End of Term feast and one more night to go.

  

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aleksei is non-binary. in ooc narrative, aleksei goes by they/them, IC people would percive them as he/him

So perhaps they'd sit together on the train — or at least in the same compartment — and perhaps they'd talk, perhaps they wouldn't. Most of their time would probably be spent reading or sketching or gazing out of the window. Perhaps they'd exchange scarcely more than a few words.

But at least they'd both be there, two quiet teenagers without a cogent identity, existing in the same plane.

-end!-

  

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