Out of nowhere (Ella)

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Paperwork was the worst part of Milan’s job. Not only did it interfere with doing more interesting stuff throughout the day, it also took way too long to get one file done. Perhaps the fact that he dreaded it made it feel like that though. Anyhow, his partial solution was to take care of it at night when he had no other matters to take care of. Tonight was no different. Like usual Doodle, his Bernese Mountain dog, rested next to the table he was seated at. Milan had permission to bring him along, not wanting to leave him alone at home, as long as it was okay with others and no incidents happened. He never tried it during the day though, mainly because he had never informed about that.

With a little groan, the man leaned back in his seat and rubbed at his face before blue eyes drifted down to the animal who seemed to really have to force himself to lift his head, only to rest it down upon his paws again upon getting the confirmation that his owner was okay. ”I’m going to stretch my legs,” he mused. Not that any reaction came from the canine though. He probably couldn’t care less as long as he could continue to sleep.

Not wanting to lose some time, however, Milan plucked the file and a pen from the table to take it with him. And then, instead of using the door, he simply stepped into the shadow on a wall as if it were nothing. He actually planned to reappear outside, but his focus must have been too much on the papers in his hand that he ended up in the corridor of the student rooms. Or, well, he was about to end up there. The second Milan stepped out of the shadows, he stupidly enough bumped into someone and in turn dropped the file in his hands, shattering the pages effortlessly over the floor. A quick but muttered curse filled the hallway… before he recovered within that same second and realized that another person was involved. It made him tear his gaze away from his stuff on the floor. ”I’m so sorry. You okay?”

Luckily it was not a student out of bed. Instead eyes landed on a familiar face… but it didn’t make him feel any less stupid. ”I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere.” The guy chuckled.

[Ella Robbinson]

No matter what time it was at night, there were always people moving about in the dorms. Sometimes it was an unfortunate drunk student trying to stumble back into the dorm. Other times it was someone trying to sneak into someone else's room - invited or not. She often opted not to pull them up on things like that, because there seemed to be no real point. But every so often Ella made a point of walking through the halls, usually to confiscate the abnormally high amount of alcohol certain students were getting past security lately.

Tonight however, things were quiet. And that was a good thing, for the most part. It just got a little creepy at night.

Not long after she turned the corner, Ella was suddenly bumped into out of the blue. An short, sharp sequel left her mouth as she stumbled forward, thankful that she didn't lose her footing completely. She took a short moment or so to catch her breath. "I'm okay, really." She reassured him, tucking her hair behind her ear. When Ella turned around, she saw a familiar face and breathed a short sigh of relief. If it were anyone else, she'd feel a little more embarrassed.

"No no, it's fine." Ella breathed, leaning down to help pick up his files, "Sorry for... Screaming so embarrassingly. You just scared me, that's all." And as if things couldn't get worse, the surprise had given her a nose bleed.

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Milan felt stupid… and like he had ended up in one of those classic situations that came back in movies, except that he was the guy dropping his stuff. When Ella leaned down, he was quick to do the same, not wanting her to feel obligated to help him with this. She shouldn’t even be putting any effort in this for it was his own stupid fault. As his hand reached for the last paper, the recruiter chuckled. ”So, how many students have heard you scream so far? Unless they are way less subtle about sneaking up to you.” Of course he was joking. It had been everything but his intention to scare her like this. Still though, the question remained. Surely she must have screamed before.

When he straightened up again, the man thankfully took the rest of the file from Ella and decently faced her. It was at that point that he noticed the nose bleed… and of course immediately linked it to the situation, positive he must have bumped into her the wrong way. ”Oh god, you…-“ He gestured at her nose and then at his own to try and get the point across before quickly reaching into the pocket of his jeans. He did tug a handkerchief out, but he seemed to realize it had been used already and was just as quick to shove it away again while mumbling something along the line of, ”can’t give you that one.” An embarrassed chuckle joined in.

”Maybe a piece of paper?” Slightly concerned, he even considered tearing a corner off of a page. Milan had never had a nose bleed before… but he knew people tended to tuck paper tissues or cotton or something in their nose. Maybe this wouldn’t be such suggestion after all? It did sound kind of ridiculous though.

[Ella Robbinson]

Ella was quick to help him retrieve the idle papers from his files. When he reached for the last of them, she handed the rest over with an apologetic smile. Sure, he'd crashed into her, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel bad about what happened. "Hey! Wandering the halls at night alone is..." Her voice trailed away. She really didn't want to say that sometimes it scared her. That'd make her the worst candidate for her job ever. "We aren't all used to shadows, okay?" Ella added, laughing quietly to herself. She really was thankful for his light hearted nature.

When she stood up again, Ella stared at him a little curiously when he rambled something. Her eyebrows furrowed; she what? When he pointed to her nose, her eyes widened a little. "Oh, uh..." She pressed a hand to her forehead and shook it slightly. As if this couldn't get any more embarrassing! Ella tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling, conveniently using the angle to hide the light shade of red that coloured her cheeks.

She was a hemokinetic! She was supposed to be able to control blushing and nosebleeds!

"No no, I'm assuming those files are more important than this." She offered, cupping her hands around her nose. "It'll stop, I promise. It's... It's A power thing." For now, she supposed the best thing was to try and what... Act casual? While staring at the ceiling and cupping her nose like an idiot? "What're you doing here so late?" Ella asked, trying to mask the painfully awkward way she was feeling by acting casual.

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Milan was not one to judge. It made sense that the young woman was scared while roaming the dark hallways. Didn’t most women share that same trait? ”Wandering the halls at night alone is scary.” He ended up finishing the sentence for her after an excuse had been thrown his way. It sounded logical though; he needed the shadows to make his power useful. ”No worries.” He continued with light Irish accent. ”It can be our secret. And if it helps, shadows sometimes scare me as well. At least you can’t get stuck in them.” A warm smile was offered to Ella while he shook the papers neatly together again.

The recruiter did feel bad for Ella. But it also amused and soothed him some that at least she was trying to keep this conversation as normal as possible. Still, it was not fair to let her feel embarrassed like this. ”It is important… but I wouldn’t call it more important.” So without a second thought, he did rip a piece of the first page of the file, holding it out for her. In the meanwhile he replied, almost as if it was a casual situation at hand. ”And I’m handing out pieces of files, obviously.” A lighthearted chuckle left his lips. ”No, I was actually stretching my legs before trying to catch up with all the paperwork. It’s not something I like to waste my time on during the day…”

He slightly dipped his head to the side to observe her. ”So, um, is it working? Is it a side effect from your ability?”

[Ella Robbinson]

A nervous laugh fell from the hemokinetic's mouth as he finished her sentence. Yeah, he was right, but she didn't want to admit it so easily. "You got me." She replied, offering a faint smile. A little fear of the hallways at night wasn't enough to deter her from the job, thankfully. She was surprised to hear his admittance, and truthfully, she was glad not to be the only one - even if their fears stemmed from different things. "It does help. Really." She was hopeful that he'd understand where she was coming from.

"You're too nice." She said honestly. The nosebleeds were an unfortunate side effect to have to get used to, and she'd been having them for years now. But that didn't make them any less embarrassing. It didn't help that Milan is and always was painfully stunning to look at. Of all people for this to happen in front of... When she realised what he was doing, Ella rumbled with a free hand to try and find his, catching the small piece of paper between her fingers. She tentatively pressed it against the blood underneath her nose, using her attuned ability to slowly let it soak into the torn off corner. "You Recruiters. It's like more than half your job is paperwork." And it made her glad she wasn't one.

Ella laughed a little nervously when she noticed he was moving. "Ah, yeah... It happens sometimes." She admitted, nodding her head slightly before coming to a realisation; "Don't blame yourself, though! It's probably a coincidence." That was a bit of a lie... She knew it was because he'd scared her.

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Milan felt glad that his words, even though they were placed into a completely different context, seemed to be a relief to the young woman. It brought a smile to his lips; an empathic one since he could tell that she didn’t feel that much at ease yet. He did make sure to guide his hand to the one searching for the piece of paper and then let it hang by his side again. Chuckling, he made an attempt at a joke. ”At least you took a bit of that paperwork off my hands.” Being a recruiter wasn’t bad though. Sure, it came with a file for every student brought to Hammel, but the gratitude and satisfaction coming from the job definitely did compensate for that less pleasant part. Besides, he could afford catching up on it at night. He didn’t have any other responsibilities other than Doodle. And the dog tended to come with him around this hour.

For a second his gaze lingered on the small piece of paper that exchanged its white color for a red one. Then it drifted ahead, taking in her beauty for as far as that was possible with her head tilted backwards. He actually thought that her discomfort was cute in a way, but at the same time he felt bad for even viewing it in such light.

”Oh? So it is not my fault?” Of course Ella’s words had clearly reached his ears, but Milan knew well enough that his sudden appearance had been the cause for that nosebleed. ”I should stop pondering on how to make it up to you then.” The recruiter mused with a light teasing tone to his voice, wondering if it was enough to lure her away from that little white lie. It also was a way to possibly spend more time with her, which could be fun since he needed more of a social life to begin with, without having to be too explicit and straightforward about it.

[Ella Robbinson]

Thankfully the process wasn't a long one, and soon enough the blood around her nose was successfully soaked into the small bit of paper she'd received. As she lifted it away, she crumpled it between her fingers to be rid of it and the embarrassment it carried. When she finally lowered her head back to normal again, it was as if it had never happened. And she smiled about that.

She shook her head once, trying her best to reassure him that she didn't blame him, and that it wasn't his fault. "Oh." Ella replied simply at first, but it wasn't long before her mind connected the obvious dots in front of her; "Oh! Well... I was just trying to spare you. It probably was the fright you gave me." She admitted, idly lacing her fingers behind her back and doing her best to finally play along. "So... I'm open to suggestions, Mister Myles."

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Ah, so it was his fault. Milan wanted to make the childish ‘I knew it!’ statement, but Ella probably had caught on to him suspecting it already. Instead a playful smirk settled on his lips while he brought up a hand and patted his finger against them in a thoughtful manner. A couple of ideas were already coming to mind and for some reason he did not feel too eager to share all details with Ella. Not because she would dislike it, but simply because it would ruin multiple surprises and it would be easier for him to read her face and to find out whether she liked that or not.

”Well then, Miss Robbinson, how about we make it a surprise?” Milan smiled before speaking up again. ”I will bring the paper tissues. So all you have to do is tell me when you don’t have the night shift.” A small grin expanded as the Irish man awaited her answer, hoping she could live with not knowing what to expect. By now he did have a general plan in his head.

Of course something else hit him at that point. ”No crazy admirers or stalkers that I have to keep an eye out for, right?” Or, well, another subtle way to make sure Ella was not seeing someone at that point. He rather did not rub someone the wrong way and he did not want to mess up her life by arranging an activity together.

[Ella Robbinson]

Flirting wasn't necessarily a strange concept for the dorm monitor. But flirting with Milan was. It wasn't as if she'd never thought of him that way - look at him, how could she not? - but the sudden thought of a prospective date with him had never really crossed her mind until right at this moment. Curiosity coloured her features when he mentioned keeping it a surprise. She exhaled on a laugh when he offered to bring paper tissues; "That's so considerate of you." Though really, it was. "I'm not working tomorrow night. Is that too soon?" She asked, trying to go through the rest of her schedule in her mind in case it was.

Crazy admirers? Stalkers? Ella resisted the urge to laugh at the mere thought. God no, what about her would be worth stalking? Or even admiring, really. "No no, nothing like that. I promise." She replied. Well, it was a nice way to point out that she was single. "And you? I'll be safe in your company, right?"

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Milan offered a charming smile and a confirming nod. Yes, it was considerate indeed, but it also was the least he could do to make it a pleasant experience for the young woman. As for the possible date, it all worked for him. “No, that sounds great. Not too soon. How does 7PM sound to you?” This actually gave him something to look forward to, and also a motivation to finish most of the files tonight. He could do some catching up on sleep tomorrow around noon before arranging everything for that evening.

Chuckling, the brown-haired recruiter shook her head. ”Nah, you will be safe. All of my crazy admirers and stalkers got restraining orders, so there is absolutely nothing to worry about.” A little wink was given to indicate that he was joking though, hoping she did not take it too seriously.

”So… I probably should go and finish some files, but I see you tomorrow at 7PM? I will pick you up?”[/b]

[Ella Robbinson]

He had enough charm in him to decimate her composure, but Ella tried to maintain it anyway. But she still couldn't completely shake the feeling that he was probably just being nice because he knew he'd scared her. Look at him; he was amazing to look at. And on top of that, he was incredibly kind hearted. Yeah, she was definitely confused as to why he was having much to do with her. "7PM sounds perfect."

Ella replied by breathing a small laugh. "I'm glad! I'm not exactly skilled in the way of fighting off crazy stalkers." And it made her feel comfortable to be able to joke around with him. She was definitely sure he was only joking. She took a short step backwards in the opposite direction and nodded to him.

"Of course! I'll be here." She added with a small wave. Of course she would. She lived at the school. Well, that was embarrassing.

But it was pretty exciting too.