Something wicked this way comes...

<div align=center>He just needed a break.

It had been rare for Oliver to have an off day of this magnitude. He cracked a lot under stress and self wrought anxiety, but this was something different all on its own. Maybe it was puberty? Who knows, but he certainly felt a bit different. He had bouts of mood related issues throughout the day. He was... Angrier, a bit more aggressive. And coming from the meek boy that was a bit of a shocker. But he couldn't help it. Something was wrong. But he couldn't place a finger on it. Ever since that day school was out he had felt funny, and it grew progressively worse. To put it oddly, he felt as if something was unhinging itself inside of him. Something even he couldn't control.

After apologizing formerly to those he had wronged earlier in the day he decided it was best to outright separate himself from other contact to get his mind back on track. Naturally, he figured a good read and a photogenic evening was enough to fix what was ailing him. So the library was to be his sanctum.

Since it was later in the day and from what he knew none of the upper classes were preoccupied with papers, so he was practically in solitude. Good thing too, even by his actions he seemed like he was mentally troubled. While looking on the massive shelves, every so often the boy's body would twitch for half a second before returning to a less jerky state. And every time he would look around to make sure nobody was looking at him. He sighed, looking down. He really wasn't himself today. And it was starting to bog down on him.

Once he had grabbed a book, Oliver clutched it tightly to his chest. Something about alternative female fashion... No wonder why he was concealing it. Now how could he cover this up better? From the corner of his eye he saw another book, this one a thick anthology about dinosaurs. Perfect!

But as he approached it, another had seemingly come out of nowhere around the corner to also take it. Unfortunately for the stranger, they managed to grab it at the same time.

"Uh, excuse me kid, I believe I may have seen this first. You see I really need it an-"

”No. It's mine.” In a low voice Oliver spoke, his mouth pulled in an uncharacteristic grimace. It would be sort of amusing to see the pint sized kid stand his meaningless ground, but by his aura it seemed to be no laughing matter.

"But I-"

”I said no! Find another!” The boy finally barked, his free hand clenched to his side.

The older kid, not wanting to start trouble with the smaller one, began to back away. The coldness in his eyes quickly melted, as his personality flipped again once more. He hugged his other book tighter. ”W-wait! I'm-” Oliver called after him, but the other was gone. ”Sorry...”

Soon, he was left once more. He wasn't even safe here. Maybe he should have called it a night, but he didn't want to make his roommate's life a living hell from his own actions. He lost the will to take the book he had argued for but decided to take it anyway. Maybe it had the answer for what was going on. With a defeated sigh, Oliver slumped to the ground, his young mind overwhelmed. He was tired. He was irritated. He was scared.

But probably most of all, he was hungry. God was he hungry.</div>

<div align=center>For awhile Oliver didn't even notice that just one familiar face was in the library. Good thing too, for if he ended embarrassing himself in front of even more he'd probably go home more upset than he currently was. He just... He just knew there was something wrong. He hadn't had a particularly bad week nor had anyone try to make it so. It was his own behavior that was screwing itself up, and to that Oliver could only blame himself... For whatever reason. He groaned inwardly as he curled his knees to his chest, the mediocre green eyes obscured by thick rimmed glasses almost bloodshot with a combination of pain and a lack of rest. Boy did his head and body ache, both physically and emotionally.

He was lost in his own little world until a familiar face showed up to greet him. Though he normally would put on a pleasant smile and bow with a 'how do you do?', this time Oliver lazily looked at the older girl with quite the unhappy face, only sloppily and poorly covered with a misshapen and empty smile. ”Good day, Alice... Sorry I'm not myself today... I don't mean to be rude, it's just-” His small body suddenly jolted in another tense twitch, but at this point in time he couldn't be bothered with it. ”Thank you for your concern, but it's nothing you can help with. Not unless you're willing to slap my head with a ruler for being a rude person today for no reason. I don't know what's wrong I...” He stopped mid sentence as to pause and think about what was doing on. Another jolt of agony zapped his brain and Oliver quickly grabbed at his hair, a small uncharacteristic growl under his breath. ”I just haven't been myself lately and it's reflected the way I have associated with others. I'd love to talk, I really would, but I don't want to be mean and say something to hurt you...” He stood up suddenly, grabbing his small pile of books. His inner insecurity was clear by how he clutched them to his chest. ”But again, I appreciate the kindness. Maybe I'm just going through changes... Who knows.” Yeah, 'changes' alright. </div>

<div align=center>Despite Alice’s insistences Oliver still couldn’t help but to feel both conflicted and guilty. He wasn’t one to throw tantrums, and when he was usually in a bad mood he was more quiet and distant than anything. But in-your-face aggressive behavior wasn’t something he did. Besides, his scientific side argued that it wasn’t smart for a naturally weak member of the human race that he indeed was to start fights or disturb the peace. For him it was like being a Chihuahua to a Doberman- it simply wasn’t an intelligent move.

”Thank you for understanding.” Oliver thanked graciously, with a brief bow of his head. He knew other kids felt like this sometimes. But Oliver also knew he had been detached from other kids for far too long to know what he should be. A flaw, of course, was a desire for perfection . He liked being modest about his gains but obsessive over his losses. While Alice was being sweet for an almost-stranger, he couldn’t quite say he knew exactly how she felt. He blushed a little, trying to laugh off the situation to show that he appreciated her help. ”Ripping off someone’s head? I wouldn’t say that, haha…” Him? Violent? Heavens no.

”I’m glad you think I’m nice. You seem pretty nice too.” He assured with a small smile, feeling a bit better than before. And yet… Another visible twitch came from the boy’s small body as his mind released yet another wave of agony. He rubbed his face before looking up, weariness clear in his eyes. Yet, he tried to push on. ”Ah… Sorry…” He apologized under his breath, hoping not to deter her away as he did to everyone else earlier. At least if he was going to feel this way he had ought to extract the emotional deterioration from his physical health’s sort. When asked about the book he had obtained he almost instantly flushed, realizing the material he had grabbed wasn’t something he liked to talk about. Luckily, he grabbed a back up book to cover up his other, albeit it being stolen. ”Oh, I just grabbed something about dinosaurs… Just trying to find out more about myself.” He shrugged, flipping through a few pages to see detailed explanations of creatures past. But enough about him.

”What brings you up to the library, A-Alice?” He stuttered again, the smile he was holding becoming progressively weaker.</div>