[Deliberately he takes a moment and composes himself, and when he looks back up his expression now is polite and apologetic and perhaps a touch wistful.]

Perhaps you're right. I'm sorry, I'm being very rude, aren't I? At the least, I suppose, the fact that this single trait is one we share might be a comfort.

[Humans always wanted to be unique, almost as much as they wanted to fit into a faceless herd, each striving to outperform each other in their identical individuality. They wanted to stand out, but they did not want to be seen as other. Surely this girl would take comfort, then, in the fact that there was someone else here like her.]

It's always easier when you know someone who can understand, isn't it. School is difficult enough without adding anything more.

[Despite the wording, he speaks it as a statement of fact rather than a question. His eyes stay on hers, because he is an excellent liar and not so experienced as to look away. The expression in them is not nearly as intense as it had been when he had tried to hear her thoughts, uselessly. The itch in the back of his mind remained, still desperate to know if she was taking all this as he hoped she would. How did normal people live like this?]