Chapter Text
the library was busier than usual for a tuesday afternoon. desks were filled everywhere you looked, which made it a miracle that you were able to find a table tucked away in the quiet back corner of the second floor. you sat there with various books and notes laid around you messily: you’d never understand how some of those people were able to keep themselves so organized, but you knew that you liked having everything in front of you, and by everything you meant everything. instead of having to open a new book and flip to a page whenever you needed to find something, it would already be laid out in front of you. as long as you didn’t disturb anyone else’s peace, you figured it was okay.
but, while you were so concerned about keeping the peace for others, you didn’t comprehend the possibility that someone could come along and disturb yours.
“can i sit here?”
your eyes widened at the sound of a hushed voice, and you looked up from your notes to find a boy. he seemed about your age— sophomore year— and he had a kind yet somewhat awkward smile on his face. dirty blond hair parted to rest on the tops of his cheekbones, framing blue eyes that seemed to stare into your soul. they seemed like they meant no harm, though.
“um…” you hesitated, but he cut you off.
“sorry. i know i don’t know you but you looked like you would be the least pissed if i asked you, so…”
in your head, you'd been trying desperately to come up with different ways to turn him away, however something inside you clicked as he said that and you decided not to. you’d give this kid a pass for being creative.
“fair enough. yeah, you can sit here, as long as you're fine with me taking up most of your space.”
“that’s fine. i only have this book, anyway.” he held it up to show you how small it was before reclining against the back of his chair, thumbing through the pages. you returned to your studying, scrawling notes to yourself in the corners of your textbook pages, until you realized…
“shit.”
the boy looked at you curiously.
“what’s wrong?”
you buried your face in your hands as you looked down at the book. “i’ve been taking notes in the book i borrowed instead of my own.”
“oh.”
you groaned and retrieved your eraser as you went back to the very beginning of the reading and began erasing the notes you’d tediously taken earlier.
out of your peripheral, you could see the boy setting his book down. you figured you ought to ask his name so you wouldn’t have to keep referring to him as some rando in your head.
“what class are you studying for, anyway?” he asked, resting his chin on his palm as he glanced over your barely legible notes.
“chemistry.”
“ah.”
you glanced up at him before looking back at the pages of your textbook, dusting the eraser crumbs off the paper and onto the table.
“what’s your name?”
“leon. you?”
you told him yours and he nodded his head to the side.
“i like that name.”
“thanks, i guess.” you answered in the most nonchalant voice you could muster. that was the first time you’d heard that in a while, and if you hadn’t stopped yourself, he probably could’ve caught you blushing.
you looked at him again, and then at the skinny book that he’d set down on the table. “what are you studying?”
his eyebrows raised. “oh, i’m not studying right now… this is just a book i thought looked interesting. i’m a police cadet at the training academy.”
“lucky bastard.” you sighed as you erased the last remaining note, leaving the library’s book spotless as if you hadn’t just spent three hours annotating it. “are you a sophomore too?”
he nodded. as you closed the book, you allowed yourself to look at him a little longer. you didn’t really realize it fully earlier, but he was quite good looking, almost in the kind of way where he was aware of it but didn’t try to use it to his advantage or anything. those damn blue eyes, you thought. he looked like he could easily be one of those heartthrob musicians or movie stars that middle school girls would keep posters of in their lockers.
he met eyes with you again and cocked an eyebrow. “what are you staring at?”
“your shirt,” you lied with a smirk, “there’s a stain right there on your collar.”
while you did lie about the focus of your stare, you weren’t lying about the stain. it had been your backup the entire time, because you knew well to be prepared with an excuse if it looked like you were staring at someone. there was a small brown speck right on the neck of his shirt, a single taint to the pure white color yet one that you couldn’t ignore as soon as you noticed it.
“are you kidding me…” he whined as he looked down to find it. in his moment of fuss, you were able to conceal a small smile to yourself as you dipped your head down and went back to note taking.
usually, you’d hate when people distracted you like he was right now, especially if you were trying to be productive, but he seemed to be an exception that you didn’t really mind for some reason. you couldn’t even find a reason to justify him to yourself, yet you ignored that. hours went by and the sun outside the library window cast a colorful light show across the study tables as the sun set. it was dark when you snapped out of your academic frenzy, a thick pile of note papers and complete worksheets evidence of your hard work. however, among the pages in your peripheral, some blond strands of hair were resting atop them… as your eyes drifted up, you noticed leon was asleep, head laid flat with his cheek pressed to the desk, his arms crossed in front of him. he was just barely not laying on top of one of your books, which allowed you to grab it quietly without having to rouse him from his slumber.
you smiled to yourself as you gazed at his sleeping form. it was unlikely that you’d run into him again, especially with him being a police cadet, but you entertained the thought of a second chance in your mind. hell, if only he was awake, you might have even asked him for his number. alas, he was not, and it was time for you to leave or else you'd miss the last bus home. with that, you hoisted your backpack onto your back, took one last glimpse at him, and then left.