disclaimer: i do not own anything you're reading about, not mary, not gray, not mineral town.
Sighing, she slid her book on livestock back into it's spot on the main floor's bookshelf. It was four – half an hour to closing. A sad smile over her lips, she figured he wouldn't be coming today. Out the window, she could see snow swirling about and piling itself against and on top of buildings. Heaving another sigh, she returned to the front desk. Wind whistled in the kinks in the wooden walls and made her shiver with cold – she had no jacket, only the sleeves of her dress. She scolded herself for forgetting such an item in the middle of Mineral Town's harsh winter.
Rubbing her arms in hope to warm them up, she took to staring at the stationary door. She knew he wouldn't be coming. It was four twenty, now, there was no way he would make it in ten minutes even if he wanted to. There was no smile marking her face, now, not even a sad one, only a melancholy look of forlorn. She wasn't sure why she had started expecting him every day; it was a silly expectation – who came to the library every day? Still, she couldn't help but be disappointed that he hadn't showed.
Her eyes, which had fallen to the stray papers on her desk, shot up to the door as the quiet noise of the knob turning sounded. Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked to see who was there. It was silly for the little noise to evoke such hope in her, but she stared at the door, waiting to see if he had actually come anyways. The door creaked and let in a blast of super-chilled air along with flakes of snow. A head poked in the doorway. It was him.
His cheeks were rosy from the cold, as was his nose and ears, and the brim of his hat held a little mound of snow. His sandy hair was wet and plastered to his neck and forehead, his blue eyes looking straight to her's through the wet locks. Neither of them wished to break the silence, it was getting cold, though.
"Uh, h-hello Mary," he said, his voice hard to hear over the wind.
She blinked before sheepishly telling him, "H-h-hello, Gray! C-come in!" She couldn't help stuttering over her words as her heart raced.
"I know it's, uh, late, but I...I have a book due," He explained, playing with his fingers and cracking his knuckles.
"N-no, it's fine! Uh, wh-what book d-d-do you have?" She asked, walking around the front desk to meet him.
He pulled the book out of a pocket in his jacket. She smiled shyly and took it from his hands. Her cheeks flamed up as she saw the familiar cover. It was one of the few books she had stuck upstairs that were actually written by her. Her eyes quickly flashed away from him in embarrassment, looking at his feet instead. After a short moment of awkward silence, she turned to put the book away.
She could hear his footsteps behind hers and her heart beat quickened. Stopping at the main floor bookshelf, she slid her book back onto it's spot on the shelf. She let out a happy sigh as he eased his hand on to her shoulder. She turned to face him, her cheeks red and flustered. It was four thirty, closing time, but he had still come.