5-8-19
The eyes glared at her through the small gap in the shelf that she created – a hand larger than her own reaching for the very same book she had just taken down. The book thief's eyes stared into her own, making her realize how beautiful the color brown could be. The dark chocolate melted into an inky black in the lighting, and she suddenly found it hard to breathe.
"That's my book." He glanced down to the empty space where the book used to be on the shelf, and then back at her as he spoke, his voice a deep rumble – a growl, really – that shook her to her very core.
Too bad his unruly attitude didn't match his beautiful appearance.
Swallowing the stupid feeling of nervousness, she retorted in just as snappy of a voice.
"One, I don't see your name on it." He glared at her with those stupidly beautiful eyes, and she glared back just as harshly, putting effort into growling just as he had. "And two, this is a library. You can't claim the books, unless you check them out, I suppose. And-" She picked up her bag, beginning to walk away – "This is my favorite book, so I intend to check it out."
She heard his soft footsteps follow her as she made her way to the checkout counter, but decided to ignore him.
She gently placed the book – along with a pile of others – onto the counter, smiling at the librarian who was already busy scanning the books.
"You have so many books, why do you need that one, too?" The voice behind her was soft, not at all like earlier, and she turned her head to see the book thief, as she expected.
So he was as persistent as he was rude, huh? Well, she knew just how to deal with guys like him.
She loosed a sigh in exasperation, and turned around fully to face him. "Look, I've had an awful week, and I just want to settle in with some of my favorite books for the little time that I'm allowed to not be an adult. I'd appreciate it if you'd just leave me alone."
She had worked a nine-hour shift everyday of the week, and if there was anything that could piss her off, it was working. It was always fine at the beginning of the day, but over time, all of the rude people make it nearly impossible to be in a decent mood. And now a whole week's worth of rage was bottled up in her tiny body, and she just needed to dive into a world where people understood her.
She didn't need anyone as long as she had books.
"Ah, right." His cheeks turned a light crimson, and he looked down as he brought his large hand up to rub the back of his neck, exposing a softer side of himself than he had shown just minutes ago. "It's just… I've also had a kind of bad week. And I was really looking forward to reading that book to get my mind off of it." He gestured gently to the book that was now in the librarians hands. "That book means a lot to me… It has for awhile."
She looked at the pile of books already scanned, and then glanced up at the now sheepish man standing in front of her, and sighed again. "… Alright."
"What?" He looked up in surprise.
She took the book from the librarians' hands, giving him an apologetic look, and then handed it off to the handsome thief. "You win, you can check it out this time. But you better have it in on time."
"O-of course!" He smiled at her, and her heart faltered for a moment. He really was beautiful, especially when he wasn't being rude.
Scanning her card, she began stuffing
books into her bag. Before walking out, she turned to him and returned a small smile back.
"You better enjoy that book, I'm looking forward to reading it again when you return it." The door opened, the small bell atop it ringing lightly, and with that, she strode into the warm spring day awaiting outside.