The library was deserted, and a young man strolled through the aisles, relishing in the solitary peace; he sighed and pushed thick glasses up the bridge of his slender nose, while his violet eyes searched for a book that might catch his attention and distract him from his turmoil.

Eridan Ampora was approaching the end of his university course; he had chosen to disobey his father to instead follow his passion for the arts, a choice that had started in a fit of youthful rebellion with the burning of the pre-approved list of appropriate subjects he had been given.
Of course, it had not been long before he got caught. Eridan was sure that he'd be forced to give his new classes up, and to bow to the demands of his father to pay for his insolence, but instead Eridan had somehow talked his way into reaching a surprising compromise.
In return for being able to stay on his university course, Eridan had to agree to work full-time at his father's business after his graduation.
Back then, Eridan had felt like some kind of master manipulator, and had actually believed that he'd successfully out-smarted Oscar Ampora on the deal of the decade, all because he had opted to take an extended part-time course with one of his dearest friends, and six years of freedom had seemed like a lifetime back then.
But that was five years ago, and now that Eridan was twenty-five years old, he was suddenly feeling the immense weight of expectation looming over him like a gloomy shroud as time marched him unpityingly towards the steep precipice of a cemented future that he himself had been the one to foolishly agree to. It was an existential crisis, and Eridan still held onto the childish hope that he would find some inspiration for a way out of his predicament hidden amongst the pages of the many books he was so nostalgically affectionate for.
Or at the very least, to perhaps find some solace in the distraction while the sands of his time ran out.

As he picked up an old canvas-bound book, Eridan heard the fwump of the heavy doors behind him.
He knew that other patrons were always a possibility, but that didn't stop him from begrudging the fact that his peaceful abode had been invaded; monotonous plodding filled his head, and Eridan grit his teeth as a pair of shoes scuffed and squeaked their way across the floor.

On any other day this would have been fine, but today Eridan was on the search for serendipitous intervention, and the very-much-needed silence was being desecrated by some heavy-footed asshole who apparently couldn't care less about their obnoxious impact on others.
Some people were just so self-obsessed.
Closing his eyes, Eridan gently slid the book he was holding back onto the shelf. It couldn't be helped; he would just have to hope that the intruder would go find a corner to sit quietly in, and cease to be any further bother. But Eridan was never that lucky. Hopes dashed against jagged rocks as he heard them actually talking to the librarian at the front desk, chatting away as though there wasn't a care in the world, but the final insult was when the despicable cretin had the audacity to whistle as he walked through the aisles.
The shrill watery noise wavered as it became louder, and Eridan realised that it wasn't just getting louder, it was getting closer. Eyes snapping open, Eridan finally span around to face his new foe; this destroyer of solitude, this bringer of irritation, this harbinger of havoc, this—

Attractive young man who was stood right behind him with his nose in a rather large book.

Eridan raised an eyebrow as he regarded him; He had a short mess of dark hair that appeared to obey few laws of physics or nature, and was wearing clothes that could only be described as confusingly large which only served to make the young man appear even ganglier than his height and lean frame already did. And then, despite being inside, he was wearing sunglasses?
Worse, he was wearing sunglasses that didn't even shape his face properly.
Eridan's lip pulled up on one side in a disbelieving sneer, but just as he started to ask himself what kind of jackass wears a pair of clunky unfashionable sunglasses inside a library, the realisation hit him like a folded chair to the face.

It wasn't just any jackass.

It was Sollux fucking Captor.

-.-.-

Because of Books was the first fanfiction I ever wrote, and I used to bang out a chapter in an evening after getting in from my second job. I have no idea what it was about Erisol that finally made me crack, and tempt me into dipping my toe into writing, but here I am so many years later thankful to this stupid story for helping me improve so much, artistically.
I was stuck in this suffocatingly stifling existence and wanted to prove to myself that I could create something worth being proud of. I poured so much of my own trauma into it, and I think I wanted to find some beautiful cathartic answer to my heartbreak, maybe to convince myself that I was going through so much shit for a reason.
Then when I dragged myself back from the precipice after finally getting away from a really shitty relationship, and grew as a person… I ended up falling out of the frying pan, and very much into the fire with my next relationship, and because of him I had all of my motivation and interest in any kind of art and every scrap of self-worth burned away to ash.

For the first time in my life since that incredibly destructive time for my mental and physical health, I feel like I'm on top of my own head and finally making sense of all the shit that happened, and dealing with it positively.

Anyway, I wanted to rewrite BoB to reflect the changes I've made, and because honestly, I think I've improved as an author while writing this, and I feel like I can convey what I had once tried to write so long ago so much better.
It's taken years, but I wanted to pay you all back for being with me during the worst and blurst of times, your comments and reviews have always meant so much to me, and are a genuine source of pride. So thank you all for your kindness and excitement.

I hope that I have improved enough to deserve a second read-through of this chunky tome! I'm so genuinely excited for it ( /)u(\ ) there's going to be TONNES of new stuff, and the old bits are going to be both trimmed down and fleshed out! (Things will be the same but different, for example, Eridan will have a different job, and there will be new dates and much more of the side characters relationships, but I'll leave that to be read)

Thank you for reading Because of Books! 3

-.-.-