Chapter 8:
Audrey set her alarm for 4:30 this morning and she was exhausted. She kept replaying her kiss with Killian all night and she couldn't fall asleep. Whenever she thinks about it a small smile appears on her lips. She quickly gets dressed and puts on a slight amount of make-up before heading downstairs. Today was Monday which meant that the library opened a half hour earlier than usual in case anyone wanted to drop off their items before going to work or school. She looked at the notices on her desk, mostly just small fixes that needed attention throughout the library. She decided she was thankful for one thing of Rumplestilskin, she never had to pay a bill. Belle told him he couldn't let me pay for anything. It was the one perk he gave her. She sighed; it was time to open again. When she opened a whole rush of people came in to return their materials. Once everyone piled out she went back to the main desk to work on getting a few computers for the library. They only had the one at the main desk and she thought it would be a good idea to get some in case some people wanted to find their own materials instead of asking her or Belle. It was fairly slow the whole morning before Belle came in because most people were at school or their jobs and it gave her time to shop for computers.
"Hey Audrey, how are you today?" asks Belle with a smile.
"I'm fine, how are you?" she asks politely.
"Good."
"I was wondering if you could watch the library for an hour this afternoon during lunch while I visit Killian at the station."
"I would, but it could get busy with it being lunch and all and I don't think I'm quite ready to handle a big crowd by myself yet." She tells her.
"Of course not, I'll just call Killian and tell him I'll see him tonight."
"Audrey, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be seeing him. He has been dangerous in the past." She warns her friend.
"Thanks for looking out for me, but I'll be okay. I'll be down in a second," she says as she dials the numbers into the phone.
"Sheriff's department," says David into the line.
"Hey David, how are you?"
"Audrey, fine. How are you?"
"Good. Is Killian there? I'd like to speak to him."
"Sure, hold on." David passes the phone off to the pirate.
"Audrey? Everything okay, love?"
"Yes, everything is fine. I can't come down to lunch today. Belle doesn't feel comfortable being here alone. I can come over tonight or Emma and Neal could come over and we can do a double date."
"Alright, yeah that sounds good. I'll let them know. I'll see you later Darling."
"You as well Jones," she says into the receiver.
"Well, what did Audrey want?" asks David.
"She can't do lunch here today. I think I'll surprise her by bringing lunch to the library. I know she won't take a break if there's too much to do. Do you guys mind?"
"Not at all," Emma assures him.
"Did you and Neal want to come over tonight? Audrey and I have been watching this show called The Office on Netflix, it's quite funny."
"Sure, six work?"
"Fine," he replies. They get a call from Ruby, Grumpy was trying to drive drunk again. That was the only incident for the day. Around noon he picks up two pieces of pizza for lunch and some breadsticks before heading to the library.
When he arrived, she was concentrating on the computer too much to see him come in. He walked straight up to her and whispered 'boo' in her ear. She jumped a mile.
"Killian, what are you doing here?"
"I thought since you couldn't come to my work, I'd come to yours."
"That's sweet. Belle, we'll be upstairs, if it gets busy call me down, okay?" They walk into her apartment and it's gotten a little messier since he'd last been up. Her clothes and books were strewn along the apartment.
"Sorry about the mess, I haven't had time to clean it lately."
"It's fine, do you want me to help you clean up?" he asked her kindly.
"No, I got it. Here," she takes off the books from the couch and puts them on her coffee table. They get out the pizza and breadsticks and dig into their lunch.
"Is it busy today?" Killian asked her.
"Well not a lot of people coming into the library, but I've been trying to order computers and make sure everything can be great for the library. What about you? How was your day?"
"Grumpy is in the cell right now," he tells her.
"Oh no! What happened?" she laughed. Grumpy was always the one getting into trouble. Killian launches into his story about arresting Grumpy. She laughed the entire time.
"I should probably get back downstairs. Thank you for bringing me lunch." They lean in and give each other a kiss. Like last time, she gets the same feeling of protection and safety. When she gets back downstairs, Belle looked frantic.
"Oh thank God you're here Audrey. I don't know what to do. How do you check out more than ten items? You have to do something with more than ten, right?"
"Here, I'll check out the books, you can make sure that the books are on the right shelves." They go their separate ways and work more. At four Belle leaves and Audrey waits until five until she closes the building. Tonight, the library's not as messy. She gets done cleaning around five-thirty and puts on her coat to walk to Killian's.
She knocks on the door when she gets to her boyfriend's apartment. When he opens the door is whole face lights up.
"Come in, Emma and Neal will be here soon." She walks in and he helps her take off her coat. "Do you know how to make popcorn? I've been trying to figure it out."
"Probably not, but let's take a look." They walk into his kitchen and she looks at the popcorn. "We will need oil, a pot, and a lid," she lists off at him. He grabs the items and she makes use of them. "Okay, set the burner on high, throw some oil into the pot, and put in the kernels," she mumbles to herself. Killian gets out of her way and goes to put on the show in the living room. When he comes back the kitchen is flooded with the aroma of salt and butter.
"Audrey, it smells amazing!"
"Thank you, I hope I did okay." She smiles softly.
"I'm sure it's wonderful. I think I hear Emma and Neal at the door. Come on," they walk to the front door and let in their friends.
"Hi Emma, Neal; how are you?" Audrey asks sweetly.
"We're fine. How are you guys?" Neal asks.
"Good, mate. Audrey made popcorn. Come on in." They settle on the couch while Killian brings out the bowl of popcorn. They put on The Office and laugh. She liked these nights; where she was with her friends and happy. She was getting tired and finally decided to head back to her apartment.
"Good bye guys! I should get going; I have an early day tomorrow." She tells them.
"Oh, I wish you could stay, maybe next weekend you and I can have a girl's night; manicures and facemasks. What do you think?" asks Emma.
"It sounds like a lot of fun. I can't wait." She tells Emma. She hugs Emma and Neal and Killian pecks her on her cheek.
"Call if you need anything, alright love?"
"Of course; see you soon."
She walks into the library and sees a note on the computer monitor. When she gets closer she sees Belle's handwriting:
Audrey,
I couldn't figure out how to order the computers. Could you please finish ordering them for me, please? Also, I can't come in tomorrow. Rumple and I have a previous engagement. Thank you so much. You truly are a best friend a girl could have.
Belle
She reread the note three times before the anger set in. She tried to be understanding, but this was ludicrous. Finally she turned on the computer and got on the website. She easily figured out how to buy the computers and just closed the internet when she fell asleep.
*The Next Day*
"Henry, what are you doing here?" asks Emma when she sees her kid at the police station.
"I went to the library to return my books and I saw Audrey asleep on her desk. I hope she's okay. Could you and Hook wake her up please?" Emma saw the pleading look in his eyes.
"Sure, kid. Let me call Hook and have Belle give me spare key. It'll be okay, you go to school and I'll let you know when she's awake." He nods her head and leaves the building. She quickly makes a call to Hook and walks over to Rumplestilskin's pawn shop to get the extra key. Hook sounded quite frantic when she told him. She could tell he truly cared about her. They decided to meet at the library and by the time she got there Hook was already waiting.
"It'll be okay Killian. She looked pretty tired last night." All he could do was nod. She quickly unlocked the library and they both went inside. Hook immediately went to Audrey's side and slightly shook her.
"Audrey, sweetheart, wake up," whispers Killian.
"Hmm…" moans Audrey. Her eyes flutter open and she sits up straight. "Ow," she says as she rubs her sore neck. "Did I fall asleep at my desk?"
"Afraid you did, darling. What were you doing at your desk so late?"
She rubs her sleepy eyes as she answers, "Belle couldn't figure out how to order the computers so I ordered them last night."
"Come on, let's get you upstairs to bed," he tells her.
"Mmm… I can't. The library is supposed to be open already." She stands up and gives one more yawn before unlocking the library. "Could you stay here for a second while I change?"
"Audrey, come on. You're exhausted. Go upstairs and take a nap."
"I honestly would love to, but who would watch the library?"
"Emma can." Hook responded.
"What?" Emma asked. "Oh, sure Audrey; Dad can watch the station. Go and get some rest."
"Are you sure? Thank you!" Audrey gives Emma a hug. "You're such a good friend."
"Thank you, so are you. Go and get some rest." She nods her head. Killian holds her hand and they walk into her apartment. They walk into her bedroom and she lies on her bed. He covers her in her blanket and kisses her forehead.
"Sweet dreams Audrey," Killian said to her. She mumbles something incoherently. He lies down next to her and strokes her hair until her breathing slows. "Belle's overworking you sweetheart. You're going to work yourself to death soon."
