Damien's Route.
Stacy had barely gone a few minutes parted from the group before Mika returned to her side, a glint in her eyes.
"I forgot to mention that I found some books that might interest you" Mika told her and a look of confusion fell on Stacy's face.
"You mentioned that you wanted more variety for the Book Club tutoring sessions" Mika added, hoping to re-jog her memory and Stacy brightly grinned in understanding.
"Really? That's awesome" Stacy brightly exclaimed, thoughts of the party completely thrown out the window. Mika laughed at her enthusiasm, knowing her friend a little too well.
"Most of them are in English unfortunately. There are some German ones but I'm not sure how useful they'll be" Mika told her but Stacy shook her head.
"Anything will be great" she told her and Mika nodded.
"I set them in the library, they're on the coffee table by the seated window" Mika informed her and Stacy longingly glanced at the stairs which Mika noticed with a grin.
"Go ahead" Mika said making Stacy her way.
"You do realise it's unwise to leave me in a library" Stacy warned her but Mika shrugged.
"Tonight's meant to be a night to enjoy. I'll find you in a few hours' time… I doubt you'll return down here without force" Mika jokingly told her making Stacy embrace her.
"You're the best, I'll catch you later" Stacy almost squealed, quickly leaving her side and heading straight for the stairs. Mika grinned as the woman retreated, turning her head as someone joined her side.
"Looks like you owe me $20 James" she murmured and the man besides her chuckled.
"Looks like I do… who knew a human would choose books over a party" he softly spoke back.
"I can think of a demon who would too" Mika quietly told him and James grinned knowingly.
"Willing to make another bet" Mika asked in curiosity and James smirked in response.
Stacy was in her own little world as she entered the library, a smile remaining on her face as she headed straight for her target. Stacy was a workaholic, she wouldn't lie but the reasoning behind leaving the party for some simple books was close to her heart. She found the books easily, a huge pile of them stacked up and Stacy couldn't help but hum to herself in thankfulness at the wide selection Mika had provided. With that thought she scanned the titles of each book, picking out the simpler books as she took a seat at the window, cracking the first book open with an open mind.
Stacy wasn't sure how much time had passed as the door of the library creaked open, her finger lingering on the last sentence she had read as she looked up. She knew who the newcomer was instantly as he carried in two drinks. From what she knew the males name was Damien, the youngest living in the Anderson household. Mika was brief when describing him to her but the man seemed to reappear as the main topic very often.
"Mika suggested to bring up a drink for you" Damien softly explained and Stacy gently smiled.
"Thank you" she replied, wondering if the man actually knew who she was.
"It's nice to finally put a name to a face, Mika's spoken so much about you. I'm Damien" he continued on confirming Stacy's question as her smile widened.
It was at this moment Damien's eyes settled on the book in Stacy's hands, a small blush forming on her face.
"Mika picked them out for me to help at the Book Club" she quickly explained, knowing that the children's book in her hands may have raised questions. Instead of the usual response of laughter Stacy got when mentioning the Book Club to others Damien's eyes lit up.
"Oh really?" he murmured, his voice light and Stacy nodded, patting the seat beside her. Damien was fast to accept the offer and Stacy dismissed the book she was reading, her finger moving off the sentence as she accepted the drink off him.
"I mostly help children improve their reading" she started to explain, waving a hand to the rest of the pile of books.
"They're all different ages and are at different levels when it comes to their skill" she informed him. Stacy placed her attention back to the book in her hands.
"A new child joined the other week, he was struggling to keep record of what was going on in the story, and I've found that stories with illustrations have been helping him a lot" she told him making Damien stare at the book.
"Do you only help children?" Damien softly asked.
Stacy glanced his way and instantly saw the emotions running on his face. There was a longing there entwined with silent hope and curiosity. She had seen that expression many times over her life, especially when she thought of the Book Club in particular.
"Not really" Stacy said, hoping she understood her current situation. When speaking with Mika about the Book Club she had always been interested in the types of people joining and how the system worked. She had also asked many questions as to the types of people allowed there. With that and the constant topic of Damien soon following afterwards Stacy hoped that she had connected the dots correctly.
"The club does a reading group session for adults in the evenings. They all get given the same book and then read aloud in turns" Stacy told him and she instantly saw the hope die in his eyes.
"We also offer one to one tutoring for adults. Sometimes the older generation feel uncomfortable taking a part in group activities so we offer that for them too. The reader can choose who they want to tutor them and for the most part they can choose the books they read" Stacy continued on making wonder return to Damien's eyes.
"Are you one of the tutors?" he cautiously asked and she nodded, smiling.
"I mostly help the children but I have taken on two adults recently. One has just started learning German while the other simply enjoys being read to" Stacy answered him and Damien frowned.
"They just listen?" he asked her and she nodded.
"They suffer from anxiety and they recently became blind" Stacy honestly said.
"They find it relaxing listening to a story so they come to me twice a week" she added and Damien's face softened.
"That must be nice" he quietly said, a sigh being added to the end of his words.
Stacy couldn't help but wonder what held him back; clearly he wanted to get more involved when it came to reading yet he stopped himself. She could see a red tinge begin to form on his cheeks as she tried to analyse him, his form becoming stiff.
"You sound as if you'd be interested in joining" Stacy carefully mentioned, wondering if she could find out what held him back. It was clear that her words put him in the spotlight, his eyes begging for a way to dismiss the topic. Stacy's face immediately softened, setting the book she held to the side as she pulled out another book.
"Would you like to listen to one of the books?" she offered, trying to approach him another way.
"It would be nice to get a second opinion to if this book is suitable to use" she added on offhandedly but both of them were aware that she used it as an excuse. Damien's whole body relaxed down, accepting her offer with a nod. With a brief smile Stacy opened the chosen book, gently reading the words out loud on the page.
The book she had chosen was an English illustrated book designed for younger children. Damien seemed content with her choice, the pair of them sitting side by side as they both fixed their eyes on the book. Now and again Damien had halted her either asking a question or briefly stating an opinion on something. They had come to the end of the story, Stacy taking a brief sip of her drink once she had finished.
"You're a good reader" Damien softly complimented, his eyes half closed as Stacy sighed.
"Thank you" she politely responded. Damien seemed to scrunch his face for a moment, something Stacy had noticed him doing before asking her opinion on something. Stacy patiently waited for him to speak.
"What were your thoughts on Kerr?" he asked, referring to one of the characters in the story.
"I think he's unique, special" Stacy instantly told him which seemed to gain his interest.
"You don't think of him as a monster?" Damien carefully asked but Stacy shook her head.
"We can't choose what we are when we're born" she told the male with a soft smile.
"Even though he had the ability to harm others he didn't, and he knew accepting the chance to remove it for his own benefit wasn't a good choice. He learnt to control himself and use it for good, protecting the village he lived in" she explained to him which made Damien turn conflicted. Stacy didn't quite understand why he felt that way.
"Would you still think of him the same way if he had hurt someone before?" Damien quietly asked and Stacy pondered for a moment, not giving an instant reply.
"It would depend on if he intended to harm them to begin with… If you can't control something then sometimes you can't help but hurt someone. At the start of the story he wanted to cook the cake but instead he burnt it using his flames. He wanted to do something good" Stacy honestly told him.
Damien smiled at her words but Stacy knew he was overthinking them… for what reason she didn't know. Before the pair could speak another word another voice interrupted them.
"Ah there you two are!" Mika greeted and Stacy widely grinned.
"These books are great" Stacy told her friend.
"Well they must have been to keep you here for so long" Mika jokingly said, Stacy frowned, wondering how much time had truly passed.
"It's three in the morning" Mika told her when noticing her expression causing Stacy to pale.
"Oh god! I have work tomorrow…" Stacy exclaimed, getting to her feet but Mika waved her hands.
"I've already set up the spare bedroom for you and James has agreed to drop you off tomorrow morning on his way to work" Mika explained to her and Stacy relaxed down.
"Are you sure? I can still call a cab…" Stacy unsurely stated but Mika dismissed her words.
"I'm sure Damien can show you the way" Mika suggestively said and Stacy glanced his way, smiling as he knowingly nodded. Mika was quick to bid her goodnight and leave the library.
"I'll take those for you" Damien softly offered as he grabbed the bundle of books and Stacy gave him a word of thanks.
The pair wordlessly headed out of the library and down the corridor, Damien slow in his pace as he led the way. He halted by one of the opened doors, the room displaying a freshly made bed with clean clothes set out for Stacy to use. Carefully Damien set the pile of books on the table just inside the room.
"James usually sets off early in the morning so I'm not sure if I'll see you in the morning" Damien slowly said, almost sad at the thought.
"It's technically morning now so you've already seen me" Stacy joking said, hoping to cheer him up and he chuckled.
"But thank you for keeping me company tonight" Stacy continued on in a more serious tone. Damien bowed his head, stepping out of the room as the pair remained on either side of the doorway.
"I guess this is goodnight" Stacy quietly said after a moment and Damien nodded. Stacy would have closed the door to retire to bed but the expression on Damien's face told her to patiently wait a moment.
"Stacy" he lowly murmured, his cheeks reddening ever so slightly.
"Do… do you have the time to take on another person at the Book Club? I mean if it's not too much trouble…" Damien nervously spoke and Stacy widely smiled.
"Of course I do" she openly said which made Damien awkwardly grin.
"We can keep it one to one if you're more comfortable that way" Stacy suggested which seemed to bring a great deal of relief to the man.
"That would be great" he honestly told her. The pair finally said their farewells as Stacy closed the door to, heading straight for bed. Even though they were separated physically they were not truly parted mentally…
Damien happily sighed to himself as he headed down the stairs, coming face to face with Mika and James.
"Seems like James owes you nothing now" he told the female and James warmly smiled at his youngest brother, looking down at Mika.
"Told you he'd give in and ask her to join" James stated with a smirk that Mika couldn't help but groan to.