☆ ⌒ ★ ⌒ ☆ ⌒ ★ ⌒ ☆ ⌒ ★ ⌒ ☆ ⌒ ★ ⌒ ☆ ⌒ ★ ⌒ ☆ Nicholas was pacing nervously outside a Muggle library. “Nich, chill,” his friend, Kai, said to him, growing slightly annoyed with him. “No, you don’t understand, if I mess this up, then it’s all gonna fall out of place! I don’t even know what to say, and if I say something wrong… well, I don’t have anyone else!” Nicholas exclaimed. “Well, you better hurry up before her shift ends, or it won’t //matter// what you say,” Kai pointed out like it was obvious. Which it was. Kai handed him a bag of a mixed assortment of fruits. “I don’t need all of these. Plus, they don’t allow food in libraries,” Nicholas said glumly. “Stop moping around, and hurry up and do it,” Kai said, getting more annoyed. “Hide one of them in your cloak or something.” Nicholas sat down on a nearby bench, entwined his hands together, and thought for a moment, looking at the ground. He sat up straighter, and looked directly at Kai. “Fine. I’ll do it. But if this turns out badly—” “—then you deal with it because it won’t. You know her. She knows you. It won’t turn out badly or whatever,” Kai said, the words reassuring, but it came out stiff. Nicholas took the bag of fruits, grabbed a yellow apple from inside it, stuffed it in a pocket on the inside of his cloak, and stood up. “Good luck,” Kai said nonchalantly to Nicholas, who simply nodded, opened the door, and walked into the library. His first thought of the library was how dimly lit it was. It had a faint scent of wood, the aroma of a slightly burnt fireplace. And so… brown. All different shades, from taupe, rust, and buff. Book among books lined the walls in dark-colored bookshelves. In the back, a small yet cozy corner was occupied with a wooden desk with which the material could perfectly match the bookshelves. A young woman was organizing papers in what looked like a file folder behind the desk in a revolving chair. Nicholas studied her for a moment, then turned away, feigning looking for a book. His put his hands in his pockets, only to remember that he was here for a reason. “Can I help you?” a voice said, and it made him flinch a bit out of surprise. He turned around, to see the girl looking curiously at where he had been supposedly looking for the book. She glanced up at his face, she being a bit shorter than Nicholas, and a glint of recognition gleamed in her eyes. Though it wasn’t the normal type you’d see in most circumstances. It wasn’t a happy, rejoicing one, more of an old sad childhood memory. But she obviously knew how to keep composure, and it went away as suddenly as it has arrived. “No, nothing specific, just… looking,” Nicholas replied. She nodded wordlessly, surveying where he was, her eyes flickering over the selection of books’ titles. /This is so bad. Totally wrong/ he thought to himself. /How do I do this?/ The girl swept her hair behind her ears and Nicholas couldn’t help but glance at her, only for a split second at least. She looked down at the floor like she was embarrassed about something. Looking back up, though facing the bookshelves, she opened her mouth as to say something, but closed it. And did it again. Finally, she muttered a few words. “Aren’t you the guy from school?” she mumbled, but blushed and looked back at the floor like it was a beautiful pot of flowers, eyes glued to it, when she realized what she’d said. “Yeah,” he whispered back, though he wasn’t sure why they were so quiet. “I think so.” She attempted at looking at him, which was mildly difficult with the given situation. Though she did it, and mustered a smile, a true one, a rare, yet true, smile. “Becca, isn’t it?” he breathed, and she nodded. “Yeah, Rebecca, Becca, whatever…. Nicholas, right?” she muttered cautiously. He smiled a little at her as a yes. A goofs fifteen minutes later, they were in full-blown conversation. Becca telling Nicholas how she had gotten a librarian shift, him explaining how his Auror training was going. “Hey, um, do you have anything to have for a snack by any chance?” Becca asked awkwardly. “Er, yeah,” he said back. He pulled out the apple, and an old candy bar. “Oh. Gross, I should throw that away,” he muttered to himself, which made Becca laugh. “The trash can’s over by my desk,” she giggled. He stood up and threw it away, came back and tossed the apple to Becca. But he forgot. /My God…. No/ he thought, the realization dawning on him. /At least it’s out of the way/ He regained his old position, leaning on the bookshelves, trying to act like nothing had happened. Nicholas could tell that she could see through his act. She gaped at the apple, then at Nicholas, then back at the apple, and him again, speechless. She closed her mouth, only to open it again to talk, but, again, close it as she decided against it. “Are you…?” is all she could say. “I mean…” He trailed off, looking at the ground as they had both done many times within the time they had both been in the library. Then her face broke into smile.
( Continued ) She was beaming like he had never seen her do before. “Was this planned?” she asked, but he could pick out the hopefulness in the tone. “Well… yes, but— what?” he said. “Nothing,” she replied, hiding a smile. “Is that a…?” he cued. “Is that a what?” she said, though she made sure Nicholas could tell she was joking. He hesitated. “Is that a yes?” Nicholas asked finally. She nodded and smiled even more, despite his surprise at her response. ☆ ︶ ★ ︶ ☆ ︶ ★ ︶ ☆ ︶ ★ ︶ ☆ ︶ ★ ︶ ☆ ︶ ★ ︶ ☆ **PART TWO COMING SOON, I PROMISE** ITS GREEN COCOA. ITS FINALLY REALLY HAPPENING. I CAN’T BELIEVE MY WRITERS BLOCK LET ME DO THIS. :D I KNOW this isn’t realistic, but WHO CARES?! Thanks so much to @RebbeccaItsRaining for Becca, and @-Nicholas_Green- for Nich Mood board thingy by me ( I wanted to try smth new, so yeah ) Song is Glad You Came ( AGAIN ) by The Wanted Becca would have wanted me to put yeeting apples in here, so I did :) ( if you didn’t know, throwing an apple at someone is a proposal in Greek thingies )