5

Aidan

I sit patiently in the library for the girl from the gardens and hope she arrives. I have no idea what happened back there. What she read, it touched me. It was like no drug I have ever had and I want more. There was something about her too. She was mysterious and cunning but not in a bad way. The kind of person I didn't feel weird crying in front of. Why did I cry? That's not like me.

I keep glancing from the door to the clock, hoping and praying she'll come. I catch her sweet voice laughing in the corridor. As she rounds the corner her head is tipped back and her gorgeous lips parted in a huge smile as she laughs. She waves goodbye to whoever she's talking too and enters the room.

Even in this light she is stunning. Her golden tanned skin glows in the dingy library lights. Her light brown hair with sun kissed streaks and one pink strip is pulled into a braid and I want nothing more than to just know her name. I lock onto her navy blue eyes.

"Ready?" She asks and I can't help the smile that spreads across my face.

___________________

Danika

Aidan looks almost relieved to see me as I leave a chatty Samantha to enter the library. His dusty blond hair looked ragged and his chocolate eyes met my almost Navy ones and he watches me the whole time I walk towards him.

"Ready?" I say with a small smile gracing my lips. His face splits into a massive grin.

"Lead the way." He says and grabs his bag off of the desk.

We walk through the huge dusty old library and I duck into the dystopian isle. That's always a good place to start seeing as he liked the one I read to him so much. I dump my bag on the floor and read through the shelf while pulling books out and mumble as I go.

‘Even a book can be dangerous in the wrong hands.’

‘Ignite.’

‘Hell is empty and all the devils are here.’

‘You’ll make bad choices. Sometimes you’ll choose the best of bad ones.’

‘Tuesday is Fucked.’

‘Everything’s a game. And now it’s your turn.’

I have a stack of about 10 books before I abruptly stop.

"Next isle." I say and we walk up and down the library isles. I climb and jump to get books off of shelves and Aidan has to catch me a couple of times when I fell.

We eventually sit at one of the nooks in the grande room. It's small and cozy with 2 big chairs and a large desk between them. We spread books out on the desk and floor around us.

"Anything catch your eye?" I ask him as he stares down at the collection. He looks up at me bewildered.

"How do you choose? How do you know which ones will make you escape, make you feel?" He asks with something in his voice I can't quite identify.

"You don't know." I say with a slight chuckle in my voice. "Just pick one."

I watch idle as he sifts through all the books until he picks one. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Maas.

"That is one of my favourite books. Although I might just be biased because I love her writing." I lean back in the chair with a satisfied look on my face.

"What makes you love someone's writing?" He sits back in his chair and looks at me curiously.

"I don't know." I shrug and look at the books around me. "Anyone can write but it takes a special kind of person to just have a way with words. Authors are the second best people to have the touch with words." I trace my fingers along the cover of Shatter Me by Tahera Mafi.

"Who's the first?" Aidan asks. I snap my head up to look at him.

"Song writers. There is nothing that can make you feel as much as the perfect song." I give him a small smile and continue tracing the book.

"Who's your favorite writer?" He genuinely asks.

"Where to begin?" I know a sparkle has appeared in my eye.