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"Did I mention that you tried to kill me?"

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IT TOOK ME a moment to see through the darkness to the tiny lights, but my gaze was first to be trapped in the hazel eyes peering down at me, balanced by a taunting smirk.

"There are easier ways.  I cannot die falling from this height, I assure you. And even if it was possible, there is the mess you'll have to think about," the boy chuckled

I quickly let go of the ladder, stepping back, my eyes wide as the boy descended the ladder. My fingers were shaking; I would like to think it was because of the slight shock.

The boy was about two steps away from landing when he paused, his full face now clearly visible with his intimidating height despite being two steps higher.

My eyes widened as I recognized him. He had light brown hair that tumbled down to his shoulders, a chiseled jaw, and olive skin, paired with curious hazel eyes. One thing ran through my mind at the moment.

I truly was unlucky.

He looked down at me, squinting as if remembering something,

"I know you," he said, one finger in the air pointing at me.

Shoot me now.

He jumped down the last steps, standing in front of me, arms folding and I avoided gaping at his muscles,  a smirk plastered on his face, "Yeah," he grinned, "crazy locks, from yesterday."

My breath hitched.

Crazy locks? Who the heck was that?

He nodded as if I confirmed something, a chuckle escaping his unique features,

"Yeah, that was you. Long white gown, wild hair?" he trailed off, his grin widening, and his eyes gleaming through the poor lighting. "I saw you with Daya yesterday. You're the new girl. The new roommate."

I fought the urge to close my eyes and die. So much for going through my lame form of high school as a normal kid.

Nope, I had been dubbed crazy locks.

I was sure he wasn't the only one who had named me that. My memory flashed back to the group of guys I had seen him with. This couldn't be good.

No Sir. I prayed to whatever force shaped our universe to cut me some slack on this one.

"Lucas Bowne," he introduced, sticking out a hand.

I glanced at it for a second, still out of it, before he cleared his throat. My mouth shaped into an O, reaching out to shake it. He was strangely very warm, and his large hand engulfed mine like an oversized glove.

We shook hands for an awkward second as I realized this was the first time, I had shaken hands with a boy who wasn't a delegate's son or a relative.

Certainly, the first time I shook hands with a boy as good-looking as this, that was for sure. It could be why my fingers still had a slight shake, and why my heart had refused to stop thundering.

He raised an eyebrow, leaning down to my height, as he pulled me gently forward.

"This is the part where you give me your name," he whispered lowly above my ear.

I snapped out of my daze, now realizing the little problem I had. He let go of my hand, and it fell uselessly to my side. I could pull out my notebook and give it to him, but then he would know I couldn't speak, and I would be given that look by the first normal boy I had ever met.

Was that something I wanted? That memory?

Forever?

"I mean I could always read your name tag; I just thought since I had the courtesy of telling you mine, perhaps you would do the same?" he asked yet again.

I pursed my lips still deciding while praying for this awkward moment to disappear and for my heart to stop running marathons inside my body.

"Did I mention that you tried to kill me?..." he trailed off.

He was right about that. I sucked in a breath, pulling out my notebook and pen. I could feel his pretty eyes on me, which made my handwriting come out a bit wobbly and honestly just sloppy.

I almost jotted down my real surname for a moment before rubbing it off and starting a new one. I always considered myself a shy girl, but I never thought how true those words were, especially when standing in front of what one would call a 'hot boy'.

I passed the book over to him, watching his expression as he glanced through it. He peaked at me from above it before glancing back at the two words. My eyes sagged to the floor, taking a nervous breath out.

I took a brave peek at him as he handed me the book, but I didn't see it. I didn't see the look.

His face remained curious, glancing at my name tag,

"Mute," he stated, "and red?" he nodded, blowing imaginary air away, "probably for the best."

My eyebrows furrowed at this statement. I didn't think it was a very nice thing to say.

I mean, how was being mute probably for the best? However, I recall Daya saying the same thing. It seemed to have a deeper meaning. It had to, why else would he say something so mean? I

was about ready to bolt out of there when he did something surprising.

"So... what are you doing here, besides trying to kill me-" he signed, "T-a-l-a-n-d-a?"

He frowned, leaning back, folding his arms,

"Did I spell it well? Talanda," he repeated, using his words, "did I say it right?"

A genuine smile involuntarily spread on my features, my hands rising as I slowly replied,

"H-how... did you know how to sign?"

He shrugged,

"My gran's deaf. She grew tired of always writing stuff down when trying to speak to me, so she grabbed me by the ear one time and made me learn," he grinned, joking when he added, "So you see, I simply had no choice. You never do with gran."

His smile was so pretty.

'My hands," he continued, lifting one of his large hands, "are not built for fast hanging motion," he chuckled, "I struggle sometimes, but I understand it."

That was good enough in my opinion. My smile was now permanently edged on my face. It seemed too good to be true. Good-looking, can sign, and super nice?

I might not be as bad with boys as I thought.

My mind flashed back to the awkward ZA situation before and reminded me I was not exactly brilliant with them either.

"So what book are you looking for? I assume that's why you wanted the ladder?" Lucas asked. I lifted my hands to sign but paused. Hesitating for a moment.

He chuckled, "Go ahead, just be a little slow."

"Criptus," I spelled out. It took him a second to follow and read my gestures before his eyes lit up, moving up to my face, "Criptus, the second earth." He rephrased with a sharp grin, "I take it you just took your Origins class, the intro.'

I nodded eagerly.

"Teacher?"

"Mr. Ogustus," I signed. He raised an eyebrow, then nodded with a knowing smirk.

"You know him?" I managed to ask, trying to overcome the last bit of shyness.

He hummed in a neutral line,

"You could say that." He moved along the shelf, pulling the ladder along with ease as I paced beside him, taking in his unique features. I couldn't help it. It was something that came naturally to me.

Even if it was from the side view, I marveled at how unique he was, from the tiny shower of sun-kissed spots that bedazzled his olive skin to his firm jawline and steady shoulder build, perfect for his eyes. His silky curled hair that dropped to his shoulders in a sheet of glossy beauty was just the surface of his description.

"Here," he paused, craning his head upwards, "well there, actually." He corrected. I followed his gaze to the top shelf. It was pretty high up.

"I'll hold up the ladder for you; it might get wobbly the higher you get, especially with your height and lightweight."

I understand what he meant by height; I mean, I know I was a little bit on the shorter side, but weight? Light? Not when food and midnight snacks are your best friend, even if I was blessed with one of those bodies that eat but never change.

I was more than grateful for his offer. I placed my bag and notebook on the floor before beginning my ascension.

"11th row, 4 books to the right," he called after me. I counted as I moved up, a little bit scared. I didn't think I was afraid of heights, but when you're on a short, light piece of wood, nerves tend to kick in.

My breathing became shorter, and I inwardly cursed at my short height.

By the time I reached the 11th row, I just wanted to grab the first book and dabble down. I carefully looked over the covers,

Cringleworld Antics, Critics of the Order, Crypt of the Past Age, Criptus the Second Earth

Bingo.

I grabbed the book, actually surprised it wasn't the only Criptus-named book, and also surprised how accurate Lucas had been on the exact position of the book as if he could see it so clearly. He must have checked it out dozens of times to know where it was exactly.

I looked down at the book. There was a whole section of Criptus books, but this seemed like the intro. Descending the ladder, which was thankfully still held by Lucas.

He offered me a hand down the last steps, and I caught sight of his green band around his wrists as I touched down.

"Got it?" he asked.

I nodded, looking at the book, which seemed quite new, meaning it was written within the last seven years. I opened the cover and came face to face with a blue-inked symbol.

"You can check that book out by the section librarian. If the symbol was red, it means it's probably a rare copy and would not be allowed out of the archives."

I didn't know that. Could have been something that should be written in the rules if you asked me.

He paused, raising an eyebrow,

"You do know the way to the Librarian, right?"

I looked up, scanning for one of those direction symbols, but I couldn't have seen them through the dimly lit aisle. This seemed to amuse him,

"Let's go," he hummed, stretching his hands over his head, allowing me to catch sight of his toned muscles underneath his shirt, even if I didn't intend to. More like an instinct reflex.

"Can't leave you here, might as well leave you in a dark alley," he spoke as if leading a little girl out of a dangerous park.

However, I held no objection. It wasn't as if I surely knew where to go. After all, I'm sure he knew the way. He guided me through the aisle as he talked,

"So, you're Daya's new roommate." he trailed off, his voice lower than it had been before. I nodded.

"Does she-"

'Found you!' someone shrieked. My head spun, and I came face to face with my puffed-up friend. Claire approached us, "I thought I was lost for a second there I-" she trailed off, eyes widening in surprise when she saw I wasn't alone, "Oh...Uh..."

Queue the zombie talk. I frowned, realizing the mistake I made. I should have never told Claire about the boy Daya called Luca because now-

"W-who is this?" she asked with an unsteady shy smile, her arms clasped behind her back.

"Uh...Lucas, Lucas Bowne," he introduced, glancing at me for a second. Claire's jaw dropped, "Luca? The Luca?!" she all but shouted.

Somebody, please tell me what happened to the girl code. It must exist in the real world, right? Scream it to the world, why don't you?

I looked around nervously, avoiding his gaze, just in case he suspected anything.

He hummed, nodding,

"Yeah, some people call me that..." he trailed off, his tone quieter.

Claire glanced from me to him for a couple of seconds, successfully adding to the awkwardness.

"Okay," Lucas began, "Now I need to find my friends," he turned to look down at me, "I think you'll be able to find the librarian now," he glanced over at Claire.

I nodded, being quite able.

"Oh,' he added walking closer to me, he leaned down, whispering something in my ear that caused all my insides to fall apart, melt, and DIE.

I stood there frozen as he chuckled, walking backward with a smirk on his face,

"Don't worry, they were a nice pink." He added, before turning away and disappearing into another aisle.

Claire came closer, glancing at the book in my hand,

"Oh great, you found it! So did I," she said, showing me the book in her hands. She looked at my frozen face, eyes tracing my gaze to the spot where Lucas had disappeared, "Well, isn't he handsome?" She asked, jabbing her elbow into my arm playfully.

My gaze fell back to her silently, panic swishing in each letter I formed over the white pages of my book,

"Do you wear shorts underneath your skirt?"

She looked at me with eyes wide,

"Are you kidding? Always."

Yep, I don't do well with boys.

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I hope you enjoyed the update! Leave a comment on your thoughts on the chapter, vote to boost the book if you're enjoying it! Feel free to leave me a comment or a question on my discord channel, (link in bio)

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