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"You're looking for something, let me help."

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I DIDN'T HAVE a particular destination in mind as I kept my eyes low trying to block out the low whispering and subtle pointing people were throwing my way.

See to them they thought they were being discrete but when you've been the "quiet girl' all your life who just sits in a corner and observes every little thing, it didn't feel like they were even trying to hide it all.

I hated to play the part of the victim and if I was strong enough, maybe one day I would decline that role but it was hard to not feel like one when for the hundredth time in my life, all the attention was put exclusively on me and I was kind of finding it hard to breathe.

I had long lost both Claire and David as I swerved through the crowd, my feet moving along of their own accord as I tried to put everything into perspective.

How I went from not existing to being thrust into the limelight was pathetic.

The one thing Gravis had told me to do was the one thing I had failed over and over.

As much as I did kind of loathed both Harvest and Lucas for putting me in this position, I blamed myself the most for blindly inserting them into my life.

Yes, in the roundabout of things it all circled down to me.

If I hadn't followed Harvest down that gloomy path into the restricted Area I would have never been chosen as a leviathan-
and if I hadn't gotten lost in the maze I wouldn't have had to spend that evening with Lucas and suddenly start existing to him and then, of course, yesterday would have never happened and I would be the exact person I had been all my life.

Invisible.

It sounded pathetic even in my mind, but that was who I was, and liked it.

I liked being alone with my thoughts daydreaming of what it would be like to be someone else when in reality I knew it was just a fantasy, one that I didn't want to change into a reality because evidently, I couldn't manage it.

Yep, I couldn't handle the mere stares and the fingers being pointed my way and I didn't even want to think of Daya

I breathed out, turning a corner and pressing my back against the wall momentarily staring straight ahead to the other side of the hallway, my hand to my stomach feeling a tiny bit wobbly.

No one was in this hallway this time, but the familiar large wooden doors were wide open and my heart settled at the site of it.

Sighing, I pushed off the wall, pulling my bag tighter and treading towards it.

This was the only place I could be right now.

Walking in, I noticed there were fewer people than usual and I figured it was because most people were in classes and the others who were walking around had either ditched or had different classes at different times.

I walked past the front desk moving briskly a little bit worried the librarian would ask why I wasn't in class but she didn't seem to be bothered by it, looking like they didn't pay her enough to care or she simply just did not.

After all, I wasn't the only student here.

I let out a low shallow breath when I came near the bookshelves filled with books as vast as the eye could see in here.

But I would find what I was looking for here.

After all, I had at least one thing that could get my mind off the chaos and the gossip that had already gotten to me.

I needed to understand better everything that Miss Amir was trying to say. I had this feeling in my gut that there was something she had said to me that I had missed.

Deep inside me, I guess I kind of had a hunch, but it horrified me and I didn't want to jump to conclusions until I had gathered as much information as possible.

Biting my lip, I walked through, my eyes trailing over the directional markers that had been strategically posted to guide us through.

I was in Sector AV now, and I couldn't help but wonder how many books could be starting with an AV.

Passing by some girl who was also grabbing a book off that shelf, I found the need to hide lest she might recognize the girl who was currently trending in Kingsland Magazine.

But she didn't seem to even notice me, her eyes too deeply focused on her book, her band gleaming blue.

At least she was distracted. That was well enough too.

I finally made it to the B section but it took me a while to find the exact sector I wanted, feeling a little burned through and I had leased out a thin sheen of sweat, wiping it off with my sleeve carelessly when I finally reached the sector BR.
I huffed at the sight of it.

It was another dark alley type, right after BQ, and once again, I was startled at the number of books that had been displayed.

With a deep huff and a pull at my blackstrap, I walked into the aisle of books, the light bulbs that hang on every other side of the way, illuminating my face.

I looked up at the top shelf of the books that run along endlessly for miles as that sector of the Library probably turned into another sector I was sure.

With a sigh, I dragged the ladder to the beginning of BR- my eyes searching for an O.

It took a good ten minutes to finally reach the BRo section, climbing up the ladder, and leaning against it as my eyes traveled along the spines, searching.

I caught a glimpse of a similar-sounding title to the one I was currently in search of, opening it and quickly looking through.

I was quite disappointed when it wasn't what I was looking for, moving to the next book, and then the next, next, and now I was getting tired, stretching a sore hand and grabbing the next similar book, each starting with the term Brothers, but so far, there were only Greek tales of twins and the cities that fell after.

"Hi," a familiar toned deep voice said, my head spinning towards him.

Lucas Bowne.

He stood there in all his glory, only a few inches shorter than me as I was currently perched on the ladder. My eyes drank him in with no question involved, from the silky hair that tumbled to his shoulders paired with those pretty Hazel eyes to the height of him.

But it only took a moment to take this in, immediately looking away from him. My heart was beating softy with him standing just a few feet away but I had to remind myself that I was not to entertain him anymore.

There was only one way out of this mess and that was if I stayed away from him.

I was never good at being mad in the long run.

But I knew I had to stick this one out if I wanted a normal teen life at Kingsland. I calmly looked back at the book flipping through the chapters although I knew good and well that this was not the book I was skipping classes for.

Well, at least it wasn't part of the reason.

He sighed, one hand on the ladder that I was standing on as he looked up at me. I could see all this through the corner of my eyes as I pretended to read.

He smelled husky like he had just taken a run from somewhere.

Given that Amaroq wolf of his, I'm sure they had been moving fast although his hair didn't seem that out of place.

"I want to apologize for yesterday-" he began his jaw rigid, eyes on me.

My fingers tingled momentarily but I stood my ground not wanting to look at him or hear what he had to say.

I didn't even like that he was this close. What if someone saw us and a new rumor was released?

What would become of me? Me, who shared a room with Daya no less?

I didn't want to repeat it, but Daya was a bit intimidating at times.

"I was angry but I should have never put you on the spot like that- and made all this mess," he began.

I breathed out lowly. I knew the mess he was talking about- the rumors.

But I still didn't want him to be near me at this moment. I had already firmed down the fact that it was in my best interests to never speak to Lucas Bowne again.

"I was just..." he trailed off a short breath escaping his lips, "I just needed a breather and when I saw you there I just- it felt calmer," he paused, his eyebrows drawing together, before looking back up at me, "am I making any sense?"

My ears were catching everything he said and my heart was in this long dramatic pause but my eyes kept to my book.

I couldn't let myself fall for this.

Maybe if he saw that I was very upset he would just leave me alone. I took a seat on the ladder, still not bothering to give him attention.

I didn't know where I had gotten all this bravery from but I guess it was from my survival instincts.

The survival of my silent girl reputation. I sat a few paces up, eyes trailing over the words of a book that didn't make the slightest bit of sense.

Contrary to what I hoped would happen, he huffed, leaning his arms against my ladder, folding them resting his chin,  tall enough that he reached my little perch a few feet off the ground, his eyes stuck to the side of my face with a pout which made me feel more than self-aware.

"C'mon Crazy locks, say something," he hummed, poking my shoulder with his huge hand.

I gritted my teeth to avoid looking at him, still focusing on the book I could not even read.

'C'mon, I'll make it up to you," he added, a smile grazing his teeth when I finally looked up at him.

Curse his pretty face but I wasn't going to fall for it this time.

"I'm busy." I signed solemnly before looking back down at my book.

I felt extra bold after saying this, feeling his smile vanish and my book getting snatched away from me, my eyes widening, turning to him in protest.

"You're busy reading Greek?" he huffed, eyes momentarily trailing over the page before shutting it closed abruptly with one hand.

So that's what it was.

He looked at the cover, "You do know this is a full account of the brothels in Ancient Greece, right?" he asked and my eye widened, hand slapping over my mouth at my foolishness.

He shook his head, with a low chuckle, eyes shining whilst I felt a lot like filth until I started to read his expression.

He was messing with me. Stupid. I let him mess with me again.

I frowned at this and he chuckled handing me the book,

"C'mon don't be mad, I just apologized for the first thing."

I pursed my lips, slipping the book back into its position feeling a little frustrated, and about to get down when he stood in front of me, blocking my way, his arms on either side of the ladder his hazel eyes set on me.

"You're looking for something, let me help." He offered that signature smirk of his dashing across his face.

I folded my arms trying to figure out how to invade this boy. How was I going to get rid of him? Yes, my heart was begging me to listen but my mind knew better. It was time to say goodbye.

Sayanora.

"Fine, I'll cut you a deal," he began eyes still searching my face, "Tell me which book you want to find, and if I don't find it in one minute.." he trailed off his eyebrows arching for a moment as if unsure of his words, "I'll leave and I won't bother you- " he said, the last part a bit softer, " but-' he added, "if I can find it in less than a minute then you'll have to forgive me, and you can't be mad at me. We will just have to be best friends forever and ever, you know,  the full fairytale experience, my little pony, trolls,  type besties," he added, adding movies unnecessarily, his smile widening.

I fought the urge to laugh at his joke.

My lips dipped in an unwanted smile for a second but that's all it took for him to take it as a yes.

I didn't see the problem. I had been looking for the dang book for almost an hour and a half and he wasn't going to find it in a minute that was for sure.

Then I would be rid of him, and though I know I would be saddened for a moment, there were more important things than shallow crushes.

"Great," he grinned, "now just set the timer on your watch and tell me the book you want me to find," he huffed, taking a step away from the ladder with a satisfied sigh, cracking his neck as if he was preparing to run a marathon, his shirt riding up a bit but I wasn't falling for that twice, quickly averting my eyes.

"Well?" he asked, turning to me, cocking an eyebrow.

I signed to him what I knew about the book, well the information I knew I wanted to find out, which was the brotherhood of Kingsland.

I tried my best to pick and choose how exactly to explain the information I was looking for without giving it away.

His eyes narrowed on me momentarily.

"It's a strange thing to want," he finally said slowly, eyes studying my face.

I leaned back momentarily sucking in a breath before a grin formed his face.

"But-" he continued, folding his arms, "the brotherhood of Kingsland- was called the brethren back then, you know old English," he reasoned, taking a step forward and looking at me.

"Start the timer," he began.

I nodded, and I hit it, and in the next second a gust of wind blew right by me.

My eyes widened watching the blurry figure move at lightning speed until hazel eyes captured mine again, standing right before me.

He smirked, his arms leaning over the ladder, handing me the book- my fingers instinctively tapping on the stop button even though my eyes were wide and my mouth hang open.

"Your book," he said with a smirk, handing it over to a still-petrified me. I took it numbly whilst he looked over the ladder glancing at my watch.

"6 seconds," he stated with a firm nod as if congratulating himself. My eyes dropped to my watch, unable to believe all that had happened in 6 seconds.

"I suppose I'm forgiven now?" he grinned, his eyes shining before adding-

"Bestie."

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Well, Talanda has herself a bestie.
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