Fictober 2019 Day 14 - Prompt: Books
Title: Books
Pairing: Nagatsuma Reo / Abe Aran
A/N: Day 14 of the Fictober Challenge I decided to try (here) .
Day 14 - Books
The school library is pretty quiet at this time, after classes. Normally, Reo would skip and go home with his friends, but there’s that stupid assignment that he hates, just like he hates it when there’s homework to do that he can’t finish in half an hour.
So he wanders between the aisles, trying to find the two books that are apparently needed for it, occasionally stopping at random shelves to take a quick look at the books there, never was one to visit this place unless there was a very serious reason.
Eventually, he finds one of the two books, carefully picks it up. It looks old, and a look inside the cover only confirms his suspicion, the year printed on it dating almost two decades ago. It makes Reo raise an eyebrow, wonder for a moment how accurate the information inside will still be, but he shrugs nevertheless; it won’t be his fault, he just picked the book he was told to pick.
He checks the other shelves too, even passes by half of the aisles twice, but he cannot find the second book, and he’s too lazy to go all the way to the other corner of the room to check the information desk. So he decides to just sit down and start his assignment with the book he already has, anyway, can’t study two books at once.
Most of the desks are empty, to his relief, only a couple of them taken. A group of girls is sitting on the one closest to Reo, so he moves away, to the other side, wants as much silence as possible, even though admittedly, they are not noisy. Still, he takes his seat down to the desk next to the one in the corner, where there’s a boy with a short pile of books next to him, writing on his notebook non-stop.
Oh. Him.
Reo knows that guy, he’s the 3rd year all the girls are head over heels for. Abe-kun. He hasn’t heard his name, just that. His eyes linger on him for a little longer, finds more interest in his dark blond hair and his glasses than the pages of the book he’s supposed to study. And then his eyes flicker over to one of the books of the pile.
It’s that book, the second book Reo needs.
He freezes for a moment, then slowly opens his own book and then his bag, taking out his stuff. Next to him, the boy doesn’t even blink, keeps writing, occasionally stopping to check the open book next to him. Reo keeps glancing over at him, feels a pinch of jealousy at how focused he looks. Sure, he seems to be perfect at everything, no wonder he’s so popular…
The boy sits back then, setting his pencil down, and Reo hurries to look back at his own book, grabbing his eraser, realized a little late that he’s not even writing properly with how much he’s staring over. Still, he can’t ignore it when the boy leaves his chair, walking over to the book shelves again.
Reo bites down on his lip, his mind working intensely as he sees the book again. Will it hurt if he borrows it for a while? It’s just one of the books in the pile, it’s not even the one that guy is using right now. He looks over his shoulder; the girls are packing their bags, getting ready to leave. What great timing…
No, he can’t do that, if he wants it that much, he can just ask, can’t he?
But what if he says no? He’s a 3rd year, and Reo is only a 2nd year, he can’t play tricks on his senpai…
And yet he’s already bending over towards the empty desk, still looks left and right while his hands move quickly, to remove the book from the pile. He can even change desks, although that would be too obvious. Heck, he’ll only take a quick look at the book, the guy has at least two more books to go through, anyway…
“What are you doing?”
He’s barely managed to sit back on his seat, and the boy is standing here again, holding a new book against his chest, staring at Reo, half-curiously, half-upset. When did he return? How did Reo miss it? He must have been busy looking towards the other direction…
“I…”
The guy puts the book he’s holding down on the desk, keeps staring at Reo expecting a proper answer. “You took this from my table, didn’t you?”
Well, there’s no way he can deny that, can he? Reo can feel his ears turning red with embarrassment, although something inside him wants to rebel, to protest, to be cheeky with his senpai. But they’re in a library, and he knows he’s the one at fault…
“I need it for my assignment.” He blurts out, pointing at the book. “It won’t take me long, and there’s no copy of it around, and you seem to be really into that one book, anyway, so…so…”
The boy stands completely still for a few moments, enough to scare Reo, make him imagine all the worst case scenarios, screaming at him, throwing him books, anything. His hands do not let go of the book though, although he’s pretty sure his fingers are shaking now. Perhaps he should have stayed with his one book, after all, now he went and got himself into unnecessary trouble.
“Popular Abe-kun” is now next to him, looking down at Reo’s notebook, the title of his assignment. “Oh, that.” He murmurs, recognition in his voice, and Reo blinks up at him, suddenly confused. “Yeah, that book won’t work for this, trust me. It’s misleading. Wait here.”
Huh?
Not like he was planning on going anywhere, but why is he leaving again? It makes Reo feel lost, and disoriented, and he stares down at his assignment, then at his two books. Won’t work? Why won’t it work? He opens the book quickly, flips through the pages, but it’s not like he can find information about what he’s looking like that, anyway. Is the information not accurate? And here he thought he would have to worry about the old book…
“Here.”
He’s back, and he hands him another book, way smaller than the two books on the desk. Reo keeps staring at him, and now the guy tilts his head, stares back at him with a know-it-all look.
“This one is much better for what you have to write. Take a look at chapter 3, and you’re all set. Can I have my book back now?”
Something about his tone leaves Reo very perplexed. He’s soft, but firm, that’s a combination Reo can’t decipher, can’t explain. How is he not mocking him?
Still, he nods, and he watches as the boy retrieves the book Reo grabbed from the pile, casually makes it back to his desk and sits down. There’s something really elegant about him, something that justifies all the hype about him, although Reo is not sure he wants to admit it, especially since he knows nothing about him, other than the fact that he’s popular with everyone and looks like a perfect student, too.
“What’s your name?” he asks, can’t hold it inside, and the boy blinks at him, slowly picking his pencil up again.
“Aran.”
“…I’m Reo.”
Yeah, why would he care?
Aran keeps looking at him, enough for Reo to feel stupid. Yet he doesn’t take his eyes off his face, doesn’t want to back down, not until he gets a reply, good or bad, welcoming or mocking. He’s not less important because a 2nd year, right?
“Good luck with your assignment, Reo.”
And then he goes back to studying, and Reo has no choice, but to do the same.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
He sees him again, the next day, sitting on that very same desk. Reo has arrived a little later, though, and he stops in the middle, before he can sit down on the desk next to Aran’s.
Aran has fallen asleep, one hand on the open book he had been studying, his head resting there. It makes Reo wonder for a moment, if his glasses hurt his temple, because that doesn’t look comfortable to him at all, but Aran seems to be in deep sleep, so maybe not. And a part of him wants to wake him up, but another…
Being in his last year of high school is not an easy task, apparently. Especially if you want those good grades. Something jumps in Reo’s stomach, even though he can’t determine whether it is positive or negative. Would it be stupid if he sat down and did his job without waking Aran up? He probably has cram school to catch up to later…
With a sigh, he approaches him, nudges him gently by the shoulder. “Hey, wake up, I don’t think you’re allowed to drool on these books…”
Not that he actually saw him drooling, but somehow it seems to work on Aran, or maybe it’s just Reo’s hand on his shoulder. He opens his eyes, and he looks tired, makes Reo regret it for a second. Waking him up.
But then he’s slowly stretching, ruffling his hair, and it’s like a complete contrast to yesterday, where he looked all neat and focused. Reo slowly sits down on the desk next to him, opens his own books with a hesitant smile; he’s much more likeable now that Reo knows he can slip as well.
“…was I sleeping?”
He looks at Aran, nods quickly. “Yeah. You can go back to sleep, if you want, I just thought you’d have stuff to do after here, so you wouldn’t want to waste time resting and not writing…”
“No, I…thanks.” Aran says quickly, removing his glasses to rub his temples, and Reo lowers his head, eyes nailed on his own pencil.
“You’re welcome.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
The next morning, he sees him when he makes it to school, just as he’s passing through the gates. Aran notices him as well, actually stops next to him, a faint smile on his face.
“Good morning, Reo.”
He remembered his name?
Reo can’t help but smile back at him now, feeling warm and fuzzy inside. “Good morning! You’re not…your glasses?”
Aran raises an eyebrow in confusion, then smiles. “Oh, these are only for when I study.”
“Ah, I see…”
Then there are some boys a few meters ahead, calling out to Aran, and he waves at them, before he turns to Reo again. “So, see you at the library after school? Something tells me you didn’t finish reading those books.”
Suddenly, Reo feels like he could really marry those books. His smile, he can feel it reaching his ears. Why is he so happy? He’s just popular Aran-senpai.
“Yeah, see you then.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Pairing: Nagatsuma Reo / Abe Aran
A/N: Day 14 of the Fictober Challenge I decided to try (here) .
Day 14 - Books
The school library is pretty quiet at this time, after classes. Normally, Reo would skip and go home with his friends, but there’s that stupid assignment that he hates, just like he hates it when there’s homework to do that he can’t finish in half an hour.
So he wanders between the aisles, trying to find the two books that are apparently needed for it, occasionally stopping at random shelves to take a quick look at the books there, never was one to visit this place unless there was a very serious reason.
Eventually, he finds one of the two books, carefully picks it up. It looks old, and a look inside the cover only confirms his suspicion, the year printed on it dating almost two decades ago. It makes Reo raise an eyebrow, wonder for a moment how accurate the information inside will still be, but he shrugs nevertheless; it won’t be his fault, he just picked the book he was told to pick.
He checks the other shelves too, even passes by half of the aisles twice, but he cannot find the second book, and he’s too lazy to go all the way to the other corner of the room to check the information desk. So he decides to just sit down and start his assignment with the book he already has, anyway, can’t study two books at once.
Most of the desks are empty, to his relief, only a couple of them taken. A group of girls is sitting on the one closest to Reo, so he moves away, to the other side, wants as much silence as possible, even though admittedly, they are not noisy. Still, he takes his seat down to the desk next to the one in the corner, where there’s a boy with a short pile of books next to him, writing on his notebook non-stop.
Oh. Him.
Reo knows that guy, he’s the 3rd year all the girls are head over heels for. Abe-kun. He hasn’t heard his name, just that. His eyes linger on him for a little longer, finds more interest in his dark blond hair and his glasses than the pages of the book he’s supposed to study. And then his eyes flicker over to one of the books of the pile.
It’s that book, the second book Reo needs.
He freezes for a moment, then slowly opens his own book and then his bag, taking out his stuff. Next to him, the boy doesn’t even blink, keeps writing, occasionally stopping to check the open book next to him. Reo keeps glancing over at him, feels a pinch of jealousy at how focused he looks. Sure, he seems to be perfect at everything, no wonder he’s so popular…
The boy sits back then, setting his pencil down, and Reo hurries to look back at his own book, grabbing his eraser, realized a little late that he’s not even writing properly with how much he’s staring over. Still, he can’t ignore it when the boy leaves his chair, walking over to the book shelves again.
Reo bites down on his lip, his mind working intensely as he sees the book again. Will it hurt if he borrows it for a while? It’s just one of the books in the pile, it’s not even the one that guy is using right now. He looks over his shoulder; the girls are packing their bags, getting ready to leave. What great timing…
No, he can’t do that, if he wants it that much, he can just ask, can’t he?
But what if he says no? He’s a 3rd year, and Reo is only a 2nd year, he can’t play tricks on his senpai…
And yet he’s already bending over towards the empty desk, still looks left and right while his hands move quickly, to remove the book from the pile. He can even change desks, although that would be too obvious. Heck, he’ll only take a quick look at the book, the guy has at least two more books to go through, anyway…
“What are you doing?”
He’s barely managed to sit back on his seat, and the boy is standing here again, holding a new book against his chest, staring at Reo, half-curiously, half-upset. When did he return? How did Reo miss it? He must have been busy looking towards the other direction…
“I…”
The guy puts the book he’s holding down on the desk, keeps staring at Reo expecting a proper answer. “You took this from my table, didn’t you?”
Well, there’s no way he can deny that, can he? Reo can feel his ears turning red with embarrassment, although something inside him wants to rebel, to protest, to be cheeky with his senpai. But they’re in a library, and he knows he’s the one at fault…
“I need it for my assignment.” He blurts out, pointing at the book. “It won’t take me long, and there’s no copy of it around, and you seem to be really into that one book, anyway, so…so…”
The boy stands completely still for a few moments, enough to scare Reo, make him imagine all the worst case scenarios, screaming at him, throwing him books, anything. His hands do not let go of the book though, although he’s pretty sure his fingers are shaking now. Perhaps he should have stayed with his one book, after all, now he went and got himself into unnecessary trouble.
“Popular Abe-kun” is now next to him, looking down at Reo’s notebook, the title of his assignment. “Oh, that.” He murmurs, recognition in his voice, and Reo blinks up at him, suddenly confused. “Yeah, that book won’t work for this, trust me. It’s misleading. Wait here.”
Huh?
Not like he was planning on going anywhere, but why is he leaving again? It makes Reo feel lost, and disoriented, and he stares down at his assignment, then at his two books. Won’t work? Why won’t it work? He opens the book quickly, flips through the pages, but it’s not like he can find information about what he’s looking like that, anyway. Is the information not accurate? And here he thought he would have to worry about the old book…
“Here.”
He’s back, and he hands him another book, way smaller than the two books on the desk. Reo keeps staring at him, and now the guy tilts his head, stares back at him with a know-it-all look.
“This one is much better for what you have to write. Take a look at chapter 3, and you’re all set. Can I have my book back now?”
Something about his tone leaves Reo very perplexed. He’s soft, but firm, that’s a combination Reo can’t decipher, can’t explain. How is he not mocking him?
Still, he nods, and he watches as the boy retrieves the book Reo grabbed from the pile, casually makes it back to his desk and sits down. There’s something really elegant about him, something that justifies all the hype about him, although Reo is not sure he wants to admit it, especially since he knows nothing about him, other than the fact that he’s popular with everyone and looks like a perfect student, too.
“What’s your name?” he asks, can’t hold it inside, and the boy blinks at him, slowly picking his pencil up again.
“Aran.”
“…I’m Reo.”
Yeah, why would he care?
Aran keeps looking at him, enough for Reo to feel stupid. Yet he doesn’t take his eyes off his face, doesn’t want to back down, not until he gets a reply, good or bad, welcoming or mocking. He’s not less important because a 2nd year, right?
“Good luck with your assignment, Reo.”
And then he goes back to studying, and Reo has no choice, but to do the same.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
He sees him again, the next day, sitting on that very same desk. Reo has arrived a little later, though, and he stops in the middle, before he can sit down on the desk next to Aran’s.
Aran has fallen asleep, one hand on the open book he had been studying, his head resting there. It makes Reo wonder for a moment, if his glasses hurt his temple, because that doesn’t look comfortable to him at all, but Aran seems to be in deep sleep, so maybe not. And a part of him wants to wake him up, but another…
Being in his last year of high school is not an easy task, apparently. Especially if you want those good grades. Something jumps in Reo’s stomach, even though he can’t determine whether it is positive or negative. Would it be stupid if he sat down and did his job without waking Aran up? He probably has cram school to catch up to later…
With a sigh, he approaches him, nudges him gently by the shoulder. “Hey, wake up, I don’t think you’re allowed to drool on these books…”
Not that he actually saw him drooling, but somehow it seems to work on Aran, or maybe it’s just Reo’s hand on his shoulder. He opens his eyes, and he looks tired, makes Reo regret it for a second. Waking him up.
But then he’s slowly stretching, ruffling his hair, and it’s like a complete contrast to yesterday, where he looked all neat and focused. Reo slowly sits down on the desk next to him, opens his own books with a hesitant smile; he’s much more likeable now that Reo knows he can slip as well.
“…was I sleeping?”
He looks at Aran, nods quickly. “Yeah. You can go back to sleep, if you want, I just thought you’d have stuff to do after here, so you wouldn’t want to waste time resting and not writing…”
“No, I…thanks.” Aran says quickly, removing his glasses to rub his temples, and Reo lowers his head, eyes nailed on his own pencil.
“You’re welcome.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
The next morning, he sees him when he makes it to school, just as he’s passing through the gates. Aran notices him as well, actually stops next to him, a faint smile on his face.
“Good morning, Reo.”
He remembered his name?
Reo can’t help but smile back at him now, feeling warm and fuzzy inside. “Good morning! You’re not…your glasses?”
Aran raises an eyebrow in confusion, then smiles. “Oh, these are only for when I study.”
“Ah, I see…”
Then there are some boys a few meters ahead, calling out to Aran, and he waves at them, before he turns to Reo again. “So, see you at the library after school? Something tells me you didn’t finish reading those books.”
Suddenly, Reo feels like he could really marry those books. His smile, he can feel it reaching his ears. Why is he so happy? He’s just popular Aran-senpai.
“Yeah, see you then.”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..