Being forced to move so many states away from all that he once knew, Nessa was nervous to tackle his new life. Fortunately, it didn't take long for Nessa to meet a plethora of unique individuals who welcomed him into their lives:
The optimist, the k...
The hallways had already emptied out almost entirely, leaving Nessa with a bit more solidarity in his actions. If the pathways hadn't been so open, he wouldn't have had a clue as to where he was headed. He would have had to ask for directions again.
However, that hadn't been the case, and after wandering down two wrong halls, he finally found himself in the right wing. Spotting the same old door as he had taken note of the last time he was there, Nessa let out a triumphant breath. He was relieved to not have to give up entirely, which was unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence for him.
When he stepped inside, he was met with the vague smell of dust and yellow paper. He liked that smell a lot though, it reminded him of his old school, and the library that had been there. But that one was more used than this one, which always seemed to be nearly empty. Save for a few regulars and the kids who had detention.
The librarian glanced his way, but didn't bother to greet him. He assumed that she simply didn't care, and was probably tired of having to watch over the empty room everyday. Nessa simply ignored her and pressed on. If he recalled correctly, the new books section was straight down the center of the library, against the back wall. But of course, he wasn't sure at all if that was true or not, and he started to wonder if he was going to have to search everywhere for it or—
Nope. There stood just a few paces in front of him, offering a cursory glance over all of the books, stood a very tall Ian. His black hair seemed to have been freshly cropped, just as it always had, and he wore the same sort of outfit that screamed academic perfection. Grey slacks and a black sweater over a white button up.
Nessa took notice of the fact that Ian did not seem very vigilant. Though he was very tall, and appeared fit, he didn't seem to have any awareness for his surroundings. That was what made it so easy for Nessa to sneak up on him. Unlike Venice, who had been ready to kill Nessa before he even made his presence known.
It gave him enough time to take a look at the book that Ian had plucked off of the shelf and was now inspecting more thoroughly. It was titled Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. Nessa hadn't read that one, but he had read the Six of Crows duology. Since he really liked those books, he assumed that that one was good as well.
"She's a good author." Nessa said, and Ian dropped the book as he jumped.
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There was an awkward pause in which Ian just stared dumbfounded, trying to gather his thoughts as he processed how silent Nessa must have been. Ian didn't even have a clue that someone else was right there, staring at him. Or maybe he hadn't been? He didn't know, since he hadn't been paying attention enough to.
He felt his face warm up, and in that brief moment, he was grateful for his dark skin. It wouldn't be very easy to tell that he was blushing. Doing his best to collect himself, he leaned down and picked the book up. The dust jacket was slick in his hands, but he tried to pretend as though it wouldn't be so easy to drop it a second time.
