Found Souls

Peter

I laced my arm through hers as we walked around the school.

If felt good. Natural. Like I'm meant to have my arm in hers, like it has happened before.

She shows me all the rooms in the school, we only skip one. She says it was just abandoned. I make a note to myself to come back there one day.

When we get to a large wooden door at the end of the hall she removes her arm from mine. I don't like feeling it leave, the warmth of her body abandoning me.

I don't know if she realized she had her arm in mine the whole tour. At first I tensed at the touch, noticing her in full. But after a while I didn't realize her touching me. She was there, like it was how it's supposed to be.

She shuffles in the her shorts. "There." She says pulling out an old iron key. She inserts into the door.

"Hold up," I say looking at her. "how did you get a key to this room?"

She grins mischievously, "Not just this room my young padawan. Every room in the school. It's a skeleton key."

I stare at her in amazement. "How?" I say speechless.

"I took it off the janitors ring my first year here."

"You? Little miss perfect, stole a key?"

She starts turning the handle, pushing herself against the door. "Would little miss perfect offer you a tour of the school past curfew?"

"You're right. You're as interesting as I suspected you to be goldilocks."

"I know." She winks and opens up the door.

She steps inside arms outstretched, smile just as wide.

I look around the room as I step in, a 4 floor library with books in spot. Dark furniture placed strategically near the corners of the room.

I try to smile at the books, I know this was special to her, but I couldn't bring myself to look excited.

But as soon as I look at her, her eyes wide, her smile wider. I'm happy, and I'm smiling just as wide as she is.

She looks at me and laughs. "You don't have to fake your smile. I know you aren't interested in the books. But come here." She grabs my hand, an electric charge flows through me.

No, not an electric charge. A large wave, rolling over me.

She pulls me to farthest right corner of the library, "Look!" She says excitedly.

I look over the section. "Theatre." I say pulling out Anthony and Cleopatra.

"Yea, after what I walked in on in the theatre, you're amazing." I hope she can't see me blush in the dim light. "I hope, maybe, you would like these books. Then you can join me for lunch in here." She looks up at me smiling.

I clear my throat, trying to let my flirty, confident side come through. It isn't working. "Thanks, Annalise. That's really nice, maybe I'll take you up on your offer about lunch. About the theatre thing, can you keep that to yourself? Don't really wanna parade I'm a giant theatre geek around."

She laughs, "Sure as long as you keep it to yourself that I stole key."

"Of course." I say smiling.

We sit down on the carpet next to the shelves. I read my Shakespearean play, as she reads her sci-fi novel.

I look at her, the dim light casting shadows onto her picturesque frame.

I look at the ponytail in her hair, I'm not sure what comes over me but I move my hand to her hair.

She looks up from her book, eyeing me with concern. I move a finger through her ponytail letting her golden locks fall around her face.