cliché . hq | ✓

I. serendipity

you stroked the books on the bookshelf, feeling the spines and the embossed titles and the different cover materials caress your fingers. the gentle thumps of your heartbeat followed the rhythm of the music blaring in the cozy bookstore.

last christmas by wham! was playing, one of your favourite holiday songs to dance to. you picked up a book from the staff recommendations isle, tapping your finger on the side of the book, following the beat as you read the writings on the cover.

you turned to the back of the book, hoping to find a summary — only to be disappointed by reviews from other book authors. one of them being your least favourite writer. you sighed, putting the book back where it was before.

eyeing the other books on the same rack, you began to go on and on to yourself on how book reviews should be inside the book, and not on the outside. you crouched down to look over the books on the bottom shelf.

you read the titles one by one, your straight face slowly contorting into a disgruntled one as you moved from one book to another. are these really the staff's personal picks? because if they are, then yikes.

"the spanish love deception.. lovely war.. twilight? is this a joke?" you softly snickered, pulling out the classic vampire book. sure, twilight isn't an awful book — neither are most of the books on the shelf — but you haven't seen this thing in the storefronts for ages.

"they just toss whatever bestselling books there are without any research, no surprise twilight's there." you flinched from hearing the sudden voice, causing you to lose balance and leaning on the shelf — which then caused some books on the other side to slip off its spot.

the little incident created a bit of a ruckus, but just a bit. the other customers just went about with their business. you heard a little 'ouch' coming across the bookshelf. impulsively, you stood up and rushed to the source of the wince.

this was probably the worst timing, but my, my, was this person just heavenly. it was probably just you and the idea of those romance book scenarios happening to you someday. was this the day? is this person your gilbert blythe.. but replace the board smacking with falling books? is this really it?

'no, what?' you got your head out off the gutter and picked up the books scattered on the floor, placing them back on the shelf. all of that in a hurry to check up on the poor soul you just unintentionally and possibly saddened. he looked like he was straight out of a fashion magazine, but not too designer — which was nice.

"i am so, so sorry. are you okay? did it hit your head?" you whispered, not wanting to attract any attention whatsoever. you observed him quietly, not knowing what to do at the moment. you just watched as he slowly rubbed his head, his hair gently slipping through his fingers.

"i'm fine, don't worry. it was just a light hit. thankfully it wasn't the corner." he affirmed, trying to lessen your worries. it didn't really work, but the light smile he gave after made you a tad bit relieved. still a lot of guilt, though.

he stood up, in which you quickly mirrored afterwards, the twilight book still in your hand. does this mean his offer to lend a hand was rejected? without the offer even being given? was he already in the friend-zone without him even knowing who she is?

the silence was growing a bit too loud for neither of the parties liking. last christmas was already fading out, followed by a random holiday themed tune. 'i should really say something.' you both thought, but only he listened.

"are you going to buy that?" he said, pointing to the book you were currently holding.

"oh no, i have the whole set at home." you awkwardly responded. "this is just.. here for some reason." you breathed out a light chuckle at the end of your sentence, then the silence swept in once more.