Team Catradora

7- The Library of Loved Books

A/N 

Why I'm publishing another part again so soon, IDK. But here's another part! I hope you enjoy

Of all the places Adora imagined meeting Catra again, a library wasn't one of them.

Once, Adora and Catra had to read the Giver in class, and Catra returned her copy with burn stains. The teacher asked what happened, but got no answer.

Honestly, Adora didn't know either, and at the time she lived with Catra. Catra never told Adora what happened, and so Adora just assumed that Catra damaged the book because it was boring, and was too embarrassed to say anything about it later.

So, when Catra texted Adora, asking if they wanted to meet at the library, Adora was surprised. She mentioned it to Glimmer, and Glimmer replied, "she worked there; maybe it's not that deep."

Yeah, Adora should have known, but she still couldn't shake the idea of Catra lighting a collection of books on fire.

Adora had never been to this library, even though "The Library of Loved books" was, after all, where Bow's fathers and Bow himself worked. Bow had always implied that he didn't like going there, and Adora, for the most part, minded her business.

But today was different. And as soon as she saw it, she realized how nice the library was. It was quaint, with murals of Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh in the kids' section, and long, willowy trees swooping over the YA corner. Rows and rows of books lined the room, leaving barely enough space for seats.

Every couch and armrests were clearly broken in. They looked soft, and comfortable, with indents from people sitting there so often. Adora resisted the urge to curl up in the teen section and study algebra.

In the center of the room sat computers. A few kids played different shooter games, and even more were in the video game section. For a minute, Adora forgot about Catra and leafed through the titles. Eventually, she found something she was interested in, and presented it to the check-out counter.

At first Bow's dad, Lance, didn't recognize her, but after a moment, he did a double take. "Adora, right? It's so good to see you. Is Bow here too?"

"Actually...no." She shrugged and slid her game towards him. "I just wanted this. Can you get me a library card?"

As she filled out the paperwork she looked all over for Catra. Maybe she was running late. Whatever the reason, Adora tried to shrug it off. She got her library card twenty minutes later and was almost ready to leave when Catra walked in.

Cold air wafted from the outside. Catra was caught up in the wind-her hair was a mess, and she pushed each strand back in place. A duffel bag was draped over her shoulder, so she wasn't looking up when Adora waved.

Adora cleared her throat. "Hey."

"Adora?" Catra startled. "What, are you stalking me?"

"No-well, I mean, yeah, but-"

"Do you know each other?" Lance asked. "This is Bows friend, Adora. They're schoolmates. Adora, this is Catra. Bow's ex-coworker."

Catra's gaze bore through Adora. She didn't bother to answer Lance. "If I knew you'd show up here, I might have done my hair a little nicer."

"We set up a-a-a..." Adora didn't know whether or not to say date, and Catra and Lance were both staring at her. "Thing. Event. Remember?" She held up her phone, as if that would jog her memory. "Meet here, remember?"

"Oh, right." Catra sighed. "I completely forgot. Today's Thursday. Dammit, I'm not even dressed up."

As soon as she said that, Adora chuckled. It was only for a second, because she quickly realized how inappropriate it was. Catra looked more casual than at laser tag, sure, but she was still gorgeous. She wore a large hood, which was about two sizes too big. Still, the black hood looked nice overtop her long skinny jeans. Still, Adora could have sworn she'd seen Catra in those jeans five years ago.