Friendly Dating - Kira

Chapter 30 - That Place with all those Books

"I don't get it," Ethan says when we enter the library. He's said that at least five times since I told him that this is where Dell and Simon were headed. "Why would people come here on a date? This place only has books."

The wonderful world of the printed word is lost on this guy.

Inside the airconditioned building, he takes my hand and purposefully turns to the right and starts to march past rows of bookshelves towards the stairs set to the right of the library's ground floor. He really seems to know where he's going, which is surprising since this is not his kind of hang-out. I'm not sure where he's taking me because I can see Delia and Simon sitting down at one of the tables near the windows, placing a small pile of books between them.

"Where are we going?" I finally ask the boy dragging me along by the hand, and he gives me a look which is clearly questioning my intelligence.

"To the archive section, obviously," comes the baffling reply.

"Why?"

"Nobody ever uses that section, so people go there to be alone and do stuff... with each other," he clarifies when I just continue to blink at him.

"Dell and Simon didn't come to the library to get all gropy with each other," I shake my head. "That's not what libraries are for!"

"It's not?" he really seems to be surprised to hear that.

"No. Besides, Dell and Simon came here because they want to find books to write their reports on." I laugh at Ethan's appalled face. Yes, people coming to the library to find actual books is apparently something he finds highly offensive. "Don't you remember our English assignment? We need to read a book we've never read before and then write a report on it. I'm going to use The Pirate Who Knows Stuff. Which book are you going to use?"

Ethan blinks at me as though I'm speaking in an unknown language.

"The TV Guide," he finally shrugs, making me giggle softly.

"Well, that is going to be a challenge because the plot sucks, and the characters are all the same."

"Maybe," Ethan nods his head, agreeing with me. "But it has a strong mystery element too; I can never figure out when the shows I'm looking for are going to be on."

To my horror, he suddenly drops to the ground and does a weird roll from the end of the long shelf where we're standing to the next shelf.

"What are you doing?" I hiss, following him... on foot... like a normal person.

"What are you doing?" he echoes. "Deli and Simon are over there by the windows. They'll see you if you just walk around like that."

"I know they're there, and there's a much bigger chance of them seeing us if you're going to act like GI Joe!"

Ethan rises from where he is crouching; his grin is a little sheepish while he glances around, nodding his head in apology to the other library visitors giving us baffled looks.

"I hate this place; it is creeping me out."

"You're the only creepy thing here," I scoff. "Unless you count the books in the paranormal section."

We watch Delia leaning into Simon's shoulder, giggling softly about something he'd said, and now I really feel like a stalker. They've each taken a book from their pile and are studying them with care. They are so sweet and natural together; it causes me to smile fondly. I'm vaguely aware of Ethan making strange snorting sounds next to me, clearly not impressed with what he's seeing.

"We should find you a good book too, while we're here," I suggest, surprised to discover that I'm speaking to the empty space beside me. Ethan has vanished. I don't trust that barbarian on the loose in the library, so I walk along the route I suspect that he might have taken, searching along the isles between the shelves until I find him seated on the floor with his back against one of the many columns between shelf-sections. He is surrounded by items that look suspiciously like books but couldn't possibly be books. Ethan doesn't read if he can avoid doing so.