Than to Love and be Loved By Me

Was He Always There?

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

The ring of the bell shocked you out of your thoughts, you had zoned out when your English professor started rambling on about their personal life rather than the material.

But then again you didn't pay much attention in class anyways. Grabbing your notebook and various items to stuff in your bag, you felt a hand on your shoulder.

"You dropped something." It was your dear friend Crowe. You'd known him the longest out of your friend group. He was also the one who you had just a slight romantic interest in.

Your ID, it had your name and pronouns on it. It all looked correct to you.

"Oh, thanks. I hadn't noticed it fell out." You thanked him, giving him a sincere smile as you heard a scoff from your right.

"Okay, enough with the flirting. Are you gonna join us for lunch?" Your other friend Britney interjected, your face burned slightly from her remark.

You thought about it for a second, but ultimately decided that the college food cafeteria crowd wasn't calling your name particularly. In fact, you were actually craving maybe a drink in the library cafe might be more appealing.

"Sorry guys, I think I'll skip this time around. I'm gonna head to the library." You said with a smile. Britney clicked her tongue and took the rest of the group with her while Crowe gave you a small smile and left with the rest of them.

The halls were bustling, classes just got out so some people were heading out for the day. Unfortunately for you it was only lunch time, you still had one more class before you could go home and rest.

But your most important mission was to go to the library and relax with a good book and maybe a chai latte to have some sort of sanity so you're at least decently prepared for your next class.

Maneuvering your way through the swarm of students, the warmly lit place finds you. With dust particles visible swimming through the air as light filters into the room through the thin curtains.

The smell of old and new books entices you as you walk in. You were familiar with the library, it was like an old friend of yours that always greeted you with a gentle hug as you ran your fingers along the crevices of the shelves that held thousands of stories, you headed to your spot.

The spot that always had a spot of sunshine, perfect for illuminating the texts and books you read. It never gleamed in your face because you were never there long enough.

Your shoulders were begging to let your backpack rest at the side of a chair while you grabbed a good book, so while you grabbed a book you thought looked interesting, you headed to your lovely spot.

And there was a man.

In your fucking spot.

What??

You had absolutely NOT waited all of that stupid writing and rhetoric class to come here and have your favorite spot taken by this.. Guy!

But, wouldn't it be rude to kick him out even if it was your spot? Maybe you could bribe him with a drink of some sort or just sit next to him in a worse spot than yours..

Nah you wanted your fucking spot.

"Excuse me. You're in my spot." You said with absolute conviction and confidence. Your backpack in hand because it had become too heavy for your shoulders.

You're not sure what expression you had on your face but you could only hope it showed the determination you had.

The man who was currently sitting in your spot, looked at you with a confused expression, before lifting up his laptop and various papers that he had neatly sprawled across your spot. He looked under the desk too, before lifting his head to look up at you.