When Love doesn't die

Dont say it.

After meeting the glamorous Owen, Erin couldn't be more excited to get to know him. She had been waiting for this kind of opportunity since she was a little kid. Watching her parents grow up be so loving of each other inspired Erin, even as a little girl.

Erin was almost proud of herself for arriving late in Mr. Lancaster's classroom, or else she didn't know if she would've gotten to sit next to such a beautiful, adept, and charismatic young man. Now I just sound like an old lady.  Erin giggled to herself. 

"What's got you in such a light mood?" Erin looked up to see her best friend staring at her with a cocked eyebrow. "Nothing, I just met this guy, and he's so funny and compassionate." Erin noticed that Jada looked skeptical.

"What?" Erin fake pouted, wondering what Jada had to say about her love life this time. "I would just advise to be careful," Jada warned. "The last time you met a guy so charming, and funny he turned out to be a big piece of shit."

Erin looked off to the side and her eyes sort of darkened and she frowned. "I know." Erin bit her lip, a horrible habit. "Stop biting your lip, Erin." Jada smiled at her. "And don't worry, I could be wrong." Erin seemed to light up at the suggestion.

"I'll be fine, plus he's hot as hell so I wouldn't mind a few red flags here and there." Jada and Erin giggled. For the rest of the day, Erin worked on her new romance novel, and kept trailing her thoughts back to this mysterious Owen guy. Erin knew it might be too soon, but she just had to ask him out to a date.

It'll put her head and soul at ease, and tell her if she has a chance with Owen or not. She also didn't know if it was too soon or not, she just hoped it didn't seem weird she was asking him out at all.

Hopefully I don't screw this up.

She walked through the doors of her college library, staring at the books covering the shelves. There were quite a few more books in the library than usual. Quite a few more interesting romance novels that definitely should not be in the library. After all, the library was only meant to be there for research reasons.

Erin found herself approaching a section of her favorite books, fantasy romance. She skimmed through the different options but none of them seemed to pop out for her like she wanted it to. Then she found one that piqued her interest and quickly grabbed it, flipping it over to see the back. A summary.

She read through the summary on the back of the book and was delighted with it. She brought the book back with her as she sat down in front of one of the many tables in the library. She opened it up and looked at the table of contents with fascination. Each chapter was perfectly crafted with experience, that even the names of the chapters were amazing.

Its books like the one Erin was reading that inspire Erin to be a better author. But, she almost screamed at the sudden slam of a book to her right. She did, although, flinch at the abrupt noise. Her head instinctively turned towards the noise and she found a rather odd guy to her right.

He wasn't odd because of his looks, he wasn't odd because of his demeanor, and he wasn't odd because of what he was wearing either. He was odd because of the old dried paint on his hands, and the paint seeped into his finger nails. His glasses were cracked and almost impossible to see through, and yet he was still using them. It wasn't just those small details, either. He was reading an encyclopedia, and not just any encyclopedia.

An outdated encyclopedia.

Erin couldn't help but let her curiosity get the best of her. "E-Excuse me? I hate to bother you, but do you know that the encyclopedia you're reading is old? It's not updated yet." She said softly and gently so it didn't seem like she was being snippy and arrogant. He turned his head towards her and waited a couple moments.

In those couple moments, her heart quickened as she had an awkward stare down with a rather peculiar man. He eventually broke into a smile and leaned slightly towards her. "I know." He sort of stage-whispered. She smiled awkwardly before turning back to her book. She almost wanted to laugh.

It was so random, so sporadic that she slightly giggled to herself as she sunk a little further into her seat. This time, she really did yelp when two hands slammed down in front of where she was sitting. She quickly set her book down and sighed loudly at the person in front of her.

"Owen! Don't do shit like that, that scared the fuck out of me!" Erin softly but firmly said. She broke out into a quieter laugh for a second before sighing out of relief. Owen just seemed to smirk at her. Erin looked to her right and the man seemed to have vanished. She wondered if it was because she yelped and he needed it to be quiet.

Maybe that's why he whispered earlier. I'm so slow, this is a library after all..

Erin turned back towards Owen and remembered the point of her coming into this library. So he would be there too and she would be able to pop the question already. She pulled her chair up to the table and smiled. "Hey, I have a question." Her heart raced in her chest.

Owen seemed to be intrigued so he nodded. Erin really hoped this wouldn't mess their dynamic up. "Is there anyway you'd be willing to go out to dinner with me sometime soon? Like.. a date?" The words left her quicker than she could practically comprehend. The silence for those few seconds was almost agonizing.

Until.

"Sure, why not?"

She smiled softly at his answer. "This Saturday?"

"Sounds perfect." Owen returned the smile.