Black Beauty- Steve HarringtonxOC

Chapter 17

"Dustin, where are you? I am already at the Hawkins Library. Over." Filly sighs again, tightening the hood around her face again. This had been going on for quite some time. She had been standing here for at least twenty minutes by now. She keeps looking over her shoulder, afraid someone will recognize her and report her to the Lab. Regardless, it was hot outside and she wouldn't be caught dead walking here in a cloak. It's July, so she wears a soft pink halter neck with a bubble font reading "BOOKS" across the chest, cropped just above her belly button, which she paired with a set of high-waisted shorts. "I repeat, Dustin, I am outside the Library waiting for you. Over." She had originally agreed to come here because he said it was very empty and easy to conceal yourself.

"I'm on the way!" Her radio finally speaks back to her, the rattling of his bike pedals coming through as well. "Sorry, Filly! I'm almost there!"

Before she could respond through the radio, she saw him. His blue cap crests the hill in front of her and then his entire frame comes over it. "Dustin!" she calls out. On his bike, he rolls down the hill and comes to a stop right in front of her, stowing it away quickly. "Let us go inside, I don't wish to be exposed."

"Okay, sure. Come on!" He readjusts his backpack and leads her into the stately building. Even in the entrance hallway, there are racks of free books. "Can I have the rack if I take all the books?" She makes a mental note to come back here later to add to her admittedly small collection. If not, she'd need more milk crates.

"Definitely not. This place has cameras everywhere." Leading her to the counter, Dustin wastes no time flagging down a nice-looking old woman behind the service desk. "Hi, excuse me? My friend here needs a library card."

"Oh, that's easy darlin' let me just get your name and date of birth on this form here." Chewing her gum, she slides a pen and paper over the counter. Holding the pen uncomfortably and improperly, Filly writes her information the best she can and slides it back. The plump woman spins away for a moment on her wheeled chair, her long, brightly-colored nails tapping against the printer as she presses its buttons. She wheels back, a green and yellow plastic card in her manicured hands. "Thank you, darlin'. And, here we are, your very own library card. Use it wisely."

Filly nods, slipping it into her canvas bag for safekeeping. "I can borrow any of these?" She asks Dustin as he leads them into the reading area so they can find a table to set their bags on.

"Well, yeah. You're 18 so you can check out anything. There are only restrictions for kids," he says, dropping his backpack in a chair and pointing them to the non-fiction area. "Come on. I'll show you where the good stuff is. Downstairs, they have microfiche!" They move between bookcases, each holding more tomes than Filly had ever seen in her life.

"Why?" She asks, her brows wrinkled. She lays down her bag and raises her eyebrow at the younger one. "What is so special about being 18?" It's an even number, sure, but not one of any significance. 25 is around the age of full brain development for most humans, and 16 is the minimum age for driving, or so Steve has told her. What else there is, she doesn't know.

Dustin shrugs, walking ahead of her at a steady pace. "There are certain things you can't do until you're 18, like watch R-rated movies or have you-know-what with your boyfriend Steve."

Her face contorts, twisting with confusion. "No, Dustin, I do not "know what," and Steve is not that. We are good friends that are not romantically involved." Everything she's saying is right. She's telling the truth, so why does it feel like she's lying? She doesn't know what makes her feel nervous all of a sudden, but she does. Her face warms and her stomach flips, but she doesn't know why. Finding a section of books she wants to explore, she takes the opportunity to look away, hiding her bright red face from him. Intuitively, she's shy about how she feels for Steve, though she doesn't know the words for any of it.