Lanterns in the Rain

Chapter Five: Cracks in the Armor

The library was quiet again that afternoon, the way Rae liked it. Her usual corner was empty and waiting, the sunlight filtering softly through the tall windows. She dropped her bag onto the chair and settled in, pulling out a battered book she'd been reading for the third time.

But her mind wasn't on the words. It hadn't been all day.

Henry.

It wasn't the first time someone had tried to talk to her, to "get to know" her. But it was the first time someone hadn't given up after her sharp replies and quiet indifference. Most people stopped trying when she put up walls; Henry, on the other hand, seemed to take them as an invitation to stick around.

The thought both confused and intrigued her.

"Let me guess," a familiar voice interrupted, "you've already finished that book twice, haven't you?"

Rae looked up, unsurprised to find Henry standing there, a lopsided grin on his face. He held a book in one hand, his bag slung carelessly over his shoulder.

"It's a good book," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Not that you'd understand."

Henry pretended to look offended. "I'll have you know, I'm very well-read." He held up his book—a slim, well-worn volume. "See? Proof."

Rae squinted at the title and smirked. "A comic book doesn't count."

"Hey," he said, slipping into the seat across from her. "Graphic novel. There's a difference."

Rae shook her head, returning to her book. "You're impossible."

"And yet," he said, leaning forward with a grin, "you haven't told me to leave."

She glanced at him, her lips twitching as though she were fighting a smile. "Not yet."

Henry settled in, opening his "graphic novel" and reading quietly. Rae tried to focus on her book, but she kept sneaking glances at him. There was something calming about the way he simply existed beside her, as if he wasn't trying to fill the silence but rather share it.

After a while, Henry broke the quiet.

"Why do you like the rain so much?" he asked, not looking up from his book.

Rae paused, caught off guard. "Why do you ask so many questions?"

"Because I want to know the answer."

She hesitated, staring at the words on the page in front of her without really seeing them. "The rain... it feels honest," she said finally. "It doesn't pretend to be anything it's not. It's just... there. It makes everything quieter, calmer."

Henry tilted his head, considering her words. "I like that," he said softly.

Rae blinked, surprised. She had expected him to make a joke, to brush off her answer as strange or overly poetic. But he didn't. He just nodded, as though her explanation made perfect sense.

"What about you?" she asked before she could stop herself. "What do you like?"

Henry grinned, clearly pleased that she was asking him something for once. "Well, I like your company, for one."

Rae rolled her eyes, though a faint flush crept up her cheeks. "That's not an answer."

"Fine," he said, leaning back in his chair. "I like stories. Good ones, bad ones, funny ones, sad ones. I guess I like seeing the world through someone else's eyes."

She tilted her head, studying him. "That's... surprisingly insightful."

"I have my moments," he said with a wink.

Rae shook her head, but this time, she didn't hide her smile. "You're ridiculous."

"And yet, here I am," he replied, his voice warm.

The library grew quieter as the minutes passed, the sunlight shifting across the table between them. Rae found herself relaxing, the tension she carried with her every day fading just a little.

Maybe Henry was right. Maybe it wasn't so bad to let someone in—just a little.

As they left the library together, walking side by side down the empty hallway, Rae felt something unfamiliar blooming in her chest. It wasn't friendship, not yet. It wasn't trust, not completely.

But it was something.

And for now, that was enough.