Leap of Faith

Chapter Four

Mason

I bolted out of there the instant I realized that Matt and Finn were the type of guys I could get used to hanging out with. They seemed cool, although I couldn't help but wonder if one of them was vying for Rebecca's attention. Either way, didn't she already have a boyfriend? I was still confused.

Therewas something about her I couldn't quite place my finger on. She just got to me, and I had barely even had a conversation with her! Her voice, the fast paced comebacks, the quirkiness, the fact that she didn't try to flirt with me - it all weighed on my mind.

ButlikeIsaid before, the more attachments I had, the harder it would be to leave when the time inevitably came. I walked down the hallway heading towards the one place I had always found comfort in at each and every school. The Library.

Sounds dorky, I know, but what isn't comforting about books and silence? Nothing, exactly.

I sat in a thick blue beanbag and pulled out my phone. Okay, so usually I would read, but today I needed to check up on my Facebook. Social media was the one thing that kept me in the circle of things. I liked keeping my attachments limited, but that didn't mean I wanted to live under a rock.

Well, look at that. Twenty four friend requests. Scrolling through them, I picked most of them out as the girls who had swarmed me earlier. As I was declining them, something caught my eye from across the room. Or rather, someone.

It was Rebecca. She was straining to reach a book on the top shelf of the rack she was looking at. She stretched upwards, fingers raised to the ceiling as her back contorted with the pose.

Of course, I just couldn't help myself, right? I had to go and be Mr.Chivalrous. Typical.

Rebecca

The only place in the school where I felt totally at ease was the Library. I worked there after school and sometimes at lunchbecause being surrounded by paper was the ultimate solitude.

I got fed up of hearing Matt and Finn talk about girls and of listening to Shannon rant about "ohmy God, Mason is so hot, but boy was he a jerk just now," so I left and went straight to the Library.

I threw my bag behind the front counter and waved a quick hello to Mrs.Anderson - the librarian. She was kind of my best friend aside from Matt, Finn and Shannon. We could talk for hours about books - our favorite authors, books we had recently read, anything really. And maybe that was kind of strange, but sometimes I needed the comforting maturity of an adult instead of the shouting of a teenager.

I was searching for The Last Song, by Nicholas Sparks. I had been dying to read it, but someone had kept it checked out for the last five weeks. Not only was it way overdue, but it was irritating! I finally spotted it on the top shelf and I nearly leapt for joy.

Only problem was...

That's when Mason appeared. He popped up behind me, his hand on the small of my back as he reached up and grabbed the book for me. Well, that was...unexpected.

"Here," he said, handing me the book. I held it to my chest, my heart thumping when I realized his hand was still on my back - warm, gentle and comforting.

"Thank you," I said in response and sucked in a shaky breath. This was the last place I was expecting to see a guy like Mason. I figured he'd gone to the gym or something.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, walking to the counter. I sat behind the desk and checked out my book. He eyed me warily for a moment before responding.

"Libraries are the universal hang out for loners, right? I think the real question is what are you doing here?"

"What," I laughed, "I don't seem like a loner to you?"

"Well, you have friends, that's for sure." He glanced around, his finger tips skimming over the books lined up on the display tables.

"Just because you have friends doesn't mean you can't be a loner. There are plenty of other ways to be alone."

"I'm sure there are. So what's the real reason?" He smirked at me and I rolled me eyes.

"I like reading. Books are the ultimate friend. You can leave them as many times are you want, but they'll always be right there where you left them, waiting for you."

"It's a little desperate, don't you think?" I stared at him and then he blushed. "The books, I mean, not you."

"I got that," I deadpanned, and Mason's face flushed again. He was cute when he blushed. Wait. Where did that come from? I sighed, ducking down beneath the desk to grab a pen from my bag.

"Can you check this out for me?" he asked, handing me a book when I resurfaced. Weird, he wasn't carrying that earlier.

"The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight? I love this book!" I cried happily, and once again he blushed.

"Yeah, I love that author."

"Me too," I said, then, "type in your six digit ID number." He typed in the pin and I checked out the book for him, the hum of the air conditioning and the shrill beep of the computer familiar.

He looked at me a moment longer, seemingly analyzing the contours of my face the way I had once done to the boys I was attracted to. But that wasn't happening anymore - relationships were fatal, and I was sure I wasn't the only one to notice that.

"So," he said casually, "I'm just gonna go sit back over there." He turned around suddenly and practically ran back to his beanbag. I sighed and picked up my book. Just when I thought he was opening up to me.