Bookworms | ✔

seven

Nicholas couldn't focus. His ocean blue eyes skimmed over the words of the chapter a million times, yet he couldn't comprehend any of it. His mind kept drifting to the girl who sat at the table a couple feet away. She folded her arms over each other on the table, quietly reading her book and completely unaware of Nicholas's constant gaze on her.

Dina had walked in earlier, without a word to him, and sat at the table near him. She didn't even look towards his direction when she came in. In some way, Nicholas felt a little hurt by that. He had come to love her presence, eagerly awaiting her arrival every day. He wondered if she felt the same way about him.

Nicholas shook his head. Dina was out of his league, she was bold, and she was incredible in every way possible. She'd never fall for a nerdy guy like him. Nicholas could only admire her from afar.

He watched as her fingers gently turned the page, careful enough not to wrinkle the delicate pages. Her heart-shaped lips moved with the words she was reading, and Nicholas couldn't help but become hypnotized by her.

She was wearing a navy blue scarf today, all her hair was tucked in. What did she look like with hair? Was she as beautiful as she was when it was covered? Probably. Her gray hoodie fell at her hips, outlining her feminine curves. Her long thick lashes shielded her mesmerizing brown eyes from him. Nicholas was longing to hear her sweet voice again, her bubbly laughter, and to see her pearly white teeth shining as she smiled at him.

He wanted to talk to her.

With his decision set, Nicholas racked through his mind, searching for a subject of interest to discuss. He took one look at his book before he closed it and stood up.

Each step he took towards her table made his heart beat faster in anticipation. Each breath he took as he gazed at her flawless face made his voice catch in his throat. Nicholas could feel his anxiety shot up by the time he was standing in front of her.

He placed his book on the table, sitting across from her. The small thump the book made caused Dina to jump in her seat, her eyes meeting with his. As soon as their eyes made contact, Nicholas swore he forgot how to breathe. Time had stopped and it was just Dina and him sitting at a table. She tilted her head at him, a small smile playing at the ends of her lips.

"Hey, Nemo," she grinned.

Nicholas's body reacted to her voice, eager to hear her talk even more. "H-Hey," he stuttered, looking away from her.

Immediately, Nicholas wanted to hit himself. He was so stupid! Why did he ever think that talking to her was a good idea? Well done, idiot, he thought. You made a great fool of yourself.

"You okay?" she asked, completely oblivious to his inner thoughts.

He nodded, not saying anything. He looked down at his book, remembering the words he rehearsed before he made his way to her.

"You didn't amuse me with your snarky comments today," he said, light-heartedly.

Dina laughed, "I thought I should have given you a break from my personality."

Nicholas felt his nerves start to relax at the sound of her laughter. She made him feel at ease with just a couple of words. His previous thoughts on trying to impress her disappeared as Nicholas focused on the moment. He was with her, and nothing else mattered.

"You make a valid point," he smiled.

"Hey! This is the part where you say that you love my personality and make me feel better about myself," she scoffed.

Nicholas sent her a sly look. "Lying never got anyone far in life, remember?" he repeated her words from a couple days ago.

Dina caught onto it. "Well, I'm not a psycho president. That doesn't apply to me," she smirked.

"Tell that to North Korea when they nuke us."

"Are you saying I'm going to be the start of a war?" she gasped before pondering over his words. "Now that you mention it, I probably would trigger some foreign leader."

"Yeah, with your unhealthy obsession for Percy Jackson," added Nicholas.

"Percy is my husband. Don't you dare insult him!"

Nicholas rolled his eyes. "I don't see a ring on that finger. Besides he belongs to Annabeth, you weirdo."

She paused for a moment, realizing Nicholas was right. "Shut up," she mumbled.

"While we're on the topic of Percy Jackson, how come the three major greek gods refuse to keep it in their pants?" asked Nicholas.

Dina shrugged, "Apparently mortal females are too hard to resist."

"That's a really lame excuse."

"Don't look at me. I'm not a greek god," she laughed. "I still ship Poseidon with Percy's mom."

"Poseidon has a wife."

"But he still did the dirty with her!" she exclaimed.

Nicholas raised a brow at her. "The dirty?"

"I'm a child at heart, shut up."

Nicholas shook his head, amused. "You really are a strange girl," he said with a smile planted on his lips.

"I think you mean awesome."

"I think you need a doctor to check on your ego."

She scowled, "Very funny."

Nicholas chuckled at the pouting look on her face from his remarks. Dina's animated expressions at whatever he said made him feel like he belonged in this cold-hearted world. It was always Nicholas against the world, yet this time he didn't feel so alone. Dina stuck her tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes at the action. She really was a child at heart.

"Is that a deck of Pokemon cards on your desk?" she asked when she spotted a small stack of cards.

"Yeah, I guess I forgot to put them in my bag," he noted.

Dina's eyes brightened as she closed her book. "Let's play."

Nicholas looked at her in disbelief. "You do not play Pokemon," he disagreed, unable to comprehend the fact that a girl actually shared his interests.

"I am a boss at that game," she stated proudly.

"I refuse to believe that."

She smirked, "Game on."

A giddy feeling erupted within his chest. Nicholas pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he returned her smug grin. He never thought he'd see the day when he would be playing a nerdy game with a girl. Nicholas forgot about his monsters. He forgot about his loneliness because at that moment, in the large library, Nicholas wasn't alone.

----

Somebody give me an award for my awesome updating schedule. We hit 1k reads!

I just love Nicholas' character. Is that just me?

Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow!