"When I first saw [him] I didn't really see [him], just the pile of books [he] was carrying."
Again, short, not well written, dumb. Just like my last two one shots.
Enjoy. Stayed up until 2:30 am to finish. Dedicated to N_lilo for commenting on my last one shot. Thank you so much!
-Noah
Word Count: ~1,000
When I first saw him, I didn't really see him. I just saw the pile of books he was carrying. I was able to catch a glimpse of a title before he dropped the entire pile onto the library floor. There was a loud bang, causing several patrons to look over at the boy and glare. He gave them a sheepish look in return. I rushed up to him and bent down to help retrieve the books. I picked one up and read the cover.
"A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking?"
The kid looked up at me and blushed. He snatched the book away from me. "Uh, yeah," he said quietly, placing the book on the already growing pile in his arms.
"Cool," I said, smiling at him.
He blushed deeper and quickly gathered the rest of his books. He went to stand up and nearly dropped half of his books again. Before they could slide out of his arms, I grabbed them.
"Watch it, cowboy. You'll drop them again if you're not careful."
He blushed again, making his face look eerily similar to a cherry lolly. I chuckled quietly and followed him as he lugged his half of the books to a table in the corner of the library. They were set down with a thud, followed by our bodies as we collapsed into the chairs surrounding the table.
We sat in silence for a bit as the boy thumbed through the book, checking... something.
"How are you?" I asked suddenly, causing the kid to jump.
"Oh. Uh, I'm, I'm fine. Thanks. Uh, you?"
"I'm good," I said as I stretched out in the chair, propping my feet up on the table. "Great, even."
"Ah. Okay. That's, uh, that's good."
Silence.
"Want to get a coffee?"
The boy's head shot up from where it was buried in a book.
"Pardon?"
I took my feet off the table and leaned toward the boy. "Coffee? You and me?"
The boy swallowed. "Oh, uh, I don't drink coffee. Don't like the taste."
I stared at him for a second, a small grin playing on my lips. "Alright. Tea, then?"
He smiled softly, looked down at the table, and nodded his head. "Yeah. Tea. Tea, tea's good. I like tea."
I chuckled quietly. "Okay. Great. Tea it is."
We got out of the library a bit later and starting walking towards a small café that the boy recommended. When it came in sight, I smiled. It seemed like something the boy would like. It was soft looking. Pastel colors, dim lighting, comfy looking booths and chairs. I followed him to a small, lonely booth in the back of the room.
"This is were I usually sit," he explained quietly as he set down his heavy book bag.
I nodded, not wanting to speak and ruin the quiet and peaceful atmosphere that was within the café.
He motioned for me to sit down. "I'll go up and order for us. What do you want?"
I took a seat and sighed quietly, thinking. "Just a black coffee, please. No sugar or cream."
The boy smiled widely, causing me to smile as well. "Okay."
He walked off, leaving me alone in the booth. He wasn't gone long, but I still became bored. I messed around with the strap on his book bag for a while. But then I spotted his phone. I looked around me quickly, seeing if anyone was watching, and snatched the phone. I pressed the home button and the screen came to life. I smiled at the lock screen. It was a drawing of BB8 wearing a sweater with the sleeves flapping behind him.
The boy sat down and set my drink in front of me. My black coffee was in a round, teal cup, while the boy's tea was in a white cup. He took a small sip and made a face as he set it back down. I gave him a questioning look.
"Way too hot."
I nodded in understanding. "Hey, what's your phone password?"
"2020," he answered.
I entered it and it buzzed. "Says it's wrong," I said as I gestured at him with his phone.
He took it from my hands and smirked. "Of course it is. Why would I give you the real password? I just met you. I don't know your name, you don't know mine. Only the people I really like get to know the password."
I chuckled. "Fair enough."
The boy set his phone face down, picked up his mug, and took a drink. "So, tell me about yourself."
One hour of talking, two cups of tea and coffee, three minutes of continuous laughter, four times of blushing, and five minutes of arguing over who was to pay later, we were finally done and out the door. As we were walking towards where the boy said his apartment, he suddenly stopped and turned towards me.
"Give me a piggy back ride."
I sputtered, caught by surprise. "Uh, I'm sorry?"
"Give me a piggy back ride. I'm tired and my feet hurt."
I stared at him in disbelief for a second before shrugging. "Alright." I stood in front of him and crouched down. "Hop on."
After trying a few times, he finally hopped high enough for me to grip the back of his thighs and lift him in a better position so he couldn't fall. He pointed ahead of us and said something along of the lines of 'onward, my trusty steed,' causing me to roll my eyes and laugh.
When we got to his apartment, the boy jumped down from my back. "Thank you. That was fun."
"What, the ride or the tea?" I teased.
He grinned at me. "Both."
I smiled at him softly. "I had fun, too."
"I'm glad," the boy said, still smiling.
We were quiet for a second, but then he broke the silence. "Well, I gotta go. Exams are coming up and I need to study."
"That what you were doing at the library?" I asked.
"Yeah," he answered. "That and just picking up some random books to read."
I nodded. "Well, I'll let you get back to it."
The boy smiled in a way of goodbye and went to unlock his door.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" he exclaimed as he turned back to me.
"Yeah?" I asked.
He fished around in his pocket and brought out his phone. "Here," he said as he shoved it towards me. "Put in your number."
I grinned and entered my number, then gave his phone back to him.
He smiled at me. "Thanks."
"No problem."
"Well, I really must be going. I'll text you. Bye."
"Bye."
He unlocked his door and slipped inside, but not before giving me a wave.
I stood there for a second, just staring at his closed door. Then my phone buzzed. I slid it out of my pocket and looked at the notification.
(872) 255-6595
It's 0000.
Me
???
(872) 255-6595
The password for my phone.
I stared down at my phone for a second.
Then I smiled. And didn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.
