In her mind ~Watty's 2018~

~3~

Maria woke the next morning more tired than she was when she went to bed, her face covered in streaks of dried tears from the previous night. A crawling sensation covered her skin from head to toe and her fingers ached from how tight her grasp on her blanket was throughout the night. 

"Ow." she murmured, slowly flexing her fingers as she sat up and climbed out of bed. Her body was stiff as she slowly stretched out, ignoring how her muscles and bones protested the sudden movements. With a small yawn, she walked out of her room and made her way to the kitchen to get a drink of water, ignoring the stares her family gave her. She never talked to them, so why start now right?

She sipped the water as she walked to her room, relishing the way the cool water slid down her throat and settled in her empty stomach. 'Its nice isn't it? Feeling full without eating.' Karen commented, "It's wonderful. Almost addicting." Maria giggled to herself, locking herself in the bathroom, a giddy feeling taking over her body now as she stared in the mirror and took in her appearance. 

Her normally dull and coffee-colored eyes were actually lighter today and back to their normal honey brown color. Her eyes used to be her favorite thing, they were a soft brown with flecks of color that changed from gold to green to black seemingly based on how she was feeling.

"Let's skip school today." Maria grinned, getting excited now as she walked through her morning routine. It was rare that she was happy, but today felt like a good day. Karen was quiet and instead of questioning it, Maria decided to take the win.

Once everyone in the house had left Maria set into action, grabbing everything she would need for a day away from home before heading out the door. She knew exactly where she was going, one of her favorite spots in the world; The library. 

~~~~

Maria grinned softly as she walked inside, a sense of familiarity washing over her, making her instantly feel comfortable and at home. Over the years this place had been her sanctuary, she knew everyone who worked here and they knew her too, almost like they were her second family. The librarian would even email her book ideas, or when a new book shipment came. She hadn't had the chance to come here in a few weeks but now that she was back, it felt as if nothing had changed. 

The was greeted by the familiar faces of the old woman Nancy who worked there. "Mari! What a pleasant surprise."  Nancy gave a warm smile, her smile lines crinkling

Everything melted away as she walked through the shelves, her fingers softly trailing across the spines of the books, making soft thudding sounds. "Hmmm...hmmm..." Maria hummed lowly as she wondered to the back of the library where she knew her best friend would reside. Sure enough, when she got close enough to spot their table he came into view, completely absorbed in his phone screen.

A mischevious grin made it's way onto Maria's face as she crept around the table until she was directly behind him, "Boo!" She whisper-shouted, her fingers jolting his shoulders. The noise he made was enough to send Maria into a fit of giggles. "Jesus Christ Woman!" He hissed, his hand resting on his chest just over his heart. 

"Sorry, Kev!" She giggled, finally calming down enough to get into the chair next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder as they both chuckled softly, Kevin smiling down at Maria. "You are pure evil girl." He laughed, wrapping his arm around her arms. "Missed you, hun." He smiled. "I missed you too Kev." Maria Smiled, poking Kevin's cheek once.

~~~~~~~

The pair spent the next several hours just goofing off and running around the library. Somehow managing to not read a single book and instead made fun of authors names and gossip about random celebrity scandals without actually caring about them. "Let's go to my place," Maria suddenly blurted, the sleepless night had gotten to her and she was exhausted by this point.

"Won't your parents be mad? They've never really liked me." Kevin looked up in surprise as he heard her, Still flipping the pages of some random magazine he knew he would never read. Maria shrugged standing up now "Why would I care if they like you? I like you and I want you to come over." She rolled her eyes at the mention of her parental figures. 

"Okay, okay, let's go." Kevin rolled his eyes playfully back at maria before letting her lead the way out of the building and down the street, laughing as she grabbed his hand and quite litteraly dragged him towards her house.