Going the Extra Milo

Chapter Two - Blue Ink

The bell rang, signaling the last period of the day was over. Bradley quickly packed up his belongings and made his way towards the library, a calmness settling in as he watched various students exit the building to go home. He paused outside the library doors, taking in a deep breath before entering the room.

"Hey, Bradley!" an all too familiar chipper voice stated from one of the many tables.

Bradley felt his voice catch in his throat, eyes wide with shock, "You—" he sputtered out, an anger rushing through him, "What are you doing here, Murphy?" he exclaimed, storming up to Milo, an accusatory air about him.

Milo kept on his smile, "Well, I missed a few assignments in one of my classes," he tagged on a quick "Murphy's Law, and all," with a light shrug, "So, I'm here to finish them up!" he explained, "What brings you to the library?"

Bradley pressed his lips into a thin line, glaring hard at Milo, "It's none of your business," he stated flatly, quickly turning and walking over to a table that was a good distance from Milo, "And don't bother me, got it?" he tagged on, briefly looking over his shoulder towards the cheerful brunette.

"Alright, well, good luck with whatever you're doing!" Milo replied, turning back to the assignment laid out before him.

"Mr. Murphy, Mr. Nicholson, please remember to be quiet," the librarian spoke up from her desk, shifting her gaze from her book towards Milo, a wary look in her eyes, "I'd like to keep this place at least slightly clean."

"Yes, ma'am," Milo and Bradley quietly replied in unison.

Bradley took a deep breath, pulling out his books and several sheets of paper from his bag, flipping to the page he needed for his assignment. He grabbed his green pen that he'd tucked behind his ear and began to jot down the various math problems on the page.

Milo hummed softly to himself as he did his work, occasionally shifting his gaze to Bradley and the librarian, checking to see that Murphy's Law hadn't affected them in any way. It had been unusually quiet for him the past few days, but he kept on his toes for the sake of everyone else around him.

"Gah!" Bradley's voice cut through the quiet.

Milo got up without a second thought, tugging his backpack along with him, approaching Bradley to see what had happened, come to find that his pen had exploded, staining his clothes, math book and the table.

Bradley scuffed, shooting a hard glare at Milo, "Jee, I wonder who's fault that was," he hissed in annoyance.

Milo let out a light laugh, pulling out several handkerchiefs from his bag, that were tied together, like they had belonged to a magician, "Yeah, sorry about that," he spoke sincerely, "Here, let me help," he gingerly dabbed at the ink stained book and table, offering one of the colorful pieces of fabric to Bradley, who stared at it for several seconds before finally snatching it out of Milo's hand, rubbing at his ink stained shirt.

"Don't rub it," Milo spoke up, gesturing to Bradley's ruined shirt, "If you do that, then it'll get stained for sure," he explained, his voice still carrying a noticeable fondness to it, "It's better if you dab it, like this."

Without a second thought, Milo took hold of the handkerchief, gaze focused on drying off the stained piece of clothing. Bradley hated the heat that was creeping up the back of his neck, embarrassed that he had to be cleaned off like he was a little kid, "I am perfectly capable of cleaning myself off!" he snapped, pushing Milo away from him as he stood up, taking a few steps away from the brunette, "Besides, being near you is what caused my shirt to end up like this in the first place!" he hestily tagged on, praying that the blush on his face would die down.