Colourless Skies

25. Lies

"Yeah I don't know about that, but believe me it's physically hurting me to even stand near you, let alone listen to your bullshit right now."
The firm voice that seemed to boom through the semi-quiet library didn't only startle Leah, but also the two talking about her, and the people around them.

They turned around to see who else, but Zach himself.

Trying to hide his slight nervousness, the boy rolled his eyes and scoffed.
A stupid thing to do.
"What are you doing here Zach? And how are you not slaving over Leah right now?"  It seemed that as soon as Zach had quit bullying, the ones worse than him had proceeded to take the ropes.

While trying his best to keep his calm since he was still in a library, Zach could only grit his teeth and force out words slowly, instead of fully lashing out.

"Don't forget that even if I won't beat you up now, I can still dig up enough dirt on you to ruin your life Wilder. Don't test my patience."

He then turned towards the girl.

"And I advise you steer clear of trouble Brielle. You don't want another suspension notice to go to your parents do you?

He smirked at their shocked faces, them being too stunned to even speak. Thankfully for them, they chose to walk away, realising that even if Zach had given up solving problems with violence,  he wouldn't let absolutely anyone badmouth his best friend, not on his watch.

Leah was crying, but this time in immense relief and delight. Her heart was racing by the time Zach had turned to return to his work table. She couldn't process the fact that she was loved, one person though it may be, but she knew very well where hundreds couldn't give you the love of one, one could give you the love of hundreds.

And that was enough for Leah to be thankful and break down in glee.

After wiping her tears, biting her lip to stop herself from becoming a weeping mess in the middle of a public place, she endlessly scoured around for the right book, her hand increasingly wearing out from reaching for the wrong books. It was getting way too tiring and time consuming, so she decided to give up. After all, there was so much she could do.

There were rows and rows of books on ancient myths, a bizarre array ranging from a book on 'The Werewolf Kingdom' to a 20th Century book on 'How to be a Warlock in 10 Minutes'.

But there was yet a piece of work on vampires she had to come across.

But as all her hope of finding the book was slipping away and she was making her way to Zach's table to surprise him, her luck worked its magic.

She halted in her steps and turned right, and as if a moon veiled in night clouds, there was the book she had no idea she was looking for.

'History Speaks Itself.' 

The title didn't sound half as near to what she was seeking, but somehow, she knew she wasn't the reason her feet had stopped and her neck had craned to the right. In a dark part of her mind, she knew that instinct had nothing to do with this, the book called to her, and something that had sparked within her, had stopped her. It sounded ridiculous, but so did the existence of vampires a few days ago.

It was a thick book, sheathed in velvet a shade of magenta. The spine's ends were laced with golden ribbon, glittering in her hands. She took it out.

"Hey Zach." Leah's meek voice didn't seem to astonish him in the slightest, and he smiled brightly as he teared his eyes away from his laptop. A glow seemed to shine on his face as soon as his eyes met hers.