The Boy in the Bookstore | l.s ✔

Five

The bookstore was relatively close to school, about a five minute walk. It was called the 'Beechwood Bookstore'. Harry liked the name, he found it very satisfying when two words in a title started with the same letter or sound. As Harry walked beside Zayn, trying his hardest to engage in a conversation with the older boy. He felt most comfortable with him, meaning he was able to make short, yet frequent eye contact and was also able to not stutter as hard. Harry mainly talked about how he cried in maths, and how his day was boring, and that the only thing motivating him was visiting this bookstore with Zayn tonight. This made Zayn smile, he was glad that Harry was so excited for something that he had planned. When they got to the store, it was nearly how Harry had imagined it.

From the street, it didn't look like much. There was a big window that looked straight into the store, and Harry's green eyes widened at the amount of books that lined the walls. The front of the stone was painted a glossy black, and it looked very inviting. The logo was a stag and from what Harry could see from outside, the same pattern was on the wallpaper. The sense of calm this place already gave Harry was unlike anything he had felt before. It almost felt like a warm hug, a place to go and escape. He looked at Zayn for a second, and they then walked in. The first thing that caught Harry's eyes were the sofas that were scattered randomly on the floor. Normally, he would have disliked this random arrangement, but to him, it felt like they were meant to be like this, so he accepted this. Breathing deeply, he could smell the new books and the comfort he felt from this calmed him down. Encouraging him to go indie the store further, Zayn nodded his head towards Harry, a sign that Harry took as comforting.

Harry went straight to the section that advertised Young Adult literature. He never told anyone this, but he loved teen romance books. They were a guilty pleasure for him, despite most of them being cliche. He was desperate for some more LGBTQ+ representation, but he also desperately wanted a book that didn't make the character's sexuality the main storyline. He found that incredibly monotone and boring, wishing that authors didn't portray LGBTQ+ characters the way they did. Unfortunately, the world still wasn't as accepting as Harry wished it would be one day. He hoped when he was older and less shy he would be able to paint his nails and wear what he wanted to. He hated the stereotype that boys and men couldn't show emotions or be sensitive - mainly because he himself was deeply sensitive and bullies loved to tell him how feminine that made him. He tried desperately hard not to listen, but the words stung, even when he thought of them. At this point, he was so deep in his thoughts that he zoned out for the second time that day. Zayn jerked him out of it by snapping his fingers under his nose.

Next to where Harry and Zayn were standing, there were a few desks and chairs, as well as plug sockets where people could plug laptops in and work. It reminded Harry of the library at school, but he quickly changed his thoughts to the library as he did not want to think about school. After five minutes of deliberating on what to read, he picked out a book called Paper Towns by John Green. He began to read, loving how the author discussed identity. The book was relatively short, about 305 pages long. He decided it would take him about four hours to finish it, and the store closed in three and a half hours.

When Harry was sitting reading, he kept noticing an employee looking his way. From a distance, he looked relatively small and had short brown hair. JHarry guessed he was about two or three years older than him. Blushing, he looked back to his book. However, this didn't stop the older boy. He tried to catch Harry's eye and smile at him from behind the desk he was sat at, looking bored. To Harry's surprise, the boy began to walk over to him. He was kind of cute and also a complete stranger, and Harry didn't know how to act around him. He could feel his cheeks blushing, not wanting to embarrass himself. Harry looked over at Zayn, looking panicked. Unfortunately, he was too busy reading a graphic novel with his sketchbook beside him, maybe drawing from the pictures. Zayn was a talented artist, so it wouldn't surprise Harry if he was doing that. As the boy with brown hair came towards Harry, he could feel his breathing quicken. He tried to get control of his breathing, and it actually worked for once. When the boy got closer, the first thing Harry noticed were his blue eyes. They were beautiful, dark around the outside and lighter on the inside. He definitely had a little crush on him, but no one could know.