Rites of Passage | Damian x OC

10. Games of Wit and Fairness

"Jessica!"

She'd just barely made it past the front desk of the library when Matthew suddenly appeared before her, stopping almost too late in his hurried tracks and nearly running into her.

"Jessica. There you are. I was hoping you'd be around!" the man chirped, a light sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead in the lights.

Brows raised, Jess responded, "Um, yeah, you told me to come in at 11—"

"I need you to run an errand for me," Matthew went on, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she'd been speaking, "because I'm far too busy right now to run across the city. Both Joe and Dawn are out today—Joe is sick and Dawn doesn't have a babysitter—but this can't wait. It has to be done by the end of the day."

Having adjusted to the library manager's frazzled personality after almost a week of it, Jess waited patiently for him to continue. Matthew was like a firecracker, even in a place like a library where "inside voices" were a must, which was weirdly contradictory, but his obvious knowledge about the place and how it operated seemed to make up for it. Jess had learned that much during her short albeit one-sided conversations (since she wasn't always successful getting a word in) with him. It made it not even worth trying to tell the man he could call her Jess and not Jessica—she'd have to make the effort to try and speak when he wasn't.

"Put simply," Matthew continued, gesturing with his hands and training his worried gaze on her, "there is a collection of books and publications and other important works at City Hall that needs to be brought here for inventory and sent out to the post office by the end of the day. I realize you don't have a vehicle and—well, it's also several boxes' worth, so it would make sense for Damian to accompany you and help out. He's already been notified and should be coming up here shortly—ah, what great timing! Damian, I just explained to Jessica everything I told you..."

Jess followed Matthew's gaze that had gone from anxious to relieved somewhere from behind her, and she turned to see her shelving partner approaching them, the look on his face ever so unamused. He was dressed casually in a black t-shirt under a light, grey jacket with a set of car keys dangling from one hand.

Running an errand with Damian? This should be interesting.

Matthew turned back to Jess, whatever it was he'd recently said completely lost to her since it was so easy to tune him out. "Anyway. You're just there for the muscle and to help bring all the publications back. Damian already has the necessary details regarding who to talk to and what to ask for, all of that. Not that I don't trust you to do that part, but... well, actually saying I trust him more is essentially saying the same thing—"

"Matthew." Damian's eyes were practically half-closed in what was either a glare or lazy impatience, and Jess found herself biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling or laughing. The stark contrast in their personalities was pretty funny; she had a feeling it was even harder for Damian to deal with the firecracker for very long.

"Right, right, sorry." Matthew placed his hands on his hips and split a glance between them. "Off you go! Feel free to grab brunch or lunch or whatever to keep up that energy you'll need in lugging those boxes back."

Damian started moving towards the front doors without a word, Jess following suit after tossing the librarian a small smile. What little sunlight coming through the clouds fell upon them, accompanied by another soft breeze that nearly chilled her through the lightweight windbreaker she'd decided to wear today. (Was there ever not a wind chill in this city?) She kept her distance behind the young man across the parking lot until they reached a dark grey vehicle parked several spots away from the cluster of cars closer to the library entrance. As she approached it, Jess's eyes widened and nearly fell out of their sockets at the sight that she was ninety-nine percent sure was an Aston Martin.