Sodium ━ Land Of Stories

22 | bookstore girl! (pt 3)

PART THREE | ALL THIS, AND HEAVEN TOO?

CONNER BAILEY WAS pretty happy. His sister noticed this when he came downstairs before noon for once. His hair was a mess and his blue pyjama shirt hung over him as he sat down at the kitchen island. He only wore that shirt when he was feeling good. And the smile on his face said more than enough.

"So the beast wakes," she grinned, stirring her fruit salad absentmindedly. "This is the earliest you've woken up in like, years."

"Yep," he yawned. "And I'm not even tired."

Alex surveyed him carefully. His cheeks were pink and he kept bouncing his knees and scrolling through his phone. Hm. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"Nothing," he hummed.

"No? So why do you keep smiling at your phone like a moron?"

His eyes darted up and he glared at her. "I'm not—I'm not doing that."

"Yes you are."

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

Alex rolled her eyes and shoved a spoonful of honey-covered berries into her mouth. "You're acting very suspicious."

Conner waited for Alex to indulge in her breakfast before opening his phone again. A wide smile spread across his face when he read the texts. Somehow, he'd miraculously managed to snag Bree's number two days ago, and last night they talked basically up 'till dawn. Before that, it had only been a couple short exchanges that made Conner feel fuzzy but yesterday it turned into one of the longest conversations he ever had. She sent him her story, he read it, took several minutes to process it and gush to himself, then answered her in the most toned-down version he could manage.

He didn't know how it flowed from there, but it did. She started talking about literature symbolism and he replied to everything with interest. They talked about their favourite books, favourite authors, what their rooms looked like. (He had gathered that Bree had a small room with purple walls and a white desk. He knew there were posters above her bed. She had a bookshelf that stretched from floor to ceiling. There was a collection of pens in a mug on her bedside table.) She told him her last name, Campbell, and he told her about how much he wanted a dog.

They talked until four in the morning and their last texts read, okay i think i'm gonna go to bed now, sorry for keeping you up haha, and then she said no don't worry about it, you're very entertaining:) thanks for reading my story n stuff, have a good sleep! Then he wrote, thanks, you too! it was a very good story. She said thanks and he read the you're very entertaining bit a million times over before she sent another text saying, you've got my schedule, right? u can come pop in anytime you want, i can help you if you need anything. i'm always around.

He still wasn't sure what anything meant. Probably book-buying or writing advice but still, the anything made him deliriously happy. He did not have the heart to tell her that yes, he did in fact have her work schedules memorized, but he did say that he might be coming around a lot more often. She told him she was glad to hear it and he spent another hour blushing into his pillow before he fell asleep.