Reckless

Chapter 10| Dakota Anderson [REWRITTEN]

I'd just placed my bag on the floor and pulled out a chair when something – or rather someone – caught in my peripheral vision.

Connor was sitting at one of the large tables in the corner of the library. He was hunched over a book, furiously casting streaks of blue highlighter across the pages of what appeared to be a textbook.

I stood stock-still for a moment, unsure of what to do. Part of me wanted to turn and leave. The last thing I wanted to deal with today was Connor Taylor. If he saw me here, I would never hear the end of his ridicule.

Then again, he was here also. Studying, apparently. Didn't that cancel out the reason I was here to begin with?

I watched as Connor opened his laptop and began typing notes into an empty document. He was so caught up in his own world that he hadn't even glanced up once, much less taken any notice of me. 

Maybe I was being dramatic but I felt it justified. All I wanted was a quiet morning in the library without worrying about any problems from the outside world. Dad had been getting on my nerves about asking Esme out, and Mum was only interested in talking about school work given how my first round of assessments were coming up.

A day with nothing but my books was the perfect downtime, and now I couldn't even have that.

Connor was still typing on his computer across the room. Someone dropped a heavy book on the desk near him and he didn't even flinch.

His presence baffled me. I'd been coming to this place for years and had never seen Connor here before. Did he come here often? Had he seen me here before and decided it was the perfect place for vengeance? Should I leave before he enacts some scheme and reveals my secret to the rest of my school?

Kicking the chair out, I collapsed into it and began to take out my notebook. I wasn't going anywhere. This area was secluded enough and as long as Connor didn't turn around, he wouldn't even see me.

I began to get started on my own work. My teacher had sent us home with the task of completing a full worksheet on identifying literary devices in the current chapter we were studying of A Tale of Two Cities. I also had a booklet of Maths equations waiting for me as soon I was done.

It wouldn't be a complete lie to say that I tried to get some work done, but Connor's presence was throwing off my concentration. I only made it halfway through the worksheet before curiosity got the better of me. Glancing up, I saw Connor was now scribbling something in a notepad. Even from this far I could see the blotches of highlighter left on the side of his hand.

Groaning, I slammed my binder closed and stalked across the room. Connor didn't hear me coming.

"I didn't know you could read, Taylor." I collapsed into the chair opposite his, cupping my chin in my palm and staring at him with a bored look. "You do know this is a library, right? I think you may have gotten lost on your way to the meathead convention."

Connor looked up, eyes widening. "Dakota?" He reeled back, slapping his notebook over the cover of his textbook, as though it would conceal what he was reading. "What are you doing here?"

"Something I thought only one of us knew how to do. You can chill, Taylor. I don't care that you're doing-" I cocked my head to read the title of his book, "-Biology."

"Whatever." He began hastily shoving his belongings into his bag and stood. "You can make fun of me all you want but I refuse to-"

"Woah, woah. Slow down." I caught his wrist to stop him from leaving. I wanted to know why he was here. If he left, I'd never be able to find out the answer.