paper hearts - owen joyner

one

I quickly hurried down the halls of the school, trying my best to get to the library before anyone spotted me.

It was lunchtime and I wanted to get to my favorite quiet place before anyone stole the spot.

To be fair, I knew deep down no one would ever sit in my favorite spot. No one would be caught dead in the library during lunch hours. I however loved sitting in the library. It was so quiet and peaceful.

I let out a sigh of relief as I finally made it to the library. I pushed the door open and smiled widely.

"Hey, Hazel!" I said, waving my hands at the old lady sitting at the front desk of the library.

Hazel was the sweetest woman in the world. She kept me company in the library. She also has the best book recommendations.

"Oh, hello sweetie! How are you doing today, James?" She asked me as the started stacking some books.

"Nervous. I'm at the end of the book," I said holding up the book she had recommended to me yesterday.

"Already?" She asked and I nodded my head. She shook her head and smiled. She judged her head in the direction of my favorite spot. "Go ahead, it's all free."

I gave her a big grin before walking over to my spot. You see, our library was surrounded by big windows that let in all of this sunlight. Sometimes it would make it uncomfortable for me to read. My favorite spot happened to be in the stack of bookshelves near the only window that was shaded.

I quickly sat down on the floor and leaned my back against the bookshelf, immodestly opening the book to the page I had dog eared this morning.

Just as I started reading the first few lines I was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"I knew I'd find you here, Miller!" I heard Hunter, my best friend, yell across the library.

"Inside voice, Mr. Stone!" Hazel hissed at him.

I raised my finger to my mouth, shushing him. He just shrugged his shoulder and gave Hazel an apologetic smile. I giggled as she immediately giggled. She had a soft spot for him.

I watched as my best friend made his way over to me, the blush instantly appearing on my cheeks.

"Why do you insist on coming here every single day?" He groaned, taking a seat next to me on the ground. "Are you trying to hide from me?" He joked.

"Because, Hunter, it's actually fun here in the library," I rolled my eyes at him.

"Did you just use fun and library in the same sentence?" He said with his eyes wide.

"Don't be a dork," I shoved his shoulder.

"You know I'm just going to force you to come eat lunch with us in the cafeteria anyways. You know, like normal people," he teased.

I couldn't help but smile. He was right. This had become our routine. I would hide out in the library and he would come and find me everyday. A part of me believed I purposely came here. I wondered if one day he would forget to come looking for me.

"Just one more chapter," I pleaded and he shook his head. "Please?" I pouted.

"No way. Not today," he shook his head before standing up. He held his hand out for me and I hesitated. "Oh come on, James! I promise I'll make it up to you."

I smiled at him. "Promise?"

"Cross my heart," he mumbled.

"And I get to choose the place this time?" I tried to negotiate. He groaned and eventually nodded his head.