It had only been a few days since he did his best to ignore her, and the atmosphere in the library had changed. Not by a lot – she still liked the silence and the books – but enough that while she could tell that there was something off, she didn't know enough to put a finger on what was bugging her.

Or well, she definitely knew, but chose to ignore it at the moment. There were more important things to focus on right now, like the fact that she was trying to drag out all of these reference books on a step-ladder.

Thank fuck that those damn books weren't actually required to pass the damn class. She'd heard horror stories about other universities in the area that tacked it on to provide another 'revenue stream', and it always made her cherish the spot that she got on the community college. On the other hand, her professors all but told her that some topics wouldn't be covered during the lectures, and she'd have to crack open a copy of a damn book and read through those.

And of course, all the copies that she could get from the university's library had already been taken by others. Swinging by the central library would also be a waste of funds or incredibly exhausting, which meant that she put that option out of mind. Here, however...

... Well, she could do with outdated editions. Updated editions were a scam anyway, or so she read online, but that was neither here nor there, no. At the moment, she was focusing on her exhaustion, and the subtle pain of her shoes digging into her heels.

"Reminder for next time, bring some fucking slippers." She hissed at herself, letting out a grunt before finally wrenching out a book that was as thick as her damn hand. "... And find the dumbass who decided that these things should be fucking heavy, and brain them over the head with this fucking thing."

"Not even an hour in, and you're already cursing a poor book." He calls out, placidly gazing at the book that she was holding in her hand before continuing to stock the shelves. "Give it a break, will you?"

She doesn't reply, instead rolling her eyes at him while waving the book in her hand. "I would, if these things weren't so damn heavy. Who the fuck made these things to be so heavy?"

"Ask whoever arranged the entire thing." He shrugs, before freezing a second later and shaking his head once more, turning back to his work in order to ignore her once again.

She hums at his reply, glancing down towards the ground... before her breath hitches, a momentary feeling of vertigo crossing her mind. Her grip on the shelf wobbles, and she takes a deep breath before slowly making her way down the step-ladder.

"Fucking heights," She hissed, eyes wide as her grip on the book wobbles for a second. Behind the corner of her eye, she could see him turning around and raising a brow at her, which she immediately replies with a scoff. "What?"

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Afraid of heights?"

Her mouth dries up. "No–" She snorts, letting out a bark of laughter as she releases her grip on the shelf. "I mean, who would be?"

"I don't know about you, but that's pretty high up. Relatively speaking." He sighs, marching forward until he was at the foot of the step-ladder. "Come on, just toss the book to me and grab the steps while you make your way down."

"Nah, it's fine. I can do– FUCK!" She hisses, quickly glaring at her left shoe and raising it up for her to see. With a scoff, she pulls off the shoe, sighing at her inflamed heel. "... Yeah, screw these. Next time I'll be going to work, I'll just wear some sneakers–"

Her balance shifts. She squawks, before it turns into a horrified shriek as she falls towards the ground... Only for her to slam into something meaty, a thud of pain coursing through her body from the collision before she's sprawled out on the ground. A groan escapes her lips, her eyes moving about in a daze, even as she tries to get the spots out of her vision.

Slowly, the fog clears, and she pushes herself upwards, only to hear him hissing in pain from below. She blinks, glancing down to see if it really was him, then quickly scrambling off once he glares at her.

"Told you." He hisses into the floorboards, "You should've tossed the damn book."

"Sorry?" She pipes up, only to wilt at his glare intensifies, "... Alright, how can I make it up to you?"

"Get that..." He groans, plucking off the reference book off the back of his head and sliding it over towards her with a gasp, "Get that video deleted and we'll call it quits."

She sighs, digging into her pockets and pulling out her phone. It takes her a few seconds for her to find the video, playing it on a loud volume just to ensure that he hears it. Both wince at the sound of his ah, 'singing', and she quickly tosses her phone towards him as if it were a cursed object.

"There." She breathes, eyes glancing back down to the book before she begins inspecting it for damages. "You can delete it."

He nods, having pulled himself into a slouched seat as he quickly deletes the video, letting out a sigh of relief as the sound of his 'singing' cuts off. A second passes before he gives her phone back, and she quickly snatches it out of his hands before he could rifle through her other files.

"Even now?" She asks with a raised brow, and he nods in response before pulling himself up.

"Even." He responds, before aiming a shit-eating grin in her direction. "... Though, you could certainly lay off with the teddy bear collection. I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure that's unhealthy."

She smiles at him, a serene expression on her face that contrasts the heavy book that she hefted in her hands.

"I'll conk you over the head with this."