Her friend meant well, she knew. Sometimes however, she just wanted them to just... chill off, for a bit. Give her some time to think of an excu– er, give her some space to think.

She paused from taking a bite out of her pack of chips, eyes glancing towards her chips for an instant before she chomped down. The satisfying crunch of chips distracted her from the current topic of conversation, but only for a moment. It still left her in the crosshairs of her friend, who was busy glaring at her while stirring the milkshake in her hand.

Eventually, she decided on the usual course of action. Denial.

"It's not that bad."

"It's not that bad?!" Her friend all but shrieked, slamming her hands on the table and causing her to jolt, "You've been spending the last two months holed up in a library somewhere! Do you know how many times I've had to go to your apartment only to realize that you're still in that damn library?"

She blinks. "... I'm sorry?"

"'Sorry' isn't just going to cut it, young woman." She made to raise a finger, only for it to be pushed down by her friend a second later. "Why do you keep on going to that place anyway? I've searched it up, and it's nothing more than a rundown library."

"It's not... as rundown as you might think." It might certainly look like it from the outside, but anyone who stepped through the doors could definitely attest that it was well-kept. Not like she'd seen him cleaning up the place while she was there... "The books are nice."

"Uh-huh." Her friend drawls, "You know you could just read books back in your apartment, right?"

"It's small. And the neighbors are noisy." She huffs, "Bad enough that I have to slam my walls at least twice a night, the fact that I have to work my ass off thrice a week just makes it harder for me to focus and get some damn peace. You'll have to excuse me if I like the damn library more, alright?"

"You could ask for help from your parents." Her friend pointed out, only to retract that statement after meeting her gaze. "... Or not. I get that you want to be independent and all that, but at this rate you're going to burn yourself out, you know?"

"Maybe." She allowed with a nod, "But I think I can handle things so far. I'll... well, I'll see what I can do if my grades start dropping, though."

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"You could live with me."

She thinks about it. Then shakes her head a few moments later, "... Maybe. I'll keep it mind, at least."

"Right. Well, I tried. Again." Her friend huffs, slurping up some of her milkshake before going back on topic. "So, that library. Why do you keep going there? You know that you could just drop by the central library if you're that desperate for the atmosphere. Or just search things up on the internet if you need something checked for lessons and whatnot."

"It's quiet there." She responds, taking another chip and munching on it while trying to arrange her thoughts. "Almost no one comes there, so that means there's no one that could potentially bother me while I'm just reading or dozing the rest of the hours off. Not to mention the free coffee."

Her friend perks up. "Damn. Don't most libraries forbid you from bringing food and drink and all that kinda jazz?"

"Yep." She smiles, "He just says that it's fine so long as I don't get any of it on the books, and I'll have to pay for damages if I get some coffee on the pages. Or he'll probably just let it dry out and let it have a coffee scent for the rest of its days in circulation. He's just cocked in the head like that."

"'He', eh?" Her friend waggles an eyebrow. "Got something special with him?"

She frowns, snaking a quick bite of chips before answering her friend's question. "Not really." She replies with a sigh, "Most of the time it's just the two of us in the library. We chat, brew some coffee, insult each other, that kind of thing."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure that's something special."

"Chat buddies, then." She rolled her eyes. "An annoying, inescapable chat buddy that likes to stick their head into my business." Her eyes close, a nostalgic smile crossing her face. "Sounds like someone I know, now that I think about it..."

"Well, they sound like someone familiar, that's for sure." Her friend grins. "Mind if I pay them a visit while you're off somewhere else?"

She pauses for just a second too long, before she rolls her eyes at her friend.

"Sure, why not." She smiles, but there was no warmth in her eyes. "I'll give it ten minutes before he drives you insane."