This chapter is dedicated to aislingkiley.

~~~

"Ugh!" (Y/N) bit her lip as she flicked through the shelves.
"Why is it so hard to put books back where you found them- it's not rocket science!". Her eyes squinted at the mumbo-jumbo of misplaced books stretching along the shelf in front of her.

Suffice to say, though (Y/N) was an avid reader and loved her job, sometimes working at a bookstore was infuriating. Customers were the part that could either make or break the job: many of them were sweet and lovely, (and bought books, you got to make a living somehow!), yet the vast majority of them were ignorant of the C L E A R systems (Y/N) managed.
Despite some negatives, the shop was usually very quiet, and when it was, (Y/N) had time to finish homework or read a bit more of her book. Plus she got paid, so that's good, too, and her workplace was generally very peaceful.

The bookstore sat in a block of double-storey shops, tucked neatly away from the common eye, and was a local 'secret' (because tourists don't like to venture down those cozy streets). When you pushed open the glassy door a bell would sound, and the intense smell of old paper and cinnamon would overload your senses. To your left, a counter (that was often unmanned), and to your right a group of saggy, sun-bleached beanbags. Two ginormous windows were on either side of the door, and  where the light streamed through, tiny flecks of dust danced to the melody of hushed whispers.

There were rows upon rows of bookshelves, and both storey's walls were lined from top to bottom with them too. A ladder leaned against the back wall. If you bothered to look up, you would see a loft above you, that ended two-thirds of the way into the room. Who knew what was up there? Not the reader, because the story doesn't go up there anyway.

Oh, and the place was stacked with books.

"Folks these days have no appreciation for the Dewey Decimal System," A voice tutted jokingly. Startled, (Y/N) yelped and turned her head to where a silhouetted figure was leaning against the shelf. Their lips quirked up at her reaction of their presence.

Eventually, after grasping the fact that there was indeed someone in front of her, (Y/N) nodded apprehensively. Her eyes skimmed their figure before reluctantly returning back to her task. She couldn't see them well, but she could tell that someone looking like that normally would have made the heat rise in her cheeks. But she had a job to do.

...

"Can I help you?" She inquired after several minutes, for the stranger hadn't moved. She could feel their eyes were fixated on her, which made (Y/N) feel slightly uncomfortable and more uncoordinated than she normally was.

The stranger smiled and took a step forward, into the light, rocking on their heels. (Y/N) fully drunk in their disheveled appearance, and now could see that they were around her age (a very fine specimen, too!).
"No, I was just wondering if I could help you out,"

This request stumped (Y/N), as she hadn't much work to do herself in all honesty, but she couldn't bring herself to deny the offer.

...

"How about..." She grabbed her one of her favourite books from the trolley and grabbed a notepad from her pocket. Scribbling down a message, she tore the leaf out and slipped it in the cover of the book. "How about you take this home, read it, and tell me if you liked it?"

The stranger nodded, accepted the book from (Y/N) and grinned.
"Will do." They winked, looking down at the cover. By the time they looked back up again, (Y/N) had disappeared into the maze of isles.

When they were outside the shop in the morning light, only then they decided to read what the note said.

(C/N) resisted the urge to squeal by biting their lip as pink dusted their cheeks, before shoving the book with the note in their backpack and walking away from the store that they would definitely be going back to.

'   *** *** ****   -- I'd love to hear your thoughts, both on the book and about everything. Hope to see you again xx

         --- (Y/N) '

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First update of 2019! I hope you Divas are having a great year so far, and I look forward to the good this year will (hopefully) bring.

--DialDiva

XOXO