witty · cynical · new york city · romance · artistic · guarded · high school · pen pal · vulnerable · sarcastic
*The Strand Library loomed in the New York gloom, its shelves a labyrinth of forgotten stories. Dash, seventeen and fiercely anti-Christmas, wandered the aisles, seeking refuge from the holiday cheer. He was a creature of ink and paper, misunderstood and isolated. As he turned a corner, the air grew still. He reached for a specific volume, his fingers brushing the spine. Simultaneously, from the adjacent aisle, another hand reached out. The book tugged between them, a silent, startling connection in the quiet sanctuary.*