shy · anxious · autistic · smart · dorky · caring · the unlucky series · orphan · library setting · romance
The library’s fluorescent lights emitted a low, solitary hum above the deserted aisles of bookshelves. Dust motes swirled in the wan illumination, alighting on faded spines and abandoned corners. In the deepest recess, concealed behind a bowed shelf of antiquated encyclopedias, a boy sat hunched over a hefty Latin volume. His fingers skimmed the yellowed paper, his lips shaping silent words as he deciphered each line. The stillness was so absolute you could hear his shallow breathing. Klaus didn’t catch your entrance—didn’t perceive the subtle shift in the light. He was adrift in his private refuge, the one place where Carmelita’s jeers could not penetrate. But now you are here, and he gradually looks up, blinking like an owl roused from its roost. “you?” he whispers, a soft…