The Library

Vanessa twirled around in the swivel chair and tried to think of something to do to occupy her time. She sighed as she looked at the clock. It was still another hour before her shift was over.

He walks into the library and immmediately feels like the moron everyone thinks he is. He doesn't know where to start with this paper and Ms. Hastings said she wouldn't allow anyone to use an internet source; there went the googling. He heads for the help desk and it wouldn't have mattered if he knew what he was doing anyway. The girl from Chapel was sitting at the desk. "Uh...Hi."

Vanessa looked up. Damn karma, she thought to herself. "Hi. Can I help you with something?" It was the guy that was looking at her during chapel. Vanessa made a mental note to tell Bri the bet was off.

"I...uh..." He shakes his head quickly and gives her a winning smile. "Sorry, I'm a little slow today. I think I'm allergic to intelligence." He exhales quickly and tries to calm down; that weird feeling in his temples was starting again. "I have to do a report and honestly, I don't even know where to start." He flashes the assignment sheet and feels more than useless. "Sorry," he offers, as if it matters.

Vanessa took the paper in her hand and looked it over then looked back up at him. "I take it you have Hastings? Well, you know that books are kept in the library so you've definitely got an advantage there. What's your topic?"

He laughs. "More than the rest of the class, I think. And it's on the Civil War." He reads over the paper again. "Louisiana and it's involvement in the Civil War."

Vanessa got up off of her chair and walked towards a section of the library, "History section would probably be the best place to start." Louisiana. She had been there several times to visit her father. That's when the dreams were most frequent. She pushed the thought from her mind and said, "So, Hastings is pretty cool. I love her class."

He follows behind her with a small smile and a sense of deja vu. "Yeah, she's great." And patient too, he thinks. She puts up with him and the rest of his low-level class on a daily basis. "She teaches History on the girl's side too?"

Vanessa nodded, "She teaches AP history on the girl's side. I think she teaches it on the boy's side too. Jack's in that class. I'm in her AP class." They reached the history section and Vanessa ran her fingers over the book spines. "Civil War, right?" Memories came flooding back to her. She closed her eyes and tried to push them from her mind.

Without hesitation, he reaches out to rest a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?" He felt that sensation in his chest again, stronger and sharper now, but fought to ignore it.

Vanessa turned around and looked at him for a brief second before wrapped her arms around his neck and kissing him square on the lips.

He should be shocked but something clicks in him and the odd feeling in him goes away. He leans into the kiss, his hands finding what feel like familiar positions on her hip and the base of her neck.

Vanessa let the kiss last for a few more seconds before breaking it abruptly and looking shocked. "I'm....I'm sorry. Jack will help you, I've got to go." She dashed towards the circulation desk and gathered up her things before bolting out the door.

He stares at her back as she runs off, slackjawed for a few minutes and tries to figure out just what happened. With a slow exhale, he presses a hand to his aching temple as he reaches down to grab the paper he dropped and goes off to find this Jack guy. Not that he won't be back at the library tomorrow...