Cranberry Juice [ On Hold ]

4. Literary Masterpiece

Someone was blasting music through their headphones. Another was dog-earing a brand-new hardcover. There were at least three loud conversations. All Soren could do was stand behind the reference desk and flip through the returns. 

When he was a kid, all he wanted to do was live in a library, surrounded by books. This was not what he had in mind. However, Crow wasn't either, surfing on the library computers, wide-brimmed sunhat planted firmly on his fluffy head.

Soren kept his eyes on the clock. Soon, it'd be his lunch break - thank God. Usually it was pretty calm in the library, but today, everyone seemed to be against him.

As the hand struck three, he let out a sigh of relief, ducked out from behind the counter, and made a beeline for the computers. He sat in the chair beside Crow and leaned on the table. The vampire was working on one of the older computers. The machine was blocky, and there was a thin coating of dust on the keys, even with Crow using them.

"I've taught myself to touch-type," Crow chirped, not looking up from the boxy PC. Soren leaned over to see the screen, which read four - somewhat misspelled - words, typed into an archaic browser bar.

I am tge gratest

"It's not exactly true, but sometimes you have to exaggerate for effect. I learnt that by..." Crow thought for a moment. "...perusing the web! That's a good word, right?" He grinned from beneath the sunhat, clearly pleased with himself.

Soren nodded, yawning. "Pretty good," he decided. "You could try surfing. Most people use that. Well, they used to, I think," he added with a tired laugh.

Crow shook his head. "Where's the flavour?" 

Soren exhaled, stifling a giggle. Crow had a way of making him laugh at the wrong times. "Maybe you should check out a book, you know. There's more to this library than just computers and the  Room," he said. He gestured to the bookshelves behind them.

"You make it sound so ominous. Sure, it was bad, but it's not science fiction. Besides, I've had enough reading to last a few centuries," Crow grumbled. "Anyways, I'm becoming a famous writer. No time for other people's stories." He turned back to his dust-ridden keyboard.

"Have a look. There's some new stuff," Soren promised. "It'll give you something to do. Look in the Popular section - might help you with your references."

At this, Crow's ears perked up. They were supposed to be pointed, but the vampire had gotten quite good at concealing them. "Okay - I'll bite. Don't sabotage my literary masterpiece while I'm looking for something," he said, before turning on his heel and disappearing into the bookshelves.

Soren did not sabotage the literary masterpiece, but he did move it to a document. If it was saved, that'd likely be one less small heartbreak for Crow - meaning one less for Soren, too.

-

Crow ran a pale hand across the cold metal of the shelving. These books were portals to other universes, crafted of merely ink and paper. That was a good line, he thought. I've got to include that one.

His sunhat brushed against the cracked spines of the books as he walked past. These were good books. Well loved. Or maybe people just borrowed them a bunch, and destroyed them. Crow found the latter hard to believe. He tended to see the good in people - or at least, that's what he told himself.

He looked over his shoulder. Soren's head was dipped as he scrolled through his Reference Tablet - phone - and his seafoam hair fell over his face. The dye was uneven - bright neon green in some places, pale teal in others. Crow would like to say it reminded him of something poetic, but all he could see was that squid guy from Spunch Borg.

Still gotta get those names right. 

That show must have been useful to human development. Crow had seen a lot of posts about it.

He was pretty much lost in thought when he felt a tiny hand grip at his sweater. He yelped, and turned to see a child. Must have been only seven or so, but Crow was a bit short, and the kid was tall. This thing was terrifying. 

Okay. He was exaggerating. The child wasn't that tall. But still.

"Excuse me?" the kid said, gazing up at Crow. "Why are you wearing that hat? We're indoors."

Crow was lost for words, but gingerly took the hat off. His hair was even fluffier than usual, earning a laugh from the kid.

"Uh... It makes my... brain... smaller?" Crow offered.

"Why would you want to do that?"

How was he supposed to get out of this one? "Oh. Uh, to keep all the... smart... in. I'm too smart. If they escaped, it'd endanger the world," he mumbled. 

The kid put a hand on his hip. "Dude. Your smart won't escape. Even I know that," he retorted. That was when Crow noticed the kid's shirt, and had a brainwave. A green Minecraft creature. Pretty sure it was the one that exploded.

"You like Minecraft? I've seen stuff about that one! Is it true that you can be a dragon?" Crow asked, grinning. A chance to learn more about the references, and an escape. Sometimes Crow astounded himself with his own genius.

"Uh, no? Have you even played the game?" 

-

Five minutes later, Crow returned to Soren with a huge grin on his face.

"Soren! This kid just told me about Minecraft! I've learnt so much! Did you know you can travel to the Nether and go to a bastion and fight Piglins and-"

Soren stopped him. "Wait, Crow, you can't just befriend a random child. Did you even get a book?"

Crow's grin only widened. "And that, Soren, is where I have excelled." He dropped four books on the table. Minecraft Official Guidebooks.

"I had those as a kid. Good reading," Soren laughed. There he was again. It was really hard to stay mad at Crow. "Are you ready to go? I've put your sentence on the Cloud - I can show you how it works," he suggested.

"That sounds awesome! I think we're good to go. You have to tell me more about Minecraft, by the way," Crow said, his smile unwavering.

"Hell, I've probably got it on my laptop," Soren said. The two of them went to check out the books. Soren couldn't help but feel euphoric. There was something about Crow that just made his day so much better. He'd never admit it, but Crow was probably the best friend he'd ever had.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's stuck with Crow and Soren :) This isn't my favourite chapter, so I'll probably be making a few edits to this one. Thank you to everyone who's voted and commented, it absolutely makes my day :)