okay y'all, i'm a bad author and told myself every sunday i'd publish the post-credit scenes and eVERY SUNDAY I NEVER POSTED THEM, SO HERE I AM. ON A FRIDAY. POSTING THEM
except you, you can stay | rooks
written by resident beta reader
Books saw a small smile grow on Rowan's face.
"Thank you."
"Anythin' for you, Ro."
(the title is from "treehouse" by alex g)
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Nine-year-old Books watched the rain pour outside his window. He liked the sound of it pattering on the sidewalk and on the road. He opened his book to his last page and started reading.
"The rain is nice, ain't it," he heard Rowan say. Books looked up. Rowan was sitting on his bunk, looking at him.
"Yeah, it is." Books looked out the window again.
"I don't really like it that much." Books looked back at him in surprise. "It was raining when I, um, I ran away."
"Oh." Books didn't really know what to say in response. He got up and sat next to Rowan on his bunk.
Sometimes nothing needed to be said in response.
Books wrapped an arm around Rowan. He didn't really know what he was doing, but it felt right.
Books didn't notice that Rowan was smiling a little bit until he looked over at him.
Books had never seen Rowan's smile until now.
It was a nice smile. It was small, but bright. Books loved it.
"I think I kind of like the rain now," Rowan mumbled.
Books didn't say anything. The two of them just sat there, one arm around the other.
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Fourteen-year-old Books hid underneath his bunk. He glanced around, hoping he wouldn't be found. His breath came in little puffs.
Suddenly someone burst into the room. "Helloooooo? Anybody in here?"
Books stayed quiet.
He heard footsteps coming near the bed. He held his breath.
"BOO!" a voice yelled. The person bent over sideways to look at him under his bunk.
It was Sparkles.
"Ha! I gotcha!" he said with a triumphant smile. "Found ya, Books!"
Books rolled over and popped up on the other side. "Ya found me."
Sparkles had a smug grin on his face. He grabbed Books' hand and dragged him out of the room. "Come on! We still have to find Rowan and Slip."
Books smiled as he was dragged outside by the three-year-old newsie.
Sparkles threw open the closet. "Found ya, Slip!"
Slip was thirteen and a tough one. She laughed and ruffled Sparkles' hair. "Guess I was found, Sparks." She smiled.
"Now we have to find Rowan," Sparkles said. "Hyper already started looking."
Books smirked. "I think I might know where he is. Everyone else, split up, in case I'm wrong."
Books tiptoed down into the bedroom. He looked at the curtains and noticed there was something off about them. But he wasn't sure if Sparkles or Hyper had checked it already.
He smiled to himself and turned his back, pretending to walk away. He heard a clatter and a thud, but pretended to not notice. Books noticed in the corner of his eye that a certain Rowan was trying to quietly hurry down to the corner of the room.
He ran down and jumped up onto Rowan's back.
"Gotcha!"
"Books!" Rowan was laughing. "Don't scare me like that!"
"Well, I mean, this is hide and seek, so..." Books said, getting off Rowan's back. Rowan was smiling widely. They were both laughing.
Sparkles burst into the room. "Ha! Rowan, we found you!"
"Guess you did, little guy," Rowan said. He was still smiling. Books remembered how rarely Rowan smiles.
He decided to take it in so he would never forget it.
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Fifteen-year-old Books woke up to a sniffling noise. He figured it was Snapper or Sparkles with a nightmare, so he got up and followed the noise. It was only 5 minutes until he realized it was coming from the top bunk above his.
But that meant... it was Rowan.
Books climbed the ladder, but didn't get into the bunk. He hesitated for a second, then whispered, "Ro, are you okay?"
"Go away." Rowan turned around so his back was facing Books.
"I-it's okay, you don't have to tell me what happened. But are you okay?"
Rowan was silent for a solid 30 seconds. "Not really."
"I won't leave until you's okay, alright?"
"O-okay." Rowan turned so he was facing Books. "C-could you stay here?"
"In the bunk?" Books bit his lip. It had only been a week ago when he realized he'd been crushing on Rowan. It had been even longer than that when he'd developed it.
"If you don't want to, that's okay, it's kinda awkward anyway-" Rowan made to turn around again.
"I will," he said, cutting Rowan off.
Books saw a small smile grow on Rowan's face.
"Thank you."
"Anythin' for you, Ro."
And there they were, lying together in one bunk, in the middle of the night.
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"You ready to go out there and help with the strike?" Books asked Rowan. He felt nervous, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.
"I'm ready as I'll ever be," Rowan said. He felt Rowan's hand clasp his wrist and his face grow red.
"We better get out there then, huh?" Books smiled at Rowan.
"They're waitin' for us."
Books pushed aside the curtain, and there they emerged, the spotlight shining bright in their faces.
They could win.
And even if they didn't, Books felt he'd already won.
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~ fin ~
completed : 1 . 2 . 2021
edited version : 11 . 25 . 2021
word count : 851
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