Librarian Blues❄Troy Barnes

dont you want me - chapter 11

"Happy Deanaween! I hope you're all having a spooktacular night," Dean Pelton's voice screeched over the PA system in the library. For this night alone, I turned the speakers back up. It was for the music, not for him, but I can't always get what I want.

"Can I pay my library fine while I'm here?" a guy yelled over the music.

"No. The library is closed right now," I yelled back.

"But we're all here right now. Why can't I just give you the money for my fine?" he asked.

"Because the library system is shut down. I can't accept any money. Please leave me alone," I groaned. He shook his head and danced away, his head bopping along to whatever ABBA song that was playing. I pulled my phone out, desperate to let something take over my thoughts while I guarded the main computer.

My only job tonight was to make sure that nobody touched my computer. Last time the library was used for a party, someone went in and marked all library fines as being paid and tried to check in all of the books. Lucky for me, they didn't save their changes. I was able to go in and fix everything the next time I worked. But I don't want to deal with that again.

I had yet to see Troy or any of his friends, so the night had definitely been dragging on. Between the ABBA songs on repeat and students asking to do library business, I was going crazy. All I wanted was to sneak off and hang out with Troy.

"These songs suck. Do you think that we could hijack the sound system? Really get this party going?" a familiar voice yelled behind me. I turned around to see Connor. He was dressed up as what looked like someone from the 1800s.

"You can try, but our overlord in spandex hasn't left the computer. What are you supposed to be?" I asked, looking him up and down.

"We all know he's obsessed with Jeff Winger. I heard them arguing in the hallway, so he'll be pulled away pretty soon. And I'm a sexy founding father, obviously. What are you? A dollar store version of a pirate?"

"I'm just a normal pirate. I was going to go as a thing called a Blorgon to match Troy, but I couldn't get everything together in time. Does it look bad?" I looked down at my makeshift costume, adjusting the vest over my shirt.

"No, not at all. You look good," he cleared his throat.

I nodded, not looking up. I examined my outfit, now anxious of every little detail that made it evident my outfit was homemade. A few loose strings here, a seam that looked like it was about to come loose there. Everything was catching my attention. I was so caught up in examining my costume that I didn't even hear Troy come up next to me, let alone Connor walking away.

"Arrrgh! Ahoy there," Troy yelled, making a fake hook with his hand.

"Ahoy!" I said, focusing on his costume. He came as one of the characters from Inspector Spacetime, but I couldn't remember the name.

"What happened to being a Blorgon?" he frowned, looking at my costume.

"I couldn't get everything together for it, so I grabbed some old costume stuff I made and threw something together," I sighed.

"Well, you're still the hottest pirate I've ever seen. How do I look?" he struck a pose, pulling a fake whistle up and pretending to blow it.

"Definitely the hottest character from Inspector Spacetime I've ever seen," I laughed.

"Good. I expected nothing less," he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. "How much longer are you working tonight?"

"Until the party is over. I can tag Connor out for a bit, but I'm stuck here until the Dean says I can leave," I sighed.

"Well, don't be surprised if there's an emergency in a little bit and you have to go home. I have to go check on Abed, but I'll come back and hang out with you in a bit," he gave me a quick hug and went back into the crowd of students.

I stood and watched everyone around me, noticing the music stopping in the middle of a song. A few moments later a new song started. It definitely wasn't on the playlist from before. I looked around, trying to see if I could find Connor. Clearly, he was successful in his endeavor to play new songs.

After looking around for a moment, I saw him scurrying his way through the crowd back over to me. "Where's Troy?" he asked, scooting next to me.

"He had to go check on Abed. He'll be back in a bit," I yelled.

"Wow, bummer. He didn't even dance with you in the few minutes he was here with you. His loss," Connor said, leaning in close so he wouldn't have to yell.

I didn't respond, taking a step to the side to put a little bit more distance between the two of us.

"Come on, Maisy. You don't have to stand right next to the desk all night. Come dance. Even if you stand a thousand feet away from me, at least enjoy yourself," he motioned towards an opening in the crowd.

"Fine," I sighed. He smiled and led the way. I followed him out to the middle and stood there for a moment, awkwardly dancing to the music. "Live a little. Stop being so awkward," he laughed, reaching an arm around my waist. He pulled me closer pressing me against him.

"Please don't," I chuckled, pulling his arm off as I stepped away.

"Why? I'm just helping you dance," he argued, trying to slide his arm back around my waist.

"You literally said you didn't mind if there was space between us. I can dance just fine on my own," I pushed him away to no avail. His arm wrapped even tighter, pulling me closer again.

"Hey," Troy said. "Back off."

"What are you going to do about it, inspector boy?" Connor asked, looking over at him.

"I'm going to kick your ass," Troy stated, rolling his sleeves up.

Connor laughed. "You and what army?"

Troy didn't say anything as he pushed me to the side, breaking Connor's grip and sending me tumbling into some students. A split second later, his fist connected with Connor's cheekbone. Connor staggered back, and Troy hit him again. This time, Connor fell to the ground. Troy looked down at him, his face twisted in anger.

"That's enough," I intervened, stepping in between the two of them. Troy's face softened as he looked at me.

"Are you okay? Did he do anything else?" Troy asked.

"I'm fine," I groaned, "I'm going to go look for Dean Pelton. Connor, you can finish watching the desk. I'm just going to go home."

I rushed away before Troy or Connor could say anything, tracking Dean Pelton down. I eventually found him talking to Jeff Winger.

"Hey, Craig. Can I talk with you for a minute? It's urgent," I begged, pulling his attention away.

"Of course. Let's go talk in the back office," he stated. I nodded and followed him to the back.

"What can I assist you with," he looked me up and down, "captain?"

"No need for formalities, matey," I joked. He looked at me, gesturing for me to continue. "Shit, right. So, what would happen if an employee and a student were to get into a fight at this party?"

"Well, I'd have no choice but to fire the employee and expel the student. Why do you ask?" he sat in the chair behind the desk, leaning forward and supporting his chin with his hands.

"What if the student was just trying to de-escalate a situation between two employees?" I questioned.

"Okay, stop with the hypotheticals. Let me guess, you and Connor were fighting or something. Troy saw. He stepped in, punched Connor, and now you're trying to cover for both of them?" he explained, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's exactly what happened. Please don't fire and expel them," I begged.

"What do you suggest I do, then? That's what our policy is."

I thought for a moment, trying to find a solution. "What if you just made them do community service or something? That way they get disciplined but you don't lose an employee or potential star football player," I suggested.

"I'll consider it. Go put my playlist back on."