Confessions of a Teenage Caffeine Addict

39 // Mine

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Shout out to Melancholics for making me this amazing cover! I absolutely love it when you guys make me covers(:

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You don't need another human being to make your life complete,

but let's be honest. Having your wounds kissed by someone

who doesn't see them as disasters in your soul, but cracks to put their love into,

is the most calming thing in this world."

—Emery Allen

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KATIE

MARCH

The library was and always had been one of my favorite places, and to this day, I still can't explain why. Maybe it was the big wooden tables, the old book smell, or the vaulted ceilings that made me feel like I was in an upside-down boat. The library was the one place I knew would be quiet and calm. I had a whole table to myself today, with all my books spread out because I didn't really want anyone else throwing their stuff down and setting up camp. I was pretty good with sharing just about everything with Ava—my bed, my notes, my clothes—but when it came to big tables in the library, all bets were off. There were only three people I would sit with: Derek, Ava, and Isabel. But right now, I wasn't sure any of them would even look at me. I broke up with Derek so I'm sure he would be avoiding me like Mr. Douglas' History class. Ava was mad at me for breaking up with Derek, and even though Isabel and I made up, I wasn't entirely sure we were on the whole "sharing a table" level yet. So you can imagine my surprise when a certain floppy haired boy collapsed into the chair beside me.

It had been two weeks.

"H-hi," I said to him. He put his head down on the table and I almost reached out to rub his back, but stopped myself. That was probably the last thing he wanted right now.

"Can you read my paper?" Derek asked.

"Yeah," I said, a little caught off-guard by his request. "Of course."

"I didn't know who else to ask." He slid his computer towards me.

I nodded and began reading. I found most of the classic Derek mistakes almost instantly. "How have you been?" I asked him somewhat awkwardly because that felt like a weird question to ask someone you just broke up with, but I didn't want to sit in total silence. So awkward questions it was.

"I've been alright. Getting ready for State." He rested his elbows on his knees.

"Do you think you're gonna win?" I asked as I inserted an m-dash in the middle of one of his sentences, and another one towards the end. "Against Mansfield?"

"I don't know." He said after a short period of silence. His voice was so honest, like he really didn't know how this game was going to go. "We fell apart last year against them, so I'm kinda hoping that doesn't happen this time around."

"So don't let it," I said.

He gave me a hard nod, something he always did whenever I played Coach for five seconds. I had to admit, it was still cute.

"And Georgie?" I asked. "What about him?"

Derek's face lit up. "You were listening when I talked hockey."

I had to laugh at that. "Of course I was. You always get so happy whenever you explain stuff."

It was quiet again. "Is that offer still on the table?" he asked me while I was reading through the third paragraph.