Wanted by The Mafia [Bxb]

One

Nathaniel —

Nathaniel Farrel shyly waved farewell to Mrs. Lavender, an old lady that was the owner of the local library he worked at. The lady gave the boy a timid smile, the skin around her eyes wrinkling as she reminded him to lock the door for safety purposes. With a nod, he waved her off quickly so he could get back to work. He needed to focus if he was going to finish the late night shift without driving himself wildly insane. Slowly, the library had begun to close off, the only two people still inside the store being a frequent customer, Lucas, one that was very handsome if Nathaniel dared to think about him.

He had a crush on the tall and lean boy ever since Lucas cooly entered through the glass doors of the library, making all the girls stop and swoon over the sweetheart. That day, the aura in the library seemed to change, as if the atmosphere was flipped upside down. Instead of cigars and toxic air, it suddenly smelt sweet, like peppermint, a scent that allowed access to Nathaniel's lungs. It made him want to see the boy every day. To his dismay, he couldn't. Nathaniel still remembered the first book Lucas had borrowed; Little Women, the tingles he felt on his shoulder when the taller boy tapped on it as an attempt to earn the worker's attention.

He had asked Nathaniel for his assistance, seemingly lost already while trying to find the book he wished to read. With a flustered face and sweaty palms, Nathaniel had hurried to helped Lucas find the book, tugging at the long sleeves of his favorite red sweater that was now drained of color from being washed too much. He hadn't even looked the taller boy in the eye, sneaking glances at him only when he wasn't close to him.

Ever since that day, Nathaniel had watched and liked Lucas from afar, gushing over his kind and gentle persona towards everybody he encountered, a small and friendly smile plastered onto his face as if it was there permanently. It amazed him that he had never seen Lucas without that boyish smile. But Nathaniel was aware that he didn't have a chance to win Lucas's heart. He was certain that the taller boy was as straight as a pole, the sight of Lucas winking at the lady customers tugging at his heartstrings.

Plus, Nathaniel was too small and short to even be likable by both genders. He was underweight too. Sporting a 5'3 as his height, he would go unnoticed as he roamed the streets. But throughout his life, he had learned to accept his physical self. It didn't matter that nobody loved him romantically, because he had Mrs. Lavender's black-furred kitten, Satan. The mewling kitten's nickname was Rumplestiltskin, one that Nathaniel had blessed upon the kitten. Satan was a little devil, always walking around Nathaniel's feet which made the boy attempt to be careful to not step on the kitten. That only resulted in his tripped over though, or bumping into something from lack of attention.

Lucas's goodbye that echoed through the empty but large building brought him back to reality, his eyes widening as he forced a shy smile upon his lips. "H-Have a nice day- I-I mean night! U-Um goodnight?" Nathaniel blurted out, his glimmering eyes wide as he scolded himself for being such a klutz. Lucas chuckled in amusement, waving to him before he trudged past the glass doors.

Nathaniel smacked himself, cheeks flushed in pure embarrassment. He loudly scolded himself, gritting his teeth. He always embarrassed himself in front of Lucas, and he hated that flaw of his. He ignored the embarrassing moment, for now, his tinted cheeks still bright red.

Feeling alone suddenly, Nathaniel began to feel the regret within him rise up. He was regretting taking the shift. He was exhausted from sorting out books all day, needing the extra cash to support himself in his small apartment. Plus, he just couldn't say no to Mrs. Lavender's puppy dog eyes when she asked him to take the shift. She was desperate too. So, without hesitation, Nathaniel agreed.

Nathaniel was a boy of many talents. But the fact that he had no social skills whatsoever had landed him in a decent yet not so amazing university. He had recently graduated and was now working at the library, taking as many shifts as he could to earn as much money as he could from such a low paying job.

Nathaniel loved drawing, having hung up many of his art on his walls, admiring how the colors mixed together to great newer shades, some darker, some lighter. He adored it, thankful that he had such a beautiful talent.

He sighed to himself, resuming the organization of the books he had to organize alphabetically. Since Nathaniel was very short compared to other boys, he had a gigantic ladder to help him reach the upper shelves.

With a groan, he climbed it, a few books in his hands that needed to be shelved. When he climbed up the ladder, he would sometimes look behind him to see if anyone was there. Although the store was locked and safe, he was paranoid that someone or something would randomly pop up and devour him.

He placed the books onto the shelf, shuffling to rush back down onto the flat ground. Then he repeated what he did. It was late at night and Nathaniel was yawning every few seconds, his baby blue eyes appearing a bit redder than usual. He had on a very drained red sweater that kept his small body warm throughout winter.

Nathaniel had moved onto the books that started with the letter G when he heard hushed murmuring outside the store. He was confused; it was almost 3.AM. He shrugged it off though, assuming it was some teenagers messing around, spray painting some walls.

Just when he was about to step down from the ladder, he heard the glass doors creak open, a rough voice lowly speaking, "well that was quite easy."