The Library (Armin Arlert x Reader)

Chapter 2

((I will try to update once or twice a week!))

Upon noticing my nervous demeanor, he took a couple steps back. He held up his hands and showed me his palms with a nervous, close-eyed smile.

I breathed out in relief.

"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you!" He apologized, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh. "I just noticed you staring at some books and...well, I work here so I figured I could point you out to some!"

'Oh thank God- he didn't know I was staring at him..'

That's when I noticed the lanyard sticking out of one of his pant's pockets, the ID itself tucked away.

"Ma'am?" He repeated. I looked back up to his soft features with a smile.

"I'll take you up on that offer." I finally answered.

"That's great!" The blonde beamed, causing me to melt at the sight of his pure smile. "Follow me for the few feet we need to go!" He joked.

I nodded and he was right, only leading me just a couple feet forward, and I was now fully into the romance section of the library.

"I'm a huge sucker for romance, by the way, and I'm assuming you are too! I saw that look in your eyes, you seemed so entranced. I was like that too, the first time I came to this library." He smiled back on old memories. "Of course that was years ago, when I was a small child. I made it my goal to read every single book this place has to offer!"

I raised a brow, "There's hundreds upon thousands of books, blondie, I don't think you'd be able to do all that." I crossed my arms over my chest with a playful grin.

His cheeks reddened from the nickname I gave him and he looked across the room to try and hide the blush.

"I-I know that...but I won't be reading kids or teens books. I meant the romance novels and mystery or historical fiction..." The blonde looked to the ground and seemed more interested in his shoes than me.

"Mystery?" I resisted the urge to smile. "That's my favorite genre!"

He looked back to me with excitement in his big eyes. "That's perfect! I mean- great. That's...great!" He chuckled in attempt to hide his embarrassment. "...can I show you something?"

I nodded and he began to walk toward an single, empty bookshelf on the right of the romance section. I watched him with curiosity as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, showing to me that he did in fact have some muscles on him.

'Is he going to flex on me...?'

Thankfully, instead of flexing, the pushed the bookshelf to the side and revealed a secret passageway. He took a step in, only looking back to wave and signal for me to follow.

I did so in silence.

'This better not get me killed.'

I was about ready to whip out my pocket knife- just incase this guy tried to do anything suspicious.

The blue-eyed boy pulled a handle on the back of the bookshelf as if it were a sliding door and shut it. He turned to the rest of the room with a smile.

"Here's my little lair." He said proudly as I followed his gaze.

The room was beautiful- this place must have been built from an old house. There was a couch bed, an unlit fireplace, bean bags to sit and relax on, and photos.

I walked further in the room in complete awe, examining the photos of what seemed to be his family and the beautiful vintage fireplace.

Tucked away in fhe corner was a black mini fridge and a small snack bar.

"This place...it's amazing!" I turned to the blonde with an enthusiastic smile. I felt honored that he showed me such a wonderful room- this has been a lovely first day at Shinganshina.

"Thank you..." The blonde blushed, avoiding eye contact with me but smiled right after I complimented his little get-away. "On my breaks, you can usually find me here! Also please don't tell anyone about this place-" He pleaded with me."Only a few friends know about this and I really don't want my hideout to be exploited..."

"No, I completely get it." I said, understanding his situation. As kids, we all had a safe place- or something similar but not completely safe. "I also had a place to escape to, somewhere I could just...get lost in."

The blonde boy sat down on one of the beanie chairs, gesturing for me to sit on the other infront of him. I did so, continuing on with my story.

"Honestly it was just a pillow fort I would take down as soon as my moms got home. But I'd bring my art journal and just sketch away for hours and hours." A natural smile that I hadn't even notice at first speak from ear to ear across my face, and once I did notice, I covered it with my hand. "Anyway, are you currently reading anything at the moment?"

I was actually pretty excited to have finally found another bookworm.

The blonde haired boy pulled a book out of his satchel. " Just...Just a romance novel...The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, to be specific! It's amazing-- it's like...I get sucked into this world!* His smile got brighter, and he is probably so genuinely happy to be given the opportunity to discuss books with someone who isn't an old lady.

"Sort of how you are with art...Reading is like...an escape for me. It allows me to see through the eyes of someone else! I can feel how they feel, and when it--...oh, I-Im sorry, I'm just...rambling on.. "

"Oh, no no no!" I frowned, reaching a hand out to try and comfort him, patting his shoulder. "Never be shy to speak on what you're passionate about."

He looked to me with a half smile before continuing on. "Well, I like the feeling reading gives me, but it's so hard to put into words! Maybe....excited? Happy? I like to feel for the characters, and I get really happy when things go smoothly! It's like...it's like pulling you in, really good ones at least, and you want to read more! You want to know how it ends-- it keeps you going and going and going until boom!!-- it's over! It's so satisfying to see to read the ending of my beloved novels! If the ending do suck though, I just write my own ending for it! "

"You write your own endings?" I asked. His passion made me eager to know more. "Well....why don't you become an author?"

He set his book down on the table closest to him, but he still stood up, tapping his index finger on his cheek as if he were thinking.

"Being an author is a tricky thing to do...your books have to be approved and that can take forever- it won't even guarantee that your books will be successful, it's hard to explain..." He laughed nervously.

We discussed books for what felt like an hour, but when I had checked my phone for the time, it was already 7:25 in the afternoon- way past my dinner time.

"Thank you so much for showing me all of this, I...I had a lot of fun." I smiled at the blonde. "I've gotta go to my home now, but...thank you, again!"

"It's no problem, really!" He stood up and opened the bookshelf door for me, leading me out to the front door of the library. "I'm still on the job so...I'm sorry I can't walk you home."

"Oh, no, it's okay! I made a couple other friends earlier and they said they lived nearby, so I could probably catch a ride with them! Plus, I don't live all that far from here." I answered calmly, look g out to the well-lit street.

The blonde seemed hesitant at first, but eventually we said our goodbyes and I made it safely back to my dorm. Just as I was about to unlock the door and meet my dormmate...a horrible feeling washed over me and I facepalmed so hard with the key in my hand...I can swear it left a mark.

'I forgot to ask the dude's name!'