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Chapter 18 - chapter 18 Echos Between Shelves

The next day passed slower than usual.

Flora could still feel the faint warmth of last night's chat with Shane, the quiet teasing, his soft goodnight message that lingered longer in her thoughts than she wanted to admit.

Because of that, she hadn't dreaded coming to school.

Still, when the lunch bell rang and the corridors buzzed to life, she slipped toward the library instead of the canteen.

It was quieter there and she needed quiet.

She found her usual corner table, the same one by the window. The sunlight fell in scattered stripes across the desk, warm enough to make her eyelids heavy. She opened a random book but didn't read a single word.

Her phone buzzed.

Shane: Skipping lunch again?

Flora: Just hiding from the world.

Shane: You really need to stop making that sound poetic.

Flora: Then stop texting me during my dramatic moments.

Shane: Can't. They're the best part of my day.

She smiled despite herself, quickly typing back before her face could betray her.

Flora: You say that to every girl?

Shane: Only the one who looks like she needs a jacket in every season.

Her cheeks warmed. She tucked the phone away, pretending to focus on the book.

That was when she heard a voice.

"hiding here?"

She looked up Liam stood a few steps away, one hand resting on a chair, his expression calm as ever.

"It's peaceful," she replied.

"Or lonely," he countered lightly, taking the seat opposite hers.

His presence was quiet but heavy, like the library itself bent a little around him.

"How's Section A treating you?" she asked, partly to fill the silence.

"They talk too much," he said with a faint smirk. "But I listen better when people underestimate me."

Flora blinked, not sure how to respond. There was always something about his tone as if every line had two meanings, and she could only understand one.

He leaned back slightly. "You shouldn't sit alone too often. People start assuming things."

"Like what?"

"That you're waiting for someone."

Her stomach fluttered for reasons she couldn't name.

Before she could answer, her phone lit up again.

Liam's gaze flicked toward it briefly a quick, unreadable glance before returning to his book.

Shane: Library again?

Flora: Maybe. Why?

Shane: Thought you said you weren't dramatic today.

Flora: I'm improving. I only sighed once.

Shane: I'll award you a medal later.

She laughed quietly, earning a curious look from Liam.

"Friend?" he asked.

"Something like that," she said.

He smiled faintly but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

the bell rang, breaking the moment like glass.

Flora gathered her things, flustered. "I should go before Ms. Parker locks me out again."

"Right," he said, closing his book. "See you around, Flora."

She hesitated before leaving that quiet, unshakable feeling again. The same one she had when he spoke in the canteen, like he understood her too easily.

---

The final bell rang a little later.

Students streamed out of the school gates, their laughter echoing across the courtyard.

Flora stayed behind, heading toward the back exit where the evening light slanted gold across the pavement. She answered one last text before leaving.

Flora: You still at school?

Shane: Just left.

Flora: I'll walk a bit before going home.

Shane: Be careful. You always forget the world isn't as kind as you are.

Her chest tightened at the words. She didn't reply just smiled and slipped her phone into her pocket.

There was something oddly easy about their exchanges not forced, not heavy like the ones she had with others. With Shane, conversation flowed like water, natural and unpredictable.

They spoke of small things the chaos of morning classes, the way the cafeteria's bread always tasted like cardboard, how the library felt colder after sunset. Each line seemed meaningless on its own, yet each glance between them carried something unspoken.

---

Meanwhile, inside the nearly empty library, the air hummed faintly.

The librarian had already left, the doors half-closed.

Between the shelves, near the window seat where Flora had been earlier, a small device blinked the faint red light of a recorder.

Someone was there, sitting quietly, headphones around his neck, watching the waveforms shift on a small tablet.

He replayed a moment from earlier her soft laugh, her voice when she said "It's peaceful."

His jaw tightened.

"Still hiding… still pretending it doesn't hurt," he whispered.

The recorder light dimmed, but he didn't move.

From his angle, the last of the students were visible through the window and among them, Flora walking out into the fading light.

He adjusted the volume one last time, murmuring to himself.

"This time… I'll protect her properly."

The voice was calm. Familiar.

And though nothing about him looked dangerous, something about the stillness in his eyes made the air around him quietly tense.

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