"So, where exactly is this library you go to? Please don't tell me it is our school library where that angry old woman is the librarian!" Jonathan asked as Adrian kept his eyes focused on his book.
"The school library is boring. With a lots of annoying people watching over you, you cannot read in peace" Adrian answered simply.
"So, you go to a library where there are no one else around, but you?" Jonathan asked, almost expecting to have replied with a laugh or an answer that might be funny.
"Kind of, yes"
Jon was intrigued.
"Let me guess, a personal library?" He wondered if Adrian was a rich lad who had his own library at home. That would be great.
"Hm. If you put it that way... Yes" Adrian marked his page and closed the book he was reading. He turned his head to look at Jon with a serious expression.
"Would you like to go with me to the library?"
"Er.. Now?" Jon sounded confused.
Adrian just nodded and waited for an answer.
"You mean, right now?"
Adrian heaved a sigh and got up from his spot. He then took his book and walked away, not even bothering to look back.
Jon wondered if he felt insulted or something. "Hey!" He called out, but Adrian didn't seem to stop walking.
Jon cursed under his breathe and pushed himself on his feet. He then sprinted towards Adrian.
"Hey, I mean, I could go with you if it doesn't bother you!" Jon sounded almost breathless.
"It doesn't"
"Oh, fine by me, then. Let's go!"
For some strange reason, Jon felt excited.
A little too excited to be going to a... Library.
•••
All of Jon's excitement had almost died out and it had started to give way to a feel of uneasiness.
They had been walking through some abandoned road with a lots of creepy looking trees on both sides, for almost half an hour. The fact that Adrian never spoke a word since they started walking only made the situation look even creepier.
Jon vaguely wondered if Adrian was secretly a psychopath and if this was all his plan all along.
Now, that would make total sense because he had heard stories about how the quietest of kids are the psychopaths and how they just go crazy when someone disturbs them.
What if Julian was disturbing his life all this while?!
Though it sounded stupid, Julian couldn't help himself from panicking. He wondered if it would be better if he just turned around and ran as fast as he could without ever looking back.
"We're here" Julian was jolted out of his thoughts when Adrian spoke.
"Huh?" Julian looked ahead and saw an old abandoned building with moss and creepers climbing over the walls and into the building through the broken windows.
Jon gulped down his dry throat.
"You look pale. Don't you want to come in?" Adrian asked, looking as expressionless as ever.
Jon had a feeling that Adrian would grab a chainsaw out of nowhere and cut him open if he said no. He had watched a little too many psycho movies.
"Heh? Sure, I can go in" he said with a nervous chuckle.
Adrian just eyed him suspiciously and walked towards the building.
A part of the wall was free of any creepers or moss. Julian assumed that it was because Adrian frequently used that wall to go up and down the building.
Adrian took ahold of a fissure in the wall, big enough to grip his fingers on and started to climb up. He went up and propped himself up a window pane and opened it. When he faced down, he noticed that Julian was still standing on the ground, not even moving a limb.
Adrian raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to a side as he waited.
Realising Adrian was gazing down at him, Julian too started to climb up the wall, the same way Adrian did, though half heartedly.
When Julian was almost near him, Adrian heaved a sigh and got inside the building.
Julian struggled as he propped himself up the window frame.
What he saw inside the building surprised him. Though it looked broke down from the outside, it was as good as new on the inside.
The furniture looked a bit old and the walls had started to tear down, but everything was neat and clean. Adrian had lighted a lantern and hung it on a hook by one of the book shelves, illuminating the room.
"Are you gonna stand there all day or are you going to come in?"
"Uh, yeah sorry" Jon smiled cheekily and got inside the room.
"You arranged all this?" Jon asked as he gazed at the neatly stacked books in the shelves.
"Hm. This place was left abandoned years ago when the internet cafe opened in the town. The books were left abandoned too. I thought they ought to be treated the way they deserved to be" Adrian said as he traced his fingers through a stack of books, searching for something to read. "Feel free to fetch a book you would like to read" he said in a soft voice as he picked himself a book.
Jon glanced towards the book shelf with intrigued eyes. This was all new to him. He had never really sat and finished a book other than a collection of fairy tales that his dad had bought him when he was five.
He didn't even have the knowledge to tell what each of those books were about. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt, silently watching as Adrian sat down on the floor by the book shelf with his book.
Jon heaved a sigh. He randomly took a book and crouched down beside Adrian. He read the title. 'Macbeth', it read. It had an interesting cover.
It didn't take Jon too much time to feel sleepy. Reading was never his thing and he felt as if he could no longer keep his eyes from drooping. The more he tried to stay awake, the more exhausted he became.
What a day...