Chapter Text
I ran into my local bookshop, the bell notifying my entrance as I swung open the heavy wooden door.
I had made sure to set my alarm extra early for that morning, giving myself enough time to get there before I had to make my way to work. There was a book that I had been waiting what felt like years for, and I wanted to pick it up as soon as humanly possible. Sure, it took me a while to actually drag myself out of the door… but I woke up early so that was the main thing I was taking away from it.
“Has it come?” I asked excitedly, rushing over to the front desk and locking eyes with an amused Zoë.
Although we were roommates, she never disclosed any information about new releases until she was at the store. She claimed it was only because she didn’t have the information memorised… I just thought it was because she wanted to torture me. I still stood by that claim, which she never actually denied…
She was used to my erratic behaviour by now, becoming desensitised to my hyperactive persona that I do whenever a new book comes out. Like a little puppy as she so affectionately called me a few times, and it was not like I could really disagree with the analogy.
Not that I do it with every book. Of course, I love most things that come out, burying my nose in anything that I possibly can. But nothing gets me quite as excited as the books by Earthling Oddity.
Nobody knew this unknown author’s real name, or what they looked like. The air of mystery obviously created a lot of hype, gaining them a lot of followers trying to crack the code and reveal the hidden identity. What really made them popular, though, was the magical way they created stories.
I was always completely enraptured by the words written on the pages. Becoming engrossed in the fictional world they created and riding out the waves of emotions that came with the storylines. Most of the time having me literally on the edge of my seat.
They had come out with a new book recently, a new addition to one of their series, and I had been patiently (except not really. Unless pacing up and down the flat and checking my phone constantly for updates was considered as being patient) for it to be delivered to the bookstore.
“It’s here.” Zoë replied, sounding amused, “I reserved one for you, even though I knew you would be the first one in here today. I could have even just brought you one home, but you would never wait that long.”
She reached underneath the desk and produced the long-awaited book.
I stared at it in awe, admiring the bright colours and detailed art on the front cover. It got me almost as excited as what it was carrying on the inside.
There were glittering patterns everywhere, golden twists and green vines all intertwined.
All of it drawing attention to the bold capitalised title in the middle.
“Wow.” I breathed out, smiling.
“Are you looking forward to reading it?”
I tore my eyes away from the book and looked up at her, squinting my eyes slightly “Seriously? I have been counting down the days for this book! Of course, I’m looking forward to finally being one step closer to unravelling the mystery that lies between the pages…”
She chuckled as I lifted my hand to tenderly stroke the front cover, “Should I leave you two alone?”
“No, that’s ok.” I said, picking it up and placing it gently in my backpack, careful not to bend the pages, “I have to get going anyway.”
“Ok, well we can talk about it later!”
I walked backward towards the door, grinning, “Or better yet, I can send you hourly updates.”
Often people got annoyed by my constant ranting and raving about books. If Zoë did mind, she never said anything. She encouraged me, even.
“Looking forward to it.” I heard her call, just as the door shut behind me.
***
“Why are you carrying your bag so carefully?” Jana asked me curiously as I got to work.
I had placed it gently on the ground in the back room with my coat, not wanting to damage the valuable contents lying inside of it. There was no time for me to drop it off at home as I only just had enough time to get to my shift on time. So, the only solution was to leave it in the storeroom and hope for the best.
“Seriously Jana? It’s got the book that I’ve been waiting months for.”
Realisation washed over her face. I had been talking her ear off about it for several shifts. The amount of information she had actually been listening to and retaining would forever be a mystery, but she let me babble all the time without much judgement so that was the main thing.
“Aah ok, that makes more sense.”
I pulled my apron over my head, “What did you think was in there?”
She shrugged as she went back to stacking food in the display case, doing her best to make it as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
“Judging by the way you were handling it, I thought for sure there was a bomb in there.”
I shook my head at her amusedly, “So your co-worker has a bomb, and you don’t do a thing to stop it? The least you could have done was taken my bag.”
“We have a full shift ahead of us, Robbe.” she deadpanned, “Excuse me for not having much pep right now. I want to move as little as possible and retain the small amount of energy I have stored. Wrestling a bomb from you would probably take everything I had.”
“Oh, come on. Shifts here aren’t that bad.”
She raised her eyebrows at me, “Go out all night drinking before our next shift and then tell me that again.”
We both worked at a coffee shop in town. I actually quite enjoyed it. Being able to chat with people and brighten their day with coffee and cakes was a nice feeling.
Of course, it wasn’t something I wanted to do forever. Film making was my passion, the thing that I aspired to do in the future. Maybe even make some adaptations of Earthling’s books. Who knows? I was studying it at University, working hard to perfect my skills, so that one day I could achieve something really great. But, for now at least, I had to make do with making drinks.
Unlike me, Jana really did not like her job. She liked interacting with the customers, being the social butterfly she is, but the part where she had to serve and clean was never really something she enjoyed doing. She was really only doing it for the money. As she says often, going out every weekend does not come cheap.
Not that I could relate, I could count the number of parties I had been to on one hand. It was probably kind of sad but sitting at home was much more enjoyable to me than being surrounded by a bunch of bustling bodies.
If I got paid every time she moaned when cleaning down the tables, there would be no need for this job. I would be rolling in money. She always claimed that it was manual labour, and she was going to sue the company for it. It did make me wonder what she thought would happen when she signed up for the job, but I never dared ask as she was always in a mood. It was best not to make things worse and just nod along.
“So, that book you have.” she said, “That’s the one with the mystery author, right?”
I nodded, “Yep, they use a pen name. Lots of people have obviously tried to step forward and claim to be the author but the real one has yet to be revealed. If they ever will be. Fame isn’t for everyone, so I wouldn’t blame them for keeping hidden and basking silently in the glory of their writing.”
“Aren’t you curious about who it is?” she asked me.
“Well, yeah.” I replied, “I have always wondered who it is. I would love to be able to properly give my gratitude to the person that created such wonderful books… but I wouldn’t go out of my way to try and drag someone into the spotlight that doesn’t want to be there.”
Many people on the internet have been trying to do exactly that. I have never understood why. Sure, you want to be the one to solve this giant question. But if it involves having to invade someone’s private life and tear down all the security and boundaries, they have built around them in order to remain anonymous, why would you want to do that?
What does revealing a random stranger’s identity add to your life? Nothing. It wouldn’t make you best friends with this person. In fact, you would probably end up as public enemy number one. Snooping in other people’s business isn’t cute, it’s creepy. Especially when they go out of their way to hide it.
The customers began flooding in. People coming in for their takeaway cups of coffee to beat away the morning tiredness. Mondays were always especially bad. The weekend always wipes people out. Combining that with five days left of work looming over their head, a constant reminder of the seemingly never-ending week ahead of them, anyone would be exhausted.
Then, after a while, I spotted a familiar head of bleach blonde head of hair among the crowd out the corner of my eye.
“Robbe,” I heard Jana hiss beside me as I continued making drinks for the awaiting customers, “He’s here!”
Sander was a regular at the shop. He would always come in with an easy smile on his face and instantly brighten my day.
He was one of the most beautiful people I had ever laid my eyes on. Not only that, but he was also incredibly kind. Always dishing out compliments and making conversation with us while he patiently waited for his order. He has even defended us a couple of times when customers have been rowdy and impatient during the rush hours. Sander was just an all-round saint, and I was sure that nobody had a bad word to say about him... I certainly didn’t.
Jana knew that I had a small crush on him. I never told her outright, but she saw the way my face lit up whenever he was around and joined the dots herself. It seemed that she preferred to play detective rather than do her actual job.
I waited until he got to the front of the line and greeted him with a shy smile, trying not to blush like I normally did.
“Hey, Robbe!” he said, grinning, “How are you this morning?”
“I’m good” I squeaked, mentally face palming as soon as the high-pitched tone escaped my mouth, “Will it be your usual, today?”
Ok, so maybe small crush was a bit of an understatement. He always seemed to make me tongue tied and act like a complete idiot. Which was a great way to act in front of someone you want to impress.
It’s just that even after months of him coming in, I couldn’t get myself under control. He always had the same effect on me, making me reduce myself to a giggling beet-red mess. And the fact that I constantly wanted to jump over the counter and kiss him silly didn’t help with matters either.
He nodded, “You know me so well. Either that or I am in here too often.”
“Nonsense!” Jana called to him, “We love having you in here, Sander… some more than others” she muttered under breath, meaning only for me to hear it.
As I was making his drink (a chocolate mocha – which was basically just a fancy coffee with chocolate, always with whipped cream on top) he leaned against the counter, making light conversation with Jana and me. He never seemed aware that we were at work and that he might be holding up the queue. Not that there were many of them at that moment. He had come just at the right time, most of the people filing out and going to their jobs.
“So, did that book come that you were talking about?” he asked me.
“Um, yeah.” I was surprised he remembered. I had made an offhand remark about it a few weeks back. But then, he always did seem to pick up on small details like that often. “I got it this morning before I came to work. The first thing I’m going to do when I get out of here is run home to read it.”
“Really?” he said, sounding faintly surprised, “You are that eager to read it?”
I turned towards him, placing the steaming cup of coffee on the tray next to the croissant Jana got for him. It took almost everything I had inside to stop my shaking hands from spilling the coffee everywhere and making a complete fool out of myself, but I managed to make it through.
“Well, I’ve been waiting for it for so long… it takes priority over everything else as far as I’m concerned.”
“You know how Robbe is,” Jana said teasingly from beside me, jabbing me lightly in the side, “forever a bookworm.”
Sander smiled as he picked up the tray from the counter, “When I come back, you’ll have to tell me how you’re finding it.”
Just as I was about to reply, Jana jumped in, “He’ll only have good things to say. He’s obsessed with this author, won’t shut up about them. It’s kind of annoying actually.”
He smirked, “Maybe I’ll have to check them out.”
“You should!” I told him enthusiastically, “Their works are amazing. Even if you aren’t really into reading, this person can have you drawn in with just a page of their writing.”
“I don’t doubt that, I’m sure you have impeccable taste” Sander said, winking at me.
He often did that but even after weeks of seeing it, I was still blown away each time. He always seemed to take my breath away without even trying.
Sander made his way over to a table, placing his tray down and taking out his small black notebook as normal. It was his daily routine and moved like clockwork every time. I don’t think there has been a single day he has come in when he hasn’t been scribbling away dedicatedly in there, pen moving furiously across the paper.
I was always curious about what he was doing in it, but never dared ask. It could be something deeply personal and private, I wouldn’t want to invade his comfort zone like that.
He was in his own world when he wrote. As soon as the book was opened it was like a protective bubble opened around him, blocking out anyone and everything from his work. If we wanted to ask if he wanted a refill or anything else to eat, it would take a few tries to get his attention. Sander manages to block it out so easily.
Although it was a similar thing when I read. It was like escaping to another realm where nobody could reach you. Like a haven that you could take shelter in and escape from all your problems, if only for a short amount of time.
The following hour of my shift was spent being distracted by the blonde-haired boy sat on the opposite side of the room. I could have argued that it was just his hair that was catching my attention, but everyone would know that was a bare-faced lie.
It was just his whole being that grabbed me. The way his hand moved quickly over the page at some points or how he sat in a daze in other moments. The way he shook his head sometimes, the blonde locks moving away from his eyes when he did so. Even just the way he sat… he just looked so serene… angelic.
“Robbe.” Jana said, having to rouse me from my daydreams. It had happened an embarrassing amount of times, too many to count, “Customers.”
“Right” I mumbled, shaking myself out of it and going to serve them, praying that Sander was somehow in a soundproof part of the shop and wasn’t able to hear what a fool I was being.
***
Rini could feel the tingling begin to start in the tips of her fingers. It was that small feeling that filled her entire being with dread. It couldn’t be happening again. Not now. It was just the worst thing that could ever happen to her. It could jeopardise the entire operation. One silly mistake, one tiny slip-up and the whole thing would crumble to the ground.
She had tried so hard to push the feeling down. Pretend that it didn’t exist and that it would never return. And due to all of the events, the dizzying array of distractions, she had been naive enough to think that her prayers had been answered. Unfortunately, not.
The tingling was just the beginning. Soon her whole hands would be on fire, the white-hot feeling consuming her appendages, the pain unlike anything she had felt in her life.
I was curled up on my bed, burying my head in the pages and immediately becoming engrossed in the alternate world. Escaping into the story and joining the characters in their quests. As soon as I read the first sentence, it was like falling into that place… like there were hands coming out of it and dragging me through, making me join them. Not that I had to be forced, I would go willingly at the drop of a hat.
As promised, each time I got up for a break to get a drink or a snack, I texted Zoë. Most it was just unreadable key smashes or yelling about things in capital letters. She had to ride through the waves of emotions that came over me as I got them. Which, to be fair, she signed up for. And since she was so into books to, I didn’t think she minded having someone to talk about them with.
I got through a good chunk of it that afternoon, consuming the words at a rapid rate. Some people wondered how I could retain all that information so quickly, but my argument was that I was so excited to read it, there was no way for me to slow down even if I tried. Plus, I enjoyed it so much and the book was so gripping that there was no way I couldn’t remember the things that I was reading.
Stopping was not something that I was planning on doing… that was until Milan came home. That meant the peace and quiet of the flat was completely gone and there would be no serenity for the rest of the day.
He came bursting into my room, slamming open my door.
“Robbe!” he exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes, putting my book down in my lap – being mindful to save my place before doing so. Too many times I had made the mistake of not putting a bookmark in and having to spend ages hunting for the last page I was reading.
“Have you just given up on knocking now, Milan?” I asked in annoyance, although we both knew I didn’t really mean it.
“Oh please, it’s not like a boy is ever in here. You’re just laid there with your books everyday… and Cookie but hanging out with your cat doesn’t really help your case.”
I looked to the side of me where my cat was laid, well kitten would probably be a better name for him since he was still young. He was a grey tabby, adorable stripes of black adorning his face and body.
He was laid beside me on the bed, curled up in a sleeping position. The cutest snuffling sounds were coming out of him as he purred softly.
I put my gaze back on Milan, “That’s beside the point.”
“Not really… the point was about privacy, so-”
“Ok, fine… just… what were you going to say?”
He looked a little confused at the question at first, his face blank.
“What was I… Oh yeah! The craziest thing happened earlier, Zoë and I got invited to a party this weekend, you should come along.” And when he noticed the unimpressed look on my face, he added, “Oh, come on, Robbe. It’ll be fun!”
None of that sentence made any sense to me whatsoever. Firstly, Milan being invited to a party was not a crazy occurrence. It practically happened every day, that was not something that he should be surprised about anymore. Secondly, parties are not exactly my scene, and he knew that for a fact.
I huffed, “Look… as much as I would love to come out and hang out with all of your friends and stand in a nightclub by myself all night… I have plans.”
Milan groaned, abandoning his place in the doorway and throwing himself down on my bed, causing the mattress to bounce a little.
“Robbe, I love you; I really do. But if you stay here for much longer, you will become part of the furniture. So, you are coming to the party which, one, is being held at a flat not a nightclub. And two, you will definitely not be left alone… ok? We will make sure of it.”
I loved how much he cared about me. He was always doing what he could to make me feel included and get me out of the house as much as possible. Which, although I complained a lot about it, was actually a really sweet and thoughtful thing for him to do.
Judging by the way he was looking at me with his puppy eyes and propping his chin on his hands, he wasn’t going to stop until I gave in.
“Fine,” I sighed, “I’ll go. But I hope you know that this is a kidnapping situation, and I will only be attending because you are forcing me to.”
He laughed a little, his eyes shining, “Whatever gets you out of the house. Now, have you eaten or were you too distracted by that Earth persons’ book?”
“Earthling Oddity.” I mumbled.
“Earthling Oddity.” He mimicked, rolling his eyes, “Have you eaten or not? Speak now or I won’t order you anything. I’ll get all your favourites and won’t let you have any.”
We both knew that wasn’t true. All I had to do was ask politely and give my most prize-winning smile and his resolve would weaken almost immediately.
Our relationship was very interesting… very much like siblings. Which I was happy about. I was an only child and never had that type of relationship with anyone before. But when I moved into the flatshare, it was like an immediate bond between us.
It was relief, having be that close to him. I had been so nervous that we would not get along when I first moved in as our personalities seemed so different. But he was great and so welcoming. The two of us had clicked in our first few conversations, a bond for life being forged.
“I’ve had some snacks but nothing substantial, by your standards.” I told him, “If you could order me something, I would appreciate it.”
He reached over and ruffled my hair before getting up.
“Will do. You can go back to your reading now… have fun, but not too much fun.”
“Ok, Milan.”
He shrugged as he went out the door.
“You were the one going on about privacy.”
I shook my head, grinning, as I opened my book up and fell back into the world where nobody would be able to reach me… that was, until my food arrived.