Work Text:
The scent of lilies was in the air. Hollyberry's heart ached, in a sweet way, the same way her stomach would ache when she ate too many sugary jellies. It was a quiet morning; Hollyberry had risen earlier than usual to make her way down to the library, hoping that perhaps she would run into White Lily at some point.
She hadn't, yet, but the faint smell of lilies seemed to linger wherever she went.
The many bookcases stood around her, filled with books upon books. Mainly academic texts, though there was a small fiction section in one corner of the library. Hollyberry paced around the shelves which rose high into the air. She couldn't even see the ceiling. She wandered throughout the halls of the library for a while, in a dazed state as she stared around the room. Her reverie was broken when she collided with someone carrying a stack of books.
Hollyberry only stumbled backwards, but the person she had ran into fell onto the library's floor, their books tumbling with them. Hollyberry winced.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I-" Hollyberry's voice died in her throat when she realized who she'd bumped into:
White Lily, wincing, a hand pressed against her forehead and one supporting herself as she sat up.
Well... Hollyberry had wanted to run into White Lily while she was here, though not literally.
A moment later, Hollyberry realized she had been staring, caught in her thoughts. White Lily had begun to gather her books. Hollyberry kneeled to help, picking up the few which had scattered farthest from White Lily.
She stood up again and offered her free hand to White Lily, an apologetic smile on her face.
"I'm really sorry," she says when White Lily takes her hand, "I wasn't looking where I was going," she continues, pulling the other up.
"It's alright," White Lily says. Her voice sounds sweet, sickeningly so, in the way it causes Hollyberry's heart to flutter.
"Are you okay?" Hollyberry asks.
White Lily smiles. "Yes, I'm fine. Are you?"
"Yep!" Hollyberry hands the other cookie her books back.
The two cookies stared at each other for a moment, Hollyberry unsure what to say next.
White Lily looked away, and it hurt.
"I wanted to-"
"I'd better go-"
Hollyberry blinked.
"Oh, nevermind then." she shifted her gaze to look at the floor, smile dropping.
"No, no," White Lily cuts in, "what were you saying? I can stay a little."
"I... wanted to tell you something," Hollyberry says.
"Yes?" White Lily tilts her head, looking curious.
Here goes nothing. "I like you," says Hollyberry, a smile slipping onto her face.
White Lily almost drops her books again in surprise.