Chapter Text
Most would dread work, whether they had entered and come out the other side of what was widely considered an apocalypse or not, but Abigail was more resilient than most.
As the sun set, Abigail walked around and lit their nightly candles. She had her doubts about having so many open flames near the books, but Grant had insisted it would be ok. Water pipes had been fixed and reinstated since the day the world turned upside down, but electricity never went back to the way it was before.
The library had become a safe haven for many. Rooms once used for programs had been repurposed as bedrooms. It wasn't the most private, but it was better than being outside. Abigail had gotten used to most of the regulars. Too used to, according to some. It hurt when they left and didn't return. Sometimes she would hear tales of what happened. It hurt every time.
But Abigail tried her best to not dwell on it. There were still plenty of people who were still there. Still safe.
"Excuse me, Zoey." As Abigail grabbed the candle from the table before her, a woman in a long skirt leaned back in her chair.
"Thank you..." Zoey whimpered out. In her arms she clenched her sketchbook.
"Of course," Abigail said with a smile. "It must be hard to draw in the dark, after all." As Abigail spoke, she placed the newly lit candle back onto the table.
"It's fine..." Zoey spoke softly as she loosened up, going back to sitting how she had been before Abigail had come over.
"If it isn't any problem, I'd love to see your drawing when it's done."
Zoey nodded as she opened her sketchbook back up, grabbing her pencil off the table.
"Hey Pom Pom! Stop chatting and bring some matches over here!" Across the room from Abigail and Zoey, a boy with dark shoulder length hair sat in one of the chairs, feet kicked up on the table in front of him. As Abigail made eye contact with him, a grin spread across his face.
"Oh what, so you can burn down the building? It's not like you're doing anything that even needs a candle." Abigail sounded annoyed, but she wasn't as much as she felt she should have been. It was fun to have someone to banter with.
"Can a man not want some light?" The boy kept up his smile, though he was no longer keeping eye contact.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming, Leeroy." Abigail rolled her eyes as she went over to where he was, lighting the candle in front of him. Despite the annoyance, Abigail had a slight smile on her face. "And can you stop it with the nickname? I wore a hair tie with a pom pom on it one time."
"'Abigail' just doesn't have the same ring to it. Pom Pom suits you better."
"Or you could call me 'Abby'. My actual nickname." As Abigail spoke, more frustration showed through.
"Nah, you're definitely more of a 'Pom Pom.'"
Abigail sighed as she gave up for now. It's not like this was the first time she'd asked Leeroy to call her Abby. "Just don't burn down the library."
"Do you really think so little of me?" Leeroy exaggerated his gestures, putting his hand to is chest as he pretended to be offended.
Abigail walked away, as there were still more candles to light, though they didn't take too long for her to finish. Once she was done, she decided to head outside to the garden.
Though it was called a garden, it wasn't much of one. It had a black fence around it, with a few trees on the edge. Some flowers were planted, as well a few pots with non-flowering flora. Not far from the door to go back inside, there was a black metal bench. There was a gate as well, though no one ever used it.
As summer came, the nights were shorter yet warmer. Abigail stepped outside and was met with a warm breeze that washed over her. Looking over, she spotted Grant sitting on the bench alone. Most found his eccentric ways insane, but Abigail chalked it up to them not knowing him well enough.
"Hey, Grant." Abigail spoke in a soft, steady voice as she walked over. Grant turned to her, as fireflies flew around them.
"Hello Abby. Did you have any issues?" Grant spoke kindly as he gave her a warm smile that reminded her of her father.
"No issues." Abigail sat down next to him as she changed her gaze to the fireflies. "It's a lovely night."
"It sure is. I know she would have loved it." Abigail started fidgeting with her outfit as she listened. Grant would sometimes mention his wife when the atmosphere was calm. One time he had told her it was because it allowed him to focus on his thoughts.
Abigail was still a relatively fresh face. When she stumbled upon the library, most of the current regulars were already known. New faces had shown up after her, but most of them didn't stay long. Grant's wife had been gone a long time, so Abigail never had the chance to meet her, but from what Grant had told her, she seemed like a lovely woman. One thing he always brought up to her, though, was her love of insects.
"Too bad butterflies don't come out at night."
Abigail stood up slowly, observing the fireflies before her.
"Those were always her favorite." Grants smile shifted, taking on a more somber form as he spoke.
Abigail carefully cupped her hands around a firefly before bringing it over to Grant and opening her hands.
"I think the fireflies are just as nice."
Grant smiled as he looked at the firefly, and then to the joy on Abigail's face. "Yeah, they're pretty great too."
The next morning started like any other. Abigail first assessed each candle to see how much had burnt the night before. Luckily the short summer nights allowed them to last longer than they had been previously.
As the day got going, everyone would assume their normal positions. There was a comfort to the routine, at least to Abigail.
Others, however, didn't take comfort in it. Leeroy despised it. He hated submitting to it. He wanted more, or at least, he wanted the option of more. As the day got going, Abigail went over to the return cart. As she began reshelving the books, Leeroy quietly snuck up behind her.
"So Pom Pom, why do you do it?" Abigail jumped a little before quickly realizing it was only Leeroy.
"Do what?" Abigail finished placing the book in her hand upon the shelf before turning to him.
"Work. The world is over, yet you got a job afterwards. At least hoo-ha already had it." Leeroy sounded a lot more matter of fact than normal, though it was partially balanced by his cheap insults.
"You should be nicer to Grant." Abigail turned back to the book cart, annoyance in her tone. "But...it's because I want to help." As Abigail answered, she finished putting the rest of the books from that section on the shelf before pushing the cart along. "Besides, no one else was helping him."
"He's too insane to retire. You didn't have to join him."
"He's too kind. What would Destiny think if he quite?" Abigail barely spoke loud enough for Leeroy to hear. She wasn't biting back like normal, though he hadn't been either.
"What are you going on about?"
"Maybe actually try talking to Grant." She responded louder this time, bringing back her usually underlining bite that laced her tone. "He'll probably be in the garden after sunset again. The fireflies are beautiful this time of year."
Abigail grabbed 3 books off the cart and shoved them into Leeroy's chest. "Now help me shelve these."
"No way! I'm just here to be funny." Leeroy smiled as he threw up his hands.
Abigail rolled her eyes, but smiled back as she placed the books back on the cart. The company was nice.
As she walked around, Leeroy continued to follow. He tried to continue the conversation, though it quickly dissolved. With the lack of anything to verbally say, Leeroy started messing with the books. Abigail should have been happy he was actually using library resources, though it felt more like he just wanted to mess with her.
With each shelf they passed, Leeroy would grab a book off of it. Some were titles he recognized, while some had just caught his eye.
"Who's reading this?" Leeroy sounded like he was about to start laughing as he held up a book titled 'Best Bi Erotica 2011.'
"Now why would I tell you that? Besides, you act like I'm the one who ordered them." Abigail tried to ignore him as she continued reshelving.
"Wait, so someone here actually read this crap‽ Oh, let me guess." Leeroy smiled as he thought through everyone he knew. "I bet it's Zoey. She seems like the type."
"That's none of your business. If you aren't going to use it, can you at least put it back?" Abigail was clearly getting annoyed, though that seemed to only fuel Leeroy as he placed it on top of her cart.
"It's your job as librarian to reshelve, so you should be the one to do it." He smiled at her as she reluctantly stepped over to put it back before turning to him.
"You know I'm not a librarian. I'm a 'library assistant.'" As soon as she finished her sentence, Abigail went back to her cart.
"Not even good enough following the apocalypse. I thought better of you, Pom Pom. No competition and you still fail?" Leeroy quickly made his way back to her side as she walked to the next section.
"I can't be a librarian. I don't have a masters, and it's hard to get one when there is no one to run any schools nearby."
"Oh boo hoo." Abigail decided to stay silent this time, so he went back to looking through the shelves. Just as she finished the last book on her cart, something caught Leeroy's eye. A dark purple book sat on the shelf with no title on its spine. As he pulled it off the shelf, it slid out easier than any of the others had, like it was asking to be pulled.
"You have to be the one to put it back this time," Abigail said as she spotted him with it.
"Yeah, yeah, Pom Pom." Abigail rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. She understood that that was just how he spoke to others.
"What book did you grab, anyways."
"I...don't know." Leeroy showed her the blank cover as he spoke. His voice revealed his confusion far beyond what he had intended.
"It probably lost its dust cover. It should say the title on the inside." Abigail got closer, grabbing the front cover along with the first page and flipping them open to see the title page.
THUMP!
The book feel to the ground, now closed. Abigail and Leeroy were nowhere in sight.