Caroline

She only nodded, afraid of upsetting the stranger again with her voice. Mama hated it especially when Winnie spoke out of turn, or at all for that matter really. She also hated tears. Winifred sniffled, wiping at her wet eyes with her sleeve until she appeared as if everything was normal again.

Caroline felt bad, forgetting that she was surrounded by people who probably had a lot going on. Reaching over, she grabbed the pack of tissues she had in her backpack before silently sliding them over.

it was another lazy day, and luke decided it would be a wonderful idea to hit the library. he always loved the place. he loved the peace and quiet, the careful flutter of a page turning, the occasional giggles followed by a shhh! from the librarian. aside from his and tony’s room, the library was luke’s favorite place.

from its shelf, he grabbed this book he has always been meaning to read and walked along to the nearest table, not even noticing the other person who was sitting across from him. a few minutes in and luke was completely engrossed with the book. his arms were both on the table, the left held the book upright, while right was where his head was resting. 

it didn’t take long for luke to acknowledge the presence of the person in front of him. he liked the silence and he was glad the person didn’t bother him. it was then when he noticed the person sitting in front of him was a girl he rescued from an abusive foster home. she seems to be doing good for herself, luke thought with a smile.

Something about the boy across from her struck her. He seemed familiar, but she was certain they hadn’t crossed paths here. It didn’t make sense to her, but she felt like it was somewhere dark she had seen him, and she knew it couldn’t have been at Plath.

Caroline tried to let it go, she wasn’t going to bother him, she didn’t bother people. If a conversation didn’t have to be made, no way she was going to fill the empty. The silence between them was comfortable and she didn’t want to break it, but eventually curiosity got the best of her no matter how many times she knew it shouldn’t.

It took her about four times of almost saying it and then chickening out before she finally asked, in a voice that was quiet even for a library. “Where have I seen you before?” 

Winifred flinched quite visibly. She was startled at the comment the stranger basically blurted out. She furrowed her brows, shaking her head quickly before she lowered her head to hide the fact that she was close to tears. “Winnie wants n-nothing”

Caroline was confused. She hadn’t said anything at all and yet the girl across from her was about to start crying. Caroline had never made anyone cry before, and she immediately started to panic on the inside. “Are you okay....” She asked, basically a whisper.

grey eyes stare at the other unblinkingly, pink lips barely turned down in a hint of a disapproving frown. atara doesn’t even feel ashamed when the other girl catches her eye, rather she sends her another curious look. she can’t help her natural suspicion, she can’t prevent the way it crawls up her spine, seeping past her skin and settling between her bones. the redhead continues to watch caroline, waiting for…. something. 

Caroline was beginning to get creeped out, she wasn’t even sure if the other had even blinked at all. They way the other was staring at her made her uncomfortable.

he’s not looking at her, rather he’s staring at the clock behind her, but the moment he catches her gaze antonio frowns. then he glares at her, blue eyes dark and cold. “what the fuck are you looking at?” he snarls.

Caroline didn’t flinch when the boy used the harsh tone, but rather she put both her hands up in mock surrender and shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t want to be yelled at, she just wanted to lay low.

he noticed the hesitation, but he also noticed her wanting to read the other books. “yes, i’m sure,” he smiled. “i finished reading the entire series anyway. just don’t read them in class.”

Caroline pretended to wipe her nose to hide her smile. She hadn’t had an interaction with an adult this nice before. “Thank you, I promise I won’t.” 

Skylar nodded, taking another drag from her cigarette. “No problem.” she said, forcing a smile. The cigarette was keeping her from going insane right now. Her desperation to shoot up was bad, but she had no dope left.

While she was down, Caroline stopped to tie her shoe. She noticed the girl infront of her seemed stressed, and Caroline almost felt a little bad, but then again she didn’t know her.

Normally when someone was around Caroline either felt the need to sit up straighter or bury her head and try not to be seen, but for some reason the boy didn’t make her feel like she had to do either. They had been sitting silently together for some time now, and Caroline liked it.

corey smiled when the younger did. he was glad she decided to stay and talk, he had a lot of papers to mark and he didn’t feel like doing them yet. “the first two books, right?” corey said, “i have the rest of the series. i can lend them to you if you want! just don’t read them in class.”

 As much as Caroline wanted to read the whole series, she didn’t want to take something that belonged to something else. She was always taught not to touch things that aren’t hers. “Are you sure?” 

corey noticed her quickly packing her things, he just assumed she wanted to get away quickly. much to his surprise, she handed him the book and he examined the cover. “hmmm, harry potter? it’s a good series,” he smiled, handing the book back to her, “i rather liked it.”

Caroline smiled a tiny bit when he said he liked the books before gently taking it back from him. After a moment of silence where she was contemplating furthering the conversation, for some reason she decided to. “They only have two of them in the library here.” She said, ever so quietly.

“nah, don’t think about it,” he smiled. corey sat on the desk in front, propping a foot on the nearest, unoccupied chair. he sipped on his take-out coffee and smiled at her after. “what book are you reading?” he asked, intrigued. he doesn’t see other kids read an actual book a lot so this was nice.

Caroline packed up her things quickly, assuming he wanted her out of there. She wasn’t sure if he was actually interested in what she was reading, or just making small talk, but she handed the book to him anyways.

corey raised his arms up in defense. he looked around the classroom, no one else was here. “classes are over and i wouldn’t wanna stay in a classroom, if i were you. this place is terrifying.”

Looking around her, Caroline realized she had missed the commotion of everyone getting up and leaving when she was too into reading the book in front of her. “...Sorry....” She sighed, admittedly embarrassed. 

caroline.

Riley’s forehead furrows in DETERMINATION, tongue sticking out from one side of her lips cartoonishly.  She looks back down on her sketchbook, hands quickly getting back to work on the quick drawing of the girl from the other table.  Just… keep steady and I will get the jaw right…

Unfortunately, the girl notices her, and she FREEZES.  Eyes widened guiltily, she shakes her head in denial.

Caroline was confused as to why the girl was staring. She looked around, but they were the only ones in the library. Looking at the girl who was staring at her again, Caroline noticed she was furiously scribbling something.