Heart

"Are you okay, Guini?"

'Too close! He's so close that I can smell his minty breath! Wait...it kinda smells like the same mouthwash my brother use...' Guinevere nodded unconsciously.

"So you left our VIP table, where our valuables are lying out in the open, to have a staring contest with a book. Tsk, tsk! But how's your head, Guini? Does it hurt anywhere?" The taller man put the Demonology book on a lower level and left it there to check Guinevere's head like a concerned mother hen.

"I'm fine. Thanks by the way, but you don't have to make fun of my height, Crinkles!" Guinevere swatted Granger's hands away and slapped his chest.

She craned her neck just to shoot daggers.

'Oh Gord, he's so tall! I really looked so tiny beside him when we took mirror selfies earlier! Life, why are you so unfair?!'

"Ugh. Stop calling me that, Guini!" Granger pinched her cheeks but it didn't stop her from giggling.

Guinevere had been calling him Crinkles for the past two days whenever Granger annoys the hell out of her.

"I can't help myself, Grangey! Your scar seriously reminds me of the red velvet crinkles we had the other day! Pfft!" Guinevere covered her mouth as she snickered.

She was once again reminded by her side by side comparison at the pastry shop when they bought their snacks two days ago. Granger had a pale complexion and his scar was brightly red, so when she saw the newly released pastries at the free-taste basket, it clicked in her mind. And now she can't unsee the uncanny resemblance of the two.

"Don't make me call you names as well, Guinevere Baroque!" Granger taunted.

"Try me. Give me your best shot, Granger." Guinevere challenged, her hands on her hips-- her signature intimidation tactics.

"Fine... you little... gingerbread." Granger muttered, it almost sounded like a low growl. The red head felt chills down her spine, goosebumps forming on her arms.

"What did you just say?!" Guinevere couldn't believe the words coming out from the usually calm Granger.

"I'm not repeating myself!" Granger crossed his arms and looked away, he was afraid the girl was insulted with his name calling talent. Alutard, Asslot, Gluesion, Clewed and even Mister Fartramis didn't took his name calling talent too well.

"Ginger...bread..." Guinevere looked down and covered her face.

Granger approached the younger girl cautiously.

"Guini, I'm--" He was about to apologize but the red head suddenly burst out laughing. This seemed like it happened before.

"Pfft!! That was a genius pun!" Guinevere stifled her laughter and continuously slapped Granger's shoulders.

It was funny to her because she was literally a ginger head and he managed to compare her to a pastry. A great play on words! Who knew Granger was a pun genius?!

"Granger you're a natural at puns! Gingerbread...It's so punny! Get it?! HAHAHAHA!"

Guinevere's laughter was music to Granger's ears. He'd love to hear that everyday, he thought. When she suddenly snorted, Granger couldn't help but laugh along with the shorter girl.

"That was very unladylike of you Gingerbread! Pfft!" Granger chuckled which made Guinevere go into fits of laughter.

"Shh! We'll...be caught!" Granger pinched the girl's cheeks to stop her from laughing but it made her giggle more.

"Shtop! Crinklesh! It hurtsh!!" The young Baroque grabbed onto Granger's hands to pry it off her face.

Just then, a stern voice boomed from above.

"Aha! So this is where the noise was coming from...!!"

The sudden appearance of Cyclop's head on the bookshelf frightened Guinevere, so in reflex, her hands glowed and sent an uppercut to the intruder and grabbed onto to the closest thing next to her, which was, the lucky Granger. Lucky because he wasn't the one who got punched, he thought.

"Argh! M-My eye!" Cyclops hissed and his head vanished into thin air.

"You okay, Guini?" Granger patted the girl's head, calming her down from the shock.

She clung to his chest, burying her head on her arms like scared little kid. Seeing her vulnerable state once again tugged on his heart strings. Even though it wasn't evident on Granger's face, he too was surprised to see the dwarf-giant's head and menacing eye appearing out of nowhere. Not to mention it appeared above their own heads.

"Yes."

She kept nodding but her hands that gripped onto his dark grey hoodie were still shaking. Granger grabbed unto the bookshelf for support while his other hand rubbed circles on her back to help her relax like he usually does to a scared Harith.

Then moments later, Cyclops with a reddish eye reappeared at the main aisle. He was a meter away from them.

"Gah! My innocent eye! This isn't a motel, you love birds! PDA is prohibited in this sacred environment for reading!" The head librarian whisper-yelled.

The two looked at Cyclops incredulously. Silence was stifling and even a dropping of a pin could be heard.

Then few seconds later, the couple then realized their positions. Since Granger had his back semi turned, to onlookers, they looked like they were doing immoral things! But in reality, Granger was just calming down a stressed out Guinevere.

The two pulled away from each other and Guinevere immediately whispered an apology.

"I-It's a misunderstanding!! We're very sorry for being noisy! And sorry for punching you, sir head librarian!"

As Guinevere had her head down and nervously fiddling with her pretty hands, Granger icily glared at the little head librarian. He didn't like seeing Guinevere bowing down to other people for measly things, especially when she was just recovering from a panic attack earlier.

"Eek!-- I-It's okay. S-Sorry to bother you, Sir Death Chanter, Miss Violet. B-But please do minimize your noise. I-I'll be going now!" Cyclops hurriedly bowed and teleported away. He didn't want to get on the Death Chanter's bad side and he was still nursing his eye that Moss Violet punched. He almost saw stars when her glowing fists collided with his eye!

"Eh? Huh?!"

"Come on, Guini. I already bought our snacks. But we're switching drinks. It's already chilly yet you wanted an iced coffee. You'll drink the green tea I ordered, okay? Tsk, tsk." Granger couldn't believe the girl's love for cold stuff. She had been consuming too much caffeine lately.

"O-Okay. But-- ah! I-I still have to look for other books, so you go ahead!" Guinevere couldn't meet Granger's eyes for some reason.

"You sure? I could help you get things faster..."

"Y-Yes! Come on now, go! What if the snacks you bought gets stolen?! I heard there are kleptomaniacs frequenting this library. I promise I won't be long!" Guinevere pushed the marksman towards the aisle leading to the study area.

"Alright." Granger drawled out the words and just nodded.

As he head towards the study area, he fished out his phone and searched on the web for calming foods. He couldn't help but worry for the younger girl. She looks so pale and stressed lately now that he thought about it.

×

Once Granger was out of sight. Guinevere leaned on the nearby pillar for support. Lately, she noticed her heart has been acting weird, more frequently than the past months.

To calm Guinevere's nerves, she decided to look for books about a human's heart which were at the opposite aisle. She had to understand what was happening to her heart. She went to the Human Anatomy section and searched for books about the body's blood pumping organ. The sectioning of books were a puzzle to her but one thing was sure, they were alphabetically arranged.

She breathed in the smell of books. A bit dusty, yes, but this was her natural habitat. Oh how she missed the studying hard for exams! Perfecting the professor of hell's--err, Sir Gord's test and getting rewards from Miss Eudora for doing so.

She immediately caught sight of a medical book that focuses on heart related diseases. Guinevere scanned the contents as she walked, confident that she could read while walking. A habit she formed in her academy days.

But when she turned to a corner, a person clad in a red cloak bumped into her. BAM! Piles of books were sprawled on the ground.

"Oww!" They both winced in pain.

"Oh! Sorry, I wasn't looking." Guinevere apologized as soon as she regained her strength. She then helped the blonde girl get up and collected the fallen books. She was about to get the wide open book on the ground when she noticed the familiar book cover.

"Oh my!" Guinevere gasped, the disoriented girl was alarmed.

"No--! Shit! I'm doomed!"

Guinevere finally saw the girl's face. It was the same eye-patched girl she bumped into yesterday!

"You again?!" They whisper-yelled in unison.

"Where did you get this special edition comic?!"

"Please don't report me to the Death Chanter!!"

The two girls said in one breath at the same time.

"Eh!?"

"Huh?!"