ALIVE

I walk in the now empty hallways, silently following his lead and he stops when we reach the-

“Seriously, Nate? Library’s locked. Day’s over, if you didn’t hear me the first time.”

“Hush. Why do you talk so much?” He leaves my hand and fishes out a small key from his denim pocket. What?!

He unlocks it and ushers me inside stealthily closing the door behind him, while I giggle. The library is dark and it gives out that fragrance of paper that I love.

“How do you have the key?”

“Well you’re chairperson for a reason.”

“You didn’t-“

“Steal it, no. I just had a copy made, without anyone knowing.” He breaks into a fit of suppressed laughs towards the end of his words and I stare at him with my jaw dropped.

“Yeah, that pretty much qualifies as stealing.”

“It’s where I come most of the times. I love it here.”

“Agreed.”

Nate walks me to the far end of the library up to the last shelf and turns on just one of the shelf display lights and sits down against the stack of books.

I sit beside him bringing my knees up to my chin and he casually throws one arm around my shoulder.

He has a book in his free hand that he whisper reads to me while I examine his face closely.

A messy tuft of hair fall over his temple and I breathe in his divine aftershave as I rest both of my hands on his shoulders lightly. The closeness is so exhilarating.

So intimate yet so comfortable.

He has always been, every time I wanted someone to be. Always protected, always cared. In ways I never thought anyone does for anyone anymore.

Never complaining. Never demanding.

“…He had casually conferred on me the freedom of the neighborhood-“

His face is bathed in the sole dim yellow light and his lips move lazily, enjoying every word. I hear his voice, gazing at him. .

The Great Gatsby. I had read it. And not really adored it, yet somehow this time it feels more. Just plain old… more. A single word, so heavy with depth.

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees-“

I lean my head against his upper chest close to his neck, snuggling in and rest my knees on his lap. I close my eyes, partially thrilled by the consuming effect of the proximity and partially because of the peaceful silence that carried just his voice.

Nate pulls me further in with his hand around me and leans his cheek upon my head. And I just feel his chest vibrate gently as he spoke words that had never felt so real.

“… just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer. There was so much to rea-“

Our beautiful little bubble of peace bursts regretfully as the security guard comes bustling in with his flashlight.

Nate stands up with lightning speed pulling me up with him. He flicks off the light and in a swift move, swirls around to rest against the shelf facing the previous one, actively shielding us from the guard’s view.

“Wha-“

“Shhh…” I have my hands on his chest while he holds me close by the waist.

I can feel myself part my lips to fight for a precious breath as Nate’s blue eyes flicker with a strange dangerous speck.

The only light now is of the dusk from the nearest window and he looks all the more beautiful in it. I feel hot blood pumping in my ears and my knees suddenly turn wobbly.

A strange hollow forms inside my stomach and for some strange reason, I want to be kissed.

Can he feel the tension or is it just me? Is he not affected in the least? The sound of heavy footsteps intensifies.

Nate moves us to the corner end of the shelf and I bite my lip in nervousness.

The guard moves closer to us and Nate switches positions once again. He takes the adjoining shelf this time, the one that’s already been inspected.

I’m propped up against the books this time and he is latching on to me as life does to oxygen.

He has his face buried in my hair breathing deeply, his cheek flushed against my ear and I am panting with my eyes closed. I feel his chest heaving, against my own and he suddenly moves downward, brushing his lips along the nape of my neck, inhaling deeply while my hands fist in his oh-so-soft hair.

Footsteps break our moment yet again and I silently swear to kill him. Nate realises the same as he pulls back a little to gauge my face.

“You don’t happen to know how to legalise murder, do you?” I whisper.

He smiles a dazzling knowing smile at me and I want to keep looking.

“We need to leave.” His breath falls on my face, ragged and hot and I lick my lips involuntarily.

“When I say run, run.”

“Seriously?”

“Do you wanna lock him inside? He grins mischievously.

“What- no. Nate-“

“Let’s lock him inside.”

“Nate, no. Listen, you don- Nate!"

I let out whispered scoldings through my breathlessness and he detaches himself. We move past a few shelves footsteps following and as we near the door, he faces me again.

“Give me a word.” He says in a rushed, urgent voice.

“Ha?” I ask, confused.

“A word, phrase, anything. Whatever comes to your mind. Fast.”

“Uhm, Voldemort with chicken wings!”

He looks at me weirdly, and then laughs off. “Voldemort’s a dip?”

My mind is still running a minute behind and before it can catch up, Nate jogs up to the door, pulling me with him.

I turn to look for the guard, hoping we don’t get into any kind of troub-

“VOLDEMORT WITH CHICKEN WINGSSS!!!!!!”

OH MY GOD, WHAT THE- SHIT. HE DIDN’T-

I jump, my eyes wide in shock, jaw dropped with a loud laughter escaping out nevertheless. Nate’s deafening shout echoes in the whole library, and he pushes me through the door instantly, himself coming through the next moment.

He locks the door, quickly, and we can hear the running footsteps behind the wall.

“You can’t-“

Nate laughs out yet again, resting his back on the wall, and slowly slides down to sit, yet laughing.

And I don’t know if I should be excited, worried or just laughing. But I AM just laughing.

“Come on.” He manages to speaks between fits of his laugh, eyes still squinted and taking my hand, leads me off.

I find myself out through another exit that opens into a wide empty ground I have never been to. It gives a phenomenal back view of the towering main building and I clutch my belly as I double in laughter.

I turn around and I see him palming his face with both his hands.

“I can’t believe you did that!”

He looks at me, closes his eyes tight and smiles again.

“I had wanted to do that since so long, but damn, Voldemort with chicken wings was top notch!”

I laugh out noisily through my throat, throwing my hand on his shoulder. Seriously, what is wrong with me. Voldemort?

WITH CHICKEN WINGS?

“Will he be okay, though?” I ask.

“Yeah, he has all the keys."

I chuckle and remove my hand, to look around. It’s actually beautiful, this place, this moment. Everything about this- now, is beautiful.

“I’ve never been to this side before.” I exclaim.

“It’s the back side. Not everyone knows about it.”

“And what about surveillance?”

“Seriously Alanna, what do you do at Collins’ cabin all day. I know all the spots. I have our tracks covered.”

“My, my, Alderidge, our very own in the house Ethan Hunt!”

He clicks his tongue with a smile and we go silent for a few minutes, as I take my time to admire, everything around me.

“But chicken wings!” I hear him, and bite my lip in a mixture of amusement and embarrassment.

“Shut up!

“Oh God!” Nate runs his hands through his hair and I take my time to adore his happy, laughing face and the sound of his infectious laughter.

I’ve never felt so alive in a long, long time.

“I wish it hadn’t ended so soon!”

Nate looks up at me, hearing my voice, with a strange sincerity as our laughter subsides.

“It doesn’t have to. Yet.” He takes my hand yet again looking into my eyes. I could get used to this.

“What, you got more secret hideouts?”

“Just one more. And this one wouldn’t involve wanting to murder anyone. Follow.”

Let me die now.

Nate leads me up to a tower after a short peaceful walk across the deserted concrete. Night has set in and small little stars shine quietly above us.

“Here. Up you go.”

“Nate, this is the astronomy tower.”

“I’m well aware, Adalanna. I used to take astronomy back in high school here. Just climb up.”

I take his word for it as I climb up the spiralled steps, Nate holding my hand loosely behind me.

It takes us a few minutes before we reach the highest window. There is no glass pane or curtains, just a clear wide opening in the wall giving over a magnificent view of the dark city with its lights, and the Mersey.

I grin from ear to ear, with awe as I place my hands on the lower base of the opening and cold air hits my face making my hair flow all over. I laugh out and turn excitedly.

“Nate, this is so-“

He is propped up on the floor, his back against the side wall, his legs sprawled out and both his hands behind his head, already looking at me with what I presume satisfaction.

It never so happens that I look at him and he’s not already looking. And that’s breathtaking.

He forwards one hand out with a lazy, heart achingly beautiful smile as his face glowed in the reflection of the citylights.

“Care to pick up from where we left?” His voice is soft, gentle, proportionately sexy.

And I take his hand with a thumping heart to retake our previous position, this time spreading out my legs too.

I look up at him watching the view with peace and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“Why do you always have to look this good?” I speak up and he looks down at me with amused surprise.

“Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”

“No, it’s supposed to be a line for beautiful people. Not for a hen with a shack like hair.”

Which is exactly what I must be looking right now, while he looks like he has just showered. This is unfair.

“I thought you loved chicken. Wings precisely.” He says through a laugh, a sound I’ve come to love recently.

“Okay, first of all, chicken wings are rad, alright. And I love living on it. Not looking like it. And I’m sure I’m looking like it. While you look perfe- uh, unchanged.”

Smooth Alanna. Real smooth.

“I’m flattered you find me perfect.” I close my eyes in defeat with a reluctant smile.

And get a sudden idea as I fish out my cell phone from my pocket, turning the front camera on. I raise it above our heads while nudging Nate.

“Now you’ll believe the hen!”

“Well that’s actually quite a view-“ He bends down a little ruffling his hair a bit and I roll my eyes.

Boys and their obsession with their three inches of hair! I will never understand it.

Even Zach-

“- you know with those dark eyes, red nose, bangs along the forehea-“ Dark eyes? He has ocean blue.

“Wait, who are you referring to?”

“I won’t exactly call my hair bangs now, would I? That’s a girls thing. Plus – I don’t have a red nose.” I scrunch up my eyebrows and remove my head to look at him.

“No human has a red nose.”

“Yours gets red on the cold. Go ahead take a snap, you’ll see-“ He drags me back down, this time landing me on the farther side of his body, all the way across the chest, with his shoulder supporting my head.

I’m basically sprawled all over his upper body.

“-Actually give it to me, chopsticks of your hands won’t reach out.”

Let it be, you won’t be able to, with your twigs of a finger. They’re like chicken wings.

Author's note:

HYPERVENTILATING. OH GOD. OH GOD.

Major missing Zach. Last line hit me so bad in my spleen.

Is this the beauty before the ugly, the calm before the storm?

Isn’t the library just, the best place.

Who here has read The Great Gatsby?

Like, vote, comment.

Love me some chicken. Wings.