"For the love, I'd fallen on

In the swampy August dawn

What a mischief you would bring, young darling"

The little bookstore was so charming that Arlo couldn't quite help herself as she wandered wide-eyed through the aisles. From the moment she'd walked in the door, a little bell ringing above her head, she found herself in awe.

She was so purely enamored, in fact, that she hadn't so much as spared a glance at the blonde boy behind the counter.

He sure as hell noticed her.

Luke Hemmings didn't particularly like his job, but he needed it if he planned on getting out of the town that he was so incredibly bored with.

He loved book stores, much like the small girl wandering around unaware of his eyes on her. Luke loved everything that was associated with bookstores- writing, the smell of the books, the taste of coffee on his tongue, bon iver playing quietly- but he did not love working at one.

Luke watched the girl disappear into the back of the store, her eyes never leaving the shelves as she seemed to walk slow enough to take in the title of every single spine. She looked like she was looking for something specific, though she never let her eyes linger long enough to hint him as to what that could be.

He felt the urge to follow her just so he could see what seemed to be taking up her mind, but he didn't. Luke stayed put behind the register and moved his tattered moleskin notebook from where he'd had it on the counter to his lap.

It was quite uncomfortable, the way he had to hunch over to write now that the notebook was balanced on his knee but it was worth it to keep anyone from seeing.

Luke's notebook was his lifeline. He wrote little poems about everything. Every thought that crossed his mind, every feeling, every regret- it was all there, spun into a web of beautiful literature through metaphors and abstract words.

Nobody had ever had the chance to see what was inside and he fully intended on keeping it that way- he wasn't just referring to his precious notebook in that sense.

He was scribbling in the same notebook, his blonde hair falling messily in his eyes when he felt someone looking at him. He knew who it was, the mysterious girl was the only other person in the store. For this reason, he didn't bother looking up at her as he shut his notebook- she certainly didn't look at him when she'd arrived.

Arlo silently put the book she'd selected after careful consideration on the counter in front of the blonde boy behind the counter. She hadn't glanced at him more than once purely for the fact that he was simply so beautiful that it made her nervous.

His blonde hair was brushed up in the same style of almost every frat boy she'd met- not that she'd immersed herself in the greek life scene when she could help it. Though his attire was quite the opposite of your average "Chad".

A black blink-182 shirt and a red flannel covered his top half and if she had to guess he'd most likely paired it with a pair of black skinny jeans. She couldn't see his legs considering the counter was stupidly tall, coming up to her chest.

"That all?" The boy speaks for the first time and Arlo has to fight her lips from parting in shock at how nice his voice is. It's slightly raspy like he'd done just enough yelling the night before, not enough to lose his voice completely.

"Yeah." She nods, her eyes struggling to meet his own yet unable to look away. "Just that one book."

Her voice is so soft, so gentle that Luke's previous ignorance to her seems to disappear into thin air. Finally, he really looks at her.

An older type register sits on the counter between them, the kind where Luke has to individually punch in every number. A small yellow notepad sits on the counter next to the register for when he has to add up larger orders.

Luke looks from the debit card she holds out with extended fingers, to the girl, much shorter than he is. He has to look down to see her properly and while he might usually find this annoying, the boy decides as of now he really fucking likes it.

His fingers pause their typing on the register and he curses himself mentally as he slides the book back towards her. "That was Calum's car I saw, wasn't it?"

Arlo's lips part in surprise, though she's not sure why considering Calum had told her that this was his friend's place. "Uh, yeah." She cringes at how quiet she sounds.

Luke really likes how quiet her voice is. Now he has an excuse to lean closer.

He does just that, resting his elbows on the counter and bracing his weight on them. Her eyes go wide as she takes in the newfound closeness. She can smell his cologne and the mint on his breath suddenly and it makes her head spin.

"You're friends with him?" Luke asks after a couple of moments of shameless staring at the small girl less than a foot away from him.

"I think?"Arlo winces as her tone comes off questioning. She figured she sounded pretty dumb showing up in a car with a boy who she didn't even know if she was friends with or not. "He's my neighbor and we've known each other since we were kids but we've never really hung out per se-"

He leans back slightly, looking down at her in a way that makes her stop her rambling instantly. From this new angle, she can see the underside of his very prominent jawline, the way his throat bobs as he swallows, seemingly unbothered.

"If he let you ride in his car you're probably friends, don't you think?" Luke asks, finding a certain pleasure in the way his simple shift in stature had halted her words. When she says nothing, looking up at him wide eye he leans forward, taking her card from her fingers.

"Arlo, is it?" His eyes scan the card quickly, before placing it back in her hands. "Grab your book, I'll walk you back considering Calum's most likely plastered by now." He says, taking a quick glance at the grandfather clock in the corner of the shop.

"But I haven't paid." Arlo stutters out, her card still dangling delicately in her fingers, the book unmoving on the counter between them.

Luke rolls his eyes, though the action is unconscious. He isn't annoyed with the girl. He'd never given a book to someone for free before but he figured they wouldn't argue it. "I know." Is all he says, discreetly shoving his notebook in his back pocket as he stands.

When he steps out from behind the counter Arlo finds her mouth going dry because he's in front of her, no counter separating them. With the wood divider missing her eyes have no choice but to take him in, and his seem to be doing the same.

Luke glances towards the window as he produces a set of keys from his other back pocket. It's still raining slightly, just enough to be annoying. He lets out a small groan at the notion of having to walk the fifteen minutes to Calum's in the rain.

The groan seems to vibrate in Arlo's ears, ringing around her head tauntingly. Oh God, he hates me. She thinks as her hands finally grab the book on the counter.

Luke opens the door of the bookstore, his eyes never leaving her as she pulls herself onto her tiptoes, taking the book off of the counter like it might run away if she isn't gentle enough. Only because her back is turned, he allows himself to smile at the action. It's clear the girl loves books, of course not more than him, but a lot.

He holds the door open for her as she exits the shop, her new book clutched tightly to her chest. Though she pauses in the doorway with a frown before she can fully exit.

"What?" Luke frowns, mirroring her expression.

"It's raining." Arlo looks from the street in front of them to the book in her arms. "The books gonna get wet."

Luke fights off a laugh because clearly, she'd forgotten the backpack resting on her shoulders. "Turn around."

Arlo's sure she heard him wrong considering her mind was already clouded with the fact that they are both in the doorway, little space in between them. Regardless, she turns so that her back is facing him.

She feels a slight tug and then the zipper of her book bag instantly making her want to smack herself in the face. Right, my bookbag.

Luke places the book gently inside amongst the neat mess of wired earbuds, pens, and sticks of gum before zipping the bag again. "All good." His voice is quieter than he intended, but due to their close proximity, she's able to hear.

After Luke locks the shop, they begin walking down the street towards Calum's house. The awnings of the street-side buildings only extend far enough for one of them to walk under their cover, but Luke doesn't mind. Somehow, despite the fact that the rain is soaking his hair, plastering it to his forehead he finds himself content because she's out of the rain.

"You didn't have to leave." Arlo says suddenly, feeling guilty as she realized that he'd closed up the shop for the day.

"I wanted to." It wasn't a lie. Really, Luke was looking for an excuse to leave early.

He'd planned on going to Calum's party, just not so early in the day. He preferred to arrive towards the end of the night when everyone was drunk past the point of being obnoxious. Luke could enjoy himself and everyone else would be too drunk to get up and annoy him.

It was the chaos after the storm, and Luke usually found himself in the midst of that quiet aftermath. He thrived in those situations, sweeping through when everyone else had already been knocked down.

"So, you're friends with Calum?" Arlo finally found the courage to speak, though her voice had a certain shakiness in it she couldn't prevent if she tried. He was simply too intimidating.

"Mhm." Luke hummed, stopping as they came to a crosswalk. His arm extends in front of her on instinct, halting her body before she can step foot into the road. Once he'd made sure no cars were coming, he retracted his arm, allowing both of them to cross the road into her neighborhood.

Luke had spent countless nights at Calum's house over the past few years but he'd never seen her. Calum hadn't even mentioned his neighbor which Luke found hard to believe considering how beautiful she was.

A bitter thought crosses Luke's mind, one where he envisions Calum keeping her a secret. Though Luke couldn't say he wouldn't do the same- she's simply seemed too good to share and he'd only had the privilege of knowing her for half an hour.

Arlo has no clue why Luke's being so silent but she can't help but think it has something to do with her. I'm not the most entertaining. Her insecure thoughts peek through, causing her to fight off a frown.

They walk in silence, him in his own head about her and she in her head about him, though neither knows what the other is thinking.

When they reach Calum's lawn, already filled with drunken teenagers and discarded solo cups, Luke finds himself itching to go home. His notebook burns in his back pocket, itching to be written in. Words are throwing themselves at him, begging to be put together.

"Thanks for walking me." Arlo smiles, despite the fact that the boy in front of her looks rather frustrated. "Have fun at the party."

And before Luke can argue it, she's gone, her rain-soaked hair falling down her back as she looks both ways before crossing the street to her house. Luke stands there in the middle of Calum's lawn while a party rages on behind him, even after she's shut her door behind her.

Although Calum's party was Luke's usual storm he can't help but think that here, in the crossroads between the chaos and the peace that seems to be her side of the road, she'd end up being the most destructive of all.