“I found it the other day when I dropped a book and it slid over here,” Olivia tells him, walking over to the bookshelf and slipping behind. There is just room for her to sneak through and she opens the door to it, sneaking inside. “Come on this way,” she whispers outward to Evan and sits down in the chair nearest to her, giggling a bit as she looks up at all the shelves of books. “Look at them all!” she tells him excitedly, pulling one off the shelf. “It’s a book full of names, this one. I need to pick a name for my new owl, still, after all,” she tells him. “It’s different every time. It’s like it can tell what books you want, or need.”

“Dropped a book?” Evan repeats quietly, but the grin on his face shows through in his voice as well, as he definitely doesn’t mean his words. He is silent again, not that he had spoken very loud before, until they are actually inside the little nook. Evan remains standing, surveying the shelves full of books, shaking his head a bit as he notices the sheer number of books about names in the area Olivia pulled one from. “You don’t want to go with Eisenwaldminder? It’s a perfectly good name,” he asserts, attention turning to other shelves. Those behind him seem to have a different assortment of books, though if he paid enough attention he might notice a few more name books creeping in as he takes up Olivia’s problem of naming the owl. His attention doesn’t stay for that long, however, before he spins around back to Olivia. “You could find anything you wanted in here, then? You could get ahold of all those muggle books you enjoy.” His voice echos her excitement to an extent, if only to know about her secret, or know that she’s found one and is enjoying it. Because certainly he’s never paid quite as much attention to more than textbooks.

“I was thinking some thing like, well… Nanaea.” She admits, biting her lip a bit at his suggestion for a name. “Or maybe Gaia.” There is a long pause and Olivia looks at the book in her hand. “Actually…” she admits. “Gaia is a nice, easy name. And it’s easy to say, don’t you think.” She nods and turns, putting the book back into the shelf that she has taken it from, and then stands quickly, precariously close to him as she stands on tiptoe, reaching for a book behind him. “But look here, a quidditch book. You like those, right?” she tells him, smiling and holding the book out to her side, looking down and biting her lip, her breathing perhaps becoming a bit quick at their sudden — and unplanned — close proximity. She can make no comment further, however, instead, just standing, looking at the book that she holds out in her hand rather than the friend in front of her.

“Gaia? True, it is easier to say.” Though Eisenwaldminder could be shorted to Eisy – that’s easy to say, too. But it is her pet. “And it sounds like a nice name. Why don’t you ask the owl?” Evan‘s attention is shifted as she draws it to another section, back to the books behind him again, and he partially turns around, looking up at what she pulls from the shelf. “Definitely. And I’ll need them, if I’m to keep learning new tactics.. I’ll be one of the senior members next year, and..” and captain in his sixth or seventh, he might hopefully add, had he managed to get that far. Instead, after she has pulled the book off the shelf, he turns back toward her to find her rather close. And not looking at him. And so, naturally, trails off, not entirely sure why his mind feels like he’s rushing somewhere now. Wordlessly he reaches for the book with one hand, and without looking finds somewhere convenient to set it. “Olivia…?” His other hand reaches for her chin as he trails off again, instead wishing to turn her head up toward him, leaning forward himself. His lips just seem to brush hers – gentle, quick, just hoping for a good response from her though likely she can’t tell how fast his heart is beating. See? His lips are good for something besides talking!

Olivia‘s heart is beating, likely, as hard as Evan’s is, and it seems to be all she can hear as his lips brush over hers. The completely unexpected situation of such close proximity has Olivia startled for certain and she slowly turns her eyes up to him, smiling very gently, softly, her hand following his, almost instinctively, as he takes the book from her hand. What does she say at a time like this? “… Yes?” she manages in a rather hoarse whisper, looking up at him with a steady gaze, though her hand trembles a bit. Whether this trembling is from excitement or fear, or even some combination of both is hard to say, but she does not remove her eyes from view of his face, nor does she move away, not just yet. Her other hand does come up to touch her own lips after she says this, more out of shock than anything else.

Evan Geroff truly had nothing more to say – his question was open-ended, perhaps just questioning the situation, perhaps his own surprise, but as such he doesn’t reply when she speaks to ask. His eyes still search her face, and when Olivia smiles, he gives her a soft smile back. He withdraws the hand that had originally been raised to her face, moving to catch hers within and gently encircle her fingers. Finally, an answer does occur to him, and he likewise does not pull away at all yet as he speaks, voice not daring to raise much above a whisper. “I’ve never met anyone as beautiful as you.” This is unfamiliar territory, and his heart has not yet settled down, expression almost.. unsure, yet in awe of what’s happening, as he keeps his gaze on her face. Or could that be in awe of her, since his eyes aren’t moving?

Though she would usually perhaps move away, giving Evan his space, the girl doesn’t even feel the usual urges to do so. Instead, she almost wants to lean closer to the boyman in front of her. As he tells her this, the girl seems to even forget where she is, as her cheeks instinctively turn pink and she bites her bottom lip. The feelings the girl feels are almost too much for her and she does finally end up glancing away, only to look at their intertwined hands instead. “I think… you’re the most wonderful person in the world, Evan,” Olivia tells him in response, and this is possibly the highest compliment that the usually awkward girl can give. She licks her lips and takes a breath and then finally brings her eyes back to Evan’s face, with a wider smile.

Her response evokes a definite change in Evan. As Olivia speaks, Evan‘s smile increases, bright with a giddy sort of pride and joy. She said that about him! He gives her hand a slight squeeze to show his pleasure, as if his smile wasn’t enough to say how pleased that made him. He’s still at a loss for anything to say, but that is easily fixed; ducking down, the boy attempts to steal one more quick kiss before the moment ends and they go off to do.. whatever one possibly returns to, after joy such as this.

As Evan leans down, Olivia has also decided to lean up, standing up on her tiptoes a bit and meeting his lips to hers for a moment drawn out much longer than she had anticipated it being. This, of course, makes her heart flutter faster as her eyes close and she instinctively slips her arm around his waist. Her first kiss. It seems eons pass by before she finally leans back down, though her lips seem to linger. “Wow,” she whispers, and leans her head on his chest, a smile playing on her lips while she tries to calm her breathing and fluttering heart down. Her confidence almost seems bolstered after she finally picks her head up, and looks directly into Evan’s eyes, pressing her lips together while her mouth also twists into a bit of a smile.

Evan‘s arms move to circle Olivia as well, releasing only ages later when their lips seperate. He does not completely let go, though, moving just enough to hold her gently as she leans against him, for the moment not wishing for anything else in the world than to stay like that. His own head is tilted down, gaze falling over her, a light smile gracing the top of her head, and then, when she looks up, meeting her own. If he was unsure before, it’s gone from his expression now. His answering ‘wow’ is only mouthed, not spoken, if she notices it. If one happened to look around they might notice much of the section behind him has now become interspered with romantic poetry and other similar type books, yet Evan neither looks around nor would he have moved just to find one. He has his own words. “I like you very much, Olivia Baxtor.” His tone of voice, helped by the quiet level, shapes the words, lending, if it be heard, a meaning much more than wh at is actually said. He isn’t trying ‘I love you’ yet, but with all of his fourteen years he means it.

“I like you a lot, too,” Olivia whispers back, her lips twisting into a real, tooth-bearing smile. “Oh, I’m glad we became friends,” she tells him and hugs him tight around the chest, resting her head on it again and biting her lip a bit. Her voice is a little louder as she says this, and it seems that the awkwardness of the complete change in status has calmed down a bit and instead she breathes a contented sigh. If things could be just like this, for always, one wouldn’t hear Olivia complain. She, for her own part, doesn’t notice the change in books behind Evan, as her attention is instead on his shoulder, his arm, so comforting.

“So am I,” Evan agrees, if such even needs to be said. Leaving one arm wrapped around her, he raises the other to brush his hand across her hair before it drops to just hold her again and he lowers his head to rest against the top of hers. He waits a moment – a few minutes more than a moment, really, for all he wants is to keep holding her – before moving or speaking again, and which point he slowly raises his head. “Were there other books or areas you wanted to show me?” he murmurs, the question coming slowly and quietly as though he doesn’t dare break the silence.

Cuddling against him quietly, Olivia seems quiet contented to stand there with him until neither of them can stand any longer. When his voice comes, she seems to slowly slip somewhat back into reality. “Oh, right,” she comments quietly. “Well, I mostly just wanted to show it to you. It’s really nice. “Oh, look here,” she comments, reaching out with one hand and picking her head up. “Romeo and Juliet, by that muggle playwrite. I haven’t read this one yet.” Why this book would be on the shelf is anyone’s guess, but Olivia has taken it from the shelf and holds it out smiling a bit broadly up at Evan. “We could read this if you want…” she tells him, looking to the chair behind him rather than the one she had originally sat in and then back up at him.

Evan Geroff follows Olivia’s gaze to the seat, then gives her another smile, releasing one arm as he keeps the other around her to escort her the few necessary steps. “Would you enjoy that?” he murmurs his query, but perhaps realizes it isn’t the smartest question, for he doesn’t wait for an answer. “Let’s, then.” Reaching out, he looks over the cover as he slides down into the seat, scooting over for Olivia. “Is this a very good one, do you know?”

“I heard someone mention that it was a tragedy, but a very good one,” Olivia tells him, looking down and then biting her lip as she carefully sits down on the chair, ending up more on his lap than not for the chair isn’t quite big enough for both of them. Perhaps in their next visit the chair will have morphed a bit to create room, but for the time being the two of them must sit cozily in the chair together, a fact which makes Olivia‘s heart beat faster once again while she settles in comfortably, leaning on the arm of the chair gently with her elbow while she opens the book. “Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene…” she starts reading, her voice still rather quiet, as her finger follows along down the page with her.

“Comfortable?” Evan murmurs the question, and after making certain she is, he leans in closer to Olivia so that the book lays equally before them both. Now and then he takes his turn with lines or sections, reading in a quiet and steady voice. It seems a rather long play to read all at one sitting – but however far they get, as long as they can remain curled together like this, Evan won’t mind the length.

Other Interesting Logs:

• Time to Make Amends
• Storm Clouds on the Horizon
• An Evening at the Shore
• A Place of Our Own
• Trading Secrets in the Snow