Madaline Bosch works in the small, somewhat reserved library just outside of the large city of Eden. She's been here for quite sometime, being one of only two librarians keeping this piece of history alive. The day to day life of Madaline is built somewhat on repetition, with regulars coming and going in a comfortable life.

One day, however, Madaline finds herself breathless as someone no one in their small town recognizes shows up in her library. Madaline has read enough books and dealt with enough of life's heartaches to know fiction from reality, but when she finds herself being drawn to Gray Adler more and more, the lines between the two are beginning to blur.

Gray Adler has nothing to hide, right? The perfect Prince that showed up in Madaline's library surely couldn't have anything to hide from this blossoming romance.

Credits:

Mug and Book Divider - sigulary on DA

Star Gif - Stardust-Specks on DA

Green Divider - RariDecor on DA

Cloud Divider - pixelvibe on DA

Light Divider - RariDecor on DA

Eden wasn't the first place Gray Adler would've chosen for themselves, in fact, it wasn't even on the list when Gray's agent told them about it, claiming it would be the absolute perfect place to relax and focus on the novel they had, yet again, missed the deadlines on.

It wasn't that Gray didn't want to write the book, they just simply could not. They had stuck themselves between "a rock and a hard place". At least, that was what Gray's mother said when they had talked about this move.

"It'll only be for a couple of months Mom, I promise." Gray had told their mother confidently.

Looking at the small town of Eden, however, did little to excite Gray in any way.

The city next to Eden, though? That was quite possibly the best place to find inspiration for this novel. It was lit up in neon signs at night with a lively crowd of party goers. Gray needed that type of energy to get them going, so that they would finally spark new ideas in their currently emptied head.

Gray let out a sigh, inhaling deeply as they walked down the slightly empty street. There were a few people scattered around, but none really paid any attention to Gray Adler. At least it smelt of rain here.

Gray walked with their hands in the pockets of their leather jacket, the fall weather making their hands cold, and the grey clouds above beginning to swell with unreleased rain.

The drop Gray felt on their forehead made them look up and curse. The sky was very dark, and Gray did not have an umbrella. Stopping where they stood, they turned towards the store they were in front of, looking at their reflection in the glass and began to mess with their hair, which had somehow gathered more than a few drops of the sneaking rain.

Gray pushed jet black locks of hair from their face, the pieces moving only slightly out of their eyes as they ran their hands through the rest of the short hair, shaking out the layered locks to get all the rainwater out. Gray's dark grey eyes stared back at them, keen and focused on ensuring the poor author didn't look like a drowned rat.

Or better yet, a tourist. Who would ever willingly come to Eden?

After a bit of fixing hair that wasn't even slightly out of place, Gray straightened, their long, thin fingers stopped in their hair as they noticed the building they were in front of.

A library?

How quaint, that a small little town like this, just outside a city renowned for partying, would have a cozy nook for a library. Smiling, Gray moved towards the door and stepped inside, inhaling the scent of old and new books alike.

Gray may be the kind to loathe small towns, but a library was always a welcome sight.

A glance up at the sky lights revealed what she hadn't wanted to see. The soft sound of the drizzle hitting the glass reached her ears over the gentle chatter behind her. This man was striking in his posture and the way he composed herself. Maddie dared not to pull her eyes away from this guest. Was he the person here to save her from boredom? No no, that was a fantasy thing, this was reality. She knew that the chances of seeing this stranger again were slim, especially around Eden.

Silently she slid her phone into her black jeans back pocket. The loose white dress shirt was hidden under her hoodie peeking out around the corner, as if it too was trying to see who the newcomer was. Coming around the desk to get closer to him. Suddenly, she felt flushed. Her appearance was so raggedy compared to his. “Madaline.” Eyes shone with excitement at the prospect of a new friend.

"Hello sir! How can I assist you today?"

The pretty woman who was manning the desk at the entrance of the library asks. Gray, a little surprised at not only being called Sir, but at being immediately asked a question upon entrance to the library gives Madaline, as she had informed them, a soft smile.

"I'm not much looking for anything ma'am, just looking around where I'll be staying for the next month or so. It doesn't really seem like there is much to do here."

Gray gives her a dismissive head nod before continuing into the library, a little surprised at the sheer quantity of the books in this small town. Was this a town of readers?

Gray began to peruse through the fiction sections, seeing big names that any author would recognize anywhere. A smile would slip at some names, and at others, a scowl.

Gray, once more, ran their thin, chilled fingers through their short hair, shaking out the back a little, courteous so as to prevent the water droplets from splashing onto any of the books and causing any possible damage to them.

Looking around, Gray found Madaline once more and walked towards them a little hesitantly.

"By any chance, do you have a bathroom so that I can shake my hair out? I have rain in it and I don't want to drip on your floors or, gods forbid, your books."

It was peaceful and quiet except for someone angrily typing away on a computer. The rain outside drowned out any other type of conversation. Books were getting placed back on shelves in the non-fiction area. Madaline was leaned against a shelf flipping through one of the newer books on Edgar Allen Poe. He was her favorite poet and she had already read the book maybe four times. Each of the poems just held such raw emotion that drew her like a fly to a light trap. A gentle sound of the hard cover book gave away her hiding spot. While she loved the fiction, the truth burried in the non fiction held her heart. Nothing was better than knowledge.

While making her rounds to make sure that no one needed help she spotted the stranger. He was coming towards her. It was time to remain calm. He was simply a person that she didn't know, why was her heart racing? His grey eyes still stood out to her. They reminded her of the lake outside of town when it misted over. Eye contact and her full attention, head tilted slightly towards the left. "Bathroom... Yeah! Do you see that large window?" She drew attention to the window that led to the one of two classrooms. Across from that are the bathrooms. Male will be on your right." She smiled at him, "No need to worry about getting water everywhere! The library is already so damp it doesn't quite matter." She chuckled. A million and one questions she wanted to ask but feared it would be rude to ask him. "Let me know if you need help finding anything! Coffee is free until noon." It was the same cheerful smile that Madaline gave everyone with the duplicated cheerful tone.

The mention of the coffee reminded Maddie that she had to replace the creamer that sat next to the machine. Small creamer cups like those you find at hotels swallowed the machine with the amount of flavors she'd ordered online. The peppermint one was her favorite and she'd stolen some to keep at home. She advanced into the back to retreve some of the original flavor that had run out. She, personally, found the original quite bland with a weird aftertaste. It reminded her of most of the people in Eden. Humming quietly to the music overhead as she begun to switch the creamers out.

After thanking Madaline, Gray took their leave to the restroom, hesitating at the door of the men's room for a second before stepping into it. It would probably be weird if they walked into the women's, weird enough that it would cause someone in the library to call Gray out.

Looking into the mirror, Gray tried to pat down the waves that were now framing their face, giving up after a second and staring at themselves in the mirror before shrugging and shaking their head as though they were a dog.

Grinning as Gray looked at their messy reflection, they grabbed a few of the paper towels and squeezed the ends of their hair with the paper towels.

Sighing in relief at being waterless, Gray nodded and opened the door, surprised at the older gentleman that was about to knock on the door.

Keeping their head down, Gray apologized and rushed past them, wondering if they left water droplets everyone.

Hopefully they didn't slip. Gray doubted it, but there was the smallest inkling of fear in the back of their heads.

The seconds that ticked by turned into minutes yet the minutes seemed to refuse to turn into hours. How was it not lunch yet? Madaline seemed to have lived a hundred lifetimes before it would be noon this rainy day, and little did she know, faithful day. Now seated at the front desk scrolling through the close bookstores websites to spy on what new books they had in stock. It may have been cruel; She would much rather save the people their money and bring the business to the library instead of the stores. She thought of it like 'Adopt don't shop' that all the shelters said. Upon quick inspection, the stranger held himself in a nervous manner, maybe it was how he always held himself? Was he lost looking for something? She stood up slowly, making sure that her list was on the desk still, scrawled on it were the books she hoped would inhabit her shelves.

Her hair had since their last interaction been taken out of the sloppy ponytail and now hung freely at her shoulders. "So, doing anything fun during your visit to Eden?" Madaline's voice was low in volume to not be overheard. The thought of invading his privacy emerged into her mind, making her question herself. Was she being a bit overbearing? It had just been such a long time since she'd seen a new face, let alone one such as his. Her own light blue eyes shown with excitment under the dull lighting as she gazed yet again at the figure she stood before. "My apologizes, I don't mean to invade."

Something about the thought of meeting someone new while wandering the streets of Eden had always given her anxiety, yet now that the time was here, there wasn't any, except the butterflies that tickled her insides. Madaline found her mind wandering down the streets of imagination. She had to stop that right now. Attention when to him as he spoke, nodding along with him as her ears soaked in his words.