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And Callum, in turn, was mostly looking at Rory, a subtle smile on his face.

Henry blinked. He hadn't meant to think on it too hard, but looking at that smile again -- it felt... different. It wasn't one of those crystal clear, over the top expressions of feeling, and Henry would be the first to admit that he wasn't the best at reading people, but even then he could sense a fondness there that made him almost regret observing them in the first place.

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It wasn't that it made him feel lonely or sad for himself or anything, but now he felt keenly as if he had intruded on something that was too private to behold. He didn't know what, exactly; the things he knew about Rory in particular couldn't have filled a single double-spaced page of a hand written notebook. But all the same, he felt as if he had become some sort of strange voyeur.

The only saving grace was that neither of them had noticed him.

[crow]

Not that Rory would have recognized him; there was no reason at all for him to recognize Henry, seeing as Henry's father never talked about him unless he had to. But Rory might have noticed a boy he didn't know staring at the two of them, which would be even more awkward to explain, if anything.

And Callum... Callum would probably recognize Henry, which might be worse. Maybe he would have decided that the polite thing to do was come up to Henry and start a conversation.

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Henry was glad that didn't happen, though the longer they all stayed here, the more likely it became that it would come to pass somehow. He was reluctant to leave the library, since that meant he would have to brave the hot sun and try to find somewhere else to hang out, but at this rate he wasn't sure that there was going to be much of a choice. After all, he didn't want to invite the odds of them noticing that he was here.

[crow]

Even if they seemed content enough to focus on one another, Henry didn't really know if he trusted his own luck to hold that well for him.

With a sigh, he cast one more reluctant look at the book that he had in front of him. He could... check this out, maybe, and see if he could find a shady place outside to read. But what if he couldn't? Then he would be stuck carrying the book around with him all day.

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And there would still be the matter of having to come back and return it before his mother showed up to pick him up. There was no way he could let her see him with a book of this juvenile level, even if it was non fiction. She wasn't as severe as his father, and her expectations of him were more tempered, but Henry knew that these things were predicated on the idea that he was making the utmost effort he possibly could.

[crow]

If she saw him wasting his time with something she considered frivolous, he didn't know if she would let it slide, or if he would find himself on the receiving end of another lecture about how hard she and his father were working to provide him with opportunities.

In the end, he decided to leave it behind. He had wanted to relax today, and as enjoyable as it was to have been reading the book, his good mood had more or less dissipated.

[crow]

And now that it was gone, it had taken a good deal of his interest in reading his book with it. He would find something else to do, maybe see if there were any interesting articles to read on his phone, since subscriptions to newspapers were something that his family already had, and supported his own interest in. The added variable that the book would have introduced to his plans was too much hassle for him to bring it with him.

[crow]

He waited until he saw Rory and Callum walk to a different part of the library -- though as he followed their trajectory with his gaze, he registered with surprise that they seem to have meandered into the children's picture book section, of all places. What could they possibly be doing there? Some parents shot them a few odd looks, and one mother in particular looked as if she was caught between wanting to shepherd her toddler away from them or not.

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If it had been any other pair of teenage boys, she probably would have done it without question, but that was the magic of the effect that Callum had on people, Henry supposed. Even worried parents of small children thought he was safe.

But the two of them didn't pay anyone else any mind, and whatever they were doing there was hardly any of Henry's business. This was an opportunity for him to make his escape without their noticing, and he was determined to make the most of it.

[crow]

He rose slowly from his seat, and walked slowly to the entrance, until he was sure that they wouldn't be able to see him from where they were. From there, he quickened his pace until he was out of the building, only to wince as he was hit with the full blast of the mid day heat.

Already he was regretting having to come out. But there was no going back in now. He wondered if he had perhaps overestimated his importance.

[crow]

Maybe Callum wouldn't have recognized him after all. Henry was, for better or for worse, pretty forgettable as a person. Sometimes it was disheartening, but there were other times when he was actually really glad of it. Maybe he could have stayed in his seat and kept reading in the nice air conditioned space of the library, and everything would have been fine...

He sighed. He was already out here now though, and he might as well just keep going.

[crow]

He could take the chance to get some sun, like his English teacher was always telling him to do. 'So pale, Henry! You need to get out more. Sunshine and fresh air are good for you!' And she would follow it up with a pat on his shoulder, this woman who did triathlons on her days off, who went camping with her wife and kids and two dogs every summer. He shuddered to think of it, even if he knew that she meant well.

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He didn't know how she came to be a teacher, but people who lived like that felt as if they came from a completely different planet than the one he lived on, where books sometimes felt like his only allies in the world.

His English teacher's advice might have been well meant, but Henry was absolutely going to prioritize finding some shade. He wasn't going to survive this heat if he stayed under the scorching blast of the full sun.

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Not to mention that being pale meant he was almost guaranteed to burn, and he hadn't put on any sunscreen because he hadn't expected to have to be outside for very long today. Henry really wasn't the outdoorsy type, for a long list of reasons. In the summer, one of those reasons was the fact that he much preferred to be air conditioned. He could feel himself starting to sweat already as he walked past the courtyard leading up to the library.