He was a speed reader. The words just flew across the page, and he understood an entire paragraph in the blink of an eye. Which was why he owned his own book store. Currently, he was in his apartment directly above his bookstore, piles of books surrounding him. He was deep in the book he was reading, something with dragons and lots of magic. Fantasy was his obsession, and the only genre of books he would read. He loved the idea of magic, dragons, mythical creatures... anything that wasn't remotely close to real life. Fantasy video games also slightly sparked his interest, but not as much as the written word. In fact, he had began to write a story of his own before he lost all interest in it.

     Just as he was about to get to the good part, he heard his phone ding from somewhere in his stacks of books. This sounds yanked him out of the gaze the book held him in and his head snapped up. He slammed the book close with a sigh. Now for the hard part- finding his phone. Books literally created walls about him, and were stacked on every flat surface. The coffee table, the kitchen counters, the chairs, the shelves, the desk, even piled around the floor and in the cereal cabinets. The only book-less place in the apartment was his favorite armchair and the fridge. Sometimes he even found books in there.

     After a few minutes of digging between couch cushions and sorting through books, he found his phone in a box of cereal in his coat closet. Just... don't ask. He had three missed messages from one of his clients on the site he used. He refurbished old books and sold rare ones to collectors.

MunchingBrotato: dude u were supposed to meet me at the coffee shop like 2 hrs ago. ppl r lookin at me weird

MunchingBrotato: where r u???

MunchingBrotato: siriusly where r u???? Come on seto

     MunchingBrotato, aka Tyler Christie, was a frequent buyer of Setos books, and they had become close friends. They sometimes played video games together, through Seto always lost. The two almost never hung out other to exchange books, so they weren't actually that close, but Seto considered Tyler a close friend because, well, he was really his only friend.

SetoSorcerer: Tyler, dude, calm down. I got caught up in a book and didn't hear my phone ring, sorry.

MunchingBrotato: FINALLY!!! dude ive been waiting 4 these books 4 like 2 months

SetoSorcerer: Sorry Tyler! I'll be there in like thirty minutes, max.

MunchingBrotato: fine. but u better hurry

SetoSorcerer: I will.

     Seto let a sigh escape his lips and pushed off of the wall he was leaning against. The coffee shop they were supposed to meet at was a ten minute walk from the bookstore at minimum, and he needed at least five to shower, and another ten to get ready. He was still in his pajamas, and it was, what, noon? Almost noon? Seto was lazy, and he knew it. But laziness wasn't really a bad thing, in his opinion. It was just a fact about him, something he couldn't change.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Seto was mostly ready to go. He had checked the weather a few moments before, and it was pretty cold out, even for early spring. His current coat was in the wash- he had spilled a cup of tea on it and it has stained badly. He had already washed a few times, even by hand once or twice, and the stain hadn't come out. It was really his favorite jacket, he had had it for like two years. The only coat Seto had now was an old purple one that was a few inches two short in the sleeves, but it was quite comfortable.

     Seto quickly put on the jacket and grabbed the parcels from the door. Yes, parcels. The bookkeeper had wrapped each individual book in paper and had tied it with twine. He was old fashioned in that sense, but he did that for each and every book he sold, even the ones from his bookstore. It was his style and signature look in the small universe of bookstore owners that worked in the city he lived in.

     There were four books in totally, and each cost over a hundred dollars a piece. It had taken Seto months to collect Tyler's required books, and Tyler was paying over a thousand dollars for the lot of them. Apparently, he had come from a pretty wealthy family, and his boyfriend was pretty rich at that. For some reason, he had taken a particular interest in Setos store and bought all the books he needed from it.

He descended the stairs into his bookstore and inhaled the strong smell of musty books and tea. He loved it. As he weaved through the shelves and stacks of books, Seto noticed a girl leaning against the front door of his bookstore. His pace speed up a bit and he quickly unlocked the door. The girl looked up, slightly startled, before a smile spread across her face.

"Seto!" She exclaimed happily. "You opened the store later then usual today. Are you feeling well? Are you remembering to eat? Have you been drinking enough water?"

"I'm fine, Snow, I'm fine. I was just really into the book I was reading, relax." Rebecca, or Snow as he called her, was like an older sister to Seto. She kept him sane enough to remember to do basic human functions. She worked in the bookstore when Seto was out running errands or delivering books. Once, Seto had gotten very sick, but his fear of doctors and hospitals kept him cooped up in his apartment for days. Snow had done all but broke down his door trying to get inside to help him. She nursed him back to health with home remedies and took care of the few customers he had.

     Snow visibly relaxed and brushed passed him into the shop. "Down worry, I'll hold down the fort while you're out. Don't do anything stupid."

     Seto laughed and stepped out onto the sidewalk. "No promises, but I'll try not to." She laughed slightly. "Bye, Snow."

     "Adios. And I'm being serious. Don't do anything you'll regret later!" She called out to him as the door close. Snow flipped the 'closed' sign to 'open' and turned on the lights before sitting down behind the front desk. She tied her white hair up in a bun and stuck a pencil through it. Combined with her glasses, Snow looked just liked your average bookworm.

     He chuckled to himself slightly as he walked down the sidewalk, the books balanced precariously in his arms. One wrong nudge, and the stuck would tumble down into the puddles Seto was currently stepping around. And, in fact, that's exactly what happened as he felt someone collide with his body.

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Hey! Thanks for reading! I know this is really, really awful, but thanks anyway! Comments and criticism is heavily welcomed and needed. Seriously, I really need the help. I didn't have much time to edit this one, either, so I apologize for that!
-Lauren