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[Moki Jackson]

Stacking books while listening to music. Admittedly, Moki wasn't the most organized library assistant, or the best person to manage books, but this job had given him an appreciation of literature, or the binder's art, at least. The smell of paper was a fun concept to him, even if he never read the books. He enjoyed the mellow atmosphere, which at first had made him feel like he was in an opium den, the every-so-often sound of a teenager sobbing over some sad fiction the cry of some busted person for more fix. For everything to be okay.

Books disturbed him. The idea of writing a total fiction, becoming invested in a predetermined story with no hope for a change, a chance for anything else, fucked with his head. Thinking about it too hard made him need a drink. He wasn't one for reading, basically. But he was one for books. He pulled out a stack of them, stuck them in the box, made his way out underarm. Soft music drifted in from the street outside, something like... an accordion? He didn't know. It wasn't important. At three in the afternoon in early December, orange light drifted in through the high windows, lending a little bit of a vault-like opulence to the stacks and shelves.

It kinda ruined the ambience when he tripped over some girl sitting in the aisles. Some cute girl, admittedly, but still an obstacle, and one that would damage his books. He caught himself, grinned stupidly, and whispered "Sorry!" before just moving on a little. He had to stack books here, which was awkward, but he could deal. He put the box down, and began putting up a whole ton of the library's better-liked teen fics. Maybe it was part of the people who read them growing up, but for some reason a whole bunch of nerds his own age liked these things too. To each their own. Moki just liked the books.

He hummed something whistful under his breath, stopped to put his hair up, then started stacking.

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley lived the library though not for the reasons most would claim. While yes, Ashley did spend much of her time reading she didn't flock to the library in order to be around or bask in the literary atmosphere it offered so much as she was drawn to the peace and quiet found within the building. Occasionally even someone like Ashley wanted to get out although she rarely had any place to be or go. The library was as private a public place as she could think of and she often stopped by before or after running errands in town for a brief amount of alone time.

This afternoon was no different. Ashley's morning routine was complete and she had an hour or so to waste before a class at the Academy leaving her just enough time to sneak into the library on the way. It was busier than usual which drove her away from the tables and chairs set up and sent her into the aisles to achieve her moments of solitude.

Within minutes Ashley had lost herself in the book she'd brought with her. There was no need to check one out, she already had one. 'The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness' was not a common reading for a college student in their spare time but the weathered cover and practices, almost deliberate way Ashley turned the pages plainly displayed this wasn't the first time she'd gone through through the text.

A short cry of surprise escaped Ashley's throat when her quiet reading session had been interrupted by the sudden bump. She drew inward, making herself as small as possible against the bookshelf as the young man moved by. "Oh!" She exclaimed before clamping her mouth shut. "I'm sorry." Her tone lowered to a hushed whisper as she lifted her bright, blue eyes up to the library assistant. "I didn't mean to get in the way." She said, slowly climbing to her feet.

[Moki Jackson]

Moki thought that the kids who needed to be alone all the time were weird, if hewas honest within himself. Not intolerably, or anything like that, but he found the concept of needing to be alone all the time just... weird. And it seemed like mutants were just introverts by nature. He'd seriously met a minimum of mutants who were friendly, outgoing, and self-reliant all in one. It was like these people were just build to fall apart, but that made sense when one considered that they had super-powers.

That wasn't to say that this girl was automatically a mutant just because she was in a weird spot. Demographically speaking, she probably wasn't - but whatever. Moki put out a hand, smiling. "No, it's okay," he said. "Don't bother. I'm over it." The dual meaning wasn't lost on him, allowing himself a wry grin before he started stacking returns on the shelf, humming low to himself. He looked back over, where the girl seemed intent on taking offense on his behalf. Well, he'd never miss a chance to observe social cues, he guessed. He turned towards her slightly, and smiled again. "Seriously, it's fine," he said, conversationally but still quietly. "Whatcha reading?"

[Ashley Benson]

Ashley's hands moved with careful, deliberate motions as they slipped a weathered bookmark between the pages of text and gently closed the book. She brought it up, clutching it almost protectively to her chest with both arms. Her brilliant, azure eyes gleamed as the young man took a moment to insist she hadn't been in the wrong, an unnecessary, yet appreciated gesture. She craned her neck a little to watch a couple of the books being slipped back into their place before leaning back and turning her attention back to the librarian.

"Oh, uh..." She glanced down, pulling the book away from her chest enough to peer down at its weathered cover before offering a sheepish shrug. "It's nothing special." She turned the cover toward Moki so he could read the bold printing across the top. "An autobiography." She quickly pulled the book back into her chest, keeping it protectively out of view lest it raise questions as to why a woman in her early twenties was toting around and clinging to a weathered book about the perils of life with schizophrenia.