i've got this thing where i lack a life.

Faith had heard about the place, and at first assumed that it would be sorta lame. But, upon arriving, she inhaled the scent of fresh parchment and felt like she was falling in love. The girl loved a good book, that's for sure, and she also loved sitting in a quiet corner doing absolutely nothing but losing herself in the pages of a novel.

It took a while for Faith to find herself a book that grabbed her fancy. The phrase "don't judge a book by its cover" meant about as much as people's attitudes towards her rather thick cast on her leg and scar up the side of her face did to her, and when she found one with a hard, grey cover she picked it out. There was a swirly title, written in a beautiful gold that read "The Rose's Thorn." Well, it seemed to be about pain. And what wasn't fun about that?

Sitting down in a secluded corner all alone, she turned the first page and read along. Every rose has thorns. Everything pretty has a spike. Everything nice has a jagged edge.

Monae needed a good read, and going to Dostoevskogo seemed like a good place. People spoke of the good books, for fiction and non-fiction, and the variety of books it had. The place had mostly rare books, one of a kinds. Sure it would be expensive, but Monae had the money.

Pushing the door open, a bell ringed signaling a new customer. The air smelling musty and of parchment, she walked towards a bookcase in the back. If her logic was right, the bookcase farthest away typically was ignored. So the good books had to be there.

Grabbing one book with a ivy colored design on it, Monae saw a girl sitting in the corner. She raised an curious eyebrow and put back the book. The Hitrost walked towards the girl, then leaned against the bookcase.

"What are you reading?"

Head totally and utterly engrossed in what she was reading, Faith didn't hear anyone enter the bookstore. She didn't hear the little 'ding' of the bell, and so her head didn't snap up at the sound. Her eyes traveled across the page quickly as her mind lost itself in the old, coloring pages and her hands turned them with a strange delicacy that she usually kept for seeing Lilli.

She'd heard the footsteps of someone else coming to be back of the shop and yet she didn't feel it necessary to acknowledge them in any way. Not even batting an eyelid as the other girl came up to her and leaned against the bookshelf, Faith stayed perfectly still.

Until she spoke.

Then, her senses just went absolutely bat-shit crazy. The book fell to the floor and her hands clenched into fists. "Thank you," she hissed sarcastically, picking the book up lightly. She un-clenched her hands and looked up at her, eyes narrowed. "I was reading this," she muttered, holding the cover up.