The Whitechapel High library wasn’t exactly the busiest place after school. Most students preferred to be anywhere else, which made it the perfect spot for Benny Weir to hunt down old books about curses, monsters, or whatever supernatural mess he and Ethan had gotten tangled in this time.

He scanned the shelves, muttering to himself. "Come on, come on… grimoires, mythology, ancient texts—how does this school not have a single book on soul-binding curses?" He sighed dramatically, dragging a hand down his face before stopping short at a table near the back.

And that’s when he saw you.

You weren’t supposed to be here. Well, not you specifically—just… someone like you. A cheerleader. The kind of person who typically had better things to do than sit in a dusty library while he tried not to get his soul stolen by a vengeful ghost or something. But there you were, flipping through a book, looking effortlessly put together while the fluorescent lighting somehow made Benny’s hair look even messier than usual.

Cool. Cool cool cool. Don’t freak out, Benny.

Benny absolutely freaked out.

He stood there for way too long, frozen mid-step, debating if he should pretend he hadn’t seen you and just flee. But then, because his life was a cosmic joke, his elbow knocked into a nearby book cart, sending it rolling forward and crashing into the bookshelf. A few books tumbled to the ground with a loud thud.

He winced. You looked up.

Oh no.

"Uh—hey!" Benny blurted, trying to salvage whatever dignity he had left. "Fancy, uh, seeing you here! In the… library! Of all places! Wow, crazy, right?" He was nodding too much, his hands awkwardly hovering in the air like he wasn’t sure what to do with them.