Indiana, Invincible; Chapter 4, Part 3

by Maryam in A Land Of Desert And Sun

(Indiana's POV)

Stealthily, I look around - the library is pretty much deserted, now that the final bell has sounded and all students are out. I look towards the book again.
Do I dare?
Of course I dare, I huff to myself as I begin striding towards it, it's a book. In a library. It goes without saying that I could very well be any innocent person, strolling along, and then suddenly a book catches my eye, and quite simply I decide to pick it up.
The slim volume is lying, quite innocently, face-down on the table, and I resolutely pick it up. Not looking at it, I casually pull out a seat, and, still standing, and turn it to the front. As my eyes scan the title, my brows instinctively knit together.
I keep my eyes on the book as I slowly begin sitting in the chair, and then set it on the desk in front of me. I open it, begin leafing through it....
Only to have it snatched off the desk, and a voice, an angry, searing, scathing voice, say:
'Who - gave - you - the - right'-
I half-stand, defensively, and as my eyes meet the furiously smouldering ones of Liam Rheston's.
'Who gave me the RIGHT?' I say back a second later, my voice high with indignation, all I can muster out. He begins to say something, but I interrupt, and this time my voice is heavy with scorn.
'You think that just because you can intimidate everyone with a simple twist of your outlook, you can try to bother me? This a library book! I can very well read it without anyone shoving their mouths off at me!'
I pause, glaring directly into his eyes.
'And what are you doing this close to my face?'
This, of all other things, gets him to back off, but does not lessen the enimity in his glare, and he keeps them locked on mine as he backs away, book still in his hand.
Before he turns to go, he pauses, and says in a somewhat menacing tone:
'Do not tell anyone about this.'
I raise an eyebrow.
'Let me ask you one thing, Rheston.' My voice is now icily calm, and I'm standing with my arms crossed.
'Do you really think I would give your threat a second's consideration? Do you think I'd actually take an order from you?'
Rheston is contemplating me with an odd look on his face. In any case, the blind anger is gone after a second, and he's now eyeing me equally coolly.
'Apparently not, Finnigan.'
With that, he finally turns and leaves.
The book is dangling from a hand, and I narrow my eyes at it.
Artistic Robberies Of the Twenty-First Century

Hmm.
What could possibly be so important about that?
And why is Rheston, of all people, reading it?