i like big books and i cannot lie (terresa)

Admittedly, there was something forbidden, something completely scandalous about the love between Catherine and Heathcliff, which was what had drawn Colin to it in the first place-- and it had ended in tragedy, which made it all the better. He did enjoy his happy endings, yes, but recent years had brought upon a love of all things morbid and macabre. Horror movies rarely terrified him any more, and so the best substitute for that was to read, where he could picture the grotesque and the gory himself. Wuthering Heights wasn't exactly horror per se, but it had been revolutionary for its time; and that was why Colin loved it, despite the sexist undertones.

You couldn't expect the state of the world to change over night, after all, and it reflected the state of the nineteenth century perfectly. Besides, who could resist the tragedy that was Catherine and Heathcliff's forbidden love? He smiled a little to himself as he flipped a page, taking in the smell of old parchment and ink. This book had to be an early edition, there was no way that it wasn't, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of possessiveness as he held it in his hands. Maybe Julie wouldn't mind if he took it home--

"Colin?"

The blonde jolted upwards to see his co-worker looming over him, a smile on her face.

"I think what she's looking for might be more of your expertise than mine.

Oh. Right. Work. He was at work. Colin immediately shut the book, getting up and walking towards the cashier. Customer service had never exactly been his strong suit-- he much preferred to sort through the shelves, looking for what people wanted and needed. He turned towards the pretty brunette, cheeks pink with embarrassment.

"I- I'm so sorry, I was a little distracted, but-- what were you looking for again?" he asked, hoping that she wouldn't complain to his manager. This had happened one too many times for comfort; he was just glad that most of his coworkers were as much of a bibliophile as he was. He really did need to be more aware of his surroundings. Luckily, Susan to the rescue.

"All Quiet on the Western Fro--"

Before she could even finish speaking, Colin's eyes widened, and he broke out into a large grin.

"I know exactly where that is. Do you want a first edition? Hold on, let me go get it for you-- it's right in the left corner with the other World War I literature, near Regeneration which would be an interesting parallel read, did you know that Pat Barker's husband was familiar with the works of Dr. Rivers and that's why the book is so well-researched and--" He glanced to his left, only to see Susan covering her mouth, the edges of her eyes crinkling up as she tried not to giggle. Colin flushed once again. Okay, maybe he'd gotten just a little... Too passionate. Just a little.

"I- I'm so sorry, Miss. I'll go get the book for you, just... Do you want a new copy or an early edition." It was just about time that he curled up in a ball and withered away, right?

"Yes, we have a first edition. I'd have bought it myself but I'm saving money for a first edition of Pride and Prejudice. I wanted to be Elizabeth Bennet when I grew up-- she was my hero." It crossed his mind for a second that she might question why a boy wanted to be Elizabeth Bennet, but he did his best to dismiss it. People were often infatuated with fictional characters of the opposite gender, right? He himself was no exception to that-- she hopefully wouldn't think much of it, and even if she did, he didn't really think she'd be able to put the pieces together with a single statement.

To be completely fair, he'd settled for being Elizabeth Bennet in lieu of not being able to be Peter Pan. Not only was the prospect of running to a faraway land impossible, he'd once believed that he was female, too. Much as he liked to think that his gender didn't affect him, it did tend to crop up even in situations where most people would be able to say something without it causing a giant train of thought. He was just lucky that he could pass as his preferred gender. In places like a dark alley or a dangerous area, that fact could probably even have saved his life without him realising. Los Angeles was a dangerous, dangerous place, and one never knew what horrors lurked around every corner.

Then again, why be Lizzie Bennet or Peter Pan when he could be Colin Cox? He still wasn't exactly the best at this self-confidence thing, and would probably never be, but at least Colin was going somewhere, doing something with himself. And for other people, for one. He smiled at the girl once again, glad that she didn't seem to mind his rambling on. He walked out from behind the counter, gesturing for the girl to follow him.

"Come on, I'll show you. Anyway, Regeneration is about a poet-cum-soldier, Siegfried Sassoon, and his protesting against World War I through poetry. It's a really heartbreaking struggle and the language is lovely. I think I almost cried several times reading it. It gets pretty heart-wrenching though, and even if you aren't a World War I soldier there will be bits that end up hitting you really close to home and making you think, 'Ow'. I love it when books do that," Colin said, smiling as he started in the direction of where her chosen book was. "Now you've gotten me started. I'm so sorry."

It was true though-- he was infinitely less overly cautious when talking about books. That comment about Elizabeth Bennet would never have slipped. He made a mental note to be more careful, hoping that she wouldn't pick up on it; then again, he was only going to see this girl once. Why did he care so much?

"I'm sure we all had heroes. People like us just... We just happen to find them in books, or in history. That's all," he said. Was it strange that he could already sense that she was like him, in a way? One of the quiet ones, the ones that had found solace in novels rather than human company as a child? If only he'd known more people like that when he was younger, perhaps he would have felt less alone. Then again, it was probably for the better that he had the social skills to seek these people out now-- a younger Colin would have stuttered his way through the entire situation.

He smiled a little at the thought, continuing his way down the rows and rows of bookshelves. One way he'd always described the store he worked in was by comparing it to the Tardis: it was bigger on the inside, and it could take you to distant lands and worlds far away, take you through a journey through time and space. Granted, your adventure would end through the closing of the pages of your book, but even the Doctor had to leave his companions behind, didn't he? He'd always dreamed of being chosen to be the Doctor's next companion as a child, among other things-- then again he had had many wishes, none of which could come true. It was why he loved books so much, though. They could indulge anyone's fantasies and escapism by allowing them to paint their own mental images of their adventures.

Much as he loved television, there was nothing like curling up under the blankets with a nice, hot cup of tea and a good book. His older brother had always chastised him for reading with a flashlight under his sheets in the dark, saying that he would ruin his vision even more than he already had, but he had continued to do so anyway. What could he say, books were a passion, and the one thing that had remained a constant in his life. Nobody could take that away from him. Finally, they reached the section with the historical books, and Colin pulled a book down from one of the shelves. Exactly what she had been looking for-- a first edition, and everything. He handed the book over to her, wrapped in a protective layer of plastic. The blonde wasn't sure how he felt about cling-wrapping literature; on one hand, it helped protect certain books from harm, but on the other, there was something magical (and economical) about reading a book in the bookstore it had come from. Besides, he was a poor college student, and much as he wished that he could own every book in the store he simply didn't have the funds.

"Here you go," he said. "Take care of it. I would have bought it myself, only I'm saving up for something else. As for other recommendations... Hold on. Are you into poetry, or just novels?" With that statement, Colin pulled a few more titles off the shelves, handing them to the girl one by one as he spoke their names.

"Parade's End. This is a second edition, but it's still fairly old nonetheless. The Secret Battle, written by an actual war combatant. And if you like poetry," he said, taking a final yellowed tome off a higher shelf, "Wilfred Owen was an amazing poet. He died as he lived though-- in the middle of the very war he was protesting." He could hardly contain his excitement. This was why he loved this job; you got so many people that actually cared about reading. For one, the girl seemed to be interested in what he had to say, and she was asking him what he liked. Perhaps he could ask her for some titles in return?

"What else have you read?"

Colin smiled a little at her mention of war and bloodshed. "No, it's okay. I'm quite the fan of the macabre and morbid myself. Which is probably why I've read up so much on war. Though much of what I know comes from books, rather than history." It was true. He'd watched so many horror movies and played so many horror games that he'd been almost completely desensitized to them at this point, though throw him onto a roller coaster and you'd hear him screaming at the top of his lungs. Strange, maybe, but that was him for you-- he'd always been more than a little bit of an oddball. He nodded at the mention of her suggestions. They were all books on his ever-growing list of things he wanted to read, except for Frankenstein which he'd long since devoured.

"I love Frankenstein. Did you know that Mary Shelley wrote that when she was nineteen? It's funny, because the entire science fiction genre was created by a teenage girl. Upon hearing it I started to question my life achievements. I'm twenty-one, and I don't think that I've changed literary history yet." She introduced herself as Amanda, and he nodded, thinking of taking her hand but realising that her arms were completely full. So, instead, Colin hoisted the books from her arms, cringing a little at their weight. The customer was always supposed to come first in service, after all. That was what he had always been told by his employer.

"My name is Colin. Nice to meet you, Amanda. Do you want me to take these books to the counter, or do you want to keep browsing? There's a collection of cheaper second-hand books at the back," he said, lowering his voice, "But take this from me: if you aren't afraid of the rumours of the wild dog that's supposedly rampaging Venice Beach, there are a few used-book stalls where you can get good titles for only a penny. Sometimes they have gems, but sometimes all you get is absolute rubbish. I'm not sure how true the rumours are, but..." He frowned.

"The wild dog wouldn't be attacking you around the pier, right? Especially not in a large crowd." His professor had told him to go there to see if he could pick up a couple of things, after all; Colin had tried scouring the store he worked in for those titles but hadn't managed to find any. He was definitely considering not going, though.

Conversely, Colin had never been the best at forming friendships himself. He'd spent so much of his high school years being avoidant and shy that he had never really come to grips with how exactly to socialize, and most of the friendships he had now had arisen due to circumstances, rather than through him actively seeking others out. The number of people he considered friends could probably be counted on both his fingers, unless you counted his family as well. But despite what Amanda thought, Colin wasn't just being friendly because of his job-- no, he was genuinely interested in what the girl had to say. She was intelligent and shared the same interests as he did, and while he could have just gone back to the counter he wanted to continue discussing books with her.

While he'd managed to get Julie to do some reading recently, and she'd enjoyed the books that he had recommended, it was safe to say that she didn't share the same level of enthusiasm as he did. There had been one exception, and that was the Harry Potter series, but he was hard-pressed to find anyone that didn't enjoy Harry Potter. Hence, when he smiled at Amanda and blabbered about books, he was being genuine-- she had no way of knowing it, but for someone from which words were rare and smiles were even rarer, this was a rarity among people that he had just met. There were so few people that he felt like he could relate to that when he found someone with the same passions, he couldn't help but feel comfortable dangerously fast, and it made the little white lie told to him next absolutely lethal in more ways than one.

"I suppose," he smiled. Colin didn't go to the beach a lot, so he wouldn't know. He hadn't had much reason to go before that, and had constantly made excuses not to go, but now he did enjoy walking around the pier once in a while. "What are the odds, right?" He was cautious, but was trying his best not to be paranoid. Colin knew that he could fear too much and live too little a lot of the time, and he wanted to try to rectify that. "Yes, you should certainly go and check it out."

Colin winced once again at the weight of the books, carrying them over to the counter slowly but steadily. Amanda was happily browsing at the other end of the store, and he couldn't help but smile once again as he watched her do so. Perhaps he'd made a new friend, though he wouldn't count on it just yet. However, there was no denying that he was getting dangerously comfortable. The blonde started scanning the books, wondering whether he would be allowed to give her a little discount for buying so many.

Colin had just finished scanning the books that Amanda had given him when she returned to the counter carrying several more. Hazel eyes scanned the titles, frowning a little at Dean Koontz. He wondered whether it would be his place to mention that he wasn't a particularly amazing writer: average at worst, entertaining at best. Slightly overwrought, a second-rate version of Stephen King. At least the books could be read quickly, in the span of a few hours, and were worth a read. Nothing on some of the better writers he'd read, but... Okay, at least Amanda wasn't going to be completely wasting her time.

No matter how fun she sounded, he still didn't know her well. He had to be careful, had to try to be careful at the very least. So he gritted his teeth and put the books in the bag he'd set aside for Amanda. They weren't awful, after all, but someone like her could have been reading something so much better. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he was going to keep his mouth shut if he wasn't asked. She was still a customer after all, and for all he knew she could have been a massive Dean Koontz fan. It was best not to enrage her before he got to know her and her tastes well. Much as he had enjoyed talking to her, they had to maintain some semblance of a professional relationship while he was serving her in here.

Which meant that they could potentially... Would she even want to be friends, though? Colin had always been shy, and even if he was acting friendly and calm on the outside, the thought that she might not want to stay in touch, or that he had actually been annoying her the whole time couldn't help but creep into his mind. He felt himself freeze for a moment before muttering, "That'll be fifty-five dollars." He hoped his voice wasn't shaking too much. It was always awful when anxiety hit at the thought of not being able to function in society-- he was okay around people he knew well, but there were so few people that he met outside who he actually gelled with. It wouldn't be the end of the world if she walked out of the store. Then again, if she was as introverted as he was, perhaps she was thinking the same? One of them had to make the first move and actually communicate. Which was why he found himself piping up,

"There's a book festival coming up around the end of this week. Are you going?" Wait, that-- that probably sounded like he was hitting on her. Bad. Bad idea. "I- I may be dragging my girlfriend along as well, if you don't mind, but chances are she's going to get distracted by the shiny colours or something of the like. If you're going as well we should meet up there and compare what we've bought."

Amanda would probably have been surprised to learn that Colin too wasn't too fond of most men-- the ones that he knew were generally cissexist, misogynistic assholes, and he wouldn't have put up with many of them at all if given the choice. Then again, he was cynical about humanity as a whole. Years and years of being stepped on and bullied had taught him to keep his mouth shut, keep his guard up. The fact that he was judging her literary tastes rather than her actions or words probably said volumes about the camaraderie he already felt with Amanda, even though he barely knew her, and he felt his face light up with joy as she agreed.

"It's going on for a few days. The 8th to the 13th, I think. We should arrange a meeting time and place," he said, all too quickly. Before he knew it, he was tearing off a piece of paper, scrawling his name and phone number on it for her. "Drop me a line, and we can arrange a time and talk about books." Oh my god, he really sounded like he was hitting on her. He shuddered: he really didn't want to be giving her the wrong message. "And Julie can laugh at the two of us for being nerds."

Way to go Colin, you definitely sounded like a total moron right there.

But either way, he knew someone. He'd managed to make a friend? Friend?? What was friendship. How did you socialise. How did you function in human society. It was a mystery, and one that he had a feeling he would never really know how to resolve. With that thought he handed the books over along with her change, before giving Amanda a soft smile.

"Have a great day!"