~

"Hey Jack."

Jack Adams looks up from his chessboard. The blue of his eyes matches the navy blue of his cotton jumper.

"Hey Ana," he points to the empty chair opposite him. "Want a game?"

I glance at the library clock. I have to meet Lucy and Olivia in twenty minutes. The first football match of the season is today, and there's no way we can be late. Not with Olivia dating Thornhill's captain. But it only takes Jack Adams a few minutes to beat me at chess.

"Sure," I smile, settling into the chair. "But go easy on me this time."

Jack grins, showing off his perfect teeth- which are the final product of three years of braces. "I went easy on you last time."

"OK, so just don't try at all." I pull my hair back into a ponytail, and secure it using a hair tie I have wrapped round my wrist.

He laughs, to which I smile. Jack's got one of the cutest laughs.

I make my first move.

"So are you going to the game tonight?" Jack glances at me, pushing a white pawn forward.

"Yeah. Will I see you there?"

Jack shakes his head. "Big crowds aren't really my thing."

"I used to hate them too. Socialising was my kryptonite for a long time."

"What changed?"

I pick up a knight. "I met Olivia Bennet and Lucy Spier."

Jack does his cute laugh again. "Say no more."

This time it's my turn to giggle.

Mrs Flowers suddenly peeps through a nearby bookshelf. "Shush!"

I mouth sorry, and notice she's not alone. Through the gaps in the shelves, I can just make out parts of a lean, tattooed body standing next to her. Almost like a scattered jigsaw puzzle.

"Just order them alphabetically and place the big ones on the bottom shelves," Miss flowers says in a soft voice. "Do you think you can manage that?"

"Are you asking if I know the alphabet? Or if I can put books on a shelf?" I hear River reply in a low, sardonic tone.

Miss Flowers tuts disapprovingly, and they disappear to the other end of the library.

I refocus my attention on Jack. He's looking at me expectantly.

"Oh! My turn. Right."

Jack leans forward a little. "Wondering about Kavinsky?"

"What?" I stammer.

"Kavinsky," Jack repeats. "He's been serving detention here for the last few days."

"Do you know why?"

Jack beckons me closer, eyeing the bookshelves. "Some guy made some stupid 'your mum' joke to him in chemistry, and Kavinsky just lost it. Way worse than usual."

"How bad was it?"

"He tried to drown the guy in the sink."

My eyes widen. "Jesus," I choke out.

I realise then that I know absolutely nothing about River's home life. Apart from that he has a sister- something that only recently became common knowledge- and already drives a Ferrari at seventeen.

"Yeah," Jack nods, "it was bad." He leans back and studies the board. "Almost as bad as your chess skills," he grins. "Checkmate."

I sigh. "Disappointed, but not surprised."

Jack stands and starts packing up. "I need to get to Latin club. Same time next week?"

I pass him the white queen I've been holding. "Prepare to be demolished."

He deadpans me. "That was so nerdy."

"You're president of The Latin Club."

"Touché."

We both grin, and wave our goodbyes.

I watch him go, carrying his chess set and guitar case. He says bye to Mrs Flowers on his way out, who's now back at her desk.

Jack's always been that smart, sweet kid that's so good at everything, you sometimes question if he's human. Olivia tried to get me to ask him out last year, insisting we'd be a 'power couple'. But that idea fell apart when he came out as gay over the summer.

I check the clock again, and decide to go wait by Olivia's car; her and Lucy's drama club might finish early. However, instead of heading out the usual way, I slowly walk towards the library's back door. Where I know I'll find River. 

My heartbeat picks up when I see him- a regular occurrence these days it seems. He's stretching up to slide a book into a small gap on the top shelf of the classics section. His black hoodie starts to inch up, revealing smooth, inked skin.

I avert my eyes as I stroll by.

"A gangster turned librarian," I say in a quiet voice, reaching up to slide the hair tie out of my hair. "Who would've thought?"

I see him jump slightly out of the corner of my eye; he clearly didn't see me coming.

I'm almost at the door, when River catches up to me.

He thrusts me into an unused classroom to our left and kicks the door shut, then pushes me back against a blank, white wall. All before I can utter a single word.

I try to shove him away from me, but he effortlessly collects both of my wrists in one hand and pins them against my chest.

"I'll scream for Miss Flowers," I breathe, staring into his mean, dark eyes.

"She won't be able to reach you in time."

"You're not going to hurt me."

River leans in. "Who said anything about hurting?"

I glance down at his parted lips, feeling like my body's about to burst into flames. He pulls away, flashing me a killer smile, and my hands drop down to my sides.

"You're far too predictable," he shakes his head.

I know my cheeks are burning red.

Of course he wasn't going to kiss me.

"And you aren't?" I bite back. "The tattoos, the fights, the detentions. You're a walking cliche."

Something about his demeanour changes. "I know what you're doing Anatolia," he says, perching himself on the edge of a desk. He picks up an abandoned pencil and starts twirling it round his long fingers. "I got to you this morning, didn't I? And now you want to get to me."

"You haven't got to me. I still don't think anything of you."

River gets up and walks back to me.

He lets go of the pencil and it clatters to the floor. "So why didn't you leave the library via the front entrance, hm?" He starts to trail his knuckles along my jaw, but I bat his hand away. "Why did you seem so interested in what Jack Adams had to say about me?"

That catches me off guard. There's that stupid, satisfied look again.

"Because I want to know what your tragic backstory is," I retort. "A boy like you has to have one."

I try to leave, but River takes hold of my arm and yanks me back to him before I'm anywhere near the door.

I crash into his chest. And when I finally dare to look up at him, staring into his eyes is like staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Don't make an enemy of me, Anatolia. I think you're beautiful, but not that beautiful."

With that, he swiftly exits the room, leaving me frozen in my place.

My phone buzzes a few seconds later.

RK: Checkmate x