Nap Ti- I Mean, Reading Time

Montague had his head lying on a page 432 of a book that was covered by his sleeping position. His arms were wrapped over his head but anyone could recognize the boy's broad shoulders- especially since he was the only who purposely came to the library to take a nap.
The table the boy was slumped over was pretty much empty aside from piles of books he set around him to play off the idea that he fell asleep doing some type of research. It probably would have worked for him if it wasn't if half the books belonged to complete polar opposites of material. Monty was surrounded from Grimm's Fairytales to sewing guides and architecture as well as book someone must have brought from the outside of camp on middle school math.
Monty?
He groaned at the sound of his name and buried his face deeper into the crook of his elbow. He shut his eyes tightly, refusing to let his blue irises peer out from under his eyelids. Fatigue was still sitting on his bones like rust on a car's engine and until he managed to clean it away with an nap that wasn't interrupted with chatter and political arguments in the Minor Gods cabin, he wasn't going to get up.
Monty.
Keeping his face buried in his arm, he stretched his legs out from under him, yawning into his arm. He made a small croak at the movement of his sleeping limbs but as soon as the smell of his own breath bounced back into his face, he sat upright quickly.
"Holy, my breath smells terrible," He said more to himself than anyone else.

Allie loved the library. The library was her second home. She rarely went anywhere else but the library. She loved going between reading fictional and non-fictional books. It was safe to say that after two years of living here in camp, she had read almost every single book in the library. From research books to science fiction she had read them. She love reading and anyone who didn't read was a fool and an idiot to her.

Which is why when she saw asleep on a book, she nearly threw one at him. How disrespectful! She hated guys like that. She watched as he bolted upright and said something about his bad breath. She rolled her eyes and walked over to him. "I don't think you knew this so I'll just tell you. Books are for reading, not for being used as a pillow." she said.

Monty squinted up at the girl, the lights hurting his eyes as they adjusted. He yawned again, shrugging.
"They seemed fit for a nap," He told her, a smirk curling on his lips. "And this place? Damn, it's the perfect spot for a nap."
Monty pulled his arm across his chest, stretching until he heard the smallest crack in his joints. Standing up, Monty closed the book that he had been sleeping on, the edge of the book practically engraved onto the side of his face in a slightly sunken red line.
Feeling her gaze still on him, Monty met her green eyes. He was still wearing his infamous smirk. This girl must have never come to the library when he did because nearly everyone was used to seeing him claim an entire table as a bed for the afternoon.
"Can I help you?" He asked sarcastically.

Allie rolled her eyes at his comment about it being a great place to nap. What a moron. She watched him a bit longer. Who was this guy and when did he start napping here? This was a place for learning and taking in knowledge, not pretending to read and then drooling all over the pages.

She raised an eyebrow at him as he smirked at her. What? Did he expect her to swoon? Yeah, right. This guy's ego was probably bigger than his brain. She blew the hair out of her face and cracked her neck, just barely hearing his sarcastic question. "Believe me, you're the last person I would ask for help." she scoffed.

"Thank you for relieving me of the responsibility," He grinned mockingly, picking up some of the books piled around them and reading their titles. "I take it you're one of those kids with the sacred owl complex? 'Thena's kid?"
His accent always butchered some words but he usually managed to speak slow enough to avoid it. That wasn't the case this time. Right now, he knew his pronunciation would just irritate the girl even more and make his rude awakening somewhat pleasing.

She rolled her eyes for the third time at his words of gratitude. Allie had met only a few people in her time here and none compared to the ignorance of this guy. She could instantly tell that she was going to have a tough time with this meathead. She let out a sigh and grabbed one of the books on the table and after scanning the front, she realized it was the history Achilles. She glanced up at him in surprise, thinking maybe he was actually going to read it but then decided against it when she heard him speak.

"Yes, my mother is Athena." Allie corrected him. "And it's not just because of her that I love books. People put hard work into these items and I can't stand when someone like you comes along and uses them for anything but what they're made for." She was being honest with him and she wouldn't change that, even if he use her passion to torment her. She grabbed a few more books and quickly organized them in the Dewey Decimal system before setting them aside.

"Hey, I appreciate literature," Montague cut her off. "I'm just, ah, very selective. Either way, I prefer reading people rather than scribbles about fiction and the dead."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of gum and offered one out to her even though she seemed busy putting his mess of books into some type of order that only made him think of a mess worse than his.
"I knows 'lot of 'Thena's kids, but never seen any as compulsive as you," He told her, raising an eyebrow at her organization. "Unless you're Sara's sister, then I got 'ya."

"Using books as pillows isn't appreciating literature!" she exclaimed. She couldn't believe this guy. This was why she never talked to anyone. Everyone she talked to were idiots. No one had the decency to respect someone's hard work. "It's not all scribbles and dead people. Alexander the Great was a very important man in our history! Without him, everything would be different. And without books, you wouldn't know how to talk. Then again books didn't seem to help anyway."

She sighed as she finished organizing the books and then decided to put them away. As she slid each book into it's place, she felt more annoyance building up. Who does this? Pathetic lonely guys who have no friends? Ugh. He made her sick. She heard his statement about her siblings and turned. "Compulsive? You think I'm compulsive? I'm passionate about books. Is that such a crime?" she demanded. She frowned at him. Twit. She turned back to the books as continued putting them away.

'Do I get this worked over things?' Monty thought to himself, pressing his lips together to keep himself from chuckling.
He knew plenty of children of Athena and he was constantly picking at their love and devotion to reading for fun, but never had any of them gotten this worked up. Maybe it was because they knew his humor and she didn't, but he didn't know.
"Seems like you're their Mum. You're practically ready to tuck 'em in!" He said. "You've 'bout got 'em ready for a lull'by."
Montague eyed her as she put away the books, her almost caring touch against them amusing.
"What's your name, anyways?" He asked before she could make a comeback at his joke, blue eyes returning back to her face.

Allie decided to ignore his joke. He wouldn't understand what these books meant to her. These books have kept her pin for the past two years. As she finished putting the books away, she looked at the spine of the one in her hand, Treasure Island it read. She smiled softly, turning the book to look at the cover. Her eyes scanned over the picture and let memories flow through her mind before putting it away.

She heard him ask for her name and looked back at him, her green orbs meeting his blue ones. "Allie Drew. And you are?" she asked, not bothering to keep up her mean spirit. She turned around to look at him fully. Every part of her brain was telling her that he would probably take this as a chance to be her friend but she didn't want to be his friend. At least, she didn't think she did.

"Monty," He shared, trying to read the name of the book she had spent the most time looking at. His brain couldn't comprehend it fast enough and now that it was vertical on the shelf, he simply abandoned any more attempts to read it.
Most people around this time would see the friendlier side to Montague but he was having too much fun teasing this girl. His teasing wasn't meant to be cruel but rather break some of the ice between them. But this girl was building an ice berg between the two! He couldn't help but want to test her limits, see how many walls she could throw up at him while he tried to make sense of why she had so many up in the first place.

"Hello Monty." Allie said politely and then looked away at the shelves. She had come here to hide again. She liked hiding here, away from the drama and the crazy fights. She sighed softly and looked back at Monty, too tired to keep her fight. "What's your favourite book?" she asked as she moved the hair from her face.

She wasn't sure why exactly she had asked this but now she was interested. Did he even like books? She watched his facial expressions and body language. He almost had a curious look to him. She wasn't sure she liked him looking at her that way but she couldn't stop him. It was his face.

Monty was taken aback by her question. He didn't know how to respond and the fact that it was a simple question puzzled him since he didn't have a response. He didn't like to read. He didn't like to sit still. He didn't like staring at clusters of words for so long. He didn't like the smell of books. He didn't like big books or small ones. He didn't even like picture books and how they stood still.
"Uh," Monty leaned back in his chair, ruffling his hair as he thought about the question.
The only book Monty could say he ever enjoyed was a book he read to his daughter when she was crying while his father was out in the living room laughing loudly with his friends over hard liquor and drugs. He had read the book over and over to her, sang what he could remember from the movie, and even made up the accents. But how the hell was he suppose to tell this girl that Beauty and the Beast was his favorite book considering it was the only book he voluntarily read? He knew children's books like the back of his hand and that was it.
"Grimms," He mumbled the answer unsure if he was satisfied with his save, running his hands over his face at the stubble. "Ye', Grimms."

"Grimms? As in the fairy tales?" Allie asked, puzzled by his answer. By that does he mean he's only ever read fairy tales? Allie turned to the books behind her, her eyes scanning over the spines and taking in the names in. "Are you a fairy tale fan or just like the idea of damsels in distress waiting for heroes who end up being nothing they were supposed to be?" she asked, a knowing tone in her voice. Then it hit her that she may have just revealed more about herself in one sentence than she ever had.

What would he think of that? Would he see through it? Would he see it's double meaning? For once, she begged her mother that the person she was talking to was more stupid than they seemed. She didn't want to talk about herself. Or why she was so guarded.

Monty rolled his eyes at her. Whatever. He'd rather go down at the guy who only liked the grousome stories of fairytales than a murderer.
"Someone has a thing 'gainst princes in shinning armor, eh?" Monty teased her, cocking an eyebrow. "What's the matter with damsels in distress gettin' some assistance from a prince? There a mad lil' girl in there who wishes princes were real? Or you realized that a guy with tights and money ain't exactly a modern day prince, eh?"
He smirked, folding his arms over his chest and leaning his chair out on it's hindlegs, knees propped against the edge of the table.

Allie listened to his teasing and she fought back tears. She kept her back to him and stayed quiet, knowing her voice would betray her. He didn't understand, she was thankful for that. She curled her hair behind her ears as she looked at the books again. Her hand reached up and grabbed one. She pulled it down and stared at the cover.

Sleeping Beauty was on the cover. Allie pursed her lips and subtly reached up to wipe a stray tear away. Her favourite book. She would never admit this to anyone, but she loved this book. And she felt like she could connect to this book. She was in an emotional slumber, her happiness dulled away and hidden behind books as she waited for someone to come along and wake her up. She swallowed hard before speaking. "You might like this one," she said, holding the book up so he could the cover.

"Sh-" Montague caught himself before he spilled out the mildly profain word, careful none of the younger campers were around before he said it out loud. "It's Allie, 'ight? You a'ight, Allie?"
He unfolded his arms and stood up. He wanted to stop himself, return to that careless and reckless person he left behind the day of the car crash but he couldn't. He felt the change in the air between them and he knew he caused some sort of screw up and without his cousin here to smack his arm and distract him from the guilt, he had to at least know what he triggered.
He looked down at the book she held up in her arms, pursing his lips together as he became distracted with trying to read it. He frowned.
"No idea what that says," He admitted after a few seconds of analyzing the letters.

"It says Sleeping Beauty." Allie said, finally getting control of her emotions. She wasn't about to get into why she had suddenly changed emotions. Not with him. "I can read it to you, if you would like." she offered. She let her eyes meet his, hoping he wouldn't see the glossy look to them from the short amount of tears she had let loose.

Could this be a friend? Could she actually do it? No. There was no way. Any second now she would say something stupid and lose the chance of the friendship. She pursed her lips to stop herself from speaking. She would never say it out loud but she wouldn't mind having him as a friend.

This girl was confusing Monty more than when someone tried explaining to him his true nature of being a demi-god. Recently, Monty had given up making any sort of connection beyond friends and even then he was starting to consider backing off on that. Too many people were starting to trust him and they were expecting some in return. Too many questions were being asked and he wasn't sure he wanted to even consider putting together the answer. And now Allie and her confusing demeanor was just another reason why he should stay away from people. But, she had walls around her- he could already tell- and so did he, so maybe they could respect each other's walls.
"I know the story," Monty snapped, instantly regretting his tone. "I mean, I know it a-and it's borin'. Ever read the original? Now that, mate, is freakin' wicked and twisted."

Allie flinched slightly at his snapping tone. She pushed the hair out of her face and stuck the book back where it belonged. "That is a twisted tale." she said softly. She smoothed out her clothes and looked at him again. "Who's your God Parent?" she asked.

She hadn't been this interested in a person before. She usually couldn't care less what their name was. But the fact that he may have been like her, protecting his heart with emotional walls, somehow comforted her. She took a deep breath and waited for his response.

"Epione," Montague replied, careful to keep his tone mellow. "Goddess of soothin' pain, but I'm prett' sure you knew that part already."
Monty usually avoided the subject of his god parent. It was his way of disconnecting the fantasy aspect of his new life, thinking that if he avoided the subject and fact of demigods and not-so-mythical-mythology he could some how get a grip over himself.
"So, does a daughter of 'Thena have any wicked powers?" He asked, switching the subject and hopefully the atmosphere between them.

She had known that. She nodded to let him know that he was in fact right in guessing that she knew who Epione was. She looked behind her and found a book before flipping through the pages and stopped at one. Her eyes scanned the page, refreshing her memory with the story of Epione. She then closed the book and put it back before turning to him as he asked her a question.

"Powers? No. No powers for me." Allie said softly. "The only thing I have is my photographic memory." She looked him in the eyes. "What about you?" She could feel the tension lifting between them slightly and knew that it was because they had kept talking. But she knew, any moment, the stupidest thing she could ever say was going to slip out.