If you do not shush, I will drop my very heavy books on your very thick head [PRIVATE]

This is the best thing that could've happened,
Any longer, and I wouldn't have made it,
It's not a war, no, it's not a rapture,
I'm just a person, but you can't take it...

Maxime snuck a wink to Devon as Taylor fixed a smile on her face, and gave a hollow laugh. She knew she'd just made the whole thing very awkward, and she was quiet happy with her handy work it seemed.
Honestly, you'd think she'd have a brain cell in her head which told her to be responsible. But noooo, Max is an idiot and makes every single situation awkward just cause she can...
'Ya know, I sorta like her Devon. She's not really forgiving, which can be good in a person. And she's actually quite pretty, although I was unsure before cause that hairstyle...' Maxime practically sang, speaking as if Taylor wasn't there at all.
Devon groaned softly, and again had to fight a strong urge to slap his sister across the back of her head.
'Maxime, just... please, for the love of all things holy, shut up before you say something you may live to regret...'

His crooked smile fell when he realized he hadn't succeeded in bringing back the light-hearted atmosphere, but Devon had plenty of practice at keeping his emotions down. So he continued as if he was still trying to bring it back, even though he was doubtful now.
'I think we've both had enough of carrying books, right?' he chuckled softly, although it sounded to him like it was as hollow as Taylor's earlier laugh.

Devon followed her, and Maxime followed behind him, which he had to ignore no matter what. He'd learned over the years that if he reacted, she'd be more likely to make everything worse.
'You'd think people would know how to sharpen pencils and do brain surgery. I mean, the sharpening pencils is a little hard, but brain surgery? Why on earth would you need a book for that?' he joked, before telling her the title of his one, 'The book which I looked at is very amazing. It holds the secrets of the universe and is.... "How To Read A Book".'
Maxime snorted behind him, but again, he continued without acknowledging her.

This is the best thing that could've happened,
Any longer, and I wouldn't have made it,
It's not a war, no, it's not a rapture,
I'm just a person, but you can't take it...

Maxime pranced in front of Devon happily, Taylor's dark look doing nothing to ruin her mood. It was surprising that the girl with the usually short fuse was having more fun than she'd ever had before getting evil looks.
Although, Devon would never admit it out loud, but Max had a point on one thing: Taylor was pretty, which was something he'd noticed straight away. But the fact his sister had said it straight out like she had, it bugged him.
Dropping a shelf on her seemed like a very good idea.

Devon continued to follow Taylor, seeing as though he had no idea where the books were to go. As soon as he'd gotten to where she had put her books, he stopped and shifted their weight, putting them down with a soft thud on the shelf. The only one he kept a hold of was the one he'd been carrying from the start, which he was sure belonged back the other side of the library (Though he wasn't certain, because the library looked the same everywhere).
He caught her genuine smile, and the soft laughs made him flash a smile to her too.

'I can't understand how they would even read the book if they needed it in the first place,' he chuckled.
Maxime was browsing all the shelves across from them, and she turned, her smile intact.
'Well I for one see the appeal of it. I mean, I have no interest in reading books, but learning how to read a book would be a valuable life lesson.'

This is the best thing that could've happened,
Any longer, and I wouldn't have made it,
It's not a war, no, it's not a rapture,
I'm just a person, but you can't take it...

'Ah, the beautiful mystery of life,' Maxime drawled in a fake southern accent, which clashed horribly with her British one.
She obviously has absolutely no idea what we were speaking about, and now she's just trying to annoy every single person in the goddamn library...
Again, Devon followed Taylor, and Maxime followed him. It would have been funny in any other situation.

'Maybe there's an audio version,' Max said in her overly perky voice, which gathered a couple "sssh's".
She is not my sister... not my sister... anyone asks, she is just an annoying girl who's come over and will not leave... and who happens to look sort of like me...

Devon was silent as a boy walked over to Taylor, looking sort of annoyed. He had to fight a laugh when the guy turned out to be someone who'd spent a while (if his word was anything to go by) looking for a book.
Who the hell is Edith Hamilton anyways?
The boy, now revealed to be called Will, left with a smirk, and Devon shook his head, a chuckle escaping his lips.
'If you want, next time you see him, you can tell him Maxime was helping. She's not known for being able to read, so she's a perfect person to use in this situation,' he said in a soft whisper.

Max didn't seem to have heard however, her expression unreadable as she turned to look at Devon.
'Soooooo.... Can I have money now?'
'Nice try but no,' he retorted as quickly as she had come out with it, but she didn't stop there.
'If you give me money, I'll leave. Surely you want me to leave? Cause if I don't I might bring up embarrasing childhood stories or the like. Although I'm sure Taylor would like to hear some of them...'
Blackmail. Her favorite way to get what she wants.
Devon sighed in defeat, and pulled his rucksack around his side. Then, he opened the zip and rummaged around for a bit, before pulling out his wallet and throwing it to Maxime. She caught it in a smooth, practiced movement, and before he could even say what he'd been about to say, she had it open.

'Take 20 pounds Max. No more,' he told her.
'Dollars, and sureee. Can I have your iPod?'
'No way. No. Way. On. This. Earth.'
Maxime pouted, and Devon remembered that it was practically dead. Less than 20% battery left. She wouldn't notice until she was outside...
'Here,' he smiled, pulling the iPod from his pocket and chucking it to her. Again, she caught it, and then she threw his wallet back to him.
Already walking backwards, she gave a little wave to Taylor.
'Nice to meet ya. Have fun on Library duty, k? We should totally go shopping sometime,' then, she threw a big smile at Devon, and turned her back on him, 'Thanks for the 40 dollars Dev. I owe ya one.'
And then Maxime was gone, disappearing around a shelf.

'I'm sorry about her... she's difficult,' he said darkly, running a hand through his hair as he realized his wallet was now a lot emptier than it was a couple minutes before.

This is the best thing that could've happened,
Any longer, and I wouldn't have made it,
It's not a war, no, it's not a rapture,
I'm just a person, but you can't take it...

40 dollars she's cost me. 40 dollars. I wouldn't mind on a normal day. Hell, I'd give it to her willingly, cause she'd actually need it. But forty dollars for straighteners? She won't even come home with straighteners. She'll come back with clothes or something stupid...
Devon was more annoyed than he had ever been with his sister. She'd took a couple dollars before, two or five, something small. But 40 dollars? Where the hell had her own allowance gone?
'You know, it might be a blessed bit of revenge if you told everyone who found a problem in your book-kepping that its Maxime's fault,' he whispered, imagining his sisters face when she found out what had happened.

And he had no doubt that Maxime would find Taylor again. Whether Taylor liked it or not, Max would find her in her Cabin, or somewhere. She would probably spend her time looking for the girl. Maxime had found someone who hadn't officially "snapped" at her within two minutes, and that meant she was gonna come for round 2.

'I think everyone in Camp has seen that by now. Its a wonder she hasn't been smothered in her sleep, she makes so many enemies,' he joked, although really, when he thought about it, it was a wonder.
He cracked another genuine smile then, with the whole thing much easier now Maxime had left. He hadn't been expecting little sister from hell to appear, in all honesty.
'Might come as a surprise, but my Dad - and Maxime's unfortunately - is Thaumas. Wonders of the Sea and all that jazz. It occurs to me that I never asked you who your godly parent is, so who's your dad or mom?'
So far the only other child of Thaumas I've met is Maxime. If Taylor turns out to also be a child of that particular God, I may just hibernate for the rest of my life...

This is the best thing that could've happened,
Any longer, and I wouldn't have made it,
It's not a war, no, it's not a rapture,
I'm just a person, but you can't take it...

'She'd do a worse job than any other person in Camp would. See, as soon as Max found out she had dyslexia, she just used that as an excuse to get out of the whole reading thing. She can figure out basic sentences, but after that...'
The irony of the whole thing was that Maxime absolutely loved T-Shirts that had things wrote on them. Cute little things with pictures, etc. And yet it was unlikely she knew what every single one of her T-Shirts actually said.
He laughed softly under his breath when the girl who'd been hushing them before moved to another table, although he was serious again very suddenly.
'Protective brother vibe... hm. Sometimes, it seems like it would be a blessing if she was smothered in her sleep. She wouldn't do peoples heads in as much at least. But I guess you could call me protective of her. She's all I have in one sense, and vice versa. Although that whole thing where she pretended to be my girlfriend? That may have been a joke - for her anyways - but she could have been being protective too. She'd never admit that though, so there's no chance of finding it out.'

It was a good thing Devon wasn't drinking water, or eating something, or chewing gum or something stupid, because he would probably have choked to death in front of Taylor. A very embarrassing way to go, which was why it was lucky it didn't happen.
He tried to speak, but all that came out was a couple unintellingable sounds as Taylor's smile stayed clear.
He may possibly have died of shock if she hadn't burst out laughing.

'Khione... is better than Thaumas. Gods, I may have had a heartattack and died in those couple seconds,' he chuckled.
The relief could probably be seen on his face, in honesty. He'd been so sure she was telling the truth. Thank the lords above she hadn't been.

This is the best thing that could've happened,
Any longer, and I wouldn't have made it,
It's not a war, no, it's not a rapture,
I'm just a person, but you can't take it...

'Well no. I wouldn't be able to pretend to be her boyfriend. If I had to pretend, I'd need to be a passive little good boy who did exactly what Maxime said. Although,' he pretended to think about it for a minute, before shaking his head, 'Nope. No chance I would ever do that to her, unless the guy in question was a leather-clad rock-star make-up wearing type dude who had a motorcycle and smoked.'
The truth was, Devon was very critical of the guys who Maxime had gone out with - and she'd gone out with a lot. He didn't see anything in them which he could like. Maybe that was because he was her older brother, and he was supposed to be like that, but really, he just didn't see what Maxime saw in the guys she dated. But he would never stoop so low as to pretend to be her boyfriend. Even by his standards, that was going to far.
But obviously, by her standards, that is not going too far.

Devon could feel his cheeks getting warmer, and he was worried they would turn beetroot red, embarrassing him further. He smiled sheepishly, and shifted his weight sort of awkwardly, trying not to actually laugh at himself.
Even though he found her laugh really cute - and he really, really did find it cute - his reaction had mortified him.
Over-reaction much?

Aaaaah, see this is the reason why you should never speak or react before you think it through. Now what?
For a second, Devon appeared speechless, unable to come up with a reason. When he did speak, he hadn't even thought of anything, and so all he was doing was trying to get some time.
'W-w-well I-I mean to say that I-I... I-Its sort of hard to explain... I-I didn't...'
He sucked in a deep breath and spoke before he actually thought about it, just diving into a long-winded sentence.
'Well I have a strict rule never to l-like a sister of mine in that sort of sense as seen when I had to break it to Maxime that incest is not legal between siblings in England and well it would have been much harder and frankly I-I think impossible if you had been a half-sister of mine because of that rule.'
He looked down at the ground, his cheeks burning and his smile even more sheepish than before.

This is the best thing that could've happened,
Any longer, and I wouldn't have made it,
It's not a war, no, it's not a rapture,
I'm just a person, but you can't take it...

Devon was seriously worried he'd wreaked everything, because no answer came. When he built up enough courage to look up again, Taylor was looking through the nearest shelf of books, looking interested in their titles.

Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap... I wreaked it didn't I. I should say something like apologize or whatever. But I'm not sorry so I shouldn't apologize should I? This is terrible what should I do? If only me and Max had a stupid bat signal or something or like a special twin bond which means we can read each others minds... I could summon her here to me right now and she'd do something so stupid it would distract everyone within a hundred meters..
Random thoughts like that flew around Devon's head, along with sudden and strange song lyrics to a song he'd heard just that morning, which didn't seem like they belonged with this situation and he pushed them out the back door of his mind.

She isn't going to speak is she... Oh Gods she's going to just read those books for ages before she turns and smiles all kindly and tells me she needs to go... she's not going to reply at all to what I've said because I'm an idiot who just blurted the worst thing that its possible to blurt...
To Devon, the silence was the worst part. As a child he'd wished he'd been able to read minds, so he'd know what people were thinking when they went silent. But in this scenario, he didn't know if he wanted to know. Because if it turned out she was thinking about how to get out of the situation...

For a minute, Devon didn't think he'd heard right. Had she-? Had it even been Taylor who had spoken?
But yes, it was, and his mouth formed into one of his crooked smiles.
'After library duty... sure! I mean, yeah, it would be fun. Might be good to get away from the Mess Hall food for the night and all,' he had to try sound casual, and just like Taylor wasn't looking at him, he wasn't looking at her, instead looking at the top of the shelves.

This is the best thing that could've happened,
Any longer, and I wouldn't have made it,
It's not a war, no, it's not a rapture,
I'm just a person, but you can't take it...

Devon honestly could not believe what she'd asked. He'd been expecting rejection and all, but he hadn't been expecting that. Any moment he expected her to laugh and be like "HAHAHAHA I GOT YA DIDN'T I THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE WAS SO FUNNY".
Oh my Gods, what if Maxime's done something? What if she's attempting to outdo all her other pranks by hiring Taylor to pull this big massive trick off...
Dev couldn't quiet stop all the negative thoughts, but he could ignore them if he thought of other things, like that song. The song which he'd though he'd pushed out the back door of his mind, but who had simply rounded the house, knocked at the front door and came back in.

And what if I did imagine that and now she's wondering what the hell I'm on..

He finally looked at her, and found she was looking at him too with a huge grin on her face. He matched it with one of his own, and panicking anymore, he just wiped his mind clear and thought of what she'd said.
'Seven it is,' he smiled, and then he shook his head in disbelief, 'I can't believe I've lived in that Cabin three years and I've never even seen you around. You think you know everyone, and then you find out you obviously don't.'

This is the best thing that could've happened,
Any longer, and I wouldn't have made it,
It's not a war, no, it's not a rapture,
I'm just a person, but you can't take it...

'What is it people say? "Great Minds Think Alike",' he chuckled softly, still wondering how on earth he had never seen her around.
Never mind how I never saw her in there. Maxime is the one who supposedly knows everyone in Camp. Shouldn't she know Taylor? Obviously she hadn't, because if she had she wouldn't have felt the need to pull that prank earlier, but still...

He hadn't even noticed the elder girl come up behind Taylor, even if he was facing her. The fake coughs jerked him out of his thoughts, and he watched curiously. Not young enough to be going to Camp still, obviously, but not old enough to be called old.
Probably one of the older kids, going to College or something and just stepping in to help for the day. Something like that anyways.

Sadly, the girls arrival signaled Taylor's departure, but he smiled crookedly at the red haired girl anyways, and mimicked her wave as best he could while holding his book.
'Seven at Cabin Thirteen. And I certainly wouldn't dream of putting that at risk over a book,' he replied, watching as she left.

The older kid was left then, watching him, and Devon's smile turned sheepish.
'I'll just... return this book then... yeah,' he mumbled, turning on his heel and walking self-consciously down the aisle.
Devon was sure the shelf he needed was the other side of the library, and so he was doomed to walk over there without Taylor's sparkling company.
What shelf does it go on again? Weapons and Weapon Handling? Or was it Sword Defense?...