"Isn't it about time you suggested me a book?"

"Mmm, probably," Holly agreed, chucking at Gail's impatient tone.

Today they were on shelving duty. Whether or not that was the official term, Gail had no idea. All she knew was that it involved a whole lot of putting books on shelves, which was just as thrilling as it sounded. Well, maybe that wasn't so true. Having Holly there did sort of make it marginally better. But only marginally. Because Holly annoyed Gail. Obviously.

"So?" Gail prompted, looking over at her expectantly.

"Well, it all depends on what kind of things interest you," Holly answered, placing a book on the shelf.

"What if I don't want to read about things that interest me?"

Holly paused what she was doing, turning to Gail with a sigh. "You're purposely being difficult, aren't you?"

"And why would I do that?" Gail asked.

"No idea." Holly smiled and then picked up the closest book to her. "How about this? The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance, by Henry Petroski," she read aloud, before turning the book over and reading the blurb. "Henry Petroski traces the origins of the pencil back to ancient Greece and Rome, writes factually and charmingly about its development over the centuries and around the world, and shows what the pencil can teach us about engineering and technology today."

Gail threw her a indignant look. "I'd appreciate it if you tried a bit harder, Holly. This is no joke, you know."

"Exactly, not a joke," Holly repeated, "which is why 'tracing the origins of the pencil' is so fitting. I don't think you can get much more serious than that, Gail."

"I hope you know that you're not funny."

Holly poked her in the ribs. "Then why are you smiling?"

Gail batted her hand away. "I'm smiling at Henry Petroski, nerd," she answered seriously. "Not everything is about you," she added, trying to hold back her smile. "So? Are you going to recommend me a book or not?"

"Magic word?" Holly prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"Now."

Holly prodded Gail again, this time a little harder.

"Hey! There's no need to resort to violence," Gail protested. "I get that you're jealous, what with Henry's charm and my..." She paused and then continued, "Well, I'm just hot. But really, me and him are over now. You can rest easy."

Gail chanced a glance over at Holly and sure enough, she was giving her that look again. That curious, searching, half-smile of hers that never failed to hit Gail somewhere deep in her stomach. She hated it. And she really, really liked it.

"Thank you for putting me out of my misery," Holly finally responded in a humorless drawl. "The jealously was becoming unbearable."

But then she turned to Gail and cracked a smile ever-so-slightly and before they knew it they were both laughing like idiots, only stopping when Gail shoved the book out of view.

"I really do want you to recommend me a book, though," Gail continued, quiet and thoughtful, as Holly rubbed her stomach, still recovering from her burst of laughter.

"Okay," Holly said, slowly beginning to calm herself down. She nodded her head over to the crime section and suggested, "How about The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler? Lots of sarcasm and murder... your sort of thing."

"No, not that one," Gail said, dismissive.

"Okay, what about," she looked over to her side before her eyes fell onto a book, "Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. It's all about... London and angels and-"

"Nah," Gail replied. "Not that either."

"You know," Holly finally said with a sigh, "it'd be useful for you to give me some hints here. Don't you have any idea what you want to read?"

Gail shrugged. Then she looked up at the balcony above them, with its bright books arranged like the colour spectrum, making it stand out like a rainbow. She pointed to it decisively, eyes narrowed. "I want one from there."

"You do?" Holly asked slowly, one eyebrow raised.

"What, are they forbidden or something?"

"No, no," Holly said, only looking mildly flustered. "It's just, well, that's the gay and lesbian section."

"So?" Gail didn't understand what point Holly was trying to make. "Wait, you're not like homophobic or something, are you?"

"No!" Holly responded again, this time blushing. "Um, pretty much the opposite of that, actually."

"What do — oh," Gail said, realising what Holly was trying to tell her. Then she paused, narrowing her eyes. "Wait, the opposite of homophobic isn't homosexual, Holly. Get it right." She caught Holly's eye and smiled wistfully. "And to think you call yourself a nerd."

"I don't call myself a nerd," Holly pointed out, "you do."

"Whatever." Gail waved her hand dismissively. "I want one from there."

Holly just laughed. "Later," she promised. "But for now we've got actual work to do," she reminded Gail, waving a book in her face.

"Fine," Gail huffed. "Later."

She caught Holly's eye just as she reached for the next stack of books and she couldn't ignore the strange sweeping sensation in her stomach.

Three weeks. That's how long it took her to completely settle into her job at the bookshop. And in even less time she'd picked her favourite time of day to be there: in the evening, when the sun was setting, casting a dim glow that spread through the window panes and across the floor of the shop, faintly illuminating the books, and when all the customers had left. That's when it was at its best, Gail thought.

This evening her and Holly were sat on the balcony together, their legs swinging from in between the wooden railings; the bookshop had closed an hour ago, but Holly's mother had made an exception, letting them stay for a little while longer.

"Something tells me you like it here," Holly said.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I could live here."

"You practically do," Holly retorted with a small smile.

Gail quickly became indignant. "Hey, don't flatter yourself."

"Oh, believe me, I wasn't," Holly said, popping a cheese puff into her mouth, before nudging Gail's shoulder. "I know exactly why you're here."

"Urgh." She narrowed her eyes. "Give me some of those," she said, making grabby hands towards Holly's bag of cheese puffs.

Holly held the bag away from her. "Why should I?"

"I don't know. Because I'm hot?"

"That's the fourth time you've complimented yourself today, Gail," Holly pointed out, amused. "Anyone would think you're, I don't know, self absorbed?"

Gail rolled her eyes. "Not true."

"A complete narcissist," she continued.

"Excuse me."

"Ridiculously over-confident."

"Okay, Holly. I get your point." Gail narrowed her eyes. "Wow, you're so mean."

"Us nerds have to build up some sort of defense, you know." Holly shrugged. "Self preservation on the playground and all."

Gail sighed. Then she looked at Holly's bag of cheese puffs and had a plan. The perfect plan. Abruptly, she looked down from the balcony towards the shop entrance, alarmed. "Oh, hey Ms Stewart."

"Mum?" Holly followed Gail's gaze, confused, to find that the shop was still empty. "Wait, she's not..." She felt something tugging at her hands. "Gail!"

"My oh my," Gail said, shaking her head wistfully. She had Holly's bag of cheese puffs in her hand. "That's the oldest trick in the book."

"Not fair," Holly grumbled.

"Life's not fair," Gail countered, popping a cheese puff into her mouth with unnecessary triumph. "I'm just setting you up for the future, Holly. I have your best interests at heart. You could at least be grateful."

"And you could just buy your own snacks. Anyone would think you didn't have a job."

Gail ignored her, instead lying back onto the balcony floor. "These are so good," she said, swallowing another mouthful.

"That's kind of dangerous," Holly pointed out.

"What?"

"Lying down while you eat."

"Oh right." She ate another cheese puff.

Holly sighed. "So you're just going to continue, huh?"

Gail pretended to consider that for a moment, before shoving some more cheese puffs into her mouth. "Yep."

"You're very frustrating sometimes," Holly said. The fondness in her voice didn't go unnoticed though. Instead she lay back and settled onto the balcony floor by Gail's side. "You know, researchers have found links between eating food whilst lying down and gastrointestinal disorder," she began.

Gail tried to hold back her smile. God, there was something weirdly endearing about the way Holly would suddenly go off on long-winded, science-y rants. For the most part Gail had learnt to tune out of the nerdy ramble, but she still couldn't help but smile at the way Holly's eyes lit up as she spoke, her hands moving in frantic gestures.

"...not to mention that our bodies are biologically designed to digest food in an upright position. And," Holly suddenly noticed Gail's expression and halted, "wait, what?" she asked, quiet and self conscious.

"I don't know." Gail was thoughtful for a moment, and then she blurted, "You're dumb and I like you."

"Thanks?" Holly replied, only sounding slightly suspicious.

"You're welcome," was Gail's easy response.

A moment passed before Holly added, "I like you too."

Gail held back a small smile. "Yeah, well, that goes without saying."

Author's note: Yeah, yeah, I know it's been nearly 2 months since my last update. Blame it on the stress of the English education system, or, you know, just me. Either away, I hope some of you are still [at least slightly] interested in this story. I'm sorry if this chapter seems disjointed or rushed or shabbily written or whatever - probably just a reflection of the state of my life. [Do tell me if any of the mistakes are, like, astronomical though.] Anyway, thank you for reading and reviews are the greatest [hint, hint]. Hopefully chapter five will be up before 2015, but I make no promises :P In the mean time, have a nice life and everything.