the worst punishment of all time

[Landon Beauchard]

So, maybe he'd put his feet on the dinner table.

So, maybe he'd had a little bit too much to drink before that particular dinner.

So, maybe he'd told his mother he could do whatever he pleased in his own home.

So, of course, father had said he'd throw him out of the house unless he wrote his mother a three-page essay about the meaning of manners and why they were valuable. With sources.

This was the worst punishment of all time. He was a grown man, for god's sake! But when he'd made that argument, he'd been told that 'grown men' owned their own homes, and didn't mooch off of their parents.

So. He was writing the essay whether he liked it or not. And that meant a trip to the library.

His skin crawled as soon as he walked in. He was pretty sure he was allergic to reference books, after growing up in the shadow of his older brother, and never being able to do as well. He was always getting assigned extra work because the tutor didn't think he understood the material. It had given him an aversion to reading of any kind.

Standing in the entryway of the library, though, he suddenly realized he had no idea what he was doing. Shit.

He scanned the room, trying to see if Archie was anywhere to help him, but he didn't spot the older man anywhere. Instead, behind the desk, there was a pretty brunette.

Huh. Maybe this trip to the library wouldn't be so bad after all.

A slow grin spread onto his face as he approached the desk, then leaned against it to chat with the woman.

"Sorry to bother you, Miss, but could you show me around? I need to find a few books on etiquette and manners if you have any."


Emily Aldridge

[Emily Aldridge]

It seemed she spent most of her time in this library trying to make sense of it. Archie was very capable of keeping a clean establishment, but cataloguing wasn't really his forte, it would seem. Perhaps it was why he hired her on. There were stacks upon stacks of books upon some of the front counter, as well as the floor and any other available flat surface nearby. Emily was currently balancing herself upon a ladder nearby, murmuring beneath her breath about constantly finding books in the "wrong places". The old man insisted it made sense to him...but that was the thing, it only seemed to make sense to him. She would get this whole library in proper order, even if it killed her.

Drawing a book from the shelf, she was climbing down soon after, and turning just in time to see that there was someone there. Strangely, Emily didn't gasp or jump in surprise- she just stopped instantly, blinking as if she was trying to remember if he had been there this whole time. Oh dear, was she not paying attention again?

Shame on her, then, for somehow being able to completely ignore a set of piercing blues and a wry grin.

Emily slowly set the book she was holding down onto the desk before tucking that annoying stray strand of hair behind her ear. It had come out of the bun again. "Etiquette and manners?" she echoed lightly. "And why, may I ask, would you need those?" Perhaps the light smile on her face was a soft indication that she didn't think he needed books on those topics. He seemed pleasant enough.

Regardless, she rounded about the front desk, a finger to her lips in thought as she tried to remember where those particular books might be. After a few seconds, she was moving past him to head down one of the aisles; her own bright eyes glossing over the titles along the spines.

[Landon Beauchard]

Well then! Now that he could see her face, he recognized Emily Aldridge. He spent more time with Jonah, and he wasn't the type to attend family dinners or formal events, so he hadn't interacted with Emily much, but he at least knew her name, and remembered that she was pretty. He hadn't realized she worked in the library; was that why he didn't see her often? He certainly wasn't here regularly.

Landon's grin widened as the librarian replied, apparently surprised he needed help with that particular subject. Poor thing, only a stranger would ever question why Landon Beauchard needed help with manners. He should probably be grateful that Jonah hadn't spilled the beans on all their exploits and ruined her impression of him.

She was soon moving away, though, and he followed as he answered.

"Unfortunately, I'm in need of reference material for my father's asinine vendetta. A regular apology won't do, he needs a three-page essay." His voice was smooth as he answered, betraying only a fraction of his irritation at the punishment. "Even more unfortunately, he's chosen this specifically because he knows I've always been rubbish at anything even vaguely academic, even if I do put my best effort in. I fully expect him to deny my first draft and send me back to do it again."

Perhaps he ought to be ashamed to admit that to a pretty woman, and clearly an intelligent one, but frankly he'd just accepted that he was the dunce of the family. No point in obscuring the facts. He'd just have to hope she wouldn't hold that against him, and if she did, he'd get over it.

[Emily Aldridge]

It would seem they were both coming to the realization that they knew each other- or at least knew of each other. Emily felt ashamed to be coming to that fact perhaps a little too late, as she was browsing the rows of books. Claire was one of her best friends, so certainly she would remember one of her brothers! The truth of it was, though, that Em tended to not let her attention linger on anyone for too long, especially men. And not only was Landon Claire's brother, he was a close friend of Jonah's.

Perhaps she really did spend way too much time in this library. Mother complained of it all of the time, and that she wasn't going to meet anyone this way. No, she would meet the right one this way, thank you very much! And if he was as handsome as he was intelligent, all the better.

'Unfortunately, I'm in need of reference material for my father's asinine vendetta.' She almost paused in surprise, as though she thought she had heard him incorrectly. Something about needing to write an essay as punishment caused the young woman to giggle softly.

What Landon was saying afterwards, however, had her regarding him from over her shoulder. Her brow furrowed in thought, also surprised that he would admit such a thing to anyone, let alone her. Regardless, she didn't say anything about it because it simply wasn't in her nature to be cruel like that. Not until someone deserved it.

"Well-" she began, turning towards one of the shelves to eye the many spines before her. "If you already believe that, then you will certainly fail." Emily said this so nonchalantly, yet not in a berating sort of way. Like it was fact. Rising up on her toes, she reached up to withdraw a particular book from its resting place to hand over to him. Then, a light crooked smirk curled her mouth. "Of course, you do spend a lot of time with my brother, so..." Her words trailed off, but her tone clearly insinuated that she was taking a jab at her brother's own intelligence. Maybe it rubbed off on Landon.

[Landon Beauchard]

"If you already believe that, then you will certainly fail."

Emily's reply surprised him, and he turned to squint at her as he tried to evaluate her reaction. Was that a challenge he heard in her voice? He was wondering about it when she turned to hand him a book and began to smirk at him.

Of course, you do spend a lot of time with my brother, so..."

Ooh, definitely a challenge. A grin spread across his face as he took the volume she was offering. Alright, then. If it was a challenge from a pretty girl, that was way more interesting than a chore from his father.

There was just a teeny tiny problem. The fact that his father had a point. His spelling was atrocious, and it always took him at least twice as long as any of his brothers to read anything at all. No one ever believed him when he said that things looked that jumbled up in the books, too.

"Hey, if the task was to hold a debate out loud or make someone laugh, that I can do. But the letters on a page just don't cooperate for me." He shrugged. "I really do try...or, I used to, anyway. But when every time you look at the word cat you see act, and the letters in etiquette are never in the same order twice… well, at a certain point you give up."

[Emily Aldridge]

By thinking that way, Landon was definitely setting himself up to fail. Surely he wasn't a complete fool- other than the joking kind, Emily had no reason to know or belief he was in any way stupid. She knew the results of hard work and putting your mind to something, and she still felt like it would reward her one day.

However, yes, she was challenging him. Because he was a friend of Jonah's, she had a feeling he would be easily swayed by such. Her brother needed the very same push, and oftentimes it was just that he was far too preoccupied with his own thoughts to pay attention.

As Landon went on, though, it became clear that it was a little more than that for him. The amusement slowly began to disappear from her face as she settled against the book of shelves at her back. He had some sort of problem with letters, and Emily swore there was a term for it but maybe she was wrong. It brought her pause and her lips pursed in thought, wondering if she should just let this go.

"You shouldn't give up," she heard herself saying without even realizing it. "Words make up stories, and stories open up your life to wonderful experiences, to new worlds, and knowledge." Emily paused, only slightly embarrassed as she tucked an annoying loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I could...try and help?"

[Landon Beauchard]

Landon was surprised again by the librarian's little outburst, although it was a pretty speech. So, she had seemed quiet back then, at dinners she didn't want to attend, but here in her element, she was passionate and spunky. He guessed that was why she was working here at the library when she probably didn't need to--she truly liked books that much. It was kind of cute, actually, as was the shy little gesture as she tucked her hair behind her ears.

"I could...try and help?"

A slow grin replaced Landon's frustration as he leaned back on his heels and crossed his arms over his chest, pretending to take a moment to consider her offer. Really, he was ready to accept the moment the words had left her mouth, but he didn't want to seem too eager.

"You know what...I might take you up on that, Miss Aldridge. I'm not too proud to admit when I need help, contrary to popular belief." He winked. "Shall we start with this book? Or are there any others we should find?"

[Emily Aldridge]

She got the impression that some people thought she was...well, dorky sometimes. Maybe she was, but just when she thought to stop herself from going overboard, she would continue to ramble on about books and stories that clearly the other person didn't care for.

It was why she had come to the library and asked Archie (more like begged) for him to give her a job. She knew that most of the people who came into the library loved books...or they were unique cases like Landon. And, Emily couldn't help but feel like he ran with the crowd that would normally mock her, despite his current attitude saying otherwise, and having sweet Claire as a sister.

Paranoia at its finest, she supposed.

"Emily, please," she corrected him gently. He was a close friend of her brother's, so there was no need for such formalities, she felt. "Start with that one-" she pointed to the book in his hand. "It should give you enough for a three-paged essay, I think." Em had to hold herself back from actually rolling her eyes. It seemed like such a silly punishment, and yet, it amused her considering his father truly knew what would irk his son the most.

She was on the move again, expecting him to likely follow as she went back to the piles of books at the front desk. Sorting through them, she continued, "I find that reading out loud helps you concentrate and understand the material more. You can't get as easily distracted." She grinned faintly, placing a couple tomes aside before she regarded him. "You're welcome to stay and read for me while I work, Mr. Beauchard, but I do need to finish this up."