Jadon

Leila sat across from him at the table, reading a book he'd lent her a few days ago. To their side, the ticking of the old grandfather clock was the only thing that could be heard, outside of the gentle hum of the air conditioner.

Leila sighed and put the book down. "I'm serious, if those two don't end up together by the end of this, I'm never borrowing a book from you again."

Jadon laughed. "Hey, I'm not going to spoil anything. You're just going to have to read it and find out." He'd finished it up only recently, but it was surprisingly good. Not his normal style in the least, but you had to broaden your horizons every once in a while, right?

"No, I'm serious. They hang out after school every day, talk, have fun in their literature club, and then nothing happens! It's just really frustrating." Leila laughed, knowing how ridiculous it was to get worked up over some fictional characters, and Jadon laughed along with her again. It was pretty great how she got so invested into whatever it was she was reading. He decided he probably wasn't going to get any more reading done himself, so he closed his own book and looked back up at her.

"It's a slice of life story, right? It goes at it's own pace, and part of the point is that there doesn't have to be a really clear ending, right?"

"Wait, so do they seriously not get together by the end?"

"I didn't say that!" Jadon laughed again. "I just mean...I mean, you've read these kinds of stories before. You got me into them, right, with Hyouka or something?"

"Yeah, but I still wanted a different ending out of it. Without an ending that ties everything up, you're just getting a short look at something that you can't ever come back to and see something new." She paused. "I mean, I get it. The point of it is to see how the characters grow and how their whole thing changes over the book and then compare that with your own life and what you're doing. It just feels...incomplete I guess."

With another sigh, she slumped back in her chair and closed her eyes. The ticking of the clock could be heard once again, and Jadon looked at her and smiled.