She looked up at him, their eyes met, and she turned away. He did so, too, turning his attention back to the bookshelf, though it was impossible to focus on the books his fingertips brushed across when Alice was right there.

It must have been less than a minute before he gave up and glanced over in her direction, even if it felt like ten.

"I need to talk to you," he said slowly, unsure of where he intended to go with this.

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