A/N: Okay, this is definitely the longest thing I’ve ever written. It took me all of yesterday to write it and… I’m still not happy with it. Please review if you do like it, because I might write another story that has to do with Tom’s band. Thank you~

Once Upon a Library

Once upon a time… isn’t that how most stories begin? I think it is. I mean, I’ve read hundreds of stories in my life and the majority of them start with ‘Once Upon a Time’.

My name is Jack Whitely, and let’s get one thing straight: I’m not.

What does this have to do with my story? Well, seeing as how this is the story of how I found my true love, I would have to say ‘a lot’.

I’m a librarian in a small town with a population of little more than one-hundred people to its name. I was lucky to even get six or seven visitors to the library in a week, and that was only in times when the high-schoolers finally realized they had projects due the next day. If they realized. Galen High School was renowned for its exceedingly high drop-out rate. Few people in Galen were literate enough to care about a library.

And they had finally decided to close it down.

I ran my fingers desperately through my chocolate brown hair. Silently, I cursed. How could they only give me a month to construct my plea? I wasn’t giving up without a fight, though, and they knew it.

I heard the bell above the library door tinkle as someone came in. I immediately went back to writing and swearing; anyone bold enough to come to the library knew their way around it.

“Excuse me?” I jumped out of my seat, accidentally dragging the pen across the paper and leaving a long ink mark. I stared in astonishment at the letter I had so carefully created, now marred by a thick black scar. I felt like crying.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that,” said the voice. It was a man, but he sounded sincere.

“Oh, it- it was nothing to worry about. How may I help you?” I slowly raised my head to look at the intruder, and almost fell out of my chair again.

He had purple hair. Beautiful, well-kept, purple hair. My heart almost stopped. Who in their right mind dyed their hair purple? Unfortunately, it looked good on him. Breathtakingly good.

I could have slapped myself. Here I was, drooling over a man who had just destroyed any hope of saving my library.

Then I saw his eyes, which were also purple. I gaped, not really caring anymore. This man was a god to me.

“Um, what can I do for you?” I asked, wincing at the sound of my soft, quiet voice. Too many years with only the company of books could do that to you.

“I’m looking for a book on the Russian Revolution,” he asked politely, still looking sorrowfully at the destroyed letter. I prayed that he might not have seen my astonished face, but as his words sunk in, my hope deflated.

On the Russian Revolution? This guy had to be in high school. I felt slightly disgusted with myself, though I could have sworn he looked older. Maybe spending too much time huddled with my books was a bad thing.

“Got a project due?” I asked. The man blinked briefly.

“Oh, you must be mistaken. I’m not in school, in fact, I’m probably just as old as you,” he flashed a brilliant smile. “I just felt like reading up on some good old Stalin and Trotsky.”

I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. “Ah, I’m sorry. I don’t get many people here, but I know most of the people in town. I just assumed you were a new student.”

The man waved away my excuse. “Please, don’t worry. I get mistaken for a teen all the time. It must be the hair.” He waggled a pierced eyebrow as if to point at the purple locks. “You are correct, though. I am new to town. My car broke down, but I decided to stay anyway.”

I could just nod dumbly. This man truly was extraordinary. Before I could embarrass myself further, I jotted down the name and number of a Russian Revolution novel and motioned to the section it could be found in. The man gave a small wave before he disappeared among the bookshelves. I sighed.

Jack Whitely, you are hopeless, I scolded myself, taking out a fresh sheet of paper from my desk. However, I had barely written anything by the time the man returned, carrying a heavy load of books. He placed them carefully on the counter.

“My name’s Tom,” he said as I began to ring up the books. “Tom Ridgeley.”

I could only nod in response, not daring to look up at that striking purple hair. “Jack Whitely.” I paused in my actions, suddenly remembering something he had said earlier.

“You’re car broke down, and you decided to stay? Why here? There are a thousand places nicer than Galen.”

Tom shrugged. “I graduated from college and wasn’t quite ready to move on. So, I decided to drive and stop wherever my car led me. It was really old, so I figured it wouldn’t get me very far.”

I snorted despite myself. “What an awful idea. You could’ve been stranded in the middle of nowhere.”

“Ah, but I’m not, am I?”

I could hardly keep the disdain out of my voice. “Believe me; you’ll come to wish you were.”

Tom arched his pierced eyebrow again, and I shivered. Before either of us could say anything, however, the phone rang.

“Come again,” I whispered to Tom, before I picked it up and Tom exited the building.

“Hello, Mr. Whitely. We need to have a talk.”

---

Come again, the librarian’s sweet voice repeated in my head. A week later and it was still there. I rounded off a string of curse words as I pushed open the door to my apartment building.

“Hello, Lindsay,” I greeted the blonde, buxom woman. Despite her appearance, Lindsay was one of the few literate people in Galen.

“Hello, Tom. You’re room is almost ready, you just need to wait one more day and fill out this form.” She slid a small note card over the desk, and I took it willingly.

“Pets are allowed, right?” I asked for the hundredth time, and Lindsay rolled her eyes.

“Tom, we’ve been over this before. No one in Galen cares whether or not you have a cat.”

I nodded appreciatively. “I was just checking, Linds. No need to have a cow.”

“I don’t need a cow, my dad owns six.” I didn’t doubt it. Galen did seem more… pastoral than where I came from.

Lindsay tapped a painted fingernail on the desk. “Do I need to call security? Read the sign: No Soliciting. Now, go and watch for that pretty librarian of yours, or go to your job for once.”

I stuck out my tongue at her, but still felt happy inside. Only a week and I already felt like Lindsay was a life-long friend. I had even told her about Jack.

Nevertheless, I left the building to get to my job. It was at a candy store, and owned by a nice old man named Mr. Briggs.

It was also located directly across from the library.

Not that that has anything to do with anything. It’s not like I felt that way towards Jack.

“Hey, Mr. Briggs,” I acknowledged the old man, who was currently unloading chocolates from a box and arranging them. “Let me get that.”

“No, no. I’ve got it. I’m not that old yet. You take your place at the counter.”

Mr. Briggs was not the most educated person in Galen, but at least he had graduated from high school. Unfortunately, he liked to gossip as much as his wife, and was intent on telling me everything about the town.

“Have you met the librarian yet, Mr. Ridgeley?” Mr. Briggs asked casually. I smiled behind my hand.

“Yes, actually I have.” Mr. Briggs nodded, and I had a feeling today’s topic was going to be on Jack. I inwardly cheered.

“Ah, good. Jack’s a fine boy, very pleasant. Shame he’s so troubled.”

I suddenly felt a little guilty. Should I wait for Jack to tell me these things himself? I shook my head to discontinue my internal conflict.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Jack’s tale ain’t nothin’ but sad. Dead parents, old grandfather, and…” Mr. Briggs trailed off. “I shouldn’t really be tellin’ you the rest. It ain’t a fairy tale.”

“Its fine, I don’t need to know.”

That got the old man. “No, no! I’ll tell you. You seem an honest boy. You see, Jack’s parents died when he was a young’n. Only relative was his gramps, a very fine man. Always did the best for Jack, and raised him to love pages as much as his own life. Then, one day his gramps gets insti- er, put in a crazy house or somin’.”

“Institutionalized?” I suggested. Briggs nodded.

“Poor ol’ Jack was devastated. The doctor cut off his gramps from all family ties… it was like he died. Jack heard the library was going to close, but he couldn’t do anything because he was still in college. So, the only way to keep the library was to drop out.”

My heart froze. That must have been terrible for Jack to do, seeing as he liked books and knowledge so much.

“Don’t go getting’ the wrong idea about Jack now,” Mr. Briggs scolded as he stood up slowly. “T’aint no finer man. I bet he could have anyone in this town, if he ever decided to marry. Shame he prefers the company of books to men.”

I jumped a little. “Don’t you mean women?”

“Nah, I mean men. Jack’s our resident queer.”

I almost fainted. Now I knew I had a chance!

“Mr. Briggs, is it alright if I have my lunch break now?” I asked excitedly. The old man shrugged.

“Don’t see why not. Have fun,” he called as I ran out the door.

The library itself was as beautiful as the man that ran it. I smiled at the streak-less glass windows and finely pruned rosebushes as I ran up the steps and into the cool, air-conditioning. The library was practically ancient, but it was one of the few buildings in Galen that actually had air-conditioning. Jack had explained that it kept the books in good condition.

Jack jumped when I walked through the doors. He must have been asleep; his eyes were half open and rimmed with red while his soft brown hair was tussled. Even so, he looked cuter than ever.

“Hi, Jack!” I chirped, approaching the desk. He rubbed at his eyes under his glasses and smiled.

“Mr. Ridgeley. How goes the Russian Revolution?”

I reached into the purple messenger bag at my side and pulled out a few books.

“Not quite finished, but I think I’m done. And please, call me Tom. I know you’re not older than me.” I paused and looked at him thoughtfully. “Out of curiosity, just how old are you?”

He looked a little surprised at the question, but answered anyway. “Twenty-five.”

“I thought so. See, I’m just a year younger than you. There’s hardly any call for formality.”

I caught him looking at my hair again, and smirked. “I see you’re still as fascinated as ever with my hair.”

His mouth fell open as he blushed. “I-I just… I’ve never seen anyone with purple hair. This town is pretty conformist, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

I nodded. I had gotten plenty of odd looks, and more than a few glares, from the citizens here.

“Are your eyes colored too?” Jack asked softly. Well, he always spoke softly. It must be something librarians do.

“Yeah. I mostly wear contacts to match my hair, and my appearance. I find that it usually scares away the people I don’t want to know, and attracts the people I do want to know. Plus, I hate my natural eye color. Your eyes are much prettier than mine.”

Now the blush was full-blown on Jack’s cheeks. I smirked as he rubbed at one of his eyes.

“My eyes aren’t pretty. Especially with these bags.” He pointed to the dark rings under his eyes. “Maybe I should get contacts too.”

I shrugged. “Why don’t you get more sleep?”

I was surprised to hear Jack laugh. Not to my surprise, it just added to the list of things that were cute about him.

“In case you hadn’t noticed,” he said in his quiet voice, “no one else works here. The only way to keep the library from closing is to take every customer we can get. If someone wants a book at two in the morning, I need to be there.”

I leaned against the counter heavily. “Why doesn’t the mayor just give the library money? Isn’t that what taxes are for?”

Jack scoffed. “The mayor wants to see this library closed if it’s the last thing he does. I’ve been to court hundreds of times to try to get him to help, or at least to give me more time to work things out. Nothing works.”

I looked into his soft brown eyes and a thought came to me. “Hire me.”

“W-What?”

“Hire me. I’ll help you. I can do night shifts or something, or I can try to get more people to come. I’d do anything.”

In the fading light, Jack’s eyes seemed to sparkle. He smiled softly. “That’s a nice sentiment, but my- I mean, the mayor would never allow it.”

We were quiet for a moment, before another idea came to me.

“Jack Whitely,” I announced, heading for the bookshelves on the left. “You’ve just got yourself a regular customer.”

---

Tom came every night. Sometimes he would check out books, sometimes he would just sit and talk with me. Always, however, he put a small donation in the box I had put out for tips.

He would also help me plan out my plea for court, since he had pretty much destroyed the first one.

The hard part was that I couldn’t tell him anything. He told me everything about his past: his parents had sent him to college in hopes of getting a doctor, but he had graduated with a degree in music. Apparently, he used to play in a band. Drums, I think it was.

I just listened to him talk. I wished I could tell him about myself, but the truth was that I was ashamed. I was an awful person, a college drop-out, an orphan, and dirt poor.

And I knew that I couldn’t save my library. My grandfather’s library. I knew that I would see it turned to rubble right before my eyes.

But I couldn’t tell Tom that. I couldn’t. And it hurt.

One night, Tom was late. He had told me the day before that he had to work a little longer than usual, and so I was surprised when I heard the bells above the door chime.

I watched in shock as my uncle stepped into the library.

“What are you doing here?” I asked quietly. Curses, have I mentioned that I hate my soft voice?

“I came to make a deal with you.”

…Okay. That was weird. My uncle was not a man you made ‘deals’ with.

I told him this, and the scowl on his face deepened.

“Boy. I am being far too kind to you. I offer you a chance to save your… library,” he spat the word out, “and you ignore me?”

My eyebrows shot up. “Save the library?”

“Yes. I would allow this monstrosity to remain open if you make a deal with me.”

“I-It depends on what the deal is.”

His eyes flickered with amusement. “Well. Straight to business, I see.” I waited, setting down the book I had been reading.

“I will allow you to continue working here if, and only if, you marry someone I choose.”

“S-Someone you choose?”

“Yes. A woman that I choose.”

Oh. Oh. That was what this was about. My mind flickered to Jack, and my eyes threatened to tear up.

A life with my library… or a life with Jack?

“It’s a deal.” I said, so quiet hardly anyone could hear. The bell chimed again as he left, and I put my head on the desk.

The tears came. I hadn’t cried in a while, and it was embarrassing to know that Jack could come in at any moment.

But I couldn’t stop.

---

He was crying. Jack was crying.

I stood stricken in the doorway. Jack had always seemed so calm and collected. How could he be crying? What could have made him cry?

Oh… he’s seen me.

“Tom, the library is closed, in case you hadn’t seen the sign.”

I turned to look at the small sign that hung on the glass doors. Sure enough, the side facing me read ‘Open’, which meant the side facing the street read ‘Closed’. I wasn’t really sure how I had missed that.

“Well, why is it closed? I thought you needed all the customers you could get?”

I approached the desk, and I thought I saw panic on his face. But… he wouldn’t be scared of me. He couldn’t be scared of me.

“Jack, are you alright?” I winced as he glared at me.

“Tom, you need to leave.”

“No… Jack,” I was at a loss for words. “Jack, I can help you. Let me help you, please…”

He wiped at his eyes. “No Tom. You can’t help any more. It’s over.”

“But… but you can’t give up! Jack, look at me!” He didn’t. He kept his gaze lowered on the desk.

“I’m not giving up.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “We- I- won. The library is remaining open.”

Okay, now I was confused. “I-If that’s the case, then why are you upset?”

Anger flashed in his eyes, and he slammed his hands on the desk. I jumped back as the noise resounded in the library.

“Tom…” His voice remained quiet as always. “You need to go. Right now.”

“No.” I cupped my hands around his face and brought it level to mine. “I’m not letting you go.”

Then I kissed him. To my surprise, and to my enjoyment, he kissed back. I’m not sure how long we stayed like that, but it was for a while.

When I pulled back, I was anticipating a smile on Jack’s face. Instead, the panic was back.

“Please, Tom,” he pleaded, sounding a little scared. “I can’t do this. I’m getting married.”

Ouch. I backed up slowly, shaking my head. “N-No. You can’t be getting married. I… I love you.”

Jack collapsed to the floor, sobbing. I reached out for him, but he pushed my hand back.

“Tom, stop it. Stop loving me.”

“I can’t!”

“Please…”

I looked into his face, into those soft brown eyes. I saw how scared he was. “You love me too, don’t you?”

He nodded.

I knelt down and pecked him lightly on the cheek. “Okay, then. If this is what you want, then I’ll go.”

I left him there, sobbing on the floor. At least, I assumed that was what he was doing. I couldn’t bring myself to look back.

---

I had spent the night at the library. Usually, I would go to my grandfather’s old house, where all my stuff was kept, but I couldn’t move. It was like I was frozen in place.

The bell on the door chimed, and I hesitated before looking up. To my surprise, it was a blonde woman that walked in. She used to be a regular at the library; Lindsay, I think her name was.

“Hello, may I help you?”

She nodded sharply and approached the desk in swift strides. “I have some… personal business with you, Mr. Whitely.”

“Personal business? By all means, then, let me hear it. I’ve been through a lot these past few days, I think I can handle a little more.”

She didn’t smile. Instead, she waved me over to a small research table that had two chairs seated at it. I hesitantly sat down.

“It seems that you have injured my friend, Jack.”

I didn’t even need to ask her how she knew my name, or how I had injured her friend. I already knew.

“I meant him no harm.” I said, though it sounded like the biggest lie I’d ever told. I had meant to hurt him. I needed to make sure he wouldn’t come back.

Because if he had come back, I wouldn’t have been able to control myself. If he had driven up on a motorcycle and asked me to run away with him, I would have jumped on the back in a flash without ever looking back.

And it scared me. I would leave my library, my town, my life, for someone I had only known for a few weeks. That was how much I loved him.

Lindsay, for I was sure that was what her name was, reached over and put her hand on mine.

“Tell me why you did it.”

And I did. I told her everything. It felt so good to get everything off my chest, and I knew that she would relay this information back to Tom. Maybe if he realized why I had to leave him, it wouldn’t hurt so much. For him, at least.

Halfway, I had to take a break when I started crying. Lindsay held my hand, still silent and unsmiling.

I somehow finished. When I had, she reached into her bag and pulled out a sheet of paper.

“Jack, I hate to do this, but I have some bad news. I know it’s been stressful for you these past few days but… you need to know this.”

I waited for her to explain.

“Jack… your grandfather is not institutionalized anymore.”

I sat up straighter. What did this mean? Where was he, if not in an institution? Did uncle know where he was?

“Jack, your grandfather…”

“Yes?” I asked impatiently.

“He’s dead. I’m so sorry, but he’s been dead for a while.”

My heart had been broken in two last night, after Tom left. Now, however, I felt it completely shatter.

The two people I had loved most in the world… gone. I was completely alone.

Lindsay sensed my unease and slid a piece of paper in my hand before standing up.

“Jack, listen to me. That is your grandfather’s will. Your uncle kept it from you, kept your grandfather’s death a secret, but I came across this recently and found out the truth. Read it, Jack. It will help you. See you in court tomorrow.”

I looked at the paper solemnly for a while, before her parting words registered. Court?

I ran to a calendar and looked at the date. Sure enough, I had circled tomorrow’s date as the day I would be defending my library in court.

Reading my grandfather’s will, I realized what I had to do. For the first time in days, I smiled.

I would win this fight.

---

I watched the rain fall outside. I couldn’t tear myself away from watching the raindrops hit the window and glide down, leaving a wet trail behind it. It made me feel like crying, but then again, so did most things now.

Lindsay had stopped by about an hour ago to tell me how Jack was doing. I listened silently, not saying a word. I just processed everything she told me.

Jack was messed up. That went without saying. But it was also obvious that he had never really loved before. He was probably always too worried about his library or what his uncle- who I learned was the mayor of Galen- would think. Somehow, though, he had managed to love me at a time where he had hundreds of more important things to worry about.

I turned from the window to find my cat, my gaze falling on a mirror.

I had never really noticed how nice my hair looked. It was weird, sure, but it looked good. I had only gotten it to rebel against my parents, and because my other friends had dyed their hair, but I had never given any other thought about it.

Was my hair what had convinced Jack to fall for me?

But that was a stupid thought. It had been all too clear that what he really loved was everything about me.

I hated to think of the pain he was in now. Forced to marry someone he didn’t love. And I couldn’t even rescue him or the library would be destroyed. And that would hurt Jack even more.

A sharp knock on my apartment door startled me out of my thoughts. I shooed my cat away from the door and threw it open, to see Jack standing in the hallway in a dark blue raincoat.

“Hello.” He said quietly, avoiding my gaze.

“What are you doing here? You can’t be here, your uncle…”

He jumped. “S-So Lindsay told you?”

I nodded, ushering him inside and closing the door.

“Tom, I need to apologize.”

“You really don’t need to, I understand. And I think that if I were in your position, I would do the same.”

“Tom…” He reached for me slowly, and I let him. The kiss was soft, just like our first had been.

“I’m confused.” I said when we pulled away. He smiled, and I couldn’t help but smile back. I was glad that he could be so happy. “What does this mean?”

“It means that I’ve chosen you. I’m going to court tomorrow, to try to win back the library for a final time, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve. But… if I fail, I’m not letting my uncle control my life. I’ll just have to let the library go, and move on.”

“Is that really what you want?

Jack hesitated for a moment. “What I really want, Tom, has been right in front of me this whole time. It wasn’t until last night that I realized what it was, and at that time I pushed it away. I pushed you away. And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

I kissed him tenderly on the mouth as he tried to hold on to my short hair. Meanwhile, I weaved my fingers into his slightly longer brown locks and led him into my bedroom.

He mumbled in surprise when he realized what I was doing, his eyes growing wider. I stopped and pulled away.

“One more time, Jack. What do you want?”

“You.” There was no hesitation this time. We knew what we wanted.

He stayed the whole night.

---

I woke up to Tom’s sleeping face, smiling, and blushing a bit, when I remembered last night.

Slowly, I extracted myself from our tangled limbs and threw on a pair of boxers, which were either mine or his. I couldn’t really tell; I was still groggy from the best night of sleep I’d had in a while.

I eventually found my way into the kitchen. It wasn’t very big, only a kitchenette, but it was pretty well-equipped. I vaguely remembered Tom telling me that he loved to cook.

“Ah!” I jumped when something furry swept across my leg. Looking down, I saw it was only a cat. A very large and furry one, for that matter, but still only a cat.

“Hello, there,” I said, bending over to scratch behind its ears.

“Looks like she likes you,” a voice called from the door. I looked up and grinned at Tom, who was messing with his very tousled, and very purple, hair. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” I said, and he grinned. “What time is it?”

“Half past seven. That court thing isn’t until nine, right?” Tom asked as he pulled out a chair and motioned for me to sit in it.

“Right.” I sat down in the chair and watched as Tom bustled around the kitchen, preparing breakfast. We talked casually, skipping anything too personal. Finally, breakfast was ready.

“This looks… delicious!” I exclaimed. Tom’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Thank you. You know, that’s the loudest I’ve ever heard you talk.”

I blushed, shoveling a forkful of eggs into my mouth. Tom pushed his plate away, placing his elbows on the table to lean on them as he watched me eat.

“C-Could you stop?”

“Mmm… no. You’re too pretty not to look at.”

The blush was back. “Tom, I’m really not that pretty. N-Not as much as you are, at least.”

Tom smiled. “Well, everyone’s entitled to their own opinions, right?”

“Y-Yeah.” I finished off my eggs and orange juice, before jumping up.

“What am I going to wear?” panicking. All my clothes were at my house or the library, both on the other side of town. Tom laughed, and walked to the bedroom. I followed him.

“I’ve had this for a while. Not really my style, but I think it will fit you.” He pulled out a dark grey suit from his closet and handed it to me.

“I-I couldn’t Tom. This looks really expensive.”

“That’s the point. You want to look good for the court, don’t you?”

“I suppose.” I looked into Tom’s eyes and kissed him gently on the mouth. “You’re not wearing contacts.”

“Yeah, I’m not really worried about my image when I’m with you.”

I felt myself grin. “Strange.”

“Mmm-hmm. Have fun at your court-thing.”

We were both solemn for a moment, before I leaned over to kiss him.

“W-Will you come with me?” I asked softly. Tom’s breath was warm against my lips.

“Of course.”

---

Galen’s courthouse was small. In fact, it was really just a wing of the town hall, not even its own building.

Even so, I was intimidated. Poor Jack looked so small up front, and I cursed again that I couldn’t find a seat closer to the front.

“Court is now in session,” called the judge. I gulped inaudibly, sneaking a glance at Jack’s uncle. The mayor looked perfectly content, smirking as he munched on a tray of finger sandwiches. I grimaced. That fat pig was probably spending the town’s money on food.

“Mr. Whitely, please come up and state your case.” I sat up straight; watching as Jack nervously headed for the front and cleared his throat.

“Your honor, I would like to start by reading an excerpt from my grandfather’s will.”

There was a large clatter as the mayor dropped the tray he had been holding onto the courtroom’s floor. The judge glared at him for the disruption, but eventually turned back to Jack.

“Go on.”

“Um, as I was saying, when my grandfather passed away, he left this will in my uncle, the mayor’s, possession. My uncle, rather than showing me the will, let me continue believing that my grandfather was alive. It was not until recently that I found the will and read it.”

Jack paused to clear his throat again. It was clearly painful for him to be up there talking about his grandfather, and I ached to be up there with him.

“In the will, my grandfather specifically stated that the library, and all of his possessions, for that matter, was to be handed over to me. I would have complete control over them, and my uncle was to be given nothing.”

He turned to the judge. “You see, Your Honor, my grandfather knew that my uncle was an awful person, and that if he was given anything, he would use it for his own personal gain. That’s why he left everything to me. I have given up everything for that library, to help spread knowledge to the people of Galen. I gave up a college degree for that library. And I almost…”

Jack hesitated, searching for my eyes in the crowd of people gathered to watch. I nodded slowly, praying that Jack would see. He did.

“I almost gave up love for that library. I would have, too, if something my grandfather said hadn’t dissuaded me. He told me that if he were still alive, he would have always supported me in anything that I did. And that’s something my uncle has not done. That’s something that he could never do. And that’s why, Your Honor, I would like to have him removed from his office.”

He walked to the judge and handed her a slip of paper. “You will find that everything has already been signed over to me on that paper.”

She scanned over the paper, her eyes growing wider by the second. “Well, that takes care of that. But, do you really want to become mayor?”

Jack shook his head. “No, Your Honor. I would like to give Ms. Lindsay McDonnell the position, if you don’t mind.”

I lifted an eyebrow in surprise, something I had been doing a lot since I met Jack. Lindsay certainly deserved that position, and was more than qualified for it. But would the judge really allow it?

“Your Honor, I object to this!” Oh, that was the mayor’s voice. He sounded angry.

“Please, mayor,” the judge said, clearly exasperated. “It says right here in the will that Mr. Whitely is to be given all of his grandfather’s possessions, and that includes the position of mayor.”

“And what authority does the old bat have to be giving orders in his will like that?”

“Well, it says right here that his ancestors founded Galen. I think that gives Mr. Whitely the right.”

“How do you know the old man wasn’t lying? He went insane as he got older. He couldn’t take care of himself. We had to have him hospitalized or he would have been a danger-”

“My grandfather was not dangerous!” Jack shouted, shocking even himself. He clamped a hand over his mouth and looked at me. I grinned back.

“My grandfather,” he continued at a more normal tone, “was a very wise man. He did not go insane. You sent him to that institution so he wouldn’t get in the way when you became mayor.”

“Why, I,” The mayor struggled to sit up. “Lies! All of it!”

He waddled over to Jack. “You, boy, are becoming a menace. You should watch your mouth or I’ll take care of you like I took care of your grandfather.”

Jack punched him.

---

“Are you alright?” Tom asked me, stroking one of the bruises on my cheek. I nodded solemnly.

“It worked out in the end though, huh?”

I nodded again, smiling at Tom before pressing my lips gently to his. He kept his hands on my face, his fingers cool against my flushed skin.

The courthouse had become a madhouse after I punched my uncle. Eventually, we cleared things up. Lindsay would still become the mayor, which she had thanked me for already, my uncle would be sentenced to a few years in jail for abuse and, well, being a downright creep, and I was allowed to keep my library. And Tom. I was allowed to keep Tom, too.

“These won’t heal for a while,” Tom scolded, looking under his kitchen sink for some aspirin. “You shouldn’t have punched him.”

“You would have done it too.”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t have gotten punched myself.”

“It’s not my fault his goons came after me!”

Tom chuckled and spooned some chocolate pudding into my mouth. I blushed and ran my fingers through his purple hair. Tom made really good pudding.

“What do we do now?”

He sat down on the chair beside me, giving me a few pills and another spoonful of pudding. “I was thinking about starting a band.”

I pulled a face and moaned. “You’re not going to put me in it, are you? I can’t play an instrument for my life.”

He laughed again. “No, I’ve found a few guys already. But we do need a place to play.” He paused and studied my face. He had his contacts back in. “Do you think the Galen Public Library would like to have live music at some point?”

I threw my arms around him and kissed him deeply on the mouth. “Yes, Tom! That would be wonderful!”

“I thought you would like the idea. You can come hear us play tomorrow.”

I shifted slightly. “Tom, your apartment is very small.”

“Yes, I suppose it is.”

“And it’s pretty far from the library.”

He smiled. “What are you getting at?”

“Move in with me. I have more than enough room for us, and the cat can come too. It’s close to the library as well, so you won’t have to walk far to… to…”

“To see you?” Tom rested his forehead against mine, kissing the top of my nose. “Okay, Jack. Whatever makes you happy.”

I pulled him down for another, longer kiss. “Would it make you happy, too?”

“Yes, Jack. It would make me very happy.”

So that was how my great love tale ended. Or began. Because I can tell you, Tom and I are still very much together, and still very much in love.

And therefore, just as I started with a traditional ‘Once upon a time’, I will end with a traditional ‘And we lived Happily Ever After’. Because we did.