Jackson wasn’t one to give up, no matter how much the odds were stacked against him and in this case- literally, the stacks were against him.

The textbook he needed to borrow was sitting on the highest shelf, out of his reach. 

He needed that book to study for a quiz, but at what cost?  He looked around the library for a chair to stand on, but every single seat was taken. No, I don’t need a stupid chair to do this.  Jackson got on his tiptoes and reached as far as he could, but the book was just out of his grasp.  There must be a way.

Jackson hopped, his fingers grazing the spine of the book, but it was still not enough to get a proper hold of it.  This is possible.  Another jump, this time he went higher but it still wasn’t enough to grab it.  “Height… need more height…”  He whispered to himself.  “Oh!”  He had a perfect idea.

He stepped back from the shelf, so he was a distance away, then jumped towards it.  He got a better hand on it, but he still needed more height.

That’s when he came up with his ultimate foolproof plan.

This time, he walked all the way to the other side of the library.  He could tell people were watching him now, and he was ready to blow their minds.

He made sure there was a clear path between him and the shelf, no chairs or tables in the way.  He got ready, and then he bolted at full speed.  He sprinted until he got right up to the shelf, using his momentum he jumped as high as he could and reached out for the book.

He got enough height, but instead of grabbing the book he ended up crashing face first into the shelf and knocking almost every single book off except the one he needed.

Jackson didn’t get up, lying face flat on the ground until he heard all the muffled giggles stop. 

“You know, if you needed the book you just could’ve asked.”  Jackson lifted his head to see Jaebum grabbing the textbook off the top shelf with ease and handing it to him.  “Are you okay?”

“Stop showing off,”  Jackson said as he got up onto his knees and snatched the book out of Jaebum’s hands.  “Not all of us are blessed when it comes to height.”

“That’s why we’re here to help you,” Jaebum kneeled to speak to him face to face since Jackson didn’t want to get up any time soon. “I was watching you the whole time, but I didn’t think you’d actually try to leap across the library before asking for help.”

“You were watching me?”

Jaebum flinched.  “I was watching you because you were acting like a fool, not for any other reason.” 

“So, you don’t care about my wellbeing after all?”

Jaebum stood up and held out his hand- avoiding the question.  “Would you get off the floor, Jinyoung is going to throw a fit if I don’t get all these books back on the shelf before his shift starts.”

Jackson almost too eagerly took Jaebum’s hand and hoisted himself up, the slight aches and pains alleviated by the warm feeling of Jaebum’s fingers brushing against his.  “I’m really sorry about this, I can clean it up-“

“No, I’ve got it,” Jaebum pointed to that textbook Jackson was holding against his chest.  “You need to study, right?  You risked your life for that book.”

“I mean, you’re not wrong.”  Jackson almost forgot about that stupid textbook and his stupid quiz later that day.

“Besides, most of the books fell off the top shelf and you wouldn’t be any help trying to put those back.”

“Ow!  When will the endless harassment of the vertically challenged end?!”  Jackson said dramatically, trying to get Jaebum to laugh.  Jackson loved Jaebum’s laugh the most.

“Nobody would say anything if you didn’t complain about it so much.’  Jaebum said through his laughs.  “Don’t worry, if you ever can’t reach anything I’ll always be here to help.”

“Is that a lifetime commitment!?  Should I get this in writing!?” 

“I take that back- the rule only applies in this library when I’m working.”

“Good enough for me!”  They both stared at each other until they fell into an awkward silence.

“Uh, Jackson?”

“Yeah?”

“You can let go of my hand now.”

“Oh,” Jackson quickly pulled his hand back, not realizing he had left it there this whole time.  “I should study.”

“Wait, Jackson,” Jaebum stopped Jackson before he left.

“Are you still buying me drinks for the rest of the semester?  My shift ends at six and It’s a Friday night…”

“Are you asking me out?”  Jackson almost dropped his textbook.

“For drinks.  Just drinks.”  Jaebum raised an eyebrow and Jackson decided not to tempt his faith any further.

“I’m free after my class ends at seven, so-“

“I’ll meet you at eight o’ clock?”  Jaebum said.

“Eight o’ clock,”  Jackson repeated.  “That’s perfect.”

“Okay, good luck on your quiz.”  Jaebum said as Jackson went to check out his textbook.

In the end, Jackson decided that showering, shaving, and picking out the perfect outfit for his date was far more important than studying for a quiz worth a measly five percent of his grade.