"It's on your record," Gavin said, feeling like an idiot. He'd really never said it before? Just thought it? He thought it a lot. "And you check out a lot of books..."

I'm not a creep! he wanted to say, but that was stupid. Creepiness was in the eye of the beholder.

"Also, we're allowed to use extreme force when protecting library materials, so it's for the best," he added with a shrug, joking but straight faced.