Mabel

10

It's a little while later, when Luca's come home and we're all waiting for the food to arrive (they both forced me to buy them some too), that I decide to work a little more on my sketches to pass the time.

It's then Talia says, "Hey, how are you even going to submit all of this without having pictures? I thought you had to have proof of reference for observational drawings."

My pencil slows to a stop.

Oh.

"Fuck."

Talia snorts, patting my shoulder in faux-sympathy as Luca sweetly sighs, "Ah, the stupidity of young love."

"Shut up, Ruiz."

<・)))><<

Okay, I've easily made my way through a fifth of the portraiture books in the library by now, and have still not asked Kai even though he's right there every time I've read one of those books.

I have to ask him so I can take photos. See, I can't just take photos and submit them as part of my project and not ask. That's creepy.

Instead, I just keep drawing, as if Kai will tell me to use him for my art project, or something.

Which he won't.

The guy's no longer running away from me or being a bitch but he's not that bold.

Five minutes later, I've stuck my tongue out of my mouth in concentration and almost end up choking on it after Kai says, "Can I see? You never show me your art."

I can't show you my art, it is you.

"No, you can't see."

Kai looks somewhat stunned, eyes a little wider than usual and lips parted ever so slightly.

I feel a little bad.

But then Kai just frowns, rather determinedly and asks, "Why not?"

"You just can't!" I tell him, standing up, sketchbook tucked under my arm as I hastily say, "I need another book."

Sitting down in my usual spot (it's bad I have one of those) and taking out the same books, I have to say I'm thankful that Kai never studies in the same way because all of my drawings would probably look the same if he did.

I reach up to untuck my pencil from behind my ear, only to knock it out completely and have it roll under the bookshelf.

"Ugh, why me," I mutter, putting my book down beside me and crawling onto my stomach to reach under the shelf.

Finally grabbing the pencil in my hand, I startle so hard I hit my head off of the shelf after hearing someone say, "If you wanted to draw me you could've just asked, Mabel."

I crawl back hesitantly, and sit up on my knees to see Kai standing over me, sketchbook in hand.

My sketchbook in hand.

"Oh fuck, hi," I say, same as the first time we met in the library, and Kai seems to remember too as his eyes crinkle into that adorably amused smile of his.

"Who's the stalker, now?"

But he doesn't seem mad. Or creeped out. And those are both good signs.

I have an idea.

"Okay," I say, slipping out my phone from my back pocket and pressing on my camera app. "I'm gonna tell you something–so let me take a picture."

Kai's expression grows slightly dubious but he must be used to my whimsicality by now because he gives an agreeing nod, anyhow.

I hold up my phone, framing the boy's face who's peering down into it, the angle just below him and wow, he looks gorgeous with backlight. Not many people look gorgeous with backlight.

"I've been drawing you for a month or so now as my subject for my project and my professor really likes it but I was in too deep to actually ask you."

Click.

I tap onto my gallery, checking the photo with a grin.

Ah, my first, "observation".

"It's perfect," I say.  More to myself than to Kai, who crouches down beside me, chin leaning on my shoulder as he checks out the photo, too.

Ah shit, I can physically feel my heart beat a little faster when the boy turns his head towards me and I feel him literally breathing on my cheek as he asks, "You're going to draw that?"

I then make the mistake of looking to my side to get a whole close-up of Kai Adkins and never mind my heart beating faster, it stops now. Or explodes. Or shrivels up.

"Yeah..." I say distantly, barely even hearing the words come out of my mouth because fuck.

"What do you think? Chalk pastels or acrylic?"