Caffeine | PUBLISHED

19. Frappe

1 9 .

frappe

I LEANED AGAINST THE TREE, adding a final piece of shading to the paper. My pencil scraped along the page, leaving a dark smudge in its wake.

"Finished?"

I turned. Riley and William watched me carefully, half-eaten sandwiches clutched in her hands.

"I think so," I said, pursing my lips as I stared down at the drawing. It was definitely... not great. But hey, it was the best I could do, and I'd been working on it all week. I was sick of drawing.

"Well," William waved a hand at me, grinning widely in anticipation. "Show us."

I sent them a proud smile, holding up the paper towards them to reveal my artwork.

On it, Sebastian's gleaming face was sketched in an abstract style. It was decent, especially considering my previous art works. I'd spent the entire week sitting in the library with him completing our art assignment that was due today.

I'd spent hours just staring at his face, memorising every tiny detail. The slight dimple on his left cheek. The beauty mark at the corner of his lip. The feint scar below his hair line that he'd gotten ten years ago in a bicycle accident. And he'd spent hours staring at mine.

All that was left was to turn it in.

"Nice," Riley smirked at me. She narrowed her eyes, furrowing her brow at the portrait. "Who is it?"

"I think it's Harry Styles," William squinted beside her.

"No, it's the other one," Riley teased, leaning closer. "Zayn Malik."

She glanced at me over the page, her eyes glittering mischievously, and I let out an exaggerated breath, rolling my eyes.

I flipped the page over, sliding it into a cover page and plastic slip to hide it from their view. "Shut up. It's not that bad."

"Well..."

I smacked Riley's shoulder and she hollered a laugh at me. "I'm only joking. You did great, Asp."

"Art is subjective," William piped in.

"That didn't sound like a compliment," I muttered, and he shrugged in reply, moving to take another bite from his sandwich.

Riley laughed, shaking her head. "It's great. One of your best."

"Thanks," I said, although it didn't mean much. I stared down at the drawing. The longer I looked at it, the worse it got, so I scrunched my nose and put it down.

"I just need to hand it in," I said, standing from my seat. I glanced down at the oval. Sebastian should be there, playing soccer as usual. I sighed, sending my friends a pointed look. "I'll be right back."

They nodded, waving their hands to gesture for me to leave. Holding the assignment close to my chest, I jogged down the hill, heading straight for the grassy oval.

In the oval, Arthur Andrews juggled a soccer ball on his knees, his friends guffawing like idiots around him.

Sebastian was nowhere to be seen.

I came to a stop beside Arthur Andrews, ignoring the way my heart pounded in my throat. The last time I stood here... I shook the thought from my mind. Swallowing thickly, I willed myself to be confident.

"Hey," I shouted, my voice steadier than expected. Arthur Andrews turned to me with a quirked brow, blinking as his friends grew quiet. I pressed my hands together, wringing my fingers. "Is Sebastian around?"