Four To Two [Elisop]

Chapter 14

Eli was standing at the end of the hallway, still holding Aesop's arm with his hand. When he realized this, he immediately let go of him, having no reason to hold on to him anymore. They had gone quite far from the exhibit and there was no one in the hallway but them. It was strangely and embarrassingly quiet. Eli then noticed that Aesop was gesturing with his hands where he stood.

"Is everything okay Aesop ?" he asked.

"A-ah, yes... Thanks for getting me out of there earlier..."

"It's nothing, I saw that you didn't look comfortable so I couldn't leave you there to your fate !"

Eli sketched a smile at him, and Aesop returned it in turn. Currently, it was a pretty rare sight. The young man would usually keep a neutral expression or an almost invisible smile but this time it was... different. His face seemed more radiant and then- God, what was Eli thinking. Aesop was going to think he was crazy if he kept staring at him like that. And that was probably what was happening because Aesop was staring at Eli. The blue-eyed male felt himself blushing because of his so insistent look.

"Hm... Do I have something on my face...?"

"Ah, no, sorry. It's nothing. By the way, you came to see the exhibition right ? It's pretty crowded at the moment so it might be wiser to come back in a few hours..."

"I was looking forward to seeing your work but I guess I can still wait !"

"T-There's nothing so special about them... Your friend Edgar is more talented than me..."

"Maybe, but they are special to me since you painted them-"

"W-what !?"

Eli's big mouth had just said too much again. The two men's faces grew hotter after what he spouted out. It was almost as if he just confessed to him and that made it even more embarrassing for both of them. How to get out of this, Eli thought. Something and fast, to make this awkward atmosphere disappear. However, Aesop beat him to it and was the first to speak.

"Come back and see the exhibit tonight when everyone starts to leave. It'll be less crowded and you'll have a chance to see what we did more quietly."

"O-oh, alright !"

"Well, I've got to go."

Aesop turned on his heels and left Eli behind. Unable to see the artwork, Eli left the building to check out the other projects. He stopped by the gym in the meantime to see Naib's match, it was the basketball club versus the volleyball club. It would be unfair for the volleyball members to play against the basketball seniors in their own discipline, so they were playing against the freshmen, which Naib was. Of course, his team won hands down, he wasn't spotted by someone important for nothing after all. They exchanged a few words at the end and then he left to celebrate their victory with the rest of the club members.

Eli spent the rest of the day going from one place to another and sometimes stuffing himself with what the cooking club had prepared. It must be said that he couldn't really refuse the offer of the two ladies who had approached him. He spoke quickly with them, their names were Emma and Emily if he was not mistaken. Finally, the evening arrived and the young man felt he could go back to see his friend. 

He walked quickly towards the building where he was, a little excited. As Aesop had predicted, there was hardly anyone left in the building. The other students had gone to enjoy the other activities for the little time that was left. Eli ventured over to where Aesop had been when he was there earlier. He then noticed that this area was filled with nothing but paintings, and all of them depicted yellow roses. That's when he saw him, sitting among the field of flowers, drawing something on his sketchbook.

He seemed so concentrated that he did not even notice Eli's presence. Eli discreetly approached to see what he was scribbling. It was... his portrait. Aesop was penciling Eli's face on the paper with such delicacy, not letting any detail pass. When he finished, his hand stopped moving and he contemplated his drawing for a few minutes, then he looked up and met Eli who was watching him the whole time.