Afterwords

museumings

TIMEFRAME: Newly dating
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Finally the day the girl had been waiting all year for had arrived:

The field trip to one of the best art museums in the world.

Though she never pictured her trip going as it did.

She never imagined sitting next to the boy she'd been admiring from afar for most of the year on the long bus ride. She never imagined resting her head on his shoulder while she watched him sketch away at a study for a future painting. Nor did she ever imagine feeling so at home, so comfortable with the silence that was between them.

Most of their ride there was exactly that though, and she couldn't have asked for anything better. She hummed so silently along to the music flowing from her headphones, while admiring each stroke the boy put down on the sketchbook that was resting in his lap. Sometimes he'd frustradedly erase a botched marking from the jolt of the bus or fixing the gradient furiously with his blending stump. 

Soon enough, the boy's study become a beautiful scenery, a loose rendition of a view from the cliff. It would soon become a nearly life-like painting filled with an assortment of colors and shades. The girl voiced her admiration in the detail of it all, and Rosy Cheeks peered down at her with a smile upon his face. He thanked her with his twinkling chocolate eyes and his cheeks flushed when the girl leaned farther into his slight embrace. It didn't take long for her to fade into a light sleep, comforted by his warmth and smell.

Like he usually ended up doing, Rosy Cheeks woke the sleepy girl, whose pale eyes snapped open immediately, excited for the day to come.

Slowly but surely, the art class filed out of the bus and out on to the front steps of the art museum. Momentarily the girl got separated from the boy, and felt anxiety begin to bubble deep inside her, until a warm hand clasped hers. The exhale of relief from Pale Eyeds made the boy pull her close, understanding her claustrophobic tendencies.

The two listened contently (yet impatiently) to the teacher's instructions on behavior, their requirements for critiquing a few art pieces within the museum and when they were to meet back at the front of the building.  Within moments of him dismissing the group, they were off and entering through the front doors.

Immediately they were floored by the beauty of the building, and stood still for a moment to take in the guilded architecture (something they'd both considering pursuing a career in). Shyly, the girl whispered to the boy, "Do you think we could take a picture here?"

To which he laughed heartily and nodded, then took out his phone and held out his long arm, making sure to frame them both nicely in the screen. When he was content, he snaooef the picture and showed the girl, who bit her lip, finding herself admiring the boy's smile.

Then they were off, hand in hand, to the gallery of some of their favorite artists. One of the first places they visited was the Impressionist era (which contained aritsts like Monet, Renior and Degas, as well as Van Gogh although he was considered a post-impressionist). They went to one of the boy's favorites like Dali, Magritte and Ernst (who were part of the surrealist era), as well as Picasso.

The boy's favorite painting was done by Picasso, The Old Guitarist. He'd never told the girl why it was, but he'd always mentioned how much of a masterpiece he thought it was. And the girl, sadly knew why he felt the attachment to it.

When they saw Picasso's Blue Period, gallery, he was instantly drawn to it, and he surprised the girl with all of his deep insight in the paintings. What he thought they symbolized, what they made him feel and why. And she realized then how perfect he was. How his chocolate eyes spoke more words with one twinkle than twenty paintings could. How his world revolved around the things he cared for and not about senseless things like she did.  How he became alive when he talked about something he loved oh so much.

She realized how much she wanted to be the one who gave him that sparkle in his eyes, the person he could go on and on about with such life in his words. She wanted to be that for him, so badly.

He must've apologized a million times for going on and on about the pieces, but Pale Eyes merely shook her head with a bright smile on her face and told him to stay as long as he wanted. Rosy Cheeks was about to take her up on that offer, when he checked his watch and realized that they had less than an hour, and she hadn't gotten to visit the exhibit she'd been going on about for the last week.

Without a word to the girl, he squeezed her hand (which had been intertwined the whole day) and pulled her in the way the signs were directing.

Soon enough, they'd arrived at the special traveling exhibit, filled with paintings of nature. A lot of them inspired by botanic gardens across the whole world.

This time, it was Rosy Cheeks' turn to admire the girl's awe for the art. He was struck by her attention to the smallest details and love for the most miniscule brush strokes and unique colors. And he realized how he wouldn't want it any other way than right now. To constantly realize that he was falling for the girl who loved art and flowers and anything beautiful.

It almost took a fighting effort from both of them to leave the galleries and return back to the bus. In fact, the girl nearly tried to convince the boy to skip and return back home by train. Nonetheless, they filed back onto the big yellow vehicle, which took them for a late lunch, then back home to reality.

Once again the girl fell asleep in the boy's embrace, but this time he felt his eyelids fall heavy, and joined her in dreams of traveling to the places they'd gotten to see in the beautiful art pieces that day.

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Bella's note: something like this chapter was supposed to make it into RC, but it didn't. So oops :-)

I hope you enjoyed it, I thought it was cute.

-xx