Mariam wasn't upset - or at least she told herself, not that she had any right to. Granted, a little despondent after encountering Winona, but she certainly wasn't heartbroken! Or at least she told herself, that is. If anything, Mariam tried to keep herself occupied as to not dwell on credible implications and her patent insecurity. The weekend was spent working down at the bakery, cleaning her apartment, and catching up on required reading for her courses. By the time Monday rolled around, Mariam didn't seem all too concerned with the issue rationalizing that it wasn't any of her business to be upset in the first place, naturally. She didn't even feel obligated to be dejected, kind of.
She had not seen Luke for the duration of the weekend and since she returned his spare key, perhaps he was the one upset? Mariam tried not to dwell on that thought either.
However, it did come as a surprise when the tall, tattooed-covered man stood at her door with an empty coffee mug in his hand.
Mariam merely gave him a perplex look when she opened the door, Luke clearing his throat before plainly announcing: "Do you have any sugar?"
Mariam couldn't help the smile forming on her lips. "Sugar..?" She repeated and he gave her a curt nod. "I... I thought you didn't like sweets?"
Luke frowned and gave her a look that clearly implied he was annoyed, but she gently took the mug regardless. He leaned casually against the door frame until Mariam gestured for him to enter her home. Luke strode inside, hands shoved in the pocket of his jeans as he followed her into the kitchen.
As Mariam pondered on the best method of pouring the sugar into the mug without making a mess of the procedure, a pair of blue eyes spotted an open sketch book laying innocently on the counter. He raised a brow.
"You draw?" Luke inquired curiously as he peered over a drawing of a hummingbird.
Distracted, Mariam shrugged. "I guess..." And then as if recalling her forgotten sketchbook on the counter, she spun on her heel to see him intrusively flipping through the pages. A swell of panic and embarrassment filtered to her face as she crossed the space between them and moved to snatch her sketchbook back from Luke. "Hey, stop! Put it down!"
"What?" He raised a brow and held the book up out of her reach. His lips twitched up into a smirk as he contemplated on teasing her. "Are you drawing nudes?" He watched in amusement as Mariam desperately tried to retrieve the sketchbook. She didn't even realize the closeness of their proximity, Mariam practically pressed against him on the tips of her toes. She was more concerned with getting her sketchbook back and preventing him from seeing her drawings.
Luke noticed, however. If he leaned in just a fraction, his nose would have touched her forehead.
"Lu-Luke!" Mariam whined, her cheeks a tint of red. "Give it back!"
Luke blinked and twisted around, ignoring the way her breath ghosted near his neck. Mariam was still behind him, so he continued to flip through the pages - if only to avert his attention from her. Until he came across a page and stilled, staring at the unfinished image.
"Wait, is this-" Luke was cut off by Mariam snaking around him and snatching the book from his grasp, clutching it to her heaving chest.
Mariam burned bright red from her face down to her neck when he smirked at her.
"Was that me, dork?"
She pressed her lips together as a moment of silence passed between them. Luke straightened and leaned against the kitchen counter with his arms folded against his chest. He was openly staring at her, waiting for an answer but the way she turned to avoid his gaze was enough of a confirmation.
"Let me see," he said and moved towards her.
"N-no," she replied warily and took a step back.
She saw the glint of mirth in his blue eyes. "It's only right that I see your drawings since you've seen mine." He gestured to his arms.
"N-not all of them!" Mariam retorted and instantly regretted it when he gave her a blank look and then began to lift up the hem of his t-shirt.
Mariam hid her face behind the sketchbook, mortified. There's a likely chance she'll faint if she looked at his shirtless body (forgetting for a moment that she has seen it once before). Perhaps if she remained quiet then he would leave her alone.
Luke pulled the book from her flamed face and met his amused eyes. She sighed in defeat and released the book, averting her eyes toward the tiled floor of the kitchen. When he remained quiet for quite sometime, Mariam glanced at him while fiddling with her shirt. Only a select few have seen her work, her parents included, whom in which heavily criticized them.
He silently studied her picture of him and feeling insecure, Mariam decided to break the strangled silence. "W-what?"
Luke turned to her and poked her forehead. "You made me look better than I actually am."
She stared at him, still embarrassed but another emotion settled in her chest that she couldn't quite decipher. She moved to his side and peered over at her own drawing. "I don't think so..." she said softly.
Mariam was intently critical of her own work, she failed to notice Luke looking at her closely.
"I think so," he said evenly.
She pursed her lips when he closed the book and handed it back to her. She held it against her chest once more. "W-well, I don't have a picture of you." Mariam rationalized. Truthfully, she only attempted to sketch him based on her memory but his appearance in the complex often fluctuates. Her eyes widened as it occurred to her what she was asking of him. Not that she wanted to keep a picture of him!
He didn't seem to notice though. Luke merely shrugged and walked toward the entrance of her apartment with pocketed hands. "Taken pictures are overrated anyway," he looked over his shoulder at Mariam following behind him. "You should do it in person."
She stopped as he opened the door. "Huh?"
"Will you?" He asked.
Mariam gaped at him. No one has ever asked her to draw them in person. She didn't think herself so skilled to do so.
"I could be the Rose to your Jack," he added teasingly. "Feel free to draw me like one of your French boys."
She pushed him out the door while he breathed out what seemed akin to a laugh. "Later, dork."
As the door closed, Mariam clutched the book in her arms as she wandered back into her apartment. Why did he enjoy teasing her so much?
She set her sketchbook down on the kitchen counter with a sigh, until her gaze settled on the mug near the sink. Mariam planted her forehead against the counter. "He forgot the sugar..." She mumbled.
However, her next thought had her heart leaping in her chest.
He never wanted the sugar in the first place.
