“Harry dear?”
Harry stopped shoving his stuff into his bag to look up at the teacher’s voice, “Yeah?”
“Can you stay after for a few minutes? I’d like to talk to you.”
He glanced at Liam and the older boy shrugged before saying he would wait downstairs. Harry watched as the rest of the class filed out and the model kid disappeared into the back closet.
“What do you need ma’am?”
“I was just wondering if you would be okay with me submitting your self-portrait to the art show being held here this weekend.”
Harry nodded, “That’s fine.”
“Great,” she beamed. “Let me just run and get the registration information. I’ll be right back.”
Harry shifted his bag on his shoulder as she left the room. He watched it drop to the floor and he squatted down, rummaging around for his sketch pad. He had just pulled it out when he noticed a pair of feet in white Supras come to a stop in front of him.
Harry’s eyes ran up the now clothed body of the model, green connecting with blue for a heated second before Harry glanced away.
“Here mate,” the kid held out his hand and Harry noted the lilting Irish accent on his voice before gripping the kid’s wrist and allowing himself to be pulled up.
Harry coughed awkwardly and took a step back once he realized how close he was standing to the other boy. “Thanks,” he muttered, clutching tightly to his sketch book.
“Can I see?” the other boy asked quietly, his wrist flicking towards the book in Harry’s grasp.
“See what?” Harry didn’t like other people seeing his work, especially his unfinished stuff. He hugged the book to his chest and hoped the other boy would drop it.
“Your drawing of me,” his blue eyes blinked hopefully up at Harry. “You seemed really into your work, unlike the rest of the class.” His shoulders shrugged lightly underneath his white tee-shirt, “But I guess it’s really none of my business.”
Harry hesitated, then held the book out to the blonde with a shaking hand. If the kid could stand in front of them naked and not be embarrassed, then the least he could do was show him his drawing.
“You sure?”
Harry nodded and the boy gripped the sketchbook, his fingers brushing Harry’s for the briefest of seconds before contact broke and Harry’s most prized possession was in the hands of another for the first time. The model flipped through the pages, passing unfinished self-portraits and various sketches of the park across the street. Finally he found what he was looking for.
Harry waited, chewing nervously on his bottom lip, for the boy to say, well, anything really. The silence was beginning to scare him.
“That wasn’t the assignment you know,” the boy finally murmured, one delicate finger going up to gently trace the curve of the jaw drawn on the paper. “You were supposed to do my whole body.”
“I know,” Harry’s husky voice was even quieter than normal. “But I really like your face.”
“My face doesn’t look like this. I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever worn that expression,” the boy shut the book and handed it back. “But that’s how I feel. How did you know?”
Harry slipped his sketchbook back into his bag and thought of what he had drawn. The hopeless and lost expression on that beautiful face. He shrugged, “Your eyes.”
The other boy decided to take this as a compliment and he smiled, “I like your eyes too.”
“Thank you,” Harry blushed slightly, shoving his hands into his pockets and rocking back on his heels.
“Harry dear,” the teacher hurried back in. “Just sign this papers and you’re ready to go. Niall, love, I’ll see you next week.”
“Yes ma’am,” the blonde boy smiled, but didn’t go anywhere. He waited until Harry had filled out the information the teacher needed, then fell into step with the quiet curly haired boy as he headed downstairs.
“So Harry is it?”
Harry nodded, pushing out the door into the warm air of the April day. Liam was sitting on the bottom step of the building, tossing an acorn up to himself as he waited for his best friend. He turned when he heard the door open, his expression quickly going from one of greeting to one of confusion. His eyes flicked from Harry to the blonde model and back as Harry just shrugged. He didn’t know why the kid was following him.
“Umm hi,” Liam stood up when the two boys reached him, his fingers wrapping around the straps of his backpack. “I’m Liam. You are?”
“Niall,” the kid answered as he held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah,” Liam’s thick eyebrows crashed together as he glanced at Harry. Again all Harry could do was shrug. “Are you umm, going somewhere with Harry?”
The blonde kid shook his head, “Not that I know of.”
“Oh.” Liam didn’t want to be rude but he was confused as to why the model was standing there with them. “Then umm, what are you doing?”
“Oh yeah, right,” the boy backed away, giving them a little wave. “Umm see you later.”
Liam just nodded as Harry watched the blonde leave, an unreadable expression on his face.
