Melting Hearts | ✓

f l a k e s ║vi

f l a k e s ║vi

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"How about this angle?" Oliver laughed, turning his head to the side and putting his hands loosely on top of his head. I laughed back, trying to keep quiet as nearly everyone else was asleep on the bus.

"Just give it up!" I giggled "I'm not going to draw you."

He gave me a sad puppy face. "Pleeeeaassseee.."

I laughed again. Seeing this side of Oliver was so weird. He normally seemed so quite and frankly, so did I. But even so, for the last hour we'd been laughing and carrying on like best friends.

"Here. I'll draw your eye." I compromised, slipping my pencil out from behind my ear and starting a circle on the pad lying across my lap. He gave a hopeful smile and I waved my other finger.

"But that's all you get."

He watched me attentively as I started to wing out the small baby eyelashes below and above his eye. I could practically feel him trying to contain his excitement, which was weird for me. I'd never really had anyone interested in my drawing except for Mr. Wades.

I finished the outlines and began drawing his eye itself. I made a big shining iris and soft streaky colors. I didn't have any pencil crayons with me, but I tried my best to make it seem like some gorgeous color lie behind the pencil.

I held up the pad for him to see, even though his eyes hadn't left it while I'd drawn. "Hmm?"

He took the pad in his hands and I winced a little. That pad was my life, it held every feeling I'd ever had. Behind the picture I'd just drawn was my one of the girl on the swing. It wasn't that good, but I swore to never put any drawing in the trash.

"Now it's my turn." He gave me back the pad. I gave him a confused look.

"What?"

He lifted his camera from his chest and held it up to me. I looked into the lens, scared. I was sure why I was so frightened, the picture he'd taken before was just fine.

"Just one picture." He pleaded, noticing how scared I was. I nodded slowly, bringing my mouth into a smile.

"No." He mumbled , "Don't smile."

"Why?" I asked, barely moving my lips.

"Just close your eyes." He told me. I closed them without a complaint and waited. Was he seriously taking pictures of me with my eyes closed?

"Now, think of something that makes you sad. Something that fills you with the stinging feeling of regret, anger or pity." He instructed a second time. I wrinkled my brows and tried to think.

"Arianna!"

"Arianna, dear?"

"Come on, Arianna."

A few tiny, thin tears trickled down my face. They were cold and remained me of the first tiny snowflakes before a snowfall. 

"Open your eyes." 

I opened my eyes and looked into the camera. Oliver turned the camera and snapped a few pictures. I knew more tears kept coming, but I never thought to turn away.

Oliver stopped and set it camera down. I turned away and wiped my eyes on my sleeve. When I looked back he was pushing buttons on his camera.

He turned it around for me to look. "That,"