𝐈𝐓 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐄𝐑 ; daniel seavey

T H R E E

The next day, Ashley's art class received an assignment.

She's not really paying attention to the teacher (a strange action on her part), because all she can think about is why the hell didn't she notice that Daniel was in this class.

In her defence, he was really hard to spot. There are about thirty kids in this class, each with a large easel in front of them, and he was sitting in the back row. The only reason she spotted him was because every student in the class was wearing something bright, while he had on his obscene amount of black clothing. She wondered how many plain black sweaters that kid owned.

Ashley's mind came back to the present once the teacher announced, "This project will be done in pairs. I am excited to see how each of you will paint your partner's portrait. You may have the rest of the class to find someone and get started."

Immediately, the whole class got up from their seats and rushed to their respective pairs. Of course, Ashley was alone (being the new kid kind of made everyone steer clear from her), but as she had anticipated, Daniel didn't have a partner either.

So she mustered up her courage and sat in the seat next to him. Daniel, as per usual, didn't notice her presence until she cleared her throat. He jumped a little, and Ashely couldn't help but notice that he does that a lot. Get lost in his own mind.

"Hey, Daniel. Do you want to be partners?"

He nodded shyly.

Ashley gave him a friendly smile. "So should I paint you first, or do you want to paint me first?" She decided the night before that when she talks to Daniel she was going to say things that would make him respond with more than just one word answers or shakes of his head.

"Um, you can paint me first."

That was the longest sentence he's ever said to her. She was surprised with the low octave of his voice and with the strange sense of accomplishment that overcame her.

"Alright," she agreed, "but do you mind lowering your hood?"

"Why?" he asked, suddenly defensive. He held onto the sides of the hood like the fabric was a protective shield of some sort.

"Well, I'd like to be able to see your whole head for this. And the hood blocks off a lot of light from your face."

"Oh, right," he admitted sheepishly.

He let the fabric fall, exposing the disheveled mop of brunette hair sticking up in every direction. His face was paler than Ashely thought it would be and his eyes looked like shattered pieces of ocean glass.

She's never seen anyone look so broken.

But despite all the sorrow and pain that Daniel held, Ashley saw something else. A unique form of masculine beauty that she had never encountered. His jawline was sharp, like it was intricately carved by a detailed sculptor. His eyes, although cracked, swirled with infinite shades of blue that it appeared nearly impossible to tell which colour overpowered which. His figure didn't seem to have much muscle, but he was broad and lean. The only thing that she hasn't discovered yet was how his smile looked like.

She nearly fell out of her seat when one end of his mouth quirked up the slightest bit.

A smirk.

He was freaking smirking at her. And that's when she relayed all the thoughts she'd been having of him through her mind.

Masculine beauty? Intricately carved? What is wrong with you?!

Not only that, but she'd been staring at him for longer than socially acceptable. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

He slightly opened his mouth as if to say something and his eyes unexpectedly gleamed mischievously, and Ashley just knew he was going to pass a comment about her checking him out... Until he didn't.

It appeared he noticed his change in attitude, causing him to immediately shut his mouth, and his eyes to turn back to their original blank stare.

She didn't like that he went back into his protective shell. She wanted him to open up to her. Even if it was to make a teasing remark at her expense.

But she had to remind herself that Daniel is different. He was a boy that tragically lost his mother and hasn't willingly opened up to anyone since her death, let alone a girl he's only known for two days.

She began to sketch his eyes onto the canvas, but instead of the hollow appearance they always contained, she decided to make an adjustment.

She rather liked the playful look he had on before.

Even if she only caught a glimpse of it.