𝐈𝐓 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐄𝐑 ; daniel seavey

F I V E

"How about we start with my portrait today?"

Ashley passed Daniel his canvas and a pencil. They were sitting on her couch, and although Ashely had done her best to make Daniel feel at home, he still had that deer-caught-in-headlights look on his face.

Surprisingly though, he appeared less tense as soon as he held the art supplies in his hands.

"So how do you want me to pose?" Ashley asked. "Like this?" She smiled brightly and straightened her posture, like she would position herself for a school picture.

"Um, actually," Daniel began, "would you mind..." He trailed off, but Ashley didn't miss the glance he made at the window.

"Do you think by the window would be better?"

"Yeah, there's more lighting there."

"Okay, good idea."

His eyes gleamed. He seemed content with the praise.

She pulled a chair beside the window and sat in the same position as before. Daniel sat in front of her, took in her pose, and scrunched his eyebrows together.

"What?"

"N-Nothing," he stammered.

"Dani," she said gently, "you're the artist here. If you have an idea of how I should pose then tell me."

He thought for a moment before he replied, "Okay, um, could you put your arm on the window sill and turn towards the light a bit more?" She followed his instructions. "Now, turn your head towards me, please."

The position was quite casual. Like she was just talking to an old friend beside a window. She decided on wearing a close lipped smile for this pose, since it seemed that Daniel wanted to capture her looking comfortable.

He stared at her for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and mumbling, "Perfect."

The tips of his ears turned pink as he hastily looked away and began drawing on the canvas.

Ashely didn't know how long she sat there, but after what felt like an hour of staying completely still and watching Daniel's pencil fly across the canvas, she decided it was time for a break. Her legs were stiff and she was pretty sure her butt fell asleep from the amount of time it had occupied the wooden chair.

Daniel seemed lost in his own world as he continued drawing her on the white canvas. She stood up and stretched out her aching limbs while walking over and peering over his shoulder at the drawing.

She gasped.

It looked like an exact replica of her. From the hair, to her smile, and her eyes... It was just absolutely extraordinary.

Daniel nearly fell out of his seat at her surprised sound. He must not have noticed when she stood up.

"Holy mother of God, Daniel! You're incredible!"

Daniel's face was the reddest she's ever seen. "I'm really not that good."

"Not that good?" she repeated incredulously. "Dani, you could be like the next big thing. I swear you're better than some of the famous artists nowadays. You captured me perfectly, and with all the shadows and highlights- It's like I'm looking at a picture!"

As she stared at him, she could tell that Daniel was embarrassed with all the compliments (she admits, she should have toned it down a little), but there was something in his face that made her think that despite it all, he really wanted to smile.

"Thanks, Ashley. That means a lot."

She waited a minute, but the smile never came. His eyes did have this pleased look to them though.

"Tell you what," she said, "how about we take a break and eat something?"

He nodded and followed her to the kitchen.

Ashley grabbed a yellow jar above the fridge and stuck her hand inside. "I made these last night. My little brothers, Taylor and Ryan, ate most of them, but I'm sure there's still a few left- Aha! Here we go."

She pulled out two chocolate chip cookies and handed one to Daniel. She immediately swallowed her cookie whole, while Daniel just stared at his treat, appearing lost in thought.

"Dani? You okay?"

He looked at her, his eyes beginning to appear misty. "Sorry, I just- I hadn't had one of these in a long time."

Ashley's stomach turned over at his expression.

"She used to make these for me every weekend," he whispered, mostly to himself.

"Who did?" she asked, although she was ninety-nine percent sure she knew exactly who.

"My-" he cut himself off, swallowing hard. "I'm sorry, I gotta go."

"Daniel, wait!"

He was out the door before she could catch him.