Artwork [h.s]

thirty-seven

I put down my camera when I realised that someone was standing in front of me, trying my best to hide a little smile that threatened to form on my lips when I met a pair of green eyes.

"She liked the drawing" I said faintly just to say anything when he didn't, analysing the look on his face.

He just gave me a faint nod, the lack of excitement showing that he didn't really care about whether it had had success or not. "What are you doing?" He asked quietly instead.

I gave a fast glance around, discovering that the majority of the people had already gone home, and that the amount of the cars in the car park had considerably lowered. I could understand why he was asking that, considering that I usually was one of the first to leave at the end of the school day. "It's just..." I stopped for a second, trying to decide if I wanted to tell him or not. My art teacher had said that for the next assignment, the artist and the model should've worked together to create a different piece of art. I didn't know what she was trying to see with such a peculiar request, given that the people we were working with didn't even take art as a class, but I was glad she hadn't just created new couples instead. Even though I would've liked to think that Harry and I had become friends - or if not that, at least something - over the past few months, I was scared that he would've just exited my life once we were done with what we were supposed to do. It would've kind of made sense, after all. It wasn't like we had many things in common - quite the opposite of course, and, considering how great some times around him had been, it was obvious that everything between us could've turned sour just as fast. We were so different that it would've just taken for one of us to do or say the wrong thing once for everything to turn into dust. It would've made sense if he'd just left, once he was no longer forced to be there. I was starting to understand how right Zayn truly had been, that one time he'd talked to me. I didn't like to take risks and Harry was everything but predictable, things between us could only go in two different ways: very well, or very wrong.
"Just an assignment" I replied in the end. It was kind of obvious that he would've never taken part in that assignment with me, so I didn't see the point in telling him. Art meant opening up, and he would've never done such a thing. I would've just done it on my own, and save the both of us the embarrassment of him having to turn it down.

He hummed, taking in the words, his eyes focusing on mine so concentratedly that for one second I almost believed he'd read my mind. "What is it?" He asked, seeming to think that he should've had to take part in it as well just like in all the other ones. It wasn't so far away from the truth, but he didn't need to know that.

"Oh, it's just something different" I said, looking at him in the eyes to make sure it would've been believable enough. I sighed when I took in the glance he gave me. It wasn't exactly suspicious, but it still was as if he knew that there was more to it than what I was telling him. "Uh..." I stammered nervously, knowing in the second the sound left my mouth that I was going to tell him. I didn't know what it was about him, but it just felt so wrong to lie to him like that. "We should work together on something... that isn't you." I scratched my nail against the side of the camera, that I was gripping a bit harder that I should've. "I can do it just fine, I'm only having a bit of trouble finding the right subject" I added fast, wanting to let him know that he wasn't forced to do anything and that I would've just worked on my own on that one.

He pursed his lips, his gaze drifting off somewhere behind me, not saying anything as he seemed to be trying to make some kind of decision. When he spoke, it was almost unexpectedly. "Someone told me once that art is beautiful as it's meaningful" he said in the end, surprising me. "And that inspiration is simply discovering what is it that you want to say" he continued quietly, the concentrated look in his eyes making me realise he was trying to repeat at best something he'd heard a long time before. "What you should be wondering is, what is it that you want to say?"