LoLAP 1- Still Life

Lots of Love And Pocky
Chapter 1: Still Life

"Hey,"

A redhead seated himself across from the girl in front of him as her head hung down, over while she continued sketching a new piece of hers, soon to hopefully add to the collection of others. His glossy sea green orbs tried to peek down to see her work so far, but the female wouldn't allow it as his own eyes met with her golden ones as he carefully asked after a small passing moment, "What are you working on?"

"I guess you could call it… Still life." she replied with a small, teasing smile alit across her face, one thing that was a part of her and her persona that he always loved. But it also lit a small light in his own eyes, almost like a small flame to a candle at the memory that came to mind at the last two words she spoke.
A sigh passed by and quietly escaped the raven haired girl's lips as she ran a hand through her dark, long hair.
The redhead gave her a small questioning look in his mysterious eyes while she chuckled softly, breaking out into a small smile that lit her features and made his heart flutter once more at this.
"Of you."

***

A purple lotus stood in a small, squatting vase, its stem holding it up with all its strength to the large flower as it sat on the shelf of the room as sunlight poured through the cracked open window. The project for the day in the classroom full of creativity and imagination, followed by excitement of teenagers talking and laughing, and maybe a few tense moments in the air for those of nosy girls talking and rambling about who's going out with whom and what not was none other than still-life.
Something without life of any sort and sketching it in a way to somehow give it life. Honestly, Haruka couldn't really care less, it was really just...
Well, boring.

She didn't like sketching still life all that much, it gave her the feeling of boredom rather than the excitement and thrill she usually got when she was drawing something in her sketch pad. The door on the other side of the room was heard being opened and shut, followed by a rhythm of footsteps in the background. She had already finished her sketch of the flower that stood on the windowsill and had turned her head lightly over her shoulder to see how some of the others were doing so far, but had stopped short when a mess of fine, shaggy, blood crimson hair caught her eye.
She watched casually as the man gave her art teacher a pink slip.
A…Pass?

After the woman had given him a small smile and pointed to a table not too far from her own, he then started towards there as he sat down, Haruka glancing over her shoulder at him.
So he was staying.
Her gaze flickered back at her finished sketch for a moment; she fixed her gaze back over to the redhead before feeling embarrassed and looking away once more.
He began to dig into his messenger bag, taking out a pencil or two along with finding the sketching paper on the left counter near the door before all he needed was a subject, something to draw…


Haruka usually was more the laid back type of person, not really to care if someone had an issue that was small and quite pointless, yet at the same time was really quite curious and was there to help a lot of times, to swoop in as help for the day. It was another trait of hers that made her almost… classy.
If the situation was something like Sakura when she decided Haruka was her ranting buddy about either her so called "love life", Ino, or like before a while back when she had been thinking of possibly cutting her long, blush pink hair. If it had been to do with her and her series of rants, she was out.
But at the same time, to be honest, at other times she could be a little nosy if she wanted to…just out of her curiosity.

After the class had ended she watched carefully as he rolled the paper back into his bag, swinging it around and over his shoulder and headed out of the now emptier, quiet classroom.

***

"So you saw this guy, a few tables from you and you just… Ugh, I don't know. Abi, what's the word I'm looking for?" a blonde asked, sitting next to her raven haired friend, glancing at the brunette she was asking as she held up a small fry, almost inspecting it before tossing it into her mouth, happily munching on it.
"You just… Became interested?" the brunette replied, shooting another question to Haruka who was sitting a little diagonally from her on the other side of the table.
"Yeah, that's the word." Mizuki mumbled softly as she chewed on another French fry from her tray.

Lunchtime, as always was a good time for all of the friends, seeing as some had a lot of classes together, and some didn't. Haruka, for instance, did have her first period with her brother, Haruko, but didn't have any others with him, and for that matter he had stayed home sick today with a mild fever.  But for now while waiting for the rest of the gang to meet up, the girls already sitting at the table were talking about Haruka's "interest" with the new face from art class earlier.

"So… Was he cute?" the blonde to Abi's left asked, a small, teasing smile playing on her soft, pink lips as one of her elbows was propped up on the table, her chin resting in her hand gently. Ino was always infatuated with love and now as a junior also had her role in her own love life.
In earlier years she was always a good friend, sometimes a bit nosy and loud, but very sweet and caring when she wanted to or when someone needed comforting. Not to mention that she used to constantly try and hook all her friends up with cute boys she was positive would steal their hearts. Sadly, the rest weren't all that interested in it at times, though she had brought together a few couples in the past.

But now her main target and focus was on Haruka.
Had that being said, Haruka's cheeks were now dusted with a light pink color, "I-I guess… so," she stuttered softly, "I mean… Well, he had this amazing, blazing red hair and the coolest of eyes!" she exclaimed before realizing of her chattering and blushed once more, becoming a bit quiet again.

The blonde threw a sufficient and obviously happy grin at her reply, "You never know, Haruka. M-Maybe he's that s-special guy you've been looking for…" another voice rang out, a more quiet and gentle one, coming from another girl next to Abi. "Oh like you haven't found the perfect guy, Hinata!" Ino teased back with a smile creeping back up, referring to a certain blonde. "W-Wh-What..?!"

Haruka felt herself getting lost in the conversation as the two retorted back at each other, while Mizuki continued to eat her lunch quietly to herself, her eyes closed as the conversation between the two friends raged on.  It wasn't until two hands were clasped to the dark haired girl's shoulders, making her jump and blush a little. "Hey now, don't tell me you're arguing over me again!"

Mizuki sighed lightly at her brother's comment as her sibling took a seat beside her, giving her a hug and attempted to ruffle her hair before being stopped by her calm, yet hard grasp on his wrist. A familiar dark haired boy, whose hair absentmindedly reminded everyone of a duck's butt also came behind the brunette as she tilted her head up to look at him with a bored look on her face as she held a single stick of pocky to her lips.
Once more, Haruka felt a little left out, it was just getting to their junior year and she hadn't even thought about the consideration Ino had told her about, something to do with another nice boy from her algebra class or something. And yet now she almost regretted it, though she knew Hinata's words from before weren't exactly correct… there was still something that sort of told her that maybe she was right in fact.

"Hey. Just try and give us a name tomorrow if you can, and then we'll see," Mizuki commented softly, giving her best friend a warm smile.

***  

Like Mizuki had said, Haruka had arrived back to art class the next day, written on the board was instructing the students to finish their projects and turn them in by the end of the period. She already noticed the redhead from the day before sitting in the same seat from before as a few students already cluttered in the room around the tables.
She passed by once more to head to her own table, next to the counter and window still as she pulled the sketch back out once more, not exactly sure what to do now since she was finished.


Halfway into the class period she was now bored out of her mind, as she sat beside her finished drawing, colored lightly with her colored pencils in a lavender and soft green for the stem. And now… maybe she could get a name.
Biting her lip for a moment she flickered her eyes up to the man, who seemed to still be sketching away with his work, his eyes focused and glinting gently. With a small sigh she finally got up, carefully walking over, the talking and laughter echoing in the background as she found herself now in front of him.

When his blue-green eyes that she had descripted as "cool" glanced up to meet her own, she almost regretted coming here and wanted to go back. But being herself she'd finish what she started, "I was… wondering what you were, uh, drawing…" she stated softly,  her cheeks flaring a light pink as he blinked softly to her, "You look really focused on it, and you must be working really hard-".
Her sentence came to a halt as she watched his lips twitch up gently to a small smile, almost welcoming and dare she say, enchanting.

She felt her cheeks grow even hotter at this as he soon replied, allowing her to hear his soft, smooth, yet quiet and deep voice for the first time.

"I guess you could call it still life," he replied softly. "I had to leave when the class was over and when I got back home had to just try and remember the breathtaking image I was drawing earlier that day. But… if you'd like to see it, I  hope you're not intimidated or anything," he continued, making her raise a silent brow gently.

"But the drawing, is of you."