Denmarc could hear a voice behind him. It was faint and weak in his jewel-studded ears. He tucked a piece of his unnaturally 'red' hair and continued.

"D--m--c..." The faint voice spoke, almost clear enough to make out as a word. But Marc didn't listen, he tuned it out and sketched lightly on the white felt paper in his notebook.

"M--ki-..." The word changed, but it was a bit more clear in the empty classroom.

"Denmarc!" Poppi said, her brow furrowed and her eyes in deep slants. Her lips were in a scowl before she sighed in relief.

"I knew you were blind but fucking deaf too? Jesus Cheesecake." She rolled her eyes, chuckling a small laugh through her smile. “Class ended half an hour ago, can we pleeeease leave already?” Poppi whines, she pushes back her own strawberry-blonde pink hair.

“Why didn’t you leave without me earlier?” He retorts, not looking up to see his girlfriend’s reddened face.

“So I waited for nothing?” Poppi says in betrayal, sadly looking at Marc with her crystaled sapphire eyes.

“I guess…” Denmarc whispers, not paying attention again. He turns back to the white felt paper and puts his graphite pencil back on the sheet.

“Fiiine… I’ll go on home, and I’ll call you later too~” She says in a singing tone. Her voice is sweet but it has a bitter undertone. Denmarc looks up to her as she exits the classroom. Her purple overalls half hidden under her mid-length hair. She holds her satchel at one side, you can tell without even looking at her face she was upset.

A small voice hums from the back of the now empty classroom, loud enough to be heard but you quiet to make out.

The song's in an alto hum, bright and cheerful sounding. Small taps on the buildings traditional wood floor make their way down over to Denmarc. Small fawn curls bounce with every tap.

"What's that?" The small voice questions.

"Who. It's a person…"

"But who are they?"

"Someone…Special. Important." Marc answers, not looking up to see the small voices face.

"Your art's pretty!" The small voice persist, louder now. Denmark finally looks up into the small voices shiny lime and forest green eyes.

It's a boy; but the smooth sound and rhythm in his voice; the way he spoke, it was enough to know that much.

He smiled at Denmarc, his freckled cheeks with soft pink

"Thanks," Marc smiles back. He glances up and down at the boy's thin waist, then peers back up to see a bright red dance across the boy's cheeks.

"I should head home…" He says, shyly looking down at his feet and fidgeting with his fingers. "Good luck...I hope whoever this drawing is of likes it.

"Bye, Denmarc!" He waves, smiling. "Sayonara... pretty boy."

--

A small piece of Byzantium hair falls over Denmarc's icy blue eyes. He sighs, sketching a bit of eyes on the drawing he's making. He scowls at it slightly, pulling at his socks with a bittersweet eye roll.

He slipped the sock off, placing it in the creek. He looked up to the bridge above him, closing his eyes to sigh again, in a half-yawn.

"Marc?" Poppi called down to him. She held a bag with a soft bread in her arm, and another girl walked behind her. She was too far to make out, but he could see her silhouette barely without glasses or contacts.

"Marc!" Another voice calls out from behind him. Poppi looks up, causing Marc's eyes to gaze up.

"Poppi! Hey, perfect timing! Huh?"

Charli waved, winking a brown eye closed. Black hair fell in his face as a wide grin crept across his cheeks.

Denmarc closed the sketchbook, sighing as Charli almost slips on the incline on his way down to the river.

"No, Char. Not perfect timing. I was just about to leave.

"Oh come on, il mio amore. Stay a little longer!" Charli's eyes squint as he grins again.

"No, Charli, I'm leaving," He retorts, "and stop doing that stupid grin." He smiles a bit under clenched teeth.

"We should go too." The girl next to Poppi remarks.

"Maybe."

"Hey! Marc! Char! I'll uhhh, I'll see you guys tomorrow, alright? I love ya!!"

"Okay, now let'z go! ¡Vamos!"

Poppi's friend pulled her away, leaving just Marc and Charli on the riverbank.

Marc steps away, leaving Charli forced to chase after him. His hair flows in the wind and sunlight bounces off his green iris.

"Markie! Wait up!" He calls, huffing a bit after his unnecessary jog. "Lemme see the book~!" He smirks, his tongue sticks out a bit as he smiles.

"Only what I'm working on now, deal?"

"Uh-huh, uh-huh! Deal!" He nods vigorously, shaking his head and letting dark curls bounce in the warm afternoon air.

Marc pulls his sketchbook back out, his fingertips tracing the edges of the page lightly so they don't get cut; he flips through the pages with ease, knowing exactly how many pages he needed to go through.

Charli stares in awe, his pursed lips curving gently, until they're a wide, toothy grin.

"Awwwwh, Markieee!! I think I know who this is! You've finally started!!" Charli ruffles his best friend's hair, kissing his cheek platonically. "She's perfecto! Mio Amico!!"

"Ah… thanks, But I still have work to do." Marc laughs nervously, smiling down at the drawing.

"Nonsense!! She's amazing, you're amazing!! Mwah!" Charli kisses his fingers resembling an "O" shape. Letting them loosen in the warm September air.

"Gotta be on my way then, Amico. See ya later, Markie!" He pats Marc's shoulder, turning away after handing the sketchbook back. "We're still on for Friday, yeah?"

Marc laughed a little. Only a little. "Why the fuck would we not be?"

"Just checking!!" Charli yells back, making his voice travel easier over the newly found distance between the two.

Why the fuck would we not be?