“Mel, what do I do?! Tell me what to do!” Ryan shook his friend rather aggressively, swaying her back and forth as they stood in line to buy some chicken sandwiches for lunch. “Mel!!!”

Mel could only sigh, and suppress her laugh, simply because it wasn’t the time for it. “I warned you before,” she mumbled. “You’re a bit much sometimes.”

“But—But! He started crying, Mel! I didn’t say anything mean, not like he does! I was just bantering a bit, teasing him because he teased me about the way I eat my croissant, but then, he just snapped! Tears in his eyes, about to explode—snapped! I don’t understand?! I thought we were getting along better since we went to that café!” 

“Ryan,” Mel whispered, but even though he asked her for advice, he couldn’t even wait for her to say anything.

With his hand clenched into a self-assured fist, he yelled all the louder: “I should talk to him, again! When people cry, they want to be cheered up! I should bring him sweets, and stuff, right?!”

“Ryan, this is Elias we’re talking about here. When he tells you to shut up and leave him alone, I think he means it.” 

“But—“

“Just leave it, Ryan. You’ll find someone better to obsess over, someone who won’t be mean to you, and then you’ll have forgotten all about him.” 

“No way! That’s impossible!” The way he so quickly admitted to it, even with so many people surrounding them in the cafeteria, forced a laugh out of Mel’s throat. There was something adorable about Ryan’s endless resolve, and the honesty that came with it. 

“Unless …” Ryan’s confidence was a never-ending pendulum, swinging back and forth harder and harder. “Did I do something bad … ? He told me not to look at his painting, but I did, anyway, and maybe that—maybe I shouldn’t have, and he got upset, or embarrassed, or … Dammit! I am an idiot! I need to go and apologize!” 

Already, Ryan made attempts at running off, out of their line they’d already waited in for more then seven minutes. But Mel wasn’t about to let it slide, and she snatched him right back by the collar of his flannel, forcing him back into line.

“Give him some time alone, Ryan, jeez,” she sighed. “Give it some time, and then, you can try again.”

“You—You mean it?!” Ryan’s eyes grew into oblivion, glittering in their absurdly bright green.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Since Ryan had already set his mind on Elias, there was no way she could convince him to stop, and any of her real advice was going to enter through one ear, and leave right through the next, never actually being heard. 

Ryan only heard what he wanted to hear, and it was truly hopeless. 

For exactly one day, Ryan left Elias alone, but the very next morning, Ryan returned to the arts faculty with another coffee, and some chocolate bars he’d bought in a vending machine. 

And this time, he found Elias sitting atop the stairs outside of the faculty, thick clouds of his vape surrounding him all over. He stared down at the ground, and never even noticed Ryan approaching in tiptoeing, nervous steps. 

Ryan cleared his throat, and observed Elias in his handsome wool coat, paint-stained fingers scrolling through his phone. 

“H-Hey,” he whispered, approaching all the more, already lifting the snacks he’d brought up towards Elias’ face. “Some peace offerings?” His voice was a quiet, gentle peep, one he hoped wouldn’t ignite Eli’s wrath just yet. 

Elias lifted his gaze ever so slowly, but quickly jerked his head back down, just before their eyes had the chance to meet. And Ryan, in a gulp, allowed himself to sit beside Eli on the short staircase of three steps, placing Eli’s cappuccino right between him and Eli, followed by the chocolate bars and crunchy wafers. 

Puffing smoke out of his mouth, Elias simply stared, body stiff, silent, and incredibly hard to read. With dried paint all over his fingers, Ryan was sure he had worked all day the day before, holed up in that atelier once again. 

“Um—“ Ryan felt rather clueless as to how to proceed; as if Elias was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any given moment now. “I’m sorry if I—Did I say something wrong? I—“

Goosebumps covered Ryan all over when their fingers touched, ever so slightly in-between them, as Elias reached for his coffee, and one of the chocolates Ryan had offered up. They both jerked away all the quicker, their jackets tickling one another.

Only a few centimeters closer, and their shoulders could have hugged. But they didn’t, keeping an awkward distance between the two.

“So you like the crunchy ones,” Ryan mumbled, taking a mental note of every single thing Eli enjoyed. “I prefer the chewy ones. Oh, and cookies-and-cream flavor! It’s the best!”

With a rustling sound, Elias unwrapped his chocolate, and didn’t seem to listen to a single word of Ryan’s. “You better not make this a habit,” he grumbled. “Showing up here unannounced. I’ve seen you more than I’d like these past days.” 

“But you’re way less moody after a good coffee—!”

Immediately, Eli’s dark eyes glared right through Ryan, who turned pale and wished to disappear to nowhere, where he’d be safe from whatever murder plot went on in Elias’ head at the moment. 

“I—I mean,” Ryan stuttered. “You seem to enjoy the coffee a lot, so, so, maybe I should bring you one every day!”

In a loud sigh, Elias turned away, eyes rolling about. His finger, with a slight tremble, tugged at his turtleneck. “I’m getting a restraining order.”

“H-Hey!” Ryan chuckled, but panic flooded over him nonetheless — it was way too hard to know whether Eli was being sarcastic or not. “Y-You’re kidding, right? That’s a joke?” 

“Do you want to find out?” Eli grumbled, but he did sip on the coffee Ryan had brought him, making it entirely more, and more confusing! Ryan sighed, feeling all the more helpless, now, unsure of how to proceed and what to do. 

At least, Ryan thought, Eli seemed to be in a better mood today; good enough to tolerate Ryan sitting beside him on the stairs. 

That’s something, isn’t it?

Ryan caught himself staring at Elias’ perfect side profile, with a perfectly arched, adorable nose, and a soft jawline. With his curtain bangs perfectly curling around to shape his face, Ryan was completely taken aback by it all. 

How could someone be so flawless? Perhaps all of Eli’s flaws hid in his character, granting him such an ethereal outer look. Like a wicked trap, and Ryan had walked right into it, now stuck in the midst of Eli’s murderous web. 

But Ryan wouldn’t want it any other way. He stared, and stared, enjoyed watching Eli drink the coffee, and eat the chocolate as he stared on, trying his hardest to ignore Ryan’s existence beside him.

Both of them lost in their own thoughts, simply existing next to one another.

It was incredible, Ryan thought.

Only it didn’t last as long as Ryan would have liked, when they were both ripped out of their thoughts by a loud, excited squeak, and fingers that reached for Ryan, pulling them up onto his feet.

“You’re perfect!” a girl he’d never seen before squeaked, hands wrapped around his upper arm, already wanting to drag him into the arts faculty building. 

Eli didn’t react, kept on staring onwards and warming his hands on his coffee. 

“Uh … thanks?” Ryan mumbled in a confusion as the girl waved more of her classmates closer, and all their eyes grew, and they all pushed Ryan closer towards the entrance. “H-Hold on—!” 

I want to stay with Eli!!!

Elias, who’d now gotten up onto his feet in a grumble, throwing his emptied coffee into a bin nearby. As he turned, Ryan begged for help with his eyes, but Eli, of course, couldn’t have cared less. 

“Our model for today’s live drawing class canceled! Apparently he got sick,” the girl announced, and immediately, all color left Ryan’s face. 

“Huh?”

“Are you free right now?” the girl giddily asked, without even truly explaining what she meant.

“Uh—Uh, well, I have a lecture at noon, and—“

“Awesome! You’ll sit for our life drawing class, then? You’ll be perfect practice!”

“Huh?! Hold—Hold on! Life drawing? Like—Like—“ 

“We need a muse for class!” she responded.

“But—But—“ 

Holy crap.

Elias’ eyes dug through him from the side, piercing him in endless, prickling needles. They practically screamed at Ryan: Don’t you dare accept. 

But with how pushy the girls were, and how impossible it was to get even a single word in, Ryan couldn’t.

And now, knowing Eli was in this very life drawing class, as well, Ryan didn’t have the heart to decline the favor. 

If only he’d realized beforehand, and truly thought it through, he would have known what it meant to model for a life drawing class.