Maybe.
Laura's POV:
I'm late. I look at the time on my watch and sigh.
8:05
Maybe my terrible first impression of 'hanging out' will be enough to drive Carmilla away. Maybe she won't even be at the gallery anymore. I pull into the parking lot and park. I contemplate calling Carmilla to ask where she is until I see a girl slumped against the gallery steps with a sketch pad in hand.
Must be her.
I walk out of the car locking the doors behind me. Walking towards the steps she doesn't seem to notice me, so I take the time to observe her.
Dressed in all black, her lazy curls falling down the sides of her shoulders. Her facial expression was hard and concentrated on the sketch pad before her. She looked.. warm? The light from the posts of the gallery was hitting her face just right. The shadow shades in her cheekbones and her lips are perfectly outlined for my view.
I finally reach her and wave my hand at her. She picks her head up from the sketchpad and rips her headphones out.
"H-hey" I say feeling the cold air breezing against my face. Everything felt cold, my hands especially.
"Hey you." She smiles.
"Sorry I'm late I had to.. um." I hadn't really thought of a reason to be late. I play with my hands trying to warm them and come up with an excuse until she laughs.
"Don't worry about it. I made my time here useful." She says gesturing to her sketch pad. I tilt my head to look at it but she closes it.
"Uh-uh. It's a secret." she smiles widely and I nod with a small smile.
"Want to walk to the nearest coffee shop?" She says placing her stuff in her bag and standing before me.
"S-sure." I say raising my hands up to my mouth and blowing warm air into them. I place my hands in my jean pockets to try and conceal the warmth but it doesn't last long.
"You cold creampuff?" She says looking at my hands.
"No." Yes.
She shakes her head and pulls a pair of gloves out of her bag and hands them to me. I look at her.
"C'mon. I don't bite" she says shaking the gloves in my face. I take them and send her a friendly smile as a thank you.
"My jacket, now my gloves. You know at this rate I'll have you wearing all my clothes in no time." She sends me a wink and begins walking ahead of me.
I feel my cheeks heat up as I walk after her. She's really gotta stop this.
A comfortable silence falls over us as we reach the coffee shop ordering our coffee and taking a seat.
Sitting across from each other we sip our coffee in silence. I wonder what she's thinking.
She pulls out her sketch pad again and sits back in her seat picking her feet up till they are on the front of her chair. Her knees, close to her chest, form an easel in her lap as she places her sketch pad against her thighs. I give her a confused look but choose to ignore it.
"So" she says placing her pencil against her lips. "Tell me about yourself, Laura." She looks at me amused and begins placing her pencil on her paper.
What could I say.
"There's um, not much to say." I take a sip of my coffee. Silence falls over us again as she sketches away. At this rate they'll definitely never hang out again. There was a question lingering in the back of my mind since the night started. I wanted to break the silence but was I willing to disturb Carmilla's concentration? My mouth seemed to work faster than my mind.
"Why did you bring me here?" Carmilla's faces snaps up from her sketch pad and I feel my face heat up. That came out wrong.
"I-I mean, what made you want to hang out with me?" Smooth Laura, real smooth.
Carmilla smiles trying not to laugh at my question.
"A pretty girl like me can't be friends with a pretty girl like you?" She says with curiosity and sarcasm hidden in her smile. I rub my hands together under the table. The gloves were bringing my hands too much warmth due to the heat of the moment causing my palms to sweat, so I take them off and place them on the table.
"It's not that it's just.." I trail off looking at her concentrated face. Her nose was scrunched up and the tip of her tongue threatened to dart out of her slightly parted lips. It was kind of cute.
"It's just?" Carmilla repeats without taking her eyes off the paper before her. I shake my head to bring myself back into the conversation.
"I'm not exactly a 'people' person and you seem so.."
"Confident?" She smiles finally looking up from her drawing.
"Social." I correct her. She laughs at this.
"Hardly." She says taking a sip of her coffee and going back to her drawing. I send her another confused look, and although she can't see it she explains anyways.
"I'm no where near a 'people' person sweetheart. I can hardly stand them."
I look at my hands with more confusion. I don't believe that for a second.
"Then why me?" I say not removing my gaze from my hands. I hear her shift in her seat.
"Tell me something, Laura," she says emphasizing the L in my name and ignoring the question. I nod now looking at her and she places her elbows on the table, leaning forward on it. Her face now inches away from mine. I gulp at the sudden lack of distance, tensing up and sitting straight as she continues. "Why not you?" She raises an eyebrow and I slump in my seat.
"That's not fair. That's answering a question with a question." I pout a little. Force of habit.
"You're the one who started with the questions, cupcake. I wasn't aware there were rules to our conversation." She laughs and falls back in her seat, continuing to draw.
"It's just.. I'm not good company. I don't really talk much and-"
"Maybe that should change." She interrupts me. I fidget with my fingers.
It can't change. It's the easiest way to shut people away. It was the easiest way to avoid having to talk about what's going on with her health, life, and past.
Carmilla keeps looking up from her sketch pad at me then back at the sketch pad.
"So you're a mystery, huh?" She says placing the pencil against her lips again. A curious grin shows her beautifully whitened teeth.
"I wouldn't say that exactly." I just preferred to stay to myself.
"Then talk to me." She looks back at her drawing and tilts her head.
"Go on. Enlighten me."
I sigh looking at the clock. It was almost 10 and I had class tomorrow. A perfectly valid excuse.
"Don't you think it's getting late?" I say trying to make my way out of the conversation. She sighs.
"Got a bed time or something?" She teases and I frown with a little frustration.
"No. Just class."
"Right right. Wouldn't wanna be late to English twice in a row, huh?"
If she knew that being late the first day was out of my control I could almost guarantee she wouldn't have made that joke.
"Right." I say with a stern face ignoring her sarcasm. I begin to stand from my seat.
Carmilla sighs and closes her sketchpad carrying it in her hands as we grab our coffee and walk back to the gallery.
"You know, you don't have to walk me. I can handle it."
"I'm sure you can cupcake, but my car's actually parked around the corner of the gallery." She smirks at me as I feel my face heat up with embarrassment.
"Oh. sorry."
Carmilla shrugs as we walk side by side.
We reach the parking lot and she walks me all the way to my car for some odd reason.
"Well. Thank you, for the coffee." I fumble with my keys trying to unlock my car door. "And walking me to my car?" I say questionably.
"Anytime." She opens her sketch pad and rips out her newest creation from it.
"You realize this isn't over right?"
I frown and look at her with confusion.
"I'm a psychology major remember? Meaning you and the mystery behind your mind will not go unsolved. At least, not while I'm around." She folds the paper she sketched on and places it in my hands.
"Keep the gloves. It might be cold again tomorrow." She smiles. "See you in class, cutie." She turns around and walks away.
Once she's around the corner I feel the tension in my shoulders unwind and I can breathe easy again. I get in my car and sit in silence for a moment remembering the paper she handed me. I unfold it only to reveal the one thing I didn't expect.
It's a sketch of me..
I look at it carfully. She was a good artist. I smile at it until I feel a sinking feeling in my stomach as reality hits me.
This is going to be.. painful.. yet.. maybe not..