their thoughts on love

enigmatic eyes

Silas walked up behind her and grabbed the cup from the shelf for her. "You seemed like you needed some help."

She looked up at him and smiled. "That's really nice of you... but I needed the white plastic cup that should already have some paint on it. I can't go around damaging more cups, can I?"

His warm smile turned a little more awkward, and he had to go onto his toes to reach the cup. "This one?"

She received it from his hands, "Mhm, thank you."

Noah moved over to fill it in the kitchen sink as Silas watched quietly. The way she was so delicate with everything, and the way she seemed so happy, it made him feel the same as she did, even though he hated to paint himself. For some reason though, as she dipped her paintbrush in the watercolor palette she had left on the counter and started to apply it to the paper, he felt her joy in each stroke of her paintbrush.

"What are you painting?"

She seemed to snap back to reality, jumping at the sound of his voice. "Ah, um, you see..."

He took a few steps to see what she was doing, and although she seemed as if she wanted to keep it private, she remained motionless.

He looked on the paper, recognizing himself. His green eyes, his tan skin, his dark hair... He was flattered when he saw the way she portrayed him. More than flattered. More like blown away.

"It's uh-"

He looked back at her to see her face as red as the first time they met, when everyone had embarrassed her beyond belief. Was that really this serious to her? He tried to figure out why she was so flustered, looking back and forth from the paper to her.

"I'm sorry I used you as a model but... I just really like your features. I wish I could see them more closely so I can draw them better but I promise I can get better! I'm still working on-"

He put his hands on her shoulders, "Noah, slow down."

She sighed and dropped her head. "I'm sorry."

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong."
"But it isn't-"

"It's breathtaking. That sounds a little conceited since it is a drawing of me, doesn't it?"

She smiled and looked back down at her paper, "Maybe a little, but it's still appreciated."

A moment of silence passed before he spoke again. "But- No, I'm wrong, sorry."

She looked back up at him, "What were you going to say?"

"Everything is accurate, scarily accurate, except for right there." He pointed to underneath his eye on the painting. "I've always had a mark there, it's how my parents use to tell my twin and I apart."

"Oh..."
Noah went on her toes to see for herself, and he was right. Of course he was right, he always was.

"You have nice eyelashes."

His eyes looked away for a second as she continued to stare. When he looked back at her, she was now scanning the rest of his face.
He leaned down a bit to be closer to her and she brushed her fingers gently along his cheeks.

"I wish I could study your face. It's so... detailed. So easy to stare at. And-" She brought her eyes up to his again. "Your eyes are so enigmatic."

The corner of his lips curled into a sly smile, "Oh, Enigmatic? That's a pretty fancy word for you. Have you been reading more?"

She moved her hand off his face in embarrassment. "I know more than you know."
When he gave her a look she finally admitted that she had been looking up words to describe facial features more accurately.

Much to her surprise he took her hand and put it on the side of his face. "Silas, my hands are covered in paint."

"That didn't stop you before." She frowned as he laughed quietly to himself. "Didn't you say you wanted to see my face more closely anyway?"