The Executive & The Artist (H.S)

XX

THE studio was empty that day.

All the kids left a half hour ago and took Nat's spirit with them- swept it out right underneath their feet and out the door. And since the studio was empty that day and Niall took the day off to go to Liv's doctor's appointment and the kids left a half hour ago and took Nat's spirit with them, she was sitting on an old, paint-splattered sheet in the middle of the cement floor, staring at the ceiling.

It was a nice ceiling. The ceiling to that empty studio- it was a nice one. Carved with intricate shapes and swirls and miniature drawings that led her to believe that the builders of the falling-apart space were either primary school children or simply immature. That was one of the reasons why Nat bought the place so cheap- the other being that it was falling apart and violating so many building codes that she couldn't even say them all but Nat bought the place so cheap and it was empty that day anyway, that day she spent sitting on an old, paint-splattered sheet in the middle of the cement floor, staring at the ceiling.

It was a nice ceiling.

She meant to be painting- painting the artwork April ordered yesterday. The statuesque blonde had peered at Nat from over her sunglasses with narrowed green eyes as she said "I want it, like, burnt orange and with a bunch of patterns. Cause', like, I just broke up with Harry and we were living together so... yeah. Burnt orange."

April had a habit of bringing up her past with Harry whenever she saw fit. And Nat really just wanted to sit on an old, paint-splattered sheet in the middle of the cement floor of her falling-apart studio but April refused to oblige. Over and over Nat heard the words "Harry" and "together" and "whore". But maybe that last one was just her imagination.

The studio was empty that day until a couple loud, steady knocks rang through the space. And Nat still remembers that moment- it was so long ago but she still remembers that moment- when she looked down from the ceiling and felt him. He was still outside, but she knew that it was him because when she looked down from the ceiling, the world spun around her dizzily and the only steady thing in her line of sight were his dirty, slightly heeled Chelsea boots peeking out from underneath the crack between the door and the ground, the crack that made it extremely cold in the falling-apart studio.

And she still remembers that moment- it was so long ago but she still remembers the moment she knew.

Stunned, Nat opened her mouth without asking her mind for permission and said "come in" and wrapped her arms around her knees because that crack between the door and the ground made it extremely cold in the falling-apart studio.

She heard the door open, she felt the even colder air sweep in, she smelled his cologne and that was when she heard "and hippos are really really mean even though they look cuddly and they, like, eat you and they just look really cuddly  but they'll kill you Uncle Harry so don't go near them."

The pair entered the large space after hanging their coats on the hooks by the door before realizing just how atrociously cold it was in the space and putting them back on, Bea's blonde curls taken back into a plait and Harry's in a cute little man-bun Nat doesn't remember seeing before. He smiled when he saw her, then frowned when he saw how she was shivering and looking just a bit like rain. Bea payed no mind, though- she rushed up and said "Miss Nat oh gosh you have to listen to this so there's this boy in my class who ate glue! Actual, real glue and he didn't even puke it up or anything he just ate it and ew isn't that gross? You know what's really weird though? Okay I'll tell you. Hippos are really really mean even though they look nice so just don't go near them."

 Nat blinked a few times before her sentences processed before saying "oh." And that was where Harry stepped forward and said "you alright?" and Nat said "isn't the ceiling nice?" and Bea furrowed her eyebrows and said "so you aren't going to go cuddle hippos, right? You shouldn't- they're dangerous."