LUA || CTH [on hold]

six / saturday

the school library was a place that calum took comfort in, a place he was able to receive the quiet he needed at times, to read, to think, to just sit. whatever he needed, the school library was always at his disposal, at least, from monday to friday. usually calum spent his weekends with michael, because calum didn't like to spend that time alone. but there were times, such as this weekend, where that wasn't possible, and calum couldn't find solace in his sacred library. those were the days he chose to spend at the art gallery.

calum wasn't particularly interested in art, but he could appreciate its beauty. he enjoyed watching others look at the art, and he enjoyed the silence. he never went there to read his novels though, he found the people to be a distraction. whenever calum visited the art gallery, he took it as his opportunity to peruse the local newspaper. he'd buy a coffee from the café right next door, grab the latest paper, and take a seat near the least interesting piece of art. he was never bothered.

until today.

"you are not as simple as they wanted you to be."

calum looked up from his paper, to find lua, standing in front of him, staring at the painting positioned directly above him.

he blinked a few times, as if what he was seeing wasn't real, "excuse me?"

she looked down at him momentarily, and gave him a brief smile, before returning her attention to the painting. she was looking at it with such focus, like she was trying to find something wrong with it, but coming up empty handed. he'd never seen someone pay such close attention to the art before. most people just gave the paintings a momentary glance before moving onto the next. sometimes a person would spend a little more time on one if they were trying to figure out what was going on in the painting. but it was never like this. lua was looking at this painting the way calum looked at her.

"the painting," she said finally, focusing on calum now, her eyes meeting his, "it's not as simple as everyone thinks."

"it isn't?"

calum had observed the painting once he entered the room, and he thought that it was quite boring, as paintings go. it was, after all, the reason he had decided to sit near it, so no one would bother him. he couldn't see what lua saw, and he found that upsetting.

"no," she confirmed, "it's not. it may not seem like much, but that's the whole point. silence opens you up, doesn't it?"

"uh, i guess?" calum mumbled, although he knew a lot more about silence -and both the good and bad it could do for a person- than he was letting on. nevertheless, in regards to the painting, calum had no idea as to what lua was trying to say, not to mention, he was still a little bit shocked that she was standing right in front of him, even talking to him about art and silence.

she chuckled, and sat beside him, not as close as he would have liked, but closer than he expected, considering he never expected lua to be there in the first place.

"anything interesting in the paper this morning?" she asked him, eyeing it skeptically.

"not particularly, but it's something to read." calum shrugged.

"do you come here often and read the paper, instead of looking at the art, discussing it?"

calum couldn't tell lua how much he would hate having to spark up a conversation with anyone in this place, with the exception of her. not that he was finding talking to her to be very easy.

"i have my own conversations."

she smirked, "with yourself?"

he shrugged, "that way i can cut the conversations short without being rude."

"of course. do you come here often then, to have your coffee, your paper, and your own conversations?"

calum smiled, "often enough."

"do you ever look at the art?"

"not really. i come here for silence. the white walls and open spaces have a calming effect."

lua nodded, "i can get that. me, i just like the art. and the people art seems to attract. you see all kinds here, i like that."

she was looking around the room as she spoke, watching the people around her, including calum, eyes fluttering from one person to the next. a child, around the age of six, caught her attention for the longest period of time. her eyes focused on the kid, and she watched as they stared up at one of the more brightly coloured pieces. their dad tried to get his child's attention by calling their name, but no matter how loud, the kid just wouldn't tear their focus away from the art. it was quite amazing to watch.

"do you like to paint?" calum asked.

"god no! i'm not very good at it, and that frustrates me. i prefer to just observe." she admitted.

"michael likes to draw," calum blurted out, before he remembered lua's connection to his best friend, "has he ever shown you?"

lua shook her head, "no. he did mention it once. i thought maybe we could come here together today, but then he told me about visiting his dad in evanston this weekend."

"yeah, well he's not really one to appreciate fine art, either." calum laughed, imagining michael in this pristine room with all of these paintings valued at prices calum couldn't even imagine.

lua smiled, "no i didn't think so. it is nice bumping into you though, even if you're not really here for the paintings."

nice. amazing was the word calum had in mind, but he'd never say that to lua. he didn't even see the point in looking at the paintings when she was right next to him. he wouldn't have cared if the room was completely covered in art. why would he stare at painted ceilings when he already knew that the most beautiful colour was in her eyes?

calum thought about cece, and how before she sat down next to him, he thought she was something other. once he actually spoke to her though, it became apparent that wasn't true. he thought of what cece had said about lua, how she might be more fucked up than him. he thought about that special feeling he felt when she was around, the space just outside of reality, and he felt it when she smiled at him.

calum thought about dr. eckels, and how he had explained to her that once he spoke to cece, he realized that she was a mere person, just like calum, or anyone else. he thought about the suggestion he had made afterwards, that maybe once he spoke to lua, he would uncover the same truth. but she was sitting next to him, and the moment they were sharing, felt nothing less than surreal.

"i guess i chose the right day to read the paper in a public place." calum joked.

"yes, i guess you did."

"what do they say? everything happens for a reason?"

"yes, i guess it does."

ゞ☆ᄿ彡

hope u enjoyed this first calua moment (yes that is their ship name) it's only gonna get better/worse from here kidz!!