The Art Of Love / l.h ✔️

2

~Fae's POV~

"Hey, stupid." One of my best friends, Maria, chirps at me once I reach her, sitting down with her at the lunch table. I rolled my eyes but couldn't stop myself from smiling, scooting my chair in underneath the table. I knew I wasn't stupid, just like she knew I wasn't stupid. She just liked to tease me and I knew that well by now. We'd been friends for six years now, after all.

"Hi." I smiled, setting my lunch tray down in front of me. It was only Maria and I at the moment, but I had no doubt that Tracy and Josh would be here soon, our other friends. "How was your summer?" Maria asked curiously, all while viciously ripping open a bag of chips. I smiled in amusement and shrugged my shoulders, taking a much calmer approach in opening my own bag. "It was nice." I answered honestly. However, because this was Maria, she perked up in excitement. "Really? What did you do?" She asked, probably having the idea that I had actually gone places with people and done things to make memories like all the other teenagers. I felt like I was the only one who didn't take part in that type of lifestyle.

"Nothing." I admitted, causing her to slouch back into her seat as she sent me a look of disappointment.

"Really, now? You've got to start getting out more." She sighed, rolling her eyes at me. I just frowned, eating a chip. "To do what?" I sighed, raising an unimpressed brow at her. I left my house, obviously, but almost never did I leave the house just because I wanted to go have fun. Especially not during the summer. For me, summers were the absolute worst. Something about that heat always brought the seasonal depression in hard. I'd grown to hate the summer. I had nobody to hang out with and nothing to do because Tracy, Josh and Maria were always away during the summer, just like everyone else.

"Um, maybe to stop being such a little stick in the mud and have some fun?" She scoffed, shaking her head. I sent her a look, feeling a little bit offended. "I'm not a stick in the mud." I denied, frowning deeply. "And besides," I started, huffing. "How do you know I'm not having fun? You don't have to spend a bunch of money and go places just to have fun." I pointed out, crossing my arms over my chest. She snorted and shook her head, chomping on her chips. "You can't fool me. You've never even left the state, dude. All you do is sit in your room and read, or watch TV, or listen to music." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey!" I frowned, furrowing my brows. "I draw too." I said defensively, earning a simple snort from her. "Trust me, I know. I've seen them, and they're amazing. Really, Fae, you're so talented, but you draw every single day. Literally, every day. You hardly ever skip even a day! How don't you get bored of it?" She asked, huffing.

A smile graced my lips. "Because I love it. It makes me happy. Why wouldn't I do it every day?" I answered, cocking my head to the side. For a moment, she just stared at me and frowned. "You need help. Some sort of fun expert would be nice." She sighed out in disappointment, shaking her head as she popped a chip into her mouth.

All of the sudden, Josh and Tracy came stalking up, Josh's tray being dropped beside mine while Tracy dropped hers beside Maria. "I heard the word fun expert and I'm here, ready for duty." Josh said, glancing over at me. Maria perked up and she grinned. "Yes! Okay, let's settle something." She decided, leaning towards me far too closely. "Is Fae a stick in the mud?" She asked, cocking a brow up seriously while she eyed him. She really was serious about this, for some reason.

Josh paused and looked down at me, humming. "Yes. I mean, who wears sweaters and a jacket, but not pants?" He scoffed, shaking his head. "Plus, some of your clothes look like a grandma's closet." He confessed, causing me to scowl. "You mean carpet, not closet." Maria corrected, frowning. Josh paused. "Hm, that too, actually." He muttered thoughtfully, nodding his head.