[ It's not a long way between the science building and the art wing of the main building, and Z sends silent thanks for the fact that he's not in class right now, able to just jump out - nevermind the grading he was doing - and make his way to the art studios.
He finds Charlie easily. She's alone in one of the studios, sunlight streaming in from the windows to outline her as she sits with her back to him. There's the sound of charcoal to paper, rhythmical and intense, and Z takes a moment to look at her and feel absolutely wrong for how much he wants to touch her. He allows himself the guilt for all of his thoughts, just for that moment, before squaring his shoulders and walking forward.
He puts a hand on her shoulder, softly, not wanting to ruin whatever she's doing by startling her too bad. ] Hey.
[ He crouches, giving her the height advantage as he looks up at her. ]
That portrait's amazing. You might have made me better looking than I am, though. [ He smiles, a little bashfully. ]
[ Charlie's never really been the seductress type. She doesn't usually think that tempting a man into something he probably shouldn't do because she is bored, is fun. Manipulating someone is not on the top of her turn-on list. But there's something about Z, something that makes her want to tempt him, to play Seduce the Teacher.
Except it's not a game. And he seems like a good guy, one that actually would feel bad about sleeping with a student. So maybe she should stop. Yet, there she is, thinking about him, sketching him and then sending him the portrait.
She's got one headphone tucked in her ear so he doesn't startle her, she looks back at him before he crouches. Plucking the other ear phone out, she tucks her hair behind her ears and rolls her eyes with a smirk.]
[ The thing is - if he was to do this, if he was not reading the signs wrong, he'd do it of his own accord. Sure, she's flirting, but so is he; he's not pushing her away at every turn. He's encouraging it, and if he was a better man, he wouldn't.
And maybe he'd feel guilty, but he can't think he'd regret any of it. Pulling his phone out, he goes back to the picture she sent him, and turns the phone to her, raising an eyebrow. ]
[ That's the thing, he's not acting like he's uninterested, he's not setting boundaries or telling her to keep them so she keeps pushing him, toeing that line further and further.]
Yes. [ She turns on the stool to face him a bit.] Is that so bad?
[ When she turns, it's all too easy for his free hand to drop on her knee. He licks his lips, shaking his head. ]
No. It's not. [ It should be, but it isn't. And he knows he shouldn't, but he wants her, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. There's a tiny smile on his face as he looks up at her. ] But I feel like I should give you better material to work with.
[ And with that, he stands back up again, going towards the small stand he guesses models sit on. He steps up to it, drops his shirt to the floor, and sits on the stool set up there. It took all of his self-control not to lean up and kiss Charlie, but there's a part of him that likes the tension, the look in Charlie's eyes. ]
[ He tells her then, that he should give her better material to work with and before she can ask what he means he's getting on the model's pedestal and pulling off his shirt. Blinking, she probably looks surprised before she laughs.]
Okay. Challenge accepted. [ She moves to flip the page of her sketch book before scooting her stool a little closer and tucking the pad on her lap so she can start sketching him.
She does her thing, starting out with a rough outline of his figure before she'll get into a more detailed sketch.]
[ He's not very good at doing that, always fidgeting, but he'll give it a try anyway. He sits there, shirtless and wishing he'd gone to the gym beforehand, leaning back on one hand as he looks at her with his eyes unwavering. ]
No, you can talk, [ She looks up at him, setting the sketch pad on her easel now that she's got a very rough sketch of his body, going over it with more detail. Her eyes flit back and forth between the sketch and him, her mouth twisting in amusement--]
Not good at holding still then? Aren't teachers supposed to be the opposite?
[ He smiles, his body surprisingly tense - he's not quite used to this kind of attention, not even in class. Students don't look at him to work out the planes and nooks of his body. ]
I was diagnosed with ADD when I was a kid. Unsurprising, really. I've been on meds most of my life, allows me to focus and be able to work. Although my code is much better when I'm off my meds. More creative.
No kidding, [ she says beneath her breath, as she looks at him appraisingly.
She's almost surprised he's sharing this much but she forgets that this school isn't like most, the teachers are more open. And she likes that better than the school she went to back home.]
Code? [ An eyebrow lifts as she looks up at him and she adjusts her glasses.] So are you a hacker or something? [ It's meant as a tease, she just doesn't know that she's very close to hitting the mark when she asks it.]
Or something. [ He chuckles, looking down for a moment. ] I was. Not anymore.
[ It's only partly a lie. He's still doing some hacking, but more as a hobby than as a career. He's feeling... a bit burnt by the world of hacking, right now. ]
Before you ask, no, I won't hack into the school system to change anyone's grade. [ He raises an eyebrow, only teasing. ]
I wasn't going to ask-- [ she grins, erasing one of the lines before looking back at him.] I make good grades for the most part anyways. [ She chews on the end of the pencil for a moment before she looks at him.]
So were you one of like totally tubular, cyber punks. [ She puts on a surfer voice for those last few words before looking back down at her sketch pad.]
I told my brother he should do more computer stuff but he's more interested in snowboarding.
Tubular? [ He laughs, changing his pose, unable to hold it as she says that. ] Really?
[ When he sobers up, he shakes his head, giving her a hang loose hand sign. ] I'm afraid I'm not half as cool as you might think. It's more about all-nighters fueled by adrenaline and caffeine, too many hard drives I've had to burn in the microwave, and unhealthy paranoia. It's not a life I'd recommend your brother.
I didn't mean for him to be a hacker or some kind of Anonymous guy, just have more interest in something he can do for a living. [ She pauses for a moment, smiling to herself a little.]
Which I now see the irony in because what I do... [ An artist telling a snowboarder what to do.]
I don't know, honestly. I don't really think about "my career"-- [ she uses her free hand to do air quotes before she bites her lip and looks down at the paper.] Lift your chin a little?
[ She shakes her head gently.] I'd probably be happy to just work at a book store forever, honestly. That's where I worked back home. An antique book store.
[ He lifts his chin when he's asked, a smile on his lips. He's always been ridiculously ambitious, so it's hard for him to imagine wanting a quiet, easy job, but that's not his place to comment on. He's not her counselor.
He's a teacher that, in any other school, would absolutely get fired if he was caught where he is right now. ]
Maybe you could do both. Just. Keep doing what makes you happy. Especially now, you know? It's the best time for it.
[ He frowns at himself. ]
Shit, I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound patronizing or anything.
[ She offers him a bit of a smile and a shrug, sketching furiously for a moment before rubbing out a few of the lines with her fingers.] I'm used to it.
[ Keeping her attention on the art for a moment, she doesn't look up.] People don't understand why I don't... why I am that way, I guess. [ Charlie doesn't. Of course, it probably has to do with the fact that she feels like life is fleeting.] I just think that life is too short to... waste it. [ Her mother was murdered in her mid-thirties and Charlie wondered if her mother would have regretted the choices she made, the life she'd lived.]
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He finds Charlie easily. She's alone in one of the studios, sunlight streaming in from the windows to outline her as she sits with her back to him. There's the sound of charcoal to paper, rhythmical and intense, and Z takes a moment to look at her and feel absolutely wrong for how much he wants to touch her. He allows himself the guilt for all of his thoughts, just for that moment, before squaring his shoulders and walking forward.
He puts a hand on her shoulder, softly, not wanting to ruin whatever she's doing by startling her too bad. ] Hey.
[ He crouches, giving her the height advantage as he looks up at her. ]
That portrait's amazing. You might have made me better looking than I am, though. [ He smiles, a little bashfully. ]
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Except it's not a game. And he seems like a good guy, one that actually would feel bad about sleeping with a student. So maybe she should stop. Yet, there she is, thinking about him, sketching him and then sending him the portrait.
She's got one headphone tucked in her ear so he doesn't startle her, she looks back at him before he crouches. Plucking the other ear phone out, she tucks her hair behind her ears and rolls her eyes with a smirk.]
That's not true and you know it.
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And maybe he'd feel guilty, but he can't think he'd regret any of it. Pulling his phone out, he goes back to the picture she sent him, and turns the phone to her, raising an eyebrow. ]
Is that really how you see me?
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Yes. [ She turns on the stool to face him a bit.] Is that so bad?
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No. It's not. [ It should be, but it isn't. And he knows he shouldn't, but he wants her, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. There's a tiny smile on his face as he looks up at her. ] But I feel like I should give you better material to work with.
[ And with that, he stands back up again, going towards the small stand he guesses models sit on. He steps up to it, drops his shirt to the floor, and sits on the stool set up there. It took all of his self-control not to lean up and kiss Charlie, but there's a part of him that likes the tension, the look in Charlie's eyes. ]
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Okay. Challenge accepted. [ She moves to flip the page of her sketch book before scooting her stool a little closer and tucking the pad on her lap so she can start sketching him.
She does her thing, starting out with a rough outline of his figure before she'll get into a more detailed sketch.]
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[ He's not very good at doing that, always fidgeting, but he'll give it a try anyway. He sits there, shirtless and wishing he'd gone to the gym beforehand, leaning back on one hand as he looks at her with his eyes unwavering. ]
I should have brought my fidget cube.
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Not good at holding still then? Aren't teachers supposed to be the opposite?
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[ He smiles, his body surprisingly tense - he's not quite used to this kind of attention, not even in class. Students don't look at him to work out the planes and nooks of his body. ]
I was diagnosed with ADD when I was a kid. Unsurprising, really. I've been on meds most of my life, allows me to focus and be able to work. Although my code is much better when I'm off my meds. More creative.
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She's almost surprised he's sharing this much but she forgets that this school isn't like most, the teachers are more open. And she likes that better than the school she went to back home.]
Code? [ An eyebrow lifts as she looks up at him and she adjusts her glasses.] So are you a hacker or something? [ It's meant as a tease, she just doesn't know that she's very close to hitting the mark when she asks it.]
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[ It's only partly a lie. He's still doing some hacking, but more as a hobby than as a career. He's feeling... a bit burnt by the world of hacking, right now. ]
Before you ask, no, I won't hack into the school system to change anyone's grade. [ He raises an eyebrow, only teasing. ]
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So were you one of like totally tubular, cyber punks. [ She puts on a surfer voice for those last few words before looking back down at her sketch pad.]
I told my brother he should do more computer stuff but he's more interested in snowboarding.
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[ When he sobers up, he shakes his head, giving her a hang loose hand sign. ] I'm afraid I'm not half as cool as you might think. It's more about all-nighters fueled by adrenaline and caffeine, too many hard drives I've had to burn in the microwave, and unhealthy paranoia. It's not a life I'd recommend your brother.
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Which I now see the irony in because what I do... [ An artist telling a snowboarder what to do.]
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[ He bites his lip. ]
Maybe he just hasn't found what he wants to do, yet. You want to make a career out of your art, don't you?
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[ She shakes her head gently.] I'd probably be happy to just work at a book store forever, honestly. That's where I worked back home. An antique book store.
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He's a teacher that, in any other school, would absolutely get fired if he was caught where he is right now. ]
Maybe you could do both. Just. Keep doing what makes you happy. Especially now, you know? It's the best time for it.
[ He frowns at himself. ]
Shit, I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound patronizing or anything.
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[ Keeping her attention on the art for a moment, she doesn't look up.] People don't understand why I don't... why I am that way, I guess. [ Charlie doesn't. Of course, it probably has to do with the fact that she feels like life is fleeting.] I just think that life is too short to... waste it. [ Her mother was murdered in her mid-thirties and Charlie wondered if her mother would have regretted the choices she made, the life she'd lived.]
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[ His voice is soft, wondering. He can't imagine thinking education is a waste of time, but their lives have been obviously extremely different. ]
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[ Somehow, he worries about that. ]
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