Ch 10 the art dweep and the popular girl

The walk to school was a boring one. With no one to talk to Lila often drowned out the silence with rock music. Occasionally she would hum the tune but she mostly got lost in her own thoughts. Once in a while she would stop to check herself out in a pocket mirror; after all, she was one of the most popular girls in school, got to look good for her fans. She was about to turn the corner when someone rammed into her. She stumbled backwards slightly, but she was able to keep her balance….but she was still pissed off.

"Hey, watch were you going!" She said harshly to the air as she rubbed her head to try and dull the pain from the impact.

She blinked and then she looked down to find the culprit sitting on his butt massaging his head from their collision. He was short for a guy, with bright red hair and pale alabaster skin. His fashion style was horridness and most of his clothes didn't even fit his small frame. Lying beside him was a large sketchbook now laid bare for the world to see…Lila briefly stole a look at the drawings and was duly impressed with the work inside the book….not that she would ever admit that out loud. She could describe the guy in a few words; small fry, art dweep, pathetic, weak, and utterly adorable.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" He said seafoam eyes staring up at her apologetically. His voice threw her off…his voice wasn't cute, it was damn sexy. She shook that thought away and scowled, she had a reputation to uphold, If Chloe found her hanging out with some art nerd she could kiss her popularity goodbye.

"Be more careful, Ariel! I could have gotten hurt you know." She said rudely before walking away not even bothering to help him pick up his things, even though she too was partially to blame for not paying attention to where she was going.

LINE BREAK

Besides the little hiccup in the morning everything else preceded as usual…same people, same compliments, same school, and the same popularity game. A few rumors here and there about how she was a bad person, some true most not, other rumors about how she was a goddesses walking amongst mortals, some over exaggerated claims and others flat out lies. To be truthfully honest it was all rather boring. It wasn't that she didn't like the attention quite the opposite she thrived from it, good or bad, but her daily routine was becoming too daily and mundane…more like a chore…

She was glad it was art class. She liked painting; it was a nice hobby, kept her mind off things. The class itself was alright…She only really liked the class because the teacher allowed them to use their phones for music and references, although in reality most of the students used it for more than just the intended learning purposes.

Right now they were practicing working with charcoal. She hated charcoal, she always smudged it and it always looked too blurry, always got her hand and arm covered with charcoal to, but she guessed it didn't really matter. They were to be paired up and the teacher would assign the pairs and give them a worksheet to do together and an assignment they would do separately, the assignment obviously being to create a drawing. Lila wasn't really paying attention.

"Lila and Nathanael." Lila sighed…hopefully this Nathanael guy could draw or at the very least actually paid attention to the PowerPoint slides the teacher created.

To be honest she didn't know most people's names….or at least didn't bother remembering them, but as fate would have it, it seems she already met the guy. Red hair, sea foam eyes, it was the boy from this morning….she was a little surprised to know he was in the same grade as her, she really thought he was a year younger….this misconception was largely due to the boy's height. She didn't bother mentioning what happened this morning. She just sat down and began working on her task, he did the same. It was a simple task, both of them could have done it individually…and technically they did. There was no communication between them, no attempt to communicate; they just sat beside each other as they completed the simple assignment. Once they both were done they pulled out their phones and began to mindlessly play games and check social media apps.

Lila stole a quick glance at the boy then looked around to make sure the teacher wasn't watching them. The teacher was grading papers and what not and the fact that both she and Nathanael were at the very last row gave Lila enough confidence to click on her Crunchyroll app. She plugged in her headphones and began watching the new reboot of Sailor moon. She always loved Sailor moon, it was her favorite show growing up, Sailor Mars, was her personal favorite Sailor scout. She heard a giggle…

"I didn't take you for an anime fan…" Nathanael whispered softly. Lila flushed…

"Tell anyone and I'll wreak you." She threatened. Nathanael just held his hands up in mock surrender.

"Who's your favorite?" He asked curiously and for some reason she replied.

"Mars."

For years she's kept her love for anime a secret….popular girls aren't weeabos….but because of that she's never been able to talk about her interest, she can't talk about her favorite characters and their arcs to anyone….So, she reasoned, because of this suppression she was desperately craving someone to talk to about this, to share this interest with…Nathanael would have to do.

"You watch anime….?" She quietly asked after a few seconds of silence passed by.

"Yeah." He replied bluntly and began doodling in his sketchbook.

"C-can you draw manga…?" She asked shyly as her eyes followed the delicate movements of his wrist…he smiled….Her heart skipped a beat…she's never seen a more radiant smile….He let out a good natured, mellifluous laugh.

"I do from time to time…Why…? Do you want me to draw you something?" He answered innocently. Lila pondered the question…

"Mmm….Could you….couldyoudrawmeasasaliorscout…." She mumbled.

"What…?" Lila repeated herself but she wasn't anymore audible the second time than she was the first. "Pardon…" Lila went red in the face…

"Me…Sailor scout…." Was; what Nathanael was able to hear. He smiled, who knew the notorious fox mistress was so shy and cute.

"Sure."

"R-really…"

"Yeah….why don't you describe how you want it to look like and I'll draw it for you…" Lila was about to respond happily when she caught eyes with Chloe's lanky, Sabrina…who was currently starring curiously at the duo. Lila cleared her throat and flipped to a random blank page in her sketchbook and scribble downed her address silently pushing it closer to Nathanael.

Come to my house after school…I don't need anyone else knowing I'm an anime freak.

"You and your pride." Nathanael replied with a sigh. Lila gave an 'hmmph' and returned her attention to her phone, but not before glaring at Sabrina. Sabrina saw her glare and made the wise choice of erasing the memory of seeing Lila's friendly chat with the art dweep.

LINE bREAK

The doorbell ringed with a clear silver chime and Lila went to answer the door, already knowing who it was on the other side.

"Hey Li-." Nathanael couldn't even finish his sentences when he was forcibly pulled inside the house.

"Shh! I don't need this getting out!" Lila whispered harshly. Nathanael frowned….

"Why? Are you embarrassed?"

"It's w-well Aug! You wouldn't understand!" Lila said in frustration. Nathanael just shrugged it off...he never did understand the popular crowd.

"Whatever. I got my sketchbook let's get started."

"O-Ok…Here uh…wanna go to my room?"

"Sure."

They made their way to Lila's room. Her walls were covered in Jagged Stone posters, anime and vocaloid posters. She had a large red bed with various pillows and a small stuffed toy fox. Her walls were a bright sunset orange and her curtains were a mellow golden green that filtered the white light of the sun into rays of murky gold. Her room was very tidy and orderly. A small smile made its way onto Nathanael's face as he saw a small collection of figurines on the desk next to her bed. She was such a dork. He thought with amusement.

"Ok! Let's start!" Lila said as she flopped on top of her bed. Nathanael decided to sit down on the desk chair that was besides Lila's bed where he placed his art supplies on the provided black desk.

"Well I want to be able to capture you personality in this drawing….how would you describe yourself?"

"Myself…Just ask around the school, I'm sure you've heard of me. Next question." Nathanael frowned.

"No. I don't care what lies people spread or what assumptions they make. I want to know who you truly are who you think you truly are…" Nathanael said…Lila immediately felt uncomfortable…

"Do I have to…? Can't I just tell you who everyone thinks I am…?"

Nathanael's blank expression was her only answer…Man is this guy stubborn…She thought as she let out a sigh.

"F-Fine…But turn around I don't like you staring at me, you look like a freak!" She exclaimed and he complied. She took a deep breath… "I-I…I like to think myself as confident…but really…I…don't have much self-esteem…I love attention…my parents usually aren't around…I guess maybe that may have something to do with my desperate need for approval…I need constant reassurance…I want to be perfect…I want to be able to please the main crowd, to fit in, and be accepted…But really I'm just a liar, with low self-esteem…I'm…I'm not a hero…" She mumbled…

"You're only human…" Nathanael replied softly as he turned around to face her again.

"H-Hey, don't turn around!" She shouted…she didn't want him to see her face. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"That's was very brave of you to say….especially since I'm just a stranger…" He complimented…

"Can we…just get on to the next question…something less deep and thought provoking…" she requested, he complied.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Red." She replied…she wanted to get back at him for making her feel like trash. "Like your hair, I love the color. It suits a cutie like you." She said flirtatiously with a wink…He flushed and tried to hide behind his sketchbook…Yup definitely looks good in red...Lila thought satisfied.

"What would your weapon be?" Lila pondered this…

"Can I have an A-bomb?"

"No." She pouted.

X

They spent the rest of the visit talking about various subject: art, anime, Jagged Stone, their interests, etc. From what Nathanael could gather was that Lila was very much a sensitive person easy to hurt, a person who holds grudges who doesn't easily forgive, she's stubborn, clever, needs constant praise, likes being in control, and is very flirtatious (…that last trait was going to be the death of him.)

In the security of her home Lila felt like she could flirt with whomever she wanted without having to worry about the repercussions, social status, or her reputation. She felt confident in the walls of her room. She could talk about her interests about her fears without the constant threat of having someone overhear her. What she learned about Nathanael was he was a precious little tomato that she wanted to hug: he was kind in nature, gentle and docile, sarcastic, easily flustered, and surprisingly outgoing. What she quickly picked up on was that he was only ever outgoing when there were a small number of people around him in a safe secure area he felt comfortable in.

Nathanael was finally satisfied with his rough concept art.

"Do you want it colored to?" He asked wondering if she wanted a professional finish…maybe he could upload the sketch onto his computer and work on it.

"Yes…uhh…But it's not like you have to I mean I could probably do it better anyway!" Nathanael decided to ignore the last part.

"Nonsense I'll gladly do it only for you." He said innocently, did he understand what he just said? She wondered as a small heat enveloped her cheeks.

"What a charmer…" She said playfully. "Still…I feel like I have to pay you back somehow…Well…we can discuss payment later; let me look at the concept art again." Lila said casually as she leaned over to look at the drawing.

The concept sketch was coming along nicely as it had transformed from random chicken scratch into a messy outline of a female body. It almost looked like she was descending from the sky gracefully caught in mid-fall as she jumped into action, her long hair flowing behind like a flag as her two other strands of hair flew around her like ribbons, her arms gently encircling a giant floating, spherical mirror.

"My weapons a mirror…?" She asked

"O-Oh well it was just a placeholder really…I just thought…it suited you…" He said. She raised an eyebrow.

"Suits me? What are you saying? Do you think I'm really that vain?" She asked with a small frown. Nathanael quickly scrambled to fix his mistake.

"No! No! That's not what I meant I mean….You remind me of a mirror, letting people see what they want to see, creating illusions and refractions….I-I thought it would be cool if it would be your weapon….you could like deflect attacks and send them back at the opponent or you could use it to disguise yourself like sailor moon's magical disguise pen." Nathanael explained.

"Well when you put it that way….Still I'm very offended!" She said stubbornly.

"I can change it if you want; it was just a placeholder really…." He said. "Oh! What about a sword…I could draw you like…this holding your sword over your head." Nathanael explained as he raised his hands above his head pretending to hold a sword to provide a helpful visual.

The mirror was a complex symbolic symbol, often contradicting itself. Sometimes it was a symbol of truth and wisdom other times it was a symbol of vanity and clouded lies. Sometimes the mirror's gleaming clear surface reflects a sense of clarity and self-awareness, other times its blurry reflection reflects a distorted illusion or a white lie, a cracked mirror can mean a sign of calamity or a sign of a fractured identity. You can look at a mirror and see not only your physical appearance but reflect on who you really are….The mirror is able to represent many things juxtaposed to each other: truth and deception, reality and illusion, flattery and harsh reality, logic and disorder, narcissism and self-loathing. A mirror is more than meets the eye….and that is a very appealing aspect of the mirror….

"No…a mirror will do…But!" She exclaimed as she got out a pencil from a bucket full of writing utensils.

"I want it to do more than just mere illusions it has to be a badass mirror like its owner! A mirror is more than meets the eye."

She stated as she drew a circle near the right corner and started illustrating what the back of the mirror would look like and made another circle underneath it to illustrate what the front would look like.

"Hmm…what do you think…?" She asked Nathanael after she was done.

The back of the mirror resembled an ornate shield. It had a delicate rounded form that was covered with fine floral decorations, around the center were four umbos whose bases resembled flower petals and in the very center of the shield like mirror was a delicate sun made of various connecting lines. The front was a simple reflective surface, save for the outline of a magical hexagram.

"The back reminds me of shield…any particular reason you went with that artistic choice?" He asked.

"Well the mirror itself is fragile…if it breaks it wouldn't be of much use so it needs a tough exterior." She explained. "Oh! And what if the mirror lets you see what you want to see, I could easily disguise myself, or I could make millions of images of me to confuse the enemy." Lila said excitedly as she wrote down her ideas near the right corner underneath the two circles.

"What if those illusions only work as long as the person doesn't come in contact with them because if they do it shatters like a mirror?!" Nathanael said as he scribbled his ideas down beside her.

"And the mirror can reflect attacks back to the source like you said!"

"It would be great for escapes since you could create a separate image of yourself as you run off and by the time the illusion shatters you're already gone!"

"What if it lets me see unfolding events from afar?!" Nathanael gasped his eyes growing wide with inspiration.

"This gives me a great idea for the background!" He said out loud excitedly…

"Wait wait…let's calm down…first things first…I'm not fighting naked…" Lila said referring to how they had yet to create her sailor outfit. Nathanael flushed…

"O-Of course not! Hmm….Let me see….let's start with the skirt." He said as he drew the hemline of the skirt first, creating gentle flowing lines.

"Here add more volume." Lila suggested as she added more volume to the skirt. "Ohh and a bow in the back…"

"Since you're descending downwards the ribbons will be more like this." Nathanael said as he fixed the ribbons.

"Speaking of ribbons lets add the signature bow."

"Add a gem in the middle."

"Now for the classical fuku top."

"How about we add those transparent wing like sleeves"

"Some long elegant gloves and thigh high boots."

"The classical tiara."

"Let's add some more jewelry like some star earrings and a choker…."

"Can I do the background now…?"

LINE BREAL

They looked at the finished sketch with pride. Nathanael decided he would definitely give it a more polished look by uploading it onto his computer and working on it there on SAI.

"So when can you give me the finished piece?" Lila asked.

"Hmm…I say maybe a day…or two...depends on how much homework I have."

"Thank you so much….Really if there's something you want in return I'll-." Nathanael cut her off.

"Don't worry there's no need…I'm happy to do it…." Lila raised an eyebrow and then a grin spread across her face as she thought of a devious idea.

"Oh…but there must be something…" She said slyly as she got closer to the redhead gently sliding her fingers across the back of the chair as she made her way around to face Nathanael.

"There really isn't anything I want." Nathanael said innocently failing to register just how close Lila was…that is until he felt her sit down on his lap…His shoulders stiffened.

"Really…?" She asked her eyes half lidded as she inched her face closer to his…he was completely paralyzed now... "Well…I think I have an idea…~" She said her smoldering green eyes alit sending a shiver down Nathanael's back. His shoulders stiffened even more as he felt Lila's slender fingers brush against the nape of his neck snaking their way into his red hair.

He gulped as he gently placed his hands on her shoulders…a few seconds went by…then he pushed her off of him, his face beet red. Lila was surprised…she thought he was going to grab her shoulders so he could pull her down and kiss her…Her face must have conveyed her astonished expression because he immediately tried to apologize.

"I-I'm so sorry I-I didn't I-I mean I wasn't expecting…! I'm n-not used to that kind o-of stuff! I-I have to go now! I'm s-sorry!" He said quickly then he ran off…leaving Lila dumfounded…

After finally regaining her composer a small smile made its way onto Lila's face.

"So cute…"