A/N:
Prompt: au where james is an art student and their first class is life drawing and lily (a chem student who needs the money) is the model
Rating: T
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The pencil in his hands drew curved, flourishing lines almost thoughtlessly across his sketchpad as he drew a rough sketch of the room. There were barely ten people in it, most of the students on his Fine Art course choosing to avoid the life drawing classes in favour of conceptual art, and it could have done with better lighting if they were going to use it for this kind of thing, in his opinion at least.
It was warm though, he presumed for the comfort of the model; God knew he was sweltering. He put his pad back on his easel, dropped his pencil in the tray and pulled off his jumper. He was just straitening his glasses and trying to rein his hair's insanity in when the tutor wandered in, talking to a petite girl with a duffel bag slung over one shoulder who walked unconcernedly alongside her.
His interest piqued, James watched the two out of the corner of his eye as he returned to his sketchpad and his rough lines; he'd never seen this girl in any of his classes before, he was certain of that. He would have noticed. Perhaps she was a transfer, or had missed the start of the year for whatever reason.
She had a mass of long hair, which looked as if it was naturally slightly wavy, rather than produced with careful styling. It was a dark red, the lights she was standing under brightening hints of copper that ran through it, and her skin was fair and clear. She turned to scan the room, and he got his first good look at her face.
Her eyes were extraordinary; he could see that they were a vivid green even from his position on the other side of the room. The rest of her features were pretty, but it was the eyes that were the draw. His fingers were already sketching their shape, though he knew he could never do justice to the colour, not with oil, watercolour or pastel.
His attention was caught again by the tutor telling them to settle down, and by the time he turned back the girl was gone and he couldn't see her sitting down anywhere. Maybe not a new student after all then.
He adjusted his position so that he fully faced the centre of the room, waiting for the model to fill the chair that was positioned there, then he returned to his study of the girl's eyes, which was taking shape nicely.
A commotion had him looking up, and to his shock he saw the redhead, swathed in a dressing gown, lowering herself into the model's chair.
He dropped his pencil.
He bent to retrieve it, and then he sat upright and took in two deep breaths as he looked directly at her. She lowered the dressing gown to the floor, and his breath caught.
He didn't think it was even that she was physically attractive – and fucking hell was she attractive – it was that she sat there totally un-selfconsciously as the tutor gently positioned her with her legs crossed and her hands clasped on her knees. Those eyes looked calm and soft as she sat in the centre of the room with all eyes on her.
He began to draw, his pencil flying over the paper, starting from the most basic lines that made her shape and refining them into her.
He barely registered time being called until the girl slipped back into her dressing gown. He blinked and stared at his pad, at the almost complete drawing. He'd never drawn that fast, that easily before.
He looked back up and saw that the girl had gone again, and he began to pack up as quickly as he could, hoping that he could catch up with her. His eyes scanned the room as he clumsily threw his supplies into his rucksack, and then he caught sight of her hair on the far side of the room, where she was speaking to the tutor.
He dawdled for a moment, then timed his exit so that he could hold the door open for her. She flashed him a quick smile and slipped out, and it took a moment for his thoughts to catch up, but then he was rushing after her.
'Excuse me! Wait, hang on a second!' She stopped, her face showing her confusion, and he jogged up to her.
'Listen, I was just wondering if…look, I'd like to draw you again sometime, if you'd be up for it?'
She eyed him suspiciously. 'Sorry mate, I don't think that's a good idea.'
A frown flickered across his face, then his brain caught up. 'No! No, not…nude. I just…look, I got a really fantastic sketch of you in there, and I'd like to do a series. Maybe a couple of maquettes, see if there's the potential for a sculpture. Completely clothes on.'
Her face cleared, and she looked at him with something approaching regret. 'Sorry…what was your name?'
'James.' He held out a hand and she took it for a brief moment.
'Well, I'm sorry James but I don't think I'll have much time. It was a struggle to find time in my schedule for this class. Inorganic chemistry doesn't study itself you know.'
'Chemistry? Wow.' James was suitably impressed. 'Rubbish at it myself. More power to you though, if you understand all that.'
'Well, I don't know one end of a pencil from another.' She nodded at him as she began to turn away. 'We all do what we do.'
'Why did you do this class tonight?' He called quietly after her. 'Why carve time out of a hectic schedule to sit for a life drawing class?'
She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. 'The money was great.'
'I'll pay you.'
She turned around fully. 'Excuse me?'
'I'll pay you for your time if you model for me. Just like the class, only it will be one on one. In public places if you like. To begin with at least.'
She eyed him thoughtfully. 'How much?'
He grinned at her. 'You get right to the point don't you? The same as whatever you got paid for tonight, for each sitting you do.'
He could see her mulling it over, could see her turning the idea over and around in her mind.
'Okay James. I'm Lily, your new model.' This time she stuck out a hand, and he took it easily.
'Muse.' He corrected. 'Artists have muses.'
'Don't be so bloody pretentious.'
He snorted. This ought to be fun.
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