eugenefitz started following you
Even though she tries to contain it, uses every last shred of strength she has, she can't stop the way her lips curl up at the notifications popping up on her phone.
They come in waves. Three rings then silence, two rings then silence and then three more rings followed by another stream of silence. She hasn't quite figured out yet why exactly he has decided to do it this way or why he has chosen to wait this long at all, especially when she already has the sneaking suspicion that this isn't the first time he has been checking up on her profile.
He never did give her an explanation of how exactly he ended up at the same cafe as her at the exact same time, but she's pretty sure she can figure than one out on her own.
Unlike the other times when she has had this happen to her, she doesn't find it creepy or too eager. With Eugene, it somehow feels exciting as if this is the real start to whatever's happening between them. Here in this moment, they've officially upgraded from disaster run in's to the potential of being friends.
And apparently study buddies.
When she said yes to Eugene's proposal she really didn't have time to think it through, the words kind of slipped out before her brain had a chance to catch up with what was going on. There was a lot happening all at once and she can't really be blamed for her momentary lapse in judgement. So she said yes, just like that, and was left to face all the consequences of that agreement when she got home that night after her class.
She was only two steps into the apartment before she was spilling everything to Cassandra and it's safe to say that she wasn't entirely on board with her decision. It wasn't that she wasn't happy that Rapunzel had finally found some inspiration, but it was more concern over the fact that her inspiration was a boy. A boy she had yet had the chance to interrogate and haze in her own protective best friend way.
It was only when she had promised to let her haze him another day that Cass finally decided to listen to a helpless Rapunzel gush about how beautiful Eugene was. There were mumbles of his smile and his eyes and his jaw and "how on earth am I supposed to paint him Cass when I can't stop staring !"
That panic went on for at least another hour before she got herself into a more manageable state, which was partly due to a warm cup of tea and Cassandra's reassuring comments as she scrolled down Eugene's profile on her phone. Rapunzel really wasn't expecting anything life-changing from her love hating friend but she was grateful nevertheless when she gave her approval.
Nice choice was all she had muttered before plopping down onto the couch next to Rapunzel and wrapping her up in a white woolly blanket. She tends to get cold when she's nervous.
So now here she was, three days later, fully accepting the idea that she is going to paint Eugene Fitzherbert.
And she would only be lying if she said she wasn't squealing with excitement on the inside.
The echoing of bells continues around her as she looks down at her screen, smile wider than ever, watching as one by one the notifications light up on her phone. It did surprise her a little just how far back he had gone and how fast he had managed to get there. But then again, he has probably already seen most of these photos before, he's just been waiting for the right time to let Rapunzelknow that he has seen them.
He had started with a photo of her and Cassandra that was taken all the way back in freshman year and it has taken him approximately 5 minutes for him to reach her photo from only a couple of hours ago.
And in that time the smile on her face hasn't disappeared once. Which apparently is upsetting her roommate.
"You're doing it again."
She hears the mumble come from across the room and so she locks her phone for a moment to peer over to the kitchen counter. There, she finds Cassandra sitting on one of their wooden bar stools with her legs kicked up on another, boots still firmly on her feet. There's a book open on her lap, a pencil in her hand that she's been half chewing for the last few minutes and a scowl on her face that says she's mad she has gotten interrupted. Although, Rapunzel isn't exactly sure what she is interrupting because the book is certainly not one of educational value.
"Doing what?" she asks back, raising one of her eyebrows in mock confusion.
Cassandra rolls her eyes at that, stretching her hand out in front of her and waving it in Rapunzel's direction. Well, the direction of her face to be more precise.
"Smiling. It's distracting."
As if right on cue her phone comes alive again with a light ring causing her smile to widen that little bit more.
The groan that comes from Cassandra is priceless. She throws her head back, scrunches her eyes closed and lets it fill the main room of the apartment. It creates a hilarious image and if she wasn't already occupied she would probably be rushing to her room right now to sketch it and save it for blackmail.
It takes her roommate a few moments to let out all of her frustration, and probably annoy a few neighbours too, before she is recomposing herself and opening one eye to stare back at Rapunzel cautiously.
"Please tell me that was the last one."
She's not exactly sure what fate is on her side today but she is extremely grateful for it because the phone decides to chime again and she gets to watch her friend hit her breaking point.
Cassandra starts moving until she is sitting up straight, removing her feet from the stool to place them on the wooden floor and throwing her book carelessly onto the counter behind her. Both of her eyes are open now and have set themselves straight on to the phone.
There's a small pause, in which the phone rings again, and then she's finally opening her mouth.
"I'm going to kill him."
And then she's on the move, springing off of the stool and launching herself onto the couch, successfully crushing Rapunzel in the process. There's something that sounds like a war cry thrown in there but Rapunzel is too busy laughing to really pay attention.
It only takes her a matter of seconds before she has both legs on either side of Rapunzel and her hands are gripping at any limb she can reach, which is not easy since they're flying all over the place.
"Give me the phone!" Cassandra yells through her panted breath.
This girl is strong but after 3 years of dealing with things like this Rapunzel has learnt enough to hold her own. She manages to get out a small no through all of her giggles, throwing her arm behind her and extending it over the side of the couch with her phone secure in her hand. Her new strength that she has gathered over the years may be enough to keep up with Cass physically, but she is always underestimating just how clever Cass can really be, especially when it comes to getting something she wants.
Before Rapunzel can make her next move the chaos comes to a sudden halt and she watches as Cassandra sits back on her heels and beings staring. She seems to take a few moments to just stare and as the seconds pass it starts to turn into something a little more menacing, a little scarier.
Then she is grinning.
Her lips twist up into a sly smirk and her eyes are shining with nothing but evil ideas.
It only takes Rapunzel seconds to catch on to what her friend is about to do, suddenly sobering up and giving back a glare of her own.
"Don't you dare" she threatens, the words sharp and demanding.
Cassandra is still above her, waiting, watching, listening as the phone rings one more time.
And then she's charging into action, both hands finding home against Rapunzel's sides and attacking relentlessly.
" Cass " she manages to wine, her voice coming out strained. It's a mix between laughter and sighs of frustration and she can't tell what's worse - the pain of being tickled or losing to Cassandra.
She doesn't really get a chance to decide when she feels Cass literally climbing on top of her to reach out and grab the phone, only sitting back when it's now in her grip. All Rapunzel can do is lay there and watch as her friend unlocks the screen and starts smiling at whatever she finds. Rapunzels let's out a grumble as she swears to herself to never give Cass her password again.
"Library boy wants to meet up." Cass says flipping the phone around so she can see the message and confirm her devil friend is actually telling the truth. There's no denying that she is when the message is there, lit up in blue and clear for anyone to see.
eugenefitz:
Are you ready to paint?
With the situation she is currently in, her bottom half going numb with the weight of her roommate straddling her, she really shouldn't be in a position to smile. She also knows that smiling with said roommate watching her every move would only put her in more danger when she doesn't currently have control over her phone. But just like earlier she really can't help it and before she can even finish having this dilemma with herself a smile is already on her lips. It's not as wide as the one earlier, it's softer and more affectionate and filled with fascination more than anything else.
The funny thing is that she knew this would happen one day, knew that they would have to actually arrange to meet up at some point, but witnessing Eugene being the one to take that step is doing all sorts of things to her heart.
She's not exactly sure how long she staring at the phone for when she hears a scoff come from above her. Her eyes flick up just in time to see Cassandra give her best eye roll, relinquishing all control of the phone back to Rapunzel and sitting on her heels in defeat. She stays like that for a few moments, investigates Rapunzel with a questioning look for a few moments more and then she is crawling off the couch and making her way back over to her spot.
This time when she hops onto the stool she removes her own phone from her pocket and plugs in her headphones. After that she pretty much becomes a lost cause, slipping away into her music that Rapunzel can hear all the way from across the room. She doesn't mind too much though, it just means that now she can smile in peace.
Her eyes focus again on her phone and now that she actually has the chance to reply she realises that she doesn't even know what to say. This has never happened with guys before and it startles her slightly that Eugene has already ruined her to the point where she can't type out a simple message. She knows that it doesn't matter what she says, knows that he really doesn't care if she makes a typo or auto-correct takes control, as long as he gets some sort of confirmation that she wants to go actually go through with their deal he's okay.
And she does want to go through with it, she really does. There isn't anything she wants more right now than to spend hours locked up in the art studio with this boy drawing him until her hands physically can't draw anymore.
So she takes a small breath, prepares her thumbs over the keyboard and starts to type.
rap-unzel:
Do you have your model poses ready?
eugenefitz:
I always have them ready
rap-unzel:
It sounds like you have done this before
eugenefitz:
Oh, all the time!
Wait until you see my smolder
rap-unzel:
That sounds promising
eugenefitz:
I never break my promises Rapunzel
I only have one class on Monday, we could meet up then?
rap-unzel:
Sounds great
Just send me your room number and I'll be there
eugenefitz:
It's a date!
As it turns out, Monday comes a lot quicker than she had expected and as she turns down the same corridor for the fith time she realises that she really isn't as prepared as she thinks.
Of course, she used the weekend to her advantage packing up all her of supplies needed for today and making sure all of her brushes were clean. But none of that preparation will really matter if she can't even find the room that she's looking for.
Eugene had messaged her a few hours ago to let her know that his class had been changed and that he was more than happy to supply her with the new information. However, what he doesn't know is that to her the room change doesn't really matter because she had no idea where the original room was in the first place.
At least now she would have an excuse as to why she was late.
As an art student, this side of campus is not one that she explores often or ever really. In fact, the only time she has ever walked this far east was all the way back in freshman year when - according to her professor- it was mandatory for her to take up another elective that wasn't related to the course she was on. After hours of flipping through pamphlets, she had opted for psychology which she was more than happy to drop when her first year came to an end.
Now, as she walks blindly through the halls she partly wishes that she kept up those classes in order to have some sense of direction over on this side of the campus.
After making her sixth attempt to find the right classroom, she finds herself in a courtyard. It's a small outdoor section in between buildings and despite it being a relatively warm day, it's mostly empty. There are a few students about, some sitting on the stone benches, one laying on a blanket on the grass, but none of them seem to be paying any attention to her. Not even when she spins in a circle a couple of times to indicate that she is in fact lost. The girl on the blanket even turns over in the opposite direction.
The bag of supplies she has slung over her shoulder is beginning to weigh her down and she suddenly has the urge to charge over to one of them and demand that they help her.
She has every intention to do just that, her feet leaving the cobbled path and stepping onto the grass when she feels a light grip on her arm holding her in place.
It's silly really how much she is startled by the touch, but it comes out of nowhere and she really is just a big scardey cat at heart. So instead of turning around as a normal person would, she jumps instead and almost loses her balance completely. Her feet become tangled up in each other, causing her to wobble and she is just moments away from falling flat on the grass when her saviour proves that he is one step ahead of her. She feels the grip on her arm tighten, pulling her in and keeping her upright.
It takes her a few moments to steady herself, placing both feet as flat on the ground as she can before she straightens up and adjusts the strap on her shoulder. She becomes too occupied with covering her fall that she almost misses the voice coming from behind her. Almost.
"Trying to beat my fall?"
It surprises her how quickly she recognises that voice, recognises the teasing tone within it. She doesn't have to turn around to know who it is that came to her rescue, but she does anyway and she is certainly not disappointed.
Eugene is standing there in front of her with a wide smile on his face looking at her like what just happened was the most interesting thing in the world.
She finally has a moment to look at the situation then, now she's not falling to her death, and she has time to take in what exactly he just said. It almost makes laugh at how every time they meet something just has to go wrong. She looks down at the ground then, sees one of her paint pots has slipped out of her bag during the trip and then does start laughing.
It's not long before Eugene joins in and it almost seems as if they are on the same page without either of them having to say anything. They're just in sync.
She finally looks up at him again and offers him a small shrug. "Can't let you have all the disasters now can I?"
Eugene purses his lip a little, nodding softly to himself. "I guess now we're even."
"I guess we are."
They both break into laughter again, a little softer this time and she takes this opportunity to let her eyes wander freely. She takes in his slightly ruffled hair and notices that he now has a faint line of facial hair that wasn't there the last time. Her eyes flicker down to his chest where she notices he's wearing a dark blue shirt underneath his brown jacket and it only takes her a couple of seconds for her to focus on the fact that a few of the buttons have been left undone. She's not sure if it was an accident or done on purpose but she's feeling a little grateful for whatever caused a sliver of his chest to be on show.
When her eyes finally stop their perusing and make their way back to his she finds him still staring back at her, eyes as focused as ever. His gaze is far too intense when they are this close to each other and she can only handle it for a few more seconds before she's straightening up and stepping back a couple of inches. He doesn't seem to mind though, simply lets her go of her arm and continues smiling warmly at her.
After a few more seconds of staring, it's almost as if he realises that there was a point to this meeting and this event in the courtyard wasn't part of the plan.
His lips turn up a little in the corner and she can't help but get excited when she sees that cute smirk appear again. "Get a little lost?"
He poses it as a question, but with the way his voice is teasing her and the way his eyebrows are lifting up she knows that he didn't mean it as a question at all. It was said for the sheer purpose to embarrass her.
Rapunzel shakes her head at that, rolling her eyes a little too, before giving him a sweet smile of her own. "Your directions weren't very specific."
"Ah, so you're saying this is my fault?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
The way Eugene laughs is like nothing she's seen before. His nose wrinkles slightly, his forehead creases and his whole face is lit up with amusement. It really is something beautiful and she wouldn't complain about seeing it more often, especially if she is the cause of it.
His laughs die out eventually and it's only then that she notices he has something in his hand. She really should have noticed sooner, he's been holding it in front of him the entire time but it's safe to say she got a little distracted staring at other things.
He must notice that her eyes have wandered off to somewhere else because he's extending his arm out and offering his hand to her. In it, he's holding a red take out coffee cup stamped with the Corona Coffee logo. Out of all the things to make her heart melt she never expected a coffee cup to be one of them.
"For you" he says nudging the cup in her direction. "I thought I owed you one."
She smiles at that, taking the cup off of him and bringing it up to her nose to confirm that yes, he did get her order right. Well, it's not like it's impossible to do so, it is written on her profile a few times, but it still means something to her that he even bothered.
"Thank you" she replies and really does mean it.
Not just for the coffee but for all of it, for agreeing to do something as crazy as to let her paint him. Ever since he suggested it she's been wondering what exactly his motives were behind this idea, but seeing him like this, watching him stare at her with so much awe, it's easy to not think twice about it. He may have his reasons but she's willing to be patient until he tells her in his own way.
He simply shrugs at her thanks, clearly not one to brag about his own kindness and instead tilts his head towards the direction of the building behind him.
"You coming?" he asks, already starting to walk backwards, eyebrow raised in question.
She replies instantly.
"Of course."
They walk back through the halls together after that, on the route towards the art buildings and she can't help but get excited about what's to come, feels the anticipation about where they are headed.
And when his arm brushed up against hers as they walk she knows she isn't just talking about the painting.
But that is a good place to start.
Just a reminder that this fic has some social media components to go with it so if you would like to check them out head on over to my tumblr (fitzherbertssmolder). Thanks for reading and all the comments!
