"If it wasn't that night, this bar, that hundred dollar bill it would've been Jackson square, staring at a painting."
Camille O'Connell walked around Jackson Square at a leisurely pace. It was a beautiful day, so she took her time taking in every detail her eyes saw. There were some tourists milling around but they weren't overwhelming since summer hadn't yet begun.
Cami was in the last few weeks of school and she couldn't wait to get out. Today she decided to take her two hour break and hang out in the heart of the Quarter.
Jackson Square had always been one of her favorite places in the Big Easy. Something was always happening, and it was easy to get swept up in the feel of the city.
She passed St. Louis Cathedral and exhaled. Its white frame popped against the clear blue sky making it even more magnificent. Then she walked closer to the square's iron fence where artists sat and stood drawing. Cami slowly walked behind them, admiring their various styles and the way their fingers effortlessly moved to create their vision.
Cami stopped behind one who was painting with quick, broad strokes. The painting was starting to look like a human face. The artist used bright vibrant colors on one side of the painting, but on the other used more black with a splash of color. She immediately thought of how tragic this painting looked on a bright day. Cami didn't know why but she stayed there, wanting to see how the painting would turn out.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone come stand next to her. Cami turned to see a young man eyeing the painting too. He looked like he was around her age.
He stopped looking at the painting and made eye contact. Cami offered him a small smile which he returned. Okay, he's hot.
He kept looking at her so Cami felt compelled to say something. "Amazing isn't he?"
"Do you paint?" the stranger asked. He had a British accent that Cami found cute.
"No, but I admire. Actually I'm jealous."
"Of him?"
Cami looked back at the painter. "Of his abilities, of all artists' really. They have the capability to create, to see a vision in their minds and bring it to life. Whether it's lighthearted and fun or dark and damaged."
She found herself being sucked into the painting again. The young man spoke again, drawing her thoughts away. "You think this one's the latter."
"Yes and no."
"Care to explain your reasoning?"
"Well…" Cami focused on the painting. "The right side of the face is obscure with dark coloring, of course signifying darkness or death. On the left there's more light, representing the good side of life. Yet both sides have the same splash of yellow. It's sparse and you can barely see it, it probably represents pain. On the right the yellow obvious against the darker coloring but on the left, it's more subtle because it blends in with the lighter pallet. I think the artist is saying that pain is always there, even in happiness although it's not as obvious. You can't know happiness without experiencing what pain and sorrow are. Not only that but in the middle of the painting he transitions the two sides using a quieter blend of yellow. He's saying that pain links sorrow and happiness. Sometimes you can't find true happiness until you've been broken. What's odd is that he chose a bright yellow to symbolize pain, as opposed to another dark color or a bright red, which would have contrasted perfectly. Artists normally use yellow to evoke feelings of happiness, so I think he chose yellow to say that pain isn't necessarily a completely dark matter. Pain is a part of life, which sounds depressing, but it gives us hope because you can determine what path to take from it: lightness or darkness."
Cami looked at Hot Guy, who looked like his mind was in a different place. Way to go girl, she thought, you've made him zone out with your commentary. "Sorry, I'm overzealous…I always read too much into things."
"No, that was remarkably insightful." He focused back on her and nodded to her book bag. "You study art?"
"Psychology."
"You'd be surprised how closely related they are."
"I'm starting to get that." Cami figured he'd let the conversation die there. She was surprised when he turned to face her.
"Do you visit Jackson Square frequently?"
"I try to make my way here as often as I can. It's always nice to meet tourists who get caught up in the spirit of the city."
The stranger smiled at her assumption. "I'm no tourist, love."
"You live here?" Cami told herself not to get her hopes up. New Orleans was a big city, the chances of seeing this guy again were scarce.
"New Orleans is my home." He said in a blissful tone.
"Really?" she said, trying to keep the surprise out of her voice.
The stranger smiled, revealing dimples. "Why the incredulous tone? Is it because of my accent?"
Cami laughed. "Maybe."
"My family and I lived here ages ago. I've returned here to attend to some business."
"Well I'm glad you've found your way back home. There have been some changes around here but not enough to alter my love for this place."
"I've noticed a few new things upon my return. Some I'm finding particularly interesting." He gave her a flirty look.
Cami blushed, suddenly no longer able to look him in the eye. "I should get going if I want to make it back to my class on time." She said nervously.
A part of her cursed herself for trying to run away, but she did have to make it back to the college soon. The stranger still hadn't stopped looking at her; it was unnerving. Not because he was looking in a creepy way, but because he was so incredibly hot. Cami couldn't believe he was still sticking around talking to her. It had been awhile since a guy paid her so much attention. Let alone a hot on with a cute accent.
Her phone beeped with a notification. Cami's brow furrowed as she checked it.
"Is something wrong, love?" He sounded genuinely concerned.
"No, my class has just been cancelled."
"Then you're free for the afternoon?"
Cami eyed him. "Actually I um, should go study and catch up on homework, or something."
Hot Guy stepped closer to her. Cami had a sharp intake of breath, he smelled great. "Would you like to come with me to grab something to eat?"
Cami's mouth moved but no words came out. Well there it was, he just asked her out. She crossed her arms, stalling for time. "I don't even know your name."
"Well, if you say yes, I'll tell you my name."
"How about you tell me your name, and maybe I'll say yes." Cami fired back easily. She was having fun, and she never considered herself the flirty type. But something about this guy was different, he was easy to be around. Still, she didn't know him and while he was charming Cami couldn't shake the bad boy vibe she got from him. She was probably better off leaving him alone.
The stranger saw Cami was about to say reject him and cut her off before she could fix her mouth to say no. "Don't run away, love. We wouldn't want to tempt fate."
Cami smiled in spite of herself. "Fate?"
"You think it's a coincidence your class got cancelled just now?"
"Yes, I do."
"Well I don't believe in coincidences."
Cami still hesitated.
"C'mon, I know this cute corner café that sells the best beignets in all of New Orleans."
"Oh really?" Cami raised her eyebrows playfully, indulging him.
"Really, they have a special recipe that's handed down generation to generation through the centuries. They've never changed it out."
"Through the centuries'? You sound so sure."
"Well, I've kept my eye on the place. I told you, they have best beignets in town."
"Hmm, I don't know. I've had some pretty amazing beignets in my life."
"Nothing even comes close to these." His voice took on a serious tone. "It's an affront to the café to deem any beignet's better without first tasting theirs."
That caused Cami to laugh. "Is it that serious?"
Hot Guy nodded his head. "Quite, the family honor's at stake."
"Oh wow." Cami held back another laugh.
"So, will you give me a chance to prove how phenomenal their beignets taste?"
"Hmm, I don't know." Cami mused. "This seems so important but I still don't know your name."
He grinned devilishly. "I'm Klaus."
Huh, Cami never would have guessed that. It was an odd name, and it sounded ancient.
"And you are…?"
She paused before deciding there was no harm in giving him her first name. "Cami."
They shook hands. Cami felt a jolt of electricity shoot through her body. She hastily took her hand out of his.
"Cami." He repeated testing how the name sounded on his tongue. His voice dropped low, "So what do you say?"
"Well I suppose," she replied in a faux serious tone. "But only since the honor of the café is at stake."
"Of course." He nodded back, his eyes held humor. Klaus studied her face again in a way that made Cami uncomfortable. Klaus realized she wasn't used to having so much attention on her. Although he didn't know how that could be since she was easy on the eyes and intelligent as well. Somehow that added to her appeal.
Klaus too, had felt the connection from when their hands touched. Today had taken an unexpected turn, he was drawn to this girl, Cami, and he couldn't explain why. Maybe it was the way she described the painting, and it helped that she was easy on the eyes. He was shocked, he hadn't been this intrigued by a human in centuries. Klaus found that he was eager to see how the rest of his time with Cami would go.
Cami cleared her throat and internally willed Klaus to stop looking at her so intently. "Right, so…corner café. Lead the way, Klaus."
He gave Cami another crooked grin, but he found that he was sincere when he replied. "Gladly."