Chapter Text
The first time that Piper drew an actual person was her friend Sayori.
The girl had been playing video games with a very intense expression on her face, and Piper knew she had to capture the moment.
The sketch started out simple, a head, hair, and torso of the mentioned girl, with an added bow.
Then she started focusing on the details. The tilt of her hair, the swish of her pinkish-blonde hair and how it fell into her eyes. The subtle, but endearing, bite of her lower lip. The way her blue eyes focused on the television in front of her.
It was supposed to be a simple sketch, but somehow it turned into line art and color within the span of a few hours. The pencil was run over with pen, and the shading was brilliant, some of the best Piper had ever done.
The next day, Piper fiddled with the hem of her uniform as she waited for Sayori to come out of her house. There were slight bags under her greyish eyes from staying up to finish the drawing. Sayori soon walked out of her house, and Piper bit her lip anxiously.
Sayori, bright, bubbly Sayori, who never missed a detail, whose eyes were clouded over with worry for her friend who looked like she hadn’t slept. Who looked at her like she was the important one, and not like she was just a simple friend.
When Sayori asked why she looked off, Piper thrust the drawing into her hands and flushed slightly. She kept her eyes down, hesitant and anxious about the way her friend would react.
Sayori’s eyes widened with shock and her mouth dropped open just a little. Piper, who was biting her index finger out of nervousness, shot her an apologetic look. Then, Sayori noticed the note at the bottom.
Sorry I drew you without permission! You just looked so concentrated, I couldn’t help it! You are pretty good at that game, despite it being your first time. Also, wash your bow, it’s filthy.
~ Piper <3
Sayori looked at her silent friend, who was anxiously gnawing on her finger. She took her by the shoulders, and immediately demanded where she learned to draw like that. Piper looked up, a look of relief on her face, and muttered something about being self-taught.
Sayori whined about how she was so much more talented, and that it was ok that she had drawn her without her permission, if she didn’t do it of anything embarrassing. Piper’s eyes glinted, and she grinned mischievously at her.
Sayori laughed and hugged her, grateful she put a smile on her face, and took her hand. They strolled down her driveway, hand in hand, and Piper felt content.
~~~
The second time that Piper drew someone was the pretty piano player she passed by early in the morning.
She was stumbling through the hallways, trying to find her way to her first class, when she heard a piano being played. Her sleep-addled brain decided that it was a great idea to miss the first ten minutes of homeroom and instead wait at the door and listen to the music.
Then, the girl began to sing, and Piper knew she had to document the occasion.
The girl was tall, with honey-brown hair tied in a ponytail that fell just below her waist. Her white bow flopped and moved as her pale fingers danced along the keys, lithe and with precision. Her voice, light and sweet, echoed about the room effortlessly.
While it was hard to sketch someone who was moving, Piper did a pretty good job with it. She worked diligently, until the music came to halt and Piper remembered that she was late.
She sprung up and out of the room, her feet flying down the corridors of the school. Pencil in her mouth, she burst into first period and slid into her seat, the late bell ringing just before she sat down.
As with Sayori’s picture, the sketch soon turned into line art and color. Piper tried to capture the beauty of the morning sun and the light that shined on the girl’s hair, but she couldn’t without sneaking into her practice again, and Piper felt like she would be caught instantly this time.
She spent the whole night working on it, trying to perfect the picture, but eventually fell asleep around one, dark hair splayed across her desk and her face buried in her arm.
The next morning, she speed-walked to school, dragging Sayori behind her. She poked her head inside the music room, and seeing that there was no one in the room, she placed the picture on the piano and slipped out of the room.
When Monika entered the music room, the last thing she expected was a rather well-drawn picture of her on the shelf of the piano. As with Sayori’s, there was a note in the bottom corner of the page as well.
Hi! I’m sorry for drawing you without permission, but you were just so beautiful! Your singing is amazing, and your piano-playing isn’t half-bad either! I’d love to draw you again, this time with your permission, of course!
~ Piper <3
Monika resolved to find this Piper person, and thank them for the drawing.
(She was also maybe a little flattered at the compliments in the note!)
~~~
The third time Piper had drawn a person was the little, spunky girl sitting under a cherry tree reading manga.
Her face was half serious and half serene, a rather odd expression but it seemed to fit the girl rather well, considering her personality.
Her pink hair was blowing slightly in the breeze, and she was sitting with her back up against the tree with her school bag in her lap.
Piper, never one to miss an opportunity, immediately whipped out her sketchbook and began to lay the foundations of her drawing.
First was the tilt of her head and the swoop of her pink bangs, pared back with a little red clip. Her mouth formed the words as she read, and Piper struggled a bit in finding the perfect position.
The girls’ uniform was unbuttoned a little bit, and her orange-scaled vest sagged a bit over the small frame. The skirt was a bit too big for the girl, and fell just above her knees. She had various bandages on her legs, likely from falling and scraping her knees, or something.
She was reading Parfait Girls, Piper realized. She remembered the bubbly, slightly-serious manga series, that had been made into an anime. The anime wasn’t as good as the books, however.
She wondered if the girl had read other manga.
As with the other two drawings, Piper stayed up almost all night to make sure that it was perfect. She tried to capture the light of the morning sun on the girl’s pale skin, and the position of her hair and how it fell around her face.
The shading and color were as good as last time, and Piper made sure she didn’t fall asleep on her work this time. She woke up with pencil and pen marks on her face and arms.
During lunch, she walked over to the cherry tree and set the drawing underneath it. Then, she jogged away before anyone could see her, especially the girl, who was known to take no shit and cuss out anyone who got in her way.
When Natsuki all but limped over to the cherry tree, the last thing she had expected was to find a pretty good picture of her reading Parfait Girls, again with a little note at the bottom.
Hey! Sorry, I drew you without permission, but you looked so serene! You’re reading Parfait Girls? Might I recommend Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid? Or if you’ve read that, maybe Ouran High School Host Club? I’d love to draw you again, but with your permission, of course! Please don’t yell at me.
~ Piper <3
Natsuki wanted march right up to the person who drew her and demand how they had the right to draw her. But, she figured that that wasn’t the best course of action, even if they did it without her permission. She did want to check out those recommended series, though.
~~~
The fourth, but not the last, time Piper had drawn a person was the beautiful purple-haired girl in the library.
Piper had ducked in there after a torrential downpour caught her by surprise, and was wringing out her long dark hair onto the floor near the back, where the librarians couldn’t see her. That’s when she caught sight of a rather pretty girl reading in the horror section.
At first glance, she didn’t seem like the type of girl who would like horror, but look closer and you could see the secret smile on her face, and the anticipation in her eyes as she turned the next page.
Piper, naturally, felt like she had to draw the girl, after the other three she had drawn. So, she wrestled her sketchbook out of the depths of her blue draw-string bag and a pencil out of her hoodie. She pushed up her horn-rimmed glasses and began to sketch, occasionally stealing glances at the girl.
She first sketched the head, then the torso, making sure to add the slight lean and the posture of the girl. She drew the long, flowing hair of the girl, even longer than the piano-players from all those weeks before.
Piper made sure to draw the almost invisible hair clip in the dark hair, and the slight swoop of her bangs as she turned the page. She made sure to include the slight sparkle of the girl’s eyes as she read the story, and the little smile on her face that either grew or shrank as the minutes wore on.
A flash of lightning and a boom of thunder made Piper jump, and she checked her watch. Her eyes bugged out at the time, she was supposed to meet Sayori at her house in a few minutes! She hastily packed her things, and sped out of the library, but not before catching a glance at the book the girl was reading, A Portrait of Markov.
As with the other drawings, Piper stayed up all night to make sure this one was perfect. She made sure she got the curve of the girl’s purple eyes right, and the little quirk of her eyebrow as she read.
The girl was propping herself up with one hand as she drew, her eyes growing heavier and heavier with the passing hours. She caught herself dozing off a couple times, and jerked herself awake before she could drool on her pens.
The next morning, she stumbled to the library, and made her way towards the back. She found the book and slipped the picture inside, careful not to damage either of the works of art. Then, she smiled tiredly and walked out, trying to find her way to school in the pale morning light.
Some hours afterwards, Yuri opened the book to find a picture of her fluttering out of it. Curious, she picked it up and looked at it, marveling at how someone could draw this well. As with the previous pictures, there was a little note at the bottom.
Hiyah! So sorry for drawing you without permission, but you looked so peaceful with your book, I couldn’t help it! What’s the book about? Also, if you’re a fan of horror, watch the Sixth Sense. It’s an old American movie about a kid who can see ghosts, it’s really good! Anyways, I would love to draw you again, this time with permission!
~ Piper <3
Yuri hummed and flushed a bit at the accuracy of the drawing, and resolved to find this ‘Piper’ person and thank her for the drawing. She also now wanted to watch this ‘old American movie’, and see why it’s so good.
~~~
When Sayori came barreling into the clubroom and announced that she had found another member for the club, the other girls were ecstatic. Finally, someone knew to talk too, and to discuss books or manga or movies with!
Sayori gave a dramatic drumroll, smacking her hands on the desk repeatedly, and then made an over-dramatic gesture to the door.
“Piper!” She shouted, and a small girl walked in through the door. The other girls immediately were reminded of the picture, and scrambled to stop what they were doing to stare at the new girl.
Her dark cheeks turned darker slightly at the attention she was getting, and waved slightly, hiding behind large horn-rimmed glasses. She opened her mouth to say something, probably to introduce who she was, but was interrupted by Natsuki.
“Did you draw me?” She demanded, bringing out the picture that Piper had drawn many weeks ago. Piper hesitantly nodded, before Monika interrupted her as well.
“Did you draw me, too?”
“And me?” Yuri said, snapping her book shut.
Piper suddenly looked extremely nervous, and began to bite her index finger again. When she was going to check out the literature club, she didn’t expect the girls to be the ones that she had drawn.
“Wait, you drew them too?” Sayori asked, turning to the anxious girl. Piper nodded weakly, trying to hide behind her friend, who had turned back to the others “What did you guys think? She’s really talented, right?”
Monika nodded eagerly, “Where’d you learn to draw like that?”
Piper mumbled something about being self-taught, before Natsuki interrupted again.
“You drew us without our permission?” She said, and Piper winced.
“Natsuki, they were very good drawings.” Yuri stated, crossing her arms and turning back to the poor girl, “Sorry about her, she’s always like this.”
“I know they were, but still…” Natsuki trailed off, flushing slightly, “You shouldn’t draw people without their permission!”
Piper frantically mumbled apologies, and Natsuki knew she had upset the girl in some way.
“I-It’s fine, I guess.” Natsuki mumbled, and Piper brightened, “They were good drawings, anyways….”
“So!” Monika said, drawing attention away from Piper, “Why’d you come to the literature club?”