Work Text:
“Now, before I end the lesson today, I want everyone to do a model drawing. This is not a self portrait, but instead I want everyone to draw someone—a friend, family member—please complete the sketch by the next session. I recommend taking a picture of your model,” His voice is loud against the silent art room.
Ena looks at the painting she just made after studying a sculpture in front of her. She remembers the teacher pointing out how it was accurate, but felt lifeless. She felt confused. ‘Lifeless’? How can she incorporate life into this inanimate sculpture?
“Ena, I like your drawing. It shows a great mastery of your technique,” A girl with jet black hair tied up into 2 neat braids at the side of her face said with warmth.
“Futaba…” Ena says her name with a smile, “It’s alright, I just don’t understand the word, ‘lifeless’. How am I supposed to make this more lively?” She asks dejectedly towards the artist who got the most praise from the teacher. Her paintings were perfect, showing the true difference between the two artists. ‘Futaba was probably saying that because she felt bad,’ Ena thought to herself.
“Maybe make the colours more saturated? Experimenting using colour is quite fun. Remember that self portrait you made a while ago? I loved your use of bright colours there… It really captured you well,” Her smile is warm as she and Ena start walking out of the classroom.
“I’m still not sure,” Ena sighs. “We should be going off now. What are you planning to do for the model? Who are you going to pick? I’m not sure who I might pick…”
“I’ll probably ask one of my friends… What about you? Who are you going to draw?” They walk out the building in unison.
“I’m… not sure. I’d ask my friend, Airi, but I think she’d be busy with her work…” Ena can’t think of anyone who would probably be willing to model for her. Airi would be good, as she’s definitely had experience due to her idol work, but it is idol work that might also refrain Airi from being available.
Mafuyu might be risky due to the last time she drew her, Ena does not know if her mother would believe that she had to draw another model. Kanade would definitely grow too tired… wait.
Mizuki.
A voice cuts her thoughts. “I’ll be separating now, Ena! Good luck!” Futaba walks the other way, waving goodbye sweetly as Ena waves goodbye before walking off, not looking back as she was lost in her thoughts.
Ena continues to think. Mizuki would definitely be a good choice… They’re quite pretty and adorable—sometimes Ena thought they looked like a child that wanted to be cuddled, searching for warmth; She can’t describe the amount of times she wanted to hold Mizuki’s hand and cute face.
Hold on, what was she saying? Thinking? They did have soft hands that felt like they’ve never worked a day in their life, and cloud-like fluffy hair that Ena could play with all day. She was down bad.
Ena sighs before going onto the Nightcord call. It was only 1a.m. and she felt extremely tired, exhausted even. “Hihi,” She mumbles. K and Yuki are muted, but they unmute for a slight. Ena was playing some soft background music in her earphones.
“Hi there,” Mafuyu’s cold, stiff voice echoes through Ena’s earphones.
“Hi, Enanan,” Kanade says, using Ena’s online nickname.
“Ehhh? Is Ena already getting tired? Our session today just started…” Mizuki’s voice teases her. Mafuyu and Kanade mute up again.
“I’m not that tired, just stressed. I was working on the art a while before we started calling, and was hoping to finish it by this session,” In reality, she wanted to finish all her parts of the music video before starting her art assignment, she would need the time. Plus, it was an opportune moment to ask Mizuki if they could be her model. And knowing Mizuki, they’d probably accept her offer.
“Stressed? That reminds me, you had that art session again, right?” Mizuki asks nicely.
“Oh, yea, I did… about that…” She admitted.
“Something up?” Mizuki asks softly, concerned about Ena.
Ena speaks up, trying to put on a poker face and using her most nonchalant voice she could, she asks, “Well, yeah. I have this short assignment to draw a model. I need someone to model for me, could you do that?”
“Do I have to go to your studio for the lessons? I really don't want to just sit still for hours…” Mizuki admits softly, “But still, picking me, huh? Is it possible you finally agree that I'm adorable and cute?”
Ena grumbles, “Fine, you're decently pretty. A good choice for me to paint, but I'm only picking you because I have no other options, okay?”
“Say what you will, Enanan,” They drag out the last syllable of her username. The name rolls off their tongue perfectly.
Ena grows red softly. “I'll go over to your house on Saturday. Are you free then?” She finally starts to continue drawing the art for the music video. Several mouse clicks and keyboard noises are heard from Mizuki’s side.
“If it's for you, I'll clear my schedule for you!” Mizuki teases as the sounds in the background stop while they say those words.
“Alright then, it's planned. Dress up a little, but don't be too complicated, I don't want to draw that much, alright?” Ena says. She hears someone unmute in the call.
“Whenever we say to dress up casually to meet up, you two always dress so extravagantly,” It was Mafuyu, here to drop in some uncalled comment, as usual.
“We're just fashionable, Mafuyu! It's just our style,” Mizuki says with what Ena thinks is a smile. She can imagine their smile perfectly, it was something that looked so unique to Ena. The way that their lips curved to the perfect place, small dimples forming on their cheeks with bright eyes.
Ena smiles, before asking something about the art for the music video, “For the MV…”
Ena sighs, “We’re the last ones awake. We should call it a day. I want to sleep.”
“Weak. Today’s session was so short,” Mizuki hums softly.
“You always say that,” Ena grumbles once again. Her hand with her pen hovering in the hair. “Anyway, I guess I’ll see you on Saturday?”
“Yeah. You’re making me stressed on what to wear now… Maybe I can use this as an excuse to start buying more clothes…” Mizuki thinks out loud.
“I may be an addict at taking selfies… but you’re way worse when it comes to shopping, shopping addict.”
“No, no! I just have an impeccable fashion sense. Not to mention, any style can fit me very well. I’m just that cute and adorable, aren’t I?” Mizuki was grinning on the other side of the screen, Ena could just feel it through their voice.
“No. Not at all,” Ena lies through gritted teeth, feigning anger.
Mizuki lets out a soft whine, “But you’re the one who picked me as her model!” The mischievous chuckle was picked up by their mic, making Ena hear it perfectly.
“This…” She couldn’t fight back, too tired after rushing her work. “Fine. You’re cute. I’m going to bed, ugly.”
“Hey! You just contradicted yourself! You can’t call me-” She leaves the voice call, cutting out Mizuki’s voice. Now only her Spotify is playing. The song was upbeat and happy, but Ena felt lonely in the dark, it felt like there was a silence without Mizuki’s voice. She sighs in exhaustion.
“Hah… I thought I got over them. Am I really falling for them?” She says out loud. She turns off her desktop, getting ready to sleep for the night, but when she turns around, she sees an ugly grinning carrot-haired man.
“Akito? What the hell? Ever heard of knocking?”
“I did knock, multiple times actually. But have you ever heard of learning how to shut up? I couldn’t sleep,” The circles in his eyes are a prevalent dark colour. “Who the hell were you calling this late at night? Was it your music group?”
“Yeah, why?” Ena says defensively.
“Just wondering after you kinda confessed your feelings out loud while I’m right behind you,” He heard it.
“Wait, you heard that?” Ena asks with wide eyes.
“Yeah. Was it Akiyama?” He knew exactly who it was. He continued talking his nonsensical bullshit. “They seem like the only person who you would li-” Ena cut him off again.
“Shut up! I’m going to bed now. I don’t like Mizuki like that,” Denying her inner feelings for Mizuki once again. Her voice quivers softly, and Akito could immediately tell she was lying about her love for them.
“Yeah, right… I have to tell Mizuki about this.” He walks off, closing the door. Ena could hear him opening and closing the door to his own room, going off to bed.
She huffs and goes to bed as well, “He wouldn’t tell them about me. No way. He’s too much of a coward for that.”
— im otw over to ur house rn
A soft ding is heard from Mizuki's phone. They tap on the lockscreen, to see who it's from before unlocking their phone. It was Ena.
— wow
— i almost thought ud b extremely late
— whTs fhat supposed to mean ugly, Mizuki laughs at Ena's message. Another ding is heard as they check their phone again.
— srey typos im walking rn
— ew cringe focus on walking ur going to b late<\em>, Mizuki sighs. “This girl. She's so silly,” The smile is apparent on their face, but it softens at a realisation, “She will probably hate me if I liked her in any way, or if I told her that…” Mizuki trails off.
“I need to be more positive. I'm going to meet her in a while… but… it's hard to find anything to be optimistic about without any other negative thoughts; I'm glad she's coming over, but what if I mess up somehow? Am I speaking unreasonably again? I want to tell her my feelings.”
Mizuki laughs at themself. The clock ticks as they wait for Ena, their heart beating faster each second—was it nervousness and panic, or was it love tugging at their heartstrings? Or perhaps it was a mixture of both? They did not know.
The bell rings. Mizuki shuffles around quickly, running to the door, opening it to see a well-dressed Ena. Honestly, she could be the model instead of Mizuki—she looked ethereal. Perfect. She carefully picked the outfit to present to them. They couldn’t fathom how this girl had insecurities about her art, looking at the perfection she holds right now.
She was wearing muted clothes in a casual style, unlike her usual style. Mizuki assumed it was to avoid getting paint on any clothes she liked wearing, seeing the state of her clothes right now. It was a large brown jumpsuit with a striped button-up layered underneath it. Mizuki assumed it was a large one-piece, button up and all.
On top of that she had a large navy coat, and was carrying an assortment of items.
Her slightly messy hair brushed in the soft wind, set into a short ponytail, due to her short hair. It was messy to a point it made her look even better. The two figures make eye contact as Mizuki admires her deep brown eyes. The eyes that you could get lost looking in—the eyes that look simple from afar, but once you take time to appreciate, can’t help but stare at all the time. Deep and sometimes brooding.
They speak after what seems like forever, “Enanan.”
“Don’t say that face to face, it feels awkward,” She scolds with a tinge of sweetness in her mouth. Mizuki smiles softly.
“Alright, whatever you say, Enanan,” They open the door wider to let Ena inside, aiding her in lifting some of her painting items.
“How are we going to start this?” Mizuki asks with a curious gaze, watching Ena set up some materials. Mizuki stood near the chair they would sit on.
“Well wait, didn’t you make this dress? ” Ena sighs, looking at the complex work of Mizuki’s garments. “You’re lucky I’m only doing shoulders up, if I had to draw this work I might’ve cried.” Mizuki chuckles. To which Ena smiles at.
Mizuki chose to wear a blue dress they altered, they removed the usual ribbon in their hair and let it down, curling it and adorning a blue matching headpiece with the dress and its ruffly glory.
And so she began sketching soft lines to help her out. She notices Mizuki’s expression. It’s a smile, their smile—Ena knows that, but she can’t help but feel that the smile plastered on their face is… not entirely their’s.
The smile she loved looking at, something was completely wrong. Everything looked the same, yet it didn’t. Ena speaks up, “Your expression is strange, are you okay?”
“So you noticed,” They laugh before trailing off.
“I’m being serious,” Ena says in an annoyed tone.
“Fine, I don’t know if I want to tell you, though.”
“Then I’ll wait. I’ll wait for you to tell me,” The words are similar to the words she said on that rooftop once, that was the time they were producing that song—Lover, wait no, Lower.
“I’m tired now. And I’ve barely started,” The sun was setting. Ena thinks for a bit—she wanted to stay there longer, with Mizuki. She had no particular reason to stay, she usually had night classes anyway, so why was she so adamant on staying?
“You’ve been working a long time, take a break,” Mizuki pauses, something clearly on their mind. They wanted to say more, Ena could read them like a book.
“Hey, uhm. Could I stay over?” Ena asks.
“Hah, I was just about to ask that, Enanan,” The use of her nightcord user makes her roll her eyes before gazing back at Mizuki and their cheeky smirk.
The silence feels different. And Ena wants to say some words, but the night falls as fast as she falls asleep, and it was already the next day, everything went by so quickly as she rose from her separate bed, Mizuki was already awake—the empty bed stared at her.
“Mizuki?” She calls out, looking around the house.
“Oh? You’re awake? I wanted to tell you something recently, actually…” Mizuki says those words. It makes Ena nearly tear up. She can’t comprehend such words. It made her feel special.
That week, Ena walked to her art class with a big smile. For once, she felt proud of her work.
She carries the canvas, and she can’t stop and take a few glances at it. The few glances at her love, Mizuki. She can not help but feel happy, euphoric. Joy filling her heart.
Futaba sees her walking to the art room, catching up to her. “Ena! How’s your work? You seem really proud of it.”
Ena sighs softly, “I am.”
The words make Futaba feel an overwhelming amount of shock. Ena, she always seemed so gloomy, like something was eating at her heart and emotions. Futaba smiled, it was unusual to see Ena act like this ever since they first met in this exact art programme.
Futaba stays silent for a moment, letting Ena relish in her joy before asking, “Did something happen? I’m really curious now.”
“Yeah,” Ena admits.
[“Oh? You’re awake? I wanted to tell you something recently, actually…” Mizuki says those words. It makes Ena nearly tear up. She can’t comprehend such words. It made her feel special.
Those words were…
Those words made Ena feel like a different person.
”I really like you. Love you almost.”
“Wow, so you only like me? You don’t love me?” Ena says, her words are harsh but her demeanour is not—in fact, she’s in shock. She’s overjoyed.
“You know you like me back."]
“I started liking someone a lot, and I found out they like me back."