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She didn’t think it was possible. She never would have thought she’d actually fall in love with someone at first sight. Yet here she was. Laura Hollis, age 19, trying to make it as an artist in the world, and utterly in love with a stranger she saw at a restaurant two weeks ago.
The first time Laura saw her face, she wasn't sure if she'd been awake or dreaming. Because her face was like seeing a mirage in the desert. Like seeing the sun after ten rainy days. Like taking a breath after you felt like you were drowning. She had the sort of face you painted. Not because she was just another pretty face in the crowd, no. She had the sort of face you painted because you didn't want history to forget it. And ever since the first time Laura saw her, she couldn't stop drawing. But she was never satisfied. The cheekbones, the eyes, the lips, the eyebrows and oh, the jawline! All too beautiful to justify on paper, or even photographs. Still, Laura let the pencil fly over the rough sketch paper, and she drew.
Laura was sitting on the lawn outside of her building, drawing that girl again. It was all she’d been able to draw ever since she first saw her. It was starting to show in her projects and sketchbook. There were pages filled with her eyes and lips. Her hands were harder to draw, but she remembered them well. In the moment she’d first saw the dark brunette, everything seemed to go slower. Not really slow motion like in the movies, but slower in the sense that everything seemed to fade into the background and only she mattered. For about ten seconds, Laura has literally stared at the woman until her friend Kirsch had caught her attention again. Those ten seconds had been enough to imprint the image of her into Laura’s mind. And now that it was there, it didn’t want to go anywhere but on paper. Even now, as she was just absentmindedly doodling, a face formed. A face with a sharp jawline and dark locks framing it.
“Whatcha drawing there, Laura?” Laura jumped and her pencil went flying. She snapped the book shut but she was sure he’d already seen it.
“Ugh, Kirsch! Can you just not do that, please? You scared me.” Laura complained as she reached for her pencil in the grass. He circled around her and sat himself down in front of her.
“Are you sure it’s not just ‘cause you don’t want me to see what’s in your sketchbook?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. Laura was unimpressed and gave him a look. “Oh come on little nerd, I know you’ve been drawing that sexy lady in there.”
Laura sighed. She didn’t want him to catch her drawing her again. It had been the sixth time or so by now. “That too,” Laura admitted.
“So, have you found out who it is yet?” Kirsch asked. See, Laura was really grateful for his behavior when it came to the subject of the unknown mysterious goddess that was roaming the earth. Alright, she might not be a goddess but she could be with those cheekbones. Kirsch didn’t ridicule her for crushing on a woman she didn’t know. He was very cool about the whole thing, and had even gone as far as to help her find out who she is.
“No, I haven’t. She remains nameless. But I’ve been around more, hoping to bump into her someplace. I figured she’d a student here too. She seems to be around our age, right?” Kirsch nodded in agreement. Laura wouldn’t say she was stalking the girl, but she just really wanted to find out her name. And maybe if she had the courage by then, ask her out. Though there was the little fact of the girlfriend…
When Laura had seen her at the restaurant, she’d been dining with a girl. Now Laura wasn’t one to just assume things, but the date had looked all smitten by the girl. The date had done the whole laughing-at-every-joke thing and been all smiley. The one good thing Laura got from the fact that it was a date, was that the girl might actually be into girls. Which was a great discovery after crushing on straight girls for the past few times. But still, if the brunette actually had a girlfriend, she wouldn’t stand a chance. Besides, she’d be surprised if she even stood a chance with someone that beautiful if they were single.
She sighed again for what seemed like the millionth time today, and checked her watch.
“It’s time for class Kirsch, let’s get inside.” They both got up and walked to their next class. Ever since two weeks ago, Laura hadn’t really been able to focus on her classes. She’d been doodling in her sketchbook more often and been caught off guard when the class was dismissed and she hadn’t made a single note. Thank god for Kirsch and some other friends who still owed her some favors.
--
A week after that, Laura was still drawing her. She saw her everywhere she went, yet it was never actually her. Again, she’d made it to class early, so she sat outside her arts classroom with her legs sprawled out in front of her, sketchbook in her lap. She was drawing a portrait now. She’d drawn her separate features many times, but a portrait was much more difficult for her. And seeing as they were actually studying the composure of a good portrait in their arts class, Laura didn’t feel like drawing the girl was a waste of time. (She actually never thought that but now it was sort of like homework.)
No one else was here yet, but some people had passed by her. She’d still been attentive of her surroundings the first five minutes she was drawing, but now she was so deep in thought she didn’t notice a sound. Not even the sound of loud first years down the hall. Not even the sound of clicking heels on the tiled floor as they passed by her. Not even the loud thump of heavy boots. Heavy boots that walked right past Laura, came to an abrupt halt, turned and walked to stand right in front of her. It wasn’t until the person in front of her leaned in and blocked her light that Laura noticed someone was watching her draw.
“Hey could you not- “ Laura started as she looked up into the face of the backlit person. It took a second for her eyes to adjust when the person moved back a bit and a bright light shone in her eyes. But Laura managed to see who the person was not a second later. Her jaw dropped slightly and her heart skipped a beat.
“Well seeing as you seem to be drawing me, I believe I have the right to take a look at the resemblance.” Oh. She did not sound too happy. Well of course she’s not happy! I’m drawing a girl I don’t know and doesn’t know me and she just caught me and shit – maybe I should say something?
“I uh – I … Hi?” Laura stuttered. The girl in question only raised one of her eyebrows sky high, so Laura continued. “Let me explain, I mean I kind of owe you that, don’t I?” Laura regarded her for a moment but the girl just raised an eyebrow. “Right, so I am an artist. I have to draw portraits as our next assignment and when I saw you in a restaurant three weeks ago, I couldn’t really stop looking at you because you look so amazing and that’s why I’ve been drawing you for the past three weeks though I get that it’s weird because you don’t know me, and I don’t know you and I need to breathe.” Laura took in a massive breath when she realized she had been rambling and not really thinking about what she was saying. When she looked up again, the girl had a smirk on her face.
“Well Cutie, though I should probably find it strange that you have a sketchbook full of my face, I’m going to let you get away with it if I get to take a look at those drawings.” The girl said, her tone lighter than before, but she spoke in a low and husky voice.
Laura was about to hand her notebook over to the girl’s outstretched hand but she pulled it back just a bit.
“You can look,” Laura said while she stood up so that she was at least sort of level with the other girl, “if you tell me your name.” She felt nervous, but a good kind of nervous, and it exhilarated her just enough to have the courage to ask her. The girl quircked her eyebrow again – something that Laura thought was wonderful – and spoke.
“You tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine.”
Laura bit her lip and slowly nodded. She stretched out her right hand, holding the notebook.
“I’m Laura Hollis. Pleasure to meet you, though I would have preferred different circumstances.”
The girl took the notebook with her right hand and responded.
“I can’t say I don’t like the circumstances as they are.” She smirked as her eyes lifted from the notebook to Laura. Her eyes were even more beautiful as she imagined them. A gorgeous dark brown with an unusually bright glint in them. Laura was transfixed by her gaze as the husky voice spoke.
“I’m Carmilla. Carmilla Karnstein.”