the sun was setting low

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Wow, so that was what it looked like when someone was being all shy and nervous. Zoe flushed a little, feeling both embarrassed and a little amused by the situation. She eventually nodded toward the end, agreeing with it. It was pretty much her suggestion, even if he had hinted at it or something. Cole did seem a little nervous about the idea, as if he wasn't sure he could really do it well.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Zoe blurted, again flushing. "It was just a suggestion, forget it," this last was said in a near murmur, her eyes going to look at her feet, which shuffled nervously. When she dared glance over Cole, she saw him looking out at the lake, looking about as nervous about the situation as Zoe herself. She swallowed, trying to think of what she should be saying about now.

"I don't mind if it doesn't look that great; you did say you did, um, scenery and stuff more,' she offered, trying to be reassuring. She added a nervous smile too, almost wishing she could put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Almost.

[Regan and Cole Robins]

Somehow Cole felt like he'd somehow found a way to make it awkward. The two of them seemed so very similar that, for once, he figured he might not have to worry about it - now he was thinking he might. Still, awkwardness or none, the possibility of having another subject - a willing subject - to paint in front of scenery like this... it seemed worth betting against Cole's distinct lack of social skills.

So he shrugged and let out a shy smile. "I don't think it would look bad... I, um.. I don't do many portraits of people, but... I mean, I like to do it, so I don't mind. You can keep it after, even, if you want... I don't know if you'd want to keep any of my stuff but just in case you did, you know..."

He sighed as the last vestiges of sunlight faded away. "I should, um... I should probably go... but... do you want to meet here again, then?"

---

OOC Notes:

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Cole sounded as though he was willing, at the least, and Zoe supposed that should be enough. He even offered to let Zoe keep whatever the finished product was. She smiled, nodding, figuring that she'd like that. She felt she should say as much too, should mention that she'd enjoy having a picture painted by a developing artist, but, as happened so often with Zoe, the words didn't quite come.

The sunlight faded, and apparently, so did Cole. Zoe could understand that herself: she still got nervous wandering around the campus by herself, especially at night. Again she found herself nodding, turning to look at the school building looming in the distance. A last question came though, and Zoe knew she had to answer:

"Sure," she said, nodding. "Here, um, same time, a few days from now? I've, um," Zoe blushed; she had time set aside for Devyn for... whatever you called what they had, "I've a prior commitment for this weekend, but maybe Thursday?" she figured it was worth a shot; she could even talk to Devyn about the painting; that should certainly be... interesting.

[Regan and Cole Robins]

Cole smiled and nodded. "Yeah... Thursday sounds all right." It was supposed to be nice out again on Thursday. Maybe they could meet a little earlier... no, he decided. He wanted the sunset. It was as much about that as it was about painting a portrait.

It would be fun, though. He hadn't done a portrait since Arianna sat for him over a year ago, and even before that he hadn't done many. Maybe it would be worth the practice. Either way, it seemed like a good idea - and with any luck, maybe out of all this he could have found himself another friend here in Zoe. That would bring the count up to two... more at any given time than he'd had over most of his life.

"I'll see you Thursday, then," he said, still with the same shy smile, and politely turned to head back to his dorm. Some people wouldn't have taken kindly to such an abrupt departure, he thought, but... Zoe, who seemed to see things the way he did... he didn't think he was offending her.

He smiled to himself as he walked back to the dorm, imagining Regan's reaction to the news that he'd managed to make one more potential friend.

---

OOC Notes: Finished after your post? Perhaps.

[Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe]

Zoe nodded, knowing that they'd reached an agreement of some sort there. She also realized that she'd probably just made a friend of some sort, and the feeling made her feel a little warmer. It was nice to know that she could at least meet a few people here who thought like her on some level. She ended up returning his shy smile with one of her own, adding a little wave. He was already turning to leave, and on some level, that was almost a relieve to Zoe. She wasn't great at goodbyes, often finding them awkward affairs, and she could understand Cole's desire to just sort of get things over with. However, she also figured that it was probably best if she just sort of stood there and waited patiently for a few moments. She eventually turned to look back at the lake, taking a deep breath, again feeling proud of herself.

I wonder if I should've mentioned that I have a girlfriend... Zoe wondered. She didn't want to give the wrong impression, but then again, they'd bonded, not flirted. For all she knew, Cole preferred strapping young men. Zoe simply dismissed the idea out of hand, and turned, watching the moon come up in the water. She'd wait a little while longer before heading back to her room, wishing that there was a way that a photograph could capture the moonrise a little better.