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Haley did not remember the last time she had been this nervous. Had it been first grade? She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders and lifted her head. It was just Leah, she told herself as she threw her long blond hair back and knocked on the wooden cabin. A few seconds later, she already heard footsteps approaching the door.
The wooden thing did not creak, to Haley's immense surprise. "Ah, hello Haley!" Leah greeted her, opening the door and stepping aside. "Come in, I've already prepared everything," she told Haley, who closed the door and took off her shoes. Where should she…
"Uhm, Leah?" she asked, pretty blue shoes in hand.
"Ah, sorry, just put them there next to the plant, yes."
After Haley had done so, she looked around; she'd never seen Leah's place from the inside. When she thought about it, she did not venture into this part of the valley very often. It wasn't as muddy as she would have thought, and the scenery would be perfect to take photographs in.
Leah's cabin was different than she had imagined. Haley had feared that it could be dirty, paint and wood chips everywhere, stray papers strewn across the floor. Instead, it was quite cosy. The few papers that did lie around only added to the rustic charm, and Haley found herself relaxing, stiff shoulders lowering as she imagined the pretty portraits she could take here.
Leah's bed and a weird looking statue were off to the left, with a brick fireplace and a pretty, green rug to the right. In the right bottom corner of the cabin where Leah led Haley, there was a comfortable looking sitting area with different plants.
"You coming?" Leah asked with a raised eyebrow and hands at her hips.
"Huh? Ah, yes of course. Your cabin is unexpectedly pretty," Haley told her, smiling.
Leah blinked at her, before muttering thanks, and sitting down at the table.
"So," Leah began after they were both sitting across from each other. "It takes a lot of time and practise to become good at drawing, and art in general–"
Haley interrupted her, "Yes, I know that, which is why I asked you to help me to speed it up." She threw the blond strands that had fallen over her shoulder back.
Leah seemed to take a deep breath before continuing. "I can teach you some general stuff, but the rest is observation and practise. Drawing humans can be pretty hard in the beginning, so I will teach you how to use guidelines, okay?"
"Yes, Professor Leah," Haley said, a high pitched giggle in her voice and mirth dancing in her eyes. Leah rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched into a smile despite her scepticism of the girl across from her. She still did not know what had possessed her when agreeing to teach the town's snob. Maybe, it had been the genuine desire to learn that had been so obvious in those beautiful blue eyes?
"Okay, so–" Leah noticed that it had been a bad idea to sit across. It would be difficult for Haley to copy her. "It would probably be easier if we sat next to each other, if you don't mind."
Haley blinked, before shaking her head. "Not at all! Should I scoot to the side?"
"Actually, that would probably be necessary. I know my table is very small; I don't have that many guests, normally."
Once the seating arrangement was finally ideal, Leah noticed something else. The air in her cabin had shifted, there was now an electric sort of tension between her and Haley. She was acutely aware of just how close they were sitting, bare arms and legs nearly touching. The heart in Leah's chest beat wildly, and she saw Haley biting her pink, glossy lips. Haley was staring at the table, a faint blush covering her cheeks that hadn't been there before. With every inhale, Leah breathed in Haley's delicious coconut perfume, and she had to wonder if the other girl smelled her daffodil scent just as all-consumingly.
"So," Leah said, and cleared her throat awkwardly, her own face feeling hot. "Grab a pencil and paper and let's start."
"Y-yeah!" Haley said, voice too high and still blushing. Hastily, she pulled the two items towards her, before putting her long blond hair behind her ears.
"We start by drawing a circle, try to make big movements out of your shoulder instead of your wrist."
"Okay."
It was now that Leah realised something else; Haley was right-handed. Which meant that her arm would be touching Leah's left one the whole time they were drawing.
Haley looked up, noticing the same thing Leah just had, warm skin touching. Every hair on Leah's body was standing on edge, and she was once again hyper aware of just how close the blonde woman was to her. Neither pulled their arm away, though.
"O-oh, you are left-handed? I never noticed…" Haley said, pushing her hair over one shoulder and licking her glossed lips, before swallowing noticeably.
"Y-yes, always have been. You should have seen how bad the the ink smudges on my school work had been," she joked, catching Haley's blue eyes.
"I bet you were drawing instead of copying the blackboard," Haley joked back, grinning.
"Oh yes, one time I drew my professor with a pig snout and he caught me! You should have seen how red his face had gotten!"
Haley laughed, and Leah realised for the first time, just how beautiful it made her. It completely transformed her. Haley was beautiful on any day, but when she laughed? She turned into something ethereal. Leah wanted to paint her, to sculpt her. Her fingers were shaking with the urge to capture this moment, this woman.
After what felt like ages, Haley cleared her throat, looking at her paper with a shaky and crooked circle on it. "So…what do we do next?"
Leah shook herself. "Eh, what? Ah, yes, you draw a straight line, and then a diagonal one…"
After spending hours at Leah's cabin that first day, Haley came back almost every day. Maybe, just because the art lessons were really helpful. Or, just maybe, because of the woman holding said lessons.
