High Point University

"Nothing to be sorry for," Rek laughed. "It's a muffin, not my ego. Feel free to reject it."

He winked at her, then leaned forward, propping his head up on his hand.

"How long you been vegan?" He asked with a smile. "I could never do it, but I respect people who can. Takes a lot of discipline."


"Yeah!" Jerica sat up, a bit too quick. She sniffed, rubbing at her face even though she wasn't even crying. She didn't know what came over her. "Sorry."

"Thank you." She looked up to meet his gaze, looking at him earnestly. She looked over at Carter with the same expression. "And thank you. That didn't... feel great."

She took a deep breath, swirling the last of her beer in the bottle. She needed another one, but she damn sure wasn't going to leave that couch until J.R. got bored of the party and left. Or, until Bo and Carter moved. She'd probably follow them around for a while if they got up.

"Whew!" She forced herself to perk back up, shaking her head a bit. She flashed a grin at them both. "Sorry, didn't mean to be a downer. What now?"

Bo watched as Mel and some of the other girls closed the door on J.R. Well. That was fast. Carter wasn't facing the door, so Bo decided to be the bearer of good news.

"Not a downer. You're good," Bo said, before pointing in the direction of the door. "Looks like J.R. peaced out. Want to go grab some food? I finished up a little bit ago."

"Food! Oh my gosh, it smelled so good." Jerica was on her feet in an instant, grateful for any excuse to break the awkwardness between them. She staggered a step to the side, reaching both of her hands forward to offer Bo a hand up in case he was as drunk as she was, smiling down at him, even though seated he still seemed like he was almost as tall as she was standing up."You're incredible in all ways imaginable."

"You're cool too, Carter," She said, deciding to use his name instead of the nicknames she'd been taunting him with as she she turned her head towards him, but kept her arms outstretched towards Bo. "I'll bring you a plate, sit tight."

Bo and Carter made brief eye contact, and Bo got to his feet. He held Jerica's arm, but he didn't put any weight on it. He was completely sober, unlike the majority of people in the room.

"I can get my own plate," he said, starting to follow her. "But yeah, let's eat."

Jerica happily half-skipped towards the kitchen, grateful that now that J.R. was gone she didn't have to put on a tough-guy persona anymore. Her head was buzzing pleasantly.

"Such a good cook," she murmured, grabbing two paper plates and slamming them down on the counter. She scooped some of each of the foods onto each plate, a little clumsy, but trying her best to get the food onto the plates.

She turned and looked at Bo earnestly, suddenly remembering that she hadn't answered him, so she explained. "For Carter. 'Cause he's a pillow."

She turned to the fridge and grabbed two cans of beer, slipping one into each of the pockets on her sweats. She held up a third can to be sure he saw it, then set it on the counter. "For you."

She grabbed both of the plates she'd fixed and started back towards the living room a few steps, but turned back to wait for Bo.

Evaline was probably overthinking it, but she was beginning to think Rek was flirting with her. Coming over to talk to her alone, giving her food, winking at her, saying jokes...

She decided to not overthink it and make things awkward, though.

"I've been vegan my whole life," she said, glossing over his joke. "I grew up with it. My parents were pretty strict with it. And I suppose the lifestyle followed me to my adult years."

Rek didn't seem like like he was obnoxious or drunk, so she found herself uncovering to her unfinished sketch, hoping that her new focus and half-distracted state would maybe give him signs that she wasn't interested.

Rek hesitated a moment, looking at Evaline thoughtfully as he tried to gauge her response. It was clear that she was trying to avoid eye contact. Though whether it was social anxiety or a genuine desire to be left alone, he couldn't tell.

"You an art major?" He asked, still resisting the urge to gawk at her paper, even though she uncovered it. "I'm studying music performance."

Evaline flicked her eyes up at Rek. Now he had her attention. She didn't think there would be other arts-based majors in this party.

"I am," she admitted. "I'm a fine arts major."

She paused, wondering if she should reveal anymore, but then decided it didn't really hurt.

"Last spring, I graduated with my Bachelor's at UCLA," she went on. "I'm a Master's student now at Prestige University."

She twirled the pencil around her hand. "But... music performance. I'm sure you have to practice as much as I have to practice drawing."

"Oh, that's so cool!" Rek flashed her another grin, excited that he actually had an art-oriented person he could chat with. "I'm just a sophomore, so I'm sure your work is much harder than me... but I've got two primaries, so quite a bit of practice time to keep up with them both. Do you have a focus for your studies? Like, a specific medium? I don't know much about how MFAs work."

Evaline flashed Rek an appreciative smile. It was nice to talk about these things with someone who actually cared. She found her body relaxing from tension she didn't realize she had.

"If you haven't already, I'm sure you'll have long nights practicing. It's the same with art majors. The curriculum was tough at UCLA, and there have been days where I stayed up for two or three days straight to get my studio work done..."

She sighed, not missing her undergraduate days. In all honestly, she wasn't even a fan of UCLA. She only went there because it was kind of just... expected of her, especially since her parents were well-known alumni. Legacy and tradition was their motto.

"So, I can do it all. Painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics... But drawing has always been my focus. Painting is a close second, too. And Prestige University is on the quarter system, so the MFA program will start in a few weeks. I'm just focusing on painting and drawing then."

"Sounds neat!" He was happy that she seemed to be relaxing, ever so slightly, and actually letting him have a glimpse of what she loved. "I get that. I can play a lot of instruments, but my favorites are by far violin and piano. Just hits my heart in a special way."

He smiled across the table at her, making sure he met her gaze instead of trying to peek at her paper, even though her curiosity only grew. "Any favorite things to draw? I'd love to see some of your work someday if you have any you're comfy sharing. But no pressure."

Evaline perked up when Rek mentioned what he played. "Oh, piano..." she said softly, but mostly to herself. But he changed the subject before she could linger on that thought for any longer.

She looked down at the paper in front of her. It was a rough sketch of the fake plant in front of her, and it wasn't at all great. When she first sat down, she wanted to idly draw to escape from the stress at the back of her mind. Looming due dates, the incoming school year, the taxing summer... She didn't think anyone would sit near her and see what she was drawing. It felt almost embarrassing to have to hide what she was doing now.

Not thinking about it, she tore the paper from the pad and crumpled it up.

"That wasn't, um—" she started, then decided to abandon the sentence mid-way through.

"I mostly draw people," she said instead, peering up at him. She then turned to a new page in front of her with the beginnings of a playful grin. He was younger than she preferred, but still charming. She could play this game, too.

"Why don't you sit over there?" she asked, pointing at the seat with the most sun. "I'll sketch you. Pro bono."

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Rek sorrowfully watched her crumple up her paper. “I didn’t mean to make you quit. I didn’t peep. Promise.”

But then he considered her suggestion and grinned at her, dramatically lifting his chin as he went where she said. “But guess this works too... I’ve been told that I am rather pretty.”

Evaline chuckled. "I'll try to capture that then," she said as she sat up straighter, tilting the sketchbook away from him. "Also, don't worry about the other drawing. I'd rather do this."

She gave a small smile and looked up at him. "Okay. Feel free to pose. I'll try to be quick."

And with that, she stole glances up and down at him, her pencil scratching across the paper.

Rek started by dramatically placing his hands on his hips and lifting his chin, but then thought better of it. He wanted to see how good she actually was. He hauled himself onto the banister where the light would be best and posed.

“No worries. I know you can’t rush perfection,” he said playfully, trying to hold still. “I live next door. If you want to come play piano when you’re done. I have one and you seemed to light up a bit. Which makes sense. Pianos are the shit.”