Chapter Text
"I'm sorry sir, I'm afraid someone else still has that book borrowed. But if I could interest you in..."
Haru sighed and stood up. "No, it's fine." Picking up his shoulder bag (which was quite heavy, seeing as Haru had even more art supplies and sketchbooks stuffed in it than usual), he started walking towards the public library's exit. "But please inform me when the book is returned."
A ten minute walk later, Haru was taking off his boots and coat after entering his house, relieved to finally be away from the harsh cold outside. After making himself a cup of coffee, he walked upstairs to his so-called "art studio", which was really just the guest bedroom of his house. But seeing as Haru rarely ever had guests, he'd moved all his art supplies and easels and sketchbooks and paintings to that room.
Stumbling through the mess of sketchbooks and art guides on the floor, Haru finally got to his desk at the back of the room and sat down, taking off his shoulder bag and placing it on the table. He wasn't usually a messy person, but this last month had been an exception. And there was only one reason for that.
The art final is next week!
Not that Haru was usually one to get stressed before exams, but this time was also another exception.
...And we have to draw those goddamn life drawings.
Yup. Life drawings. In simpler terms, naked people. For some reason, this was Haru's weak spot in art. He was definitely more into painting, especially scenery and nature (he also loved painting water, for some reason he couldn't explain), and he never planned on sketching any naked people in the future. If he could've skipped this course, he probably would've. But no, this counted toward their final grade, so there was no ditching it. And now the final was next week.
He took out the sketchbook that had today's life drawings drawn in them and flipped to his latest work. He did a quick overview, sighed, and slammed the sketchbook back on his desk. The instructor's words rang in Haru's head:
I'm afraid this won't do, Haruka. I know you don't really prefer life drawing, but you'll have to improve if you want to even pass the exam. I'm sorry.
Then she'd recommended a book, Life Drawing 101: The Anatomy and Breakdown, Simplified, and told him that he would be able to find it at the small library near his house, but he'd been too late. Some other desperate art student like himself probably had it right now, and they were probably going to return it after the art final.
Draining the last of his coffee, Haru slammed the mug on the desk, frustrated. Who would think that drawing naked people, after all his award-winning paintings, would be so bloody hard?
Worrying about it right now won't do anything. Just hope that the book gets returned quickly.
With that thought, he got up, stretching, and decided that a nice warm bath would probably calm his nerves.
~~~~~~
Half an hour later, Haru walked into his bedroom, just a simple blue and white towel draped around his hips. Yeah, he thought to himself, it was definitely a good idea to take a bath. Feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, he walked over to his chest-of-drawers and started to look for something to wear.
While he was looking for his white sweater, Haru's cellphone, which he'd tossed carelessly on his bed started ringing, startling him. Who would call me? he thought, making his way toward the bed. Anyone who knew Haru knew that he rarely ever used his phone. He picked up the phone, but all it said was Unknown Caller. He pressed "answer" anyway.
"Hello?" He asked tentatively into the phone.
"Nanase-san?" said a male's voice, which sounded strangely familiar...
"You came to the library earlier this afternoon, yes?"
Ah. Now he recognized it. It was the library assistant that he'd been talking to today.
"Yes," was Haru's only reply.
"Well, I just wanted to inform you that Life Drawing 101 has just been returned. You wanted to borrow it, correct?"
A wave of relief spread through Haru. Maybe I won't fail the exam after all.
"Mmhmm, that's right," Haru said nodding, "I'll be there in ten minutes."
Just as promised, Haru was at the library exactly ten minutes later. He walked up to the librarian, a middle-aged woman who smiled when she saw him approaching.
"Nanase-san, right?" She asked. Haru nodded. She held up a thick, hardcover book in her hands. "I was informed you wanted to borrow this."
Haru handed her his library card, and two minutes later he was walking down the street, making his way home for the second time that day. The cold wind was even worse now, making Haru shiver and wrap his scarf a little tighter around his neck. Even so, he was mightily relieved that whoever had borrowed the book had returned it so quickly. He opened the book to the cover page, and a thin strip of paper suddenly came flying out.
If it wasn't for Haru's abnormally fast reflexes, the little strip of paper probably would've been long gone by now. But Haru had quickly grabbed it before the wind could carry it away. Closing the book again, he unfolded the thin slip of paper, only to find...
012 412 3546
A phone number?
~~~~~~
"There," Haru mumbled to himself, finishing off yet another drawing. He'd been drawing nonstop for three hours after coming back from the library, and he was surprised to see that after following the book's instructions, he was actually improving. No wonder his instructor had recommended it to him.
Maybe I should do a few more....
Immediately, Haru's stomach grumbled, protesting. Sighing, he got up. The last time he'd eaten was his lunch break in the middle of class, and that had been hours ago.
But before leaving the studio, he picked up the book, deciding to read a little more while eating. He also spotted the little strip of folded paper, which he'd put at the far corner of his desk. For good measure, he grabbed that too. Maybe he would decide what to do with it later.
Putting on a blue apron, Haru went through his freezer, looking for something to eat. It wasn't much of a question though, as the only thing he had in there was mackerel, which Haru didn't really consider a problem. He really loved mackerel, after all.
While he flipped the now half-cooked mackerel in the pan, the doorbell started ringing. Haru sighed. He really didn't want any guests right now. He just wanted to continue his life drawings, then probably take another bath, then get some well-earned sleep. Maybe if he just ignored it...
Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong, ding dong.....
Now Haru was just plain irritated. Closing the stove and taking his apron off, he made his way toward the door.
"Who is it?" He mumbled, opening the door, even though he was pretty sure he knew who it was.
"Haru-chan!! We came to see you!"
Yup. Who else would visit him at this time other than Nagisa, Makoto, and Rei?
"Can we come inside, Haru?" Makoto asked, smiling.
Haru sighed. "Sure."
Ten minutes later, they were all seated in Haru's living room, drinking tea. Haru asked them if they wanted mackerel, but they all just sighed.
"You eat way too much mackerel, Haru," Makoto said, shaking his head.
"It isn't a balanced diet, Haruka-senpai," Rei added. "It's not good for your body."
Haru just shrugged, used to their usual comments. "So what brings you guys here?"
"Well," Nagisa started, "Haru-chan's been so stressed about the art exam, so we thought we'd come to cheer you up!"
Haru couldn't help but smile. His friends could be a handful sometimes, but he really was thankful for them. "Is that so?"
All three of them nodded, smiling. "Though I hope we aren't disturbing you, Haruka-senpai," Rei said.
Haru shook his head. "I needed to take a break anyway."
Nagisa reached across the table, grabbing for the life drawings book. "Is this what you're studying for the art exam, Haru-chan?"
"Yeah," Haru replied, taking another bite of mackerel.
Nagisa curiously peered at the cover. "Life Drawings 101. What are 'life drawings'?"
Rei sighed. "It's drawing people, Nagisa-kun. Naked people, to be specific."
"Ohhh," Nagisa said. "Do you like life drawing, Haru-chan?"
"Not really," Haru said, shrugging.
"Then why are you doing it??"
"Obviously, Nagisa-kun, he has to take it to pass the exam," Rei interrupted.
Haru finished the last bite of his mackerel, while Rei and Nagisa continued bickering about life drawings and art exams and who knows what. Makoto looked over at them, smiling fondly, and then turned his attention back at Haru. He squinted at Haru's face, a small frown forming on his lips.
"What is it?" Haru asked.
Makoto shook his head. "Nothing really. It's just... have you been getting enough sleep these days? You have dark circles under your eyes."
Haru sighed. Classic motherly, worrying Makoto. There was absolutely nothing he could hide from his childhood friend. "I've been staying up late to practice for the exam. You don't have to worry about it, though. I'm fine."
"I'll show you myself, Nagisa-kun!" Rei (who was still arguing with Nagisa) burst out, snatching the book out of Nagisa's hands and flipping it to some random page. Suddenly, the little strip of paper fluttered out, dropping gently on the floor. Everyone had their eyes on it, the room suddenly dead quiet.
"Oooh, what's this, Haru-chan?" Nagisa grinned, reaching out for the paper.
"Nagisa, don't-" Haru started, but Nagisa had already grabbed and unfolded it. Rei and Makoto were right behind him, peering curiously.
A mischevious grin appeared on Nagisa's face. "A phone number? Do you secretly have a girlfriend, Haru-chan?"
"Huh? No, it's not like tha-"
"Is it someone from your art class??"
"What? No!"
"Well, there's only one way to find out," Rei said, pushing up his glasses. The three of them looked at each other and nodded. Before Haru could react, Nagisa grabbed Haru's cellphone and started entering the number.
"Hey! Stop it!" Haru said, trying to grab the phone back. "Makoto, stop them!"
"Actually, I'm pretty curious too, Haru," Makoto said.
Haru made a few more desperate grabs, but Nagisa kept dodging until he finished dialing the number. Completely ignoring Haru, he pressed 'call' and put it on loudspeaker.
"Stop it, guys. I don't even know who-" Makoto then clamped his hand over Haru's mouth, silencing him.
The other end rang a few times, and then somebody picked up, much to Haru's horror. They all sat there, silently waiting for Haru's "girlfriend" to say something.
"Yes? Rin Matsuoka here," said a voice that was clearly male.
Makoto, Nagisa, and Rei looked at each other, surprised. "Um.. Are you Haru-chan's boyfriend?" Nagisa asked, giggling.
"Huh?! Haru-chan- Is this a prank call?!" said this 'Rin Matsuoka', sounding annoyed.
"It's not," Rei said. "Didn't you give Haru your number?" Makoto added.
"Look, I don't know any 'Haru', okay-"
Haru (who no longer had Makoto's hand over his mouth) grabbed the phone from Nagisa, turned the loudspeaker off, and walked out of the living room. He pressed the phone to his ear.
"Sorry about that," he sighed, rubbing his temple. "I found your number on this piece of paper, in a library book, so my friends assumed-"
"Wait," Rin said. "You found my number in a library book? Which book?"
"Life Drawing 101."
"My number..." Rin said, sounding confused. Then Haru heard him gasp. "Wait a minute."
Haru wasn't exactly sure what was happening on the other end, but he heard something like "MOMO! AI! SOUSUKE!!" and a lot of laughing and something being thrown? And even more laughing and yelling? He wasn't sure.
"Sorry about that," Rin sighed a few minutes later. "My friends thought it would be funny if they put my number in the book and I started getting random calls."
A little frown formed on Haru's face. Why did he get the feeling that he'd heard this voice before? And that last name... Matsuoka. He felt like he'd heard it before too.
"Uh, just asking, but are you maybe in my art class..?" Haru asked tentatively. Why did Rin sound so familiar??
"An art class?" He heard Rin laugh. It was a cute laugh. "Heck no. But I did go to life model for an art class a few days ago. Are you an art student?"
Ah. Now Haru remembered. From all the life models that had been called in, the one who'd stuck out most to Haru was a particular red-haired young man, about his age, with a body so toned and perfect that it had actually distracted him from his work. But the thing that stuck out most about the life model had been his eyes. Bright red, fiery and passionate...
Rin Matsuoka...
"Uh, hello?" Rin asked, snapping Haru out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm an art student. I think the art class you came to was mine. You...you have red hair, right?"
"Yup, that's me," Rin said, and Haru could tell he was smiling. "Haru Nanase, right? Were you, by any chance, the blue-eyed one sitting in the right corner?"
Haru couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. "You remember me?"
Rin laughed that cute laugh again. "Maybe. You were pretty distracting."
"What?"
"Never mind. Anyway, I'm actually coming to your art class to model again tomorrow."
For some reason, Haru's heart skipped a beat. I get to see Rin again?
And naked too.
Trying to distract himself from the dirty thoughts forming in his head, Haru tried changing the subject. "Is that why you borrowed the life drawing book?"
"Yeah," Rin answered. "We have an instructor who shows us how we should pose, but he was absolute shit at teaching, so a lot of students complained that I hadn't been posing properly and that it was affecting their drawing. I don't like doing things half-assed, so I borrowed the book to see how the poses actually worked. It really helped."
"Mmhmm, it's a good book," Haru agreed. "So you haven't life modeled before?"
"Nope," Rin said. "I usually do normal modeling for a few different brands, but I needed some extra money, so someone suggested life modeling. It really pays well."
Suddenly, Nagisa yelled from the living room. "Haru-chan! Are you done talking to your boyfriend yet?"
Haru sighed. He hadn't even realized it, but a whole ten minutes had already passed. "I have to go now, Rin. Again, sorry about my friends calling you like this."
"It's no problem," Rin said. Then he snickered. "So they think I'm your boyfriend, huh?"
Haru felt his face heat up. "Y-Yeah, I guess..."
Rin laughed. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Haru. Bye."
"Yeah. Bye."
And with that, Rin hung up, leaving Haru standing outside his living room, phone in his hand and heart beating abnormally fast. He wasn't even very sure why. And for some reason, he was really looking forward to going to his art class tomorrow. He was actually looking forward to drawing life drawings. Life drawings.
Was this... was this because of Rin?
Oh well, Haru thought to himself as he walked back into the living room. Guess I'll see tomorrow.