Mirroring the smile that ran across his face, she kept stride alongside of him, somewhat pleased that she’d decided not to go for anything too heavy today as the sun beamed down on the two. Ignoring people as she walked with Alfie, she hardly registered the odd few people wandering about aimlessly, far too focused on the here and now with her company. The idea he’d been searching for her flattered her to no end and the thought he might actually stick around only made her smile wider. “I dunno.. maybe it’s just me that doesn’t get the joke.” Shrugging some, she swung their arms between them as she stepped. Smiling brightly up at him, she chuckled carelessly. “That’s because you’re easy to be around. I don’t need to pretend to be anything I’m not.”
Firmly shaking his head, knowing all too well the kinds of people that their college held, he looked down at her with a slight shrug of the head. “Most of them are asses, my friends included.” He started with a slight chuckle passing his lips. Indie was the prime example of that, but he wasn’t about to talk his friend down to Nanook. He’d rather do anything but with the small amount of time he’d managed to take from here. “I guess it’s just getting to know the guys. Like yin and yang in a person, just a lot more blurred lines.” Taking a right out to the quieter part of campus, Alfie’s eyes flickered from Nanook’s face to the small quad that stood before them. Odd tree floating around the grass and benches lining the paths, he figured they had arrived at their destination. “Never pretend with me and we should be okay, Nanook.”
Following after Alfie with a small smile, she kept pace as her hand tightened around his. It was nice to have a friend - well, she called him a friend yet she hardly knew Alfie - that didn’t want to bitch about people or insult, go shopping or socialize in large groups that only ended with Anouk walking away feeling awkward. Anouk was girly, but it was a nice change to have some male company interested in something more than a night together. “That sounds good to me.. I’m not too good with people anyway,” she huffed, relieved that he agreed the place could get a little too busy with all the students about.
The sun shining down on the pair as they strolled in the midday heat, the smile never left the males lips, still pleased that he had finally founded the female. After asking multiple people who all stared at him blanking at any mention of the female by his side, his last hope was her friend, and even she had shot Indie down. He thought all the odds were against him til this morning. “Well half of them are assholes most of the time, so I get you there.” He responded with a slight shrug of his shoulders, knowing he was friends with a good few. “But you seem okay around me.” An added after thought slipped his lips as he looked down at her, smile still in tact, almost as if he was questioning her about that.
Walking past him with a grateful smile, she looked down at her dungarees, choosing not to argue despite feeling a little unclean. “You’re just sayin’ that.” she chuckled, not quite able to stop herself from remarking at least once. Turning to face him, she grinned, following after him as he set off down the hallway after him. Upon reaching outside, Anouk exhaled deeply, smiling in the sunshine and stretched feeling the relief of the sun in comparison to the dark room. “M’pretty sure we will.” Her teeth resting on her bottom lip for a moment, her hand extended toward Alfie in offering, nodding her head to the left. “I think we should go this way.”
The breeze making the air move instead of it settling, he was thankful for the fresh air, taking a deep breath inside. It was only when he got outside when he realized how strong the chemicals actually were. Though it had been chilly out this morning, his short sleeve shirt was paying off in the midday heat as his smile brightened. Catching her hand out of the corner of his eye, he took it no questions asked before dragging her in the direction she’d gestured in. “M’thinking a little out of the way. Too many students and things get a little hectic, y’know?”
“That uh, that sounds good to me.. but, I’m covered in paint.” Chuckling as she looks down at her paint-laden clothes, she pulls a sheepish grin. Sticking her hands in her pockets, she glanced once more around the dark room, feeling quite giddy at the thought of spending a little more time with the guy that had put so much effort into trying to find her. Usually she’d be quite embarrassed, but his attempts were endearing and made her giddy at the thought. “Where’d you want to go?” Even since she’d been here, she’d rarely been out with anyone other than Amber and even then she didn’t enjoy burdening her best friend when she knew Amber had better things to do.
Chuckling with her, he simply shakes his head at you. “You look great. So c’mon.” He smiled, standing at the open door and keeping it open until she had walked out, locking the door behind them. Just because he had the room to himself didn’t stop the other students from being nosy. He wouldn’t be surprised if they took one anothers work, some of their pictures looking insanely alike. Ms Hallsy never pulled them up on it but Alfie knew who’s art was who’s. “I really hadn’t thought that far.” He half laughed, wondering down the hallway and heading out into the warm afternoon air that surrounded the campus. “M’sure we’ll think of something.”
Nodding with complete agreement, she looked up to Alfie with a small nod at the realization that she too, only did art for her own enjoyment and that nothing would change that, grades or otherwise. “Yeah, I agree.” Watching him for a moment or so, chewing cautiously on her lip as she did so, his reply caught her slightly off guard and with a shake of her head, she finally peeled off the gloves she’d long forgotten about and sat them on the side along with the tweezers she’d been holding. ”No, I’ve got the rest of the day off. My project isn’t due until about three weeks and I’ve already done the majority of the sculpting so I’m good.”
Small smile gracing his lips as she finished speaking, grateful that their time together wasn’t over so soon. He still needed to get her real name out of her, so he was hoping she’d slip up that way. Or they’d run into someone using her actual name. “Then I’d suggest us going out for a little bit. After all, my project is now complete. Just gotta hand it in at the end of the week.” He finished, knowing he’d come back to the dark room to clear it up later. It was for his use only so he figured it’d be okay to leave in whatever state he pleased. Now that the photographs had developed, he opened the door wide, not worrying if he’d ruin them before switching off the safetylight. “Ya ready?”
Turning to see him having collected the photos she’s chosen, she shrugged, smiling softly. “Maybe the people in your class were looking for what your lecturer would like best, rather than what they like the best.” She was particularly fond of the idea of taking photos though the idea of asking Alfie for advice was a little daunting, so instead she kept it to herself and decided to ask someone else some other time. After all, she’d only just met him and the last thing she planned on doing was to badger him away. Realizing that their little journey was more or less done brought the smallest of frowns to the girl’s face, knowing there wasn’t much more of an excuse to spent time with him, instead looking up at him with “So.. what now?”
Shrugging his head from side to side at her response, having never really thought about that option. He should have guessed it really. If you’re doing art for a grade then of course you’re going to go for what you think the assessor will enjoy. But not him. Photography was his lifeline, something that kept him sane, and he’d continue to do it whether or not he graduated at the end of the year. “Then they’re doing it for the wrong reasons.” He finally perked up, turning back to her once he’d finished hanging up the photography. Not having thought much past the time in the balck room, he wasn’t willing to say goodbye to the blonde after how long it had taken him to find her. “You in a rush to head back to your dorm?” He asked, knowing he could think quickly on his feet if she wasn’t.
The comment was simple enough, though having her own words upon herself reflected, she smiled slightly and shrugged. “I guess I will when I feel like there’s something there.” Looking up at his with raised eyebrows, before her tongue jutted out at him playfully, she carefully wandered past him to look at all of his photos, scanning them over and over to try and see which ones were her favourite. She ended up picking three that were of nature, trees, sunsets and the like.. while the other two were of faces that just made her smile. The way he’d captured the light or simply the person in the picture - she thought they were brilliant and so rather than taking them off the line, unsure whether they weren’t ready or something, she pointed them out instead. “They’re my favourites.”
Guessing exactly what she thought of her work, knowing he felt it himself most days, he pulled a face at her sticking her tongue out. He was determined not to take himself too seriously, whether it was as an artist or just as a person in general. He wanted to be remember as Alfie, the fun loving guy rather than Alfie, the old stiff. So instead he just watched move around the room patiently, smiling ever so often when a picture of hers would line up with his choice. Then he followed behind her, inspecting the pictures more closely to check they were dry before plucking them off the line, holding them at the corners to separate from the rest. “You have a good good eye, Nanook. Better than half the people in my class.”
Laughing still, she shakes her head as she does so, having never actually met the lecturer in question but somewhat sure that she would have been younger than he’d portrayed. Watching him with his work, she stood silent for a moment, clear to see he’d spent good time with his work and though he shunned some of it, Anouk shook her head, smile reappearing. “I’d put it all on the walls. I think you just need a fresh pair of eyes to see that you’ve created. You are your own worst critique, after all.” She wondered to herself how long he’d been doing photography for; whether or not it was a hobby or a passion or whether it just stopped at college like the rest of the work here. She painted in her dorm - luckily her room-mate was out the vast majority of the time at her boyfriend’s, so Anouk had free reign of the place regularly.
Taking a couple more minutes to insect each and every picture hanging in the room, he finally went back to stand by her side, arms folded across his chest as he gazed out into the room. “Perhaps you should take that on board for your own work, huh?” He queried looking down at her with a small smile. Alfie knew he was quite picky over his work, no matter how much joy he took in it. He could never escape the feeling that something was missing, and he always searched for it in his photo’s. Nothing struck out to him this time, meaning he’d missed the bar again, but he was getting closer. “So pick your five. I’ll completely trust your instinct.”
“Hey, who knows? Maybe Miss Hallsy’s the girl you’ve been looking for the entire time. Right under your nose.” Grinning, she glanced up at the male for a moment or two before looking at the photo’s she’d hung up, smiling wider as they developed. They weren’t like art; didn’t take time to see the full picture. They were quick and sudden and real.. and everything her impatient side would love to see. Laughing, she shook her head as her gaze followed his back to the photos, stepping closer to properly look at each one, faces and greenery plastered onto the film. “They’re lovely,” she smiled, her eyes still fixed on one particular photo right at the end of the line. It was still showing through but she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off it.
Turning back at her and pulling a face, he actively shuddered at the thought. Thinking back to the older woman, he finally thought up why she seemed so familiar. “She kinda reminds me of my aunt though, so I’ll have to keep searching. Or just pick the closest person. Either works.” Small chuckle passing his lips, he steps forward to one of the more quality pieces of film and ghosts his fingertips over the photo. “Some of them are lovely.” He corrected, knowing these were far from his best work, yet he couldn’t help be still feel proud of them. “Others are glorified coasters.”
