Strawberries & Cigarettes: The Artwork
Thank you so much to @curleduphl for the beautiful, amazing, gorgeous artwork she did for my fic Strawberries & Cigarettes!
Louis rolls his eyes. “I’m not avoiding you.” He gets a cigarette out of his pocket and lights it up right in front of Harry. Harry hates that his mouth goes a bit dry at that. Louis makes everything look hot, even smoking. He’s wearing a black beanie on his head and a few wisps of hair are peeking out of it. His usual eyeliner outlines his eyes, and he’s wearing a nose stud today. His nails are a different color each, making his fingers look like a rainbow. Harry tries not to look at the way Louis sucks on the cigarette, his cheeks hollowing out making his thoughts lead into dirty territory.
Harry shakes himself out of his Louis filled haze to focus on what he came here to do.
“You are avoiding me, Louis. You’ve barely spoken to me all week. Did I do something to offend you? Are you...do you regret what happened between us?” Harry can’t help how small his voice gets at his last question. He hates that Louis is seeing him this vulnerable, but he just needs to know the truth.
Louis’ eyes soften a little, and he lets out a long sigh. “Look Harry. I’m sorry but, I do think it was a mistake. What happened between us shouldn’t have happened. We are completely different people and it would never work if we became anything more than friends.”
It’s still very early in the morning, the sun has barely come out, and Louis loves the hues of pink, orange and yellow that paint the sky on his way to the shop. When he arrives, he unlocks the shop and locks it back once he’s inside, since the store doesn’t open for another hour. His employee, Jenna is opening today and Louis trusts her to be more than capable of doing that. He leaves a note for her at the register letting her know he’ll be in his studio. He walks to the back of the shop, opening a door labeled ‘employees only’ and walks through the small break room before unlocking another door that leads up to the attic. The scent of acrylic paint hits his nostrils as soon as he begins climbing the steps.
Louis throws his stuff haphazardly on the floor and stares at the painting he’s currently working on that still sits on the easel. He turns to the table that his record player rests on and puts on some Angels and Airwaves. He takes his palette and begins to pour paint into it before grabbing a clean paint brush and gets to work.
He likes coming to paint at the beginning of his days before doing anything else. It’s like when a person can’t function in the mornings without coffee, Louis can’t function in the mornings without swiping his brush against a canvas. It’s soothing and helps him clear his mind of things before he goes on about his day. Like morning meditation yoga only better.
