AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wanted to be mad, because the janitorial staff were going to give me hell if they had to scrape stickers off of school walls and lockers for weeks, but I could only smile. It may drive my adhesive remover budget into the red, but the stickers were great for school spirit. Eve’s design was clever, and it tempted me to ask her to design some booster merch for our student store. After all, the corollary to 'Never mess with an artist who knows Photoshop' had to be 'Ask an artist who knows Photoshop.'
Brady: Well played.
Eve: You should see the designs I passed on.
I winced.
Brady: I'm afraid to.
Eve: You should be.
Messaging her wasn't the same as seeing her. Teasing through text wasn't nearly as fun as in person.
Brady: See you at five?
Eve: I like how you've learned to phrase that as a question.
Brady: Dinner after?
Eve: I don't know, are you going to poison my food?
Brady: Nah, you're safe with me.
And I wanted her to believe that. All joking aside, I trusted Eve. But did she trust me? There were still large parts of her past that she kept private. While I didn't begrudge her having secrets, I had to wonder what she was holding back.
By the time play practice rolled around, I could hardly hide my eagerness to see Eve. I'd dashed out to the store after school to pick up ingredients for our dinner, making me the late one for a change. I bustled into the auditorium to find the cast clustered in front of the sets, giggling.
Frowning, I clapped my hands. "Places everyone. Let's run through the first act."
Slowly, the students parted, giving me my first glimpse of why they'd been giggling: the set.
Apparently, you really,really, shouldn't screw with an artist. They were damned creative with revenge.
Set in a European town, theSnow Queenhad two major sets: town and forest. Eve and her crew had been working on the sets in phases, mostly repainting the existing wooden pieces, but also cutting and painting a few new designs. I'd left it all in Eve's capable hands, wanting nothing to do with the artwork if I could help it. I could barely draw a stick figure – any opinions I had would be near useless. Unfortunately, I should have given her some firmer parameters.
Like not using my face.
Versions of me peered out of the forest. Me as a squirrel, a very dapper deer, and to make sure no one missed the theme, more than a few birds looked startlingly human. Eerie as fuck.
Eve popped around the back of the set, casually sipping on an iced coffee, projecting innocence for all she was worth. She'd even abandoned her usual black or red, though I wasn't sure the white shirt with black skulls really fell outside of her style guide.
"You like it?" she asked, looking delighted. Probably because I was speechless. "Spin it around, crew."
At her instruction, Mitch and Grace pushed their pieces. The heavy wood sets rolled easily on casters, transforming into a city scene.
With my fucking face.
Babies. Old people. Each and every one looked like they could be related to me. I shivered. It was spooky, but also showed immense talent. I edged closer, catching one face that stood out, simply because it didn't look like a Franken-Gleason.
Any annoyance with Eve over using my image so liberally in her designs faded. She'd drawn herself in too. With me. We were obviously meant to be a happy couple, cuddled up at the back of the crowd.
"Is it still safe to come to dinner?" she murmured, glancing up at me.
Eve bit at her lip. Her nerves deflated any lingering vestiges of injured pride. If this was a test, I wanted to pass.
"Will you take the contract to design Grizzly merch for the high school?" I asked, instead of answering her question directly.
Her talent shone through every brush stroke. I'd be a fool not to lock her down. My bargaining position was never going to be stronger. And with Eve, I had to take any advantage I got. Otherwise, she'd run me ragged.
