Casting Bones

Chapter 2 - Part 2

As Desi approached him, Casper scanned the area, as if nervous someone of importance might see them together. Maybe that should of been offensive to Desi, but something about it just made him smirk.

Since Casper already seemed so uncomfortable, Desi couldn't help but try to make it worse with a playful accusation as he go within speaking range. "Thought you were avoiding me."

"I was." Casper responded without even missing a beat. When Desi sputtered out an uncomfortable laugh, Casper rolled his eyes and offered a further explanation. "I wasn't finished and I didn't want you on my case until I was."

"Fair." Desi nodded, fingers fidgeting. "I just assumed that, after yesterday, you didn't want anything to do with me anymore."

While shoving his hands in his pockets to stop their restlessness, Desi realized that Casper had managed to shift the dynamics of the conversation on him, a bit like he had the day before when he reduced Desi to awkwardly grovelling for his help. Normally Desi was pretty confident talking to people; he prided himself on being a likeable person, and that made being social come pretty naturally. Most took to his personality without much effort, usually.

Casper didn't seem to respond to likeable though, and Desi felt like he was walking on glass when he talked to him because of it, always carefully working towards his approval. Even with the knowledge that Casper had liked Desi enough to ask him out at one point, it still felt like Desi was always the one trying to impress.

"Don't be stupid." Casper's nack for being a little too blunt probably didn't help. "You weren't the one who said the dumb shit."

Desi responded with another laugh, this time a little more strained. "Yeah, about that—."

"Don't care. Here." He brushed off Desi's attempt at starting an apology by opening his sketchbook and holding it out for Desi to take. "It's just a sketch... I can finish the lines if you like it."

Even as a sketch, the drawing was awesome. A swooping owl, it's wings spread wide and talons reaching forward, like coming to grab the viewer. That was probably something hard to do... what was it called? Foreshortening? Most noticeable about the drawing though, was the owl's big, haunting eyes and the pair of stretching, spindly deer antlers, thoroughly out of place, sticking out from the feathers atop it's head.

Desi couldn't help grinning with a laugh when he saw them, and Casper immediately reacted with defensiveness.

"What? What is it?"

Desi waved away his concern, but his smirk had grown into a small chuckle, which he had to explain through. "It's nothing, it's just. When I said horned I meant like, the owls with the feathers on their heads that look like horns. Not... actual horns."

Casper's flat expression immediately turned mortified. "I'll fix it."

Desi played keep-away when Casper grabbed for his sketchbook though, putting out a hand and shaking his head. "No I didn't mean it like that. I like this better. I never thought of it but it's fucking badass." When the boy stopped reaching for his book, Desi inspected the drawing closer, finally letting his impress take over his face. "Damn you're good at this. You're parents are crazy for not putting you in art classes. The feathers must have taken hours, and the horns are so realistic."

The color that had started on Casper's ears from his embarrassed developed further onto his face with the compliments. "It's not a big deal. I like drawing antlers. They're all different so you can't really mess them up."

Desi considered using the opportunity to butter Casper up even more, in case he needed notes for class one day or another favor of the sorts, but he restrained himself. Instead, he handed the sketchbook back to Casper and reached for his wallet.