Chapter 2: Static and Stubbornness
292 Words
Solene didn’t like being paired with anyone especially not someone who looked like he stepped out of a sportswear ad. Eli was too calm, too polite, too composed. She was used to chaos, to people trying too hard or not enough. But he was neither. He just... was.
“So,” Eli said, pulling open a folded layout of the exhibit hall. “We’ve got four sections. You want to start on your side or mine?”
She crossed her arms. “Art doesn’t have sides. Your circuits are just stiff sculptures anyway.”
He grinned. “And your paintings are just broken pixels.”
She smirked despite herself. “Touché.”
They got to work, laying out mixed-media pieces and mechanical sculptures. Eli helped move a welded metal sculpture twice Solene’s weight without a word. She watched as his muscles flexed under his shirt, jaw clenched from the effort. He caught her staring.
“Something wrong?”
“Yeah. You're too good at pretending to be humble.”
He laughed softly. “And you’re too good at pretending not to care.”
Solene’s heart ticked once just once. But she ignored it.
They kept working, the sun crawling across the sky like it was eavesdropping. By late afternoon, sweat beaded on their brows, tension thick but unspoken. He offered her water. She took it, accidentally brushing his fingers.
Static.
Neither said anything, but both felt it.
Solene turned back to her canvas, suddenly serious. “Just so you know I’m not some project you can fix.”
Eli raised a brow. “Good. I hate easy projects.”
That night, they parted without a goodbye. No thank you. No see you tomorrow.
But both looked back when the other wasn’t watching.
- Writer
