"Just a minute," Chris was zooming to and fro the studio in her apartment, which was far from miniature as she had described to Sam. 

Sam did nothing but nod into the coffee cup that didn't leave her lips. 'Who the hell is this person?' Sam quietly followed Chris with her eyes as she sat on the expensive exuberant sofa placed conveniently in the studio. 'Besides, we're all artists this clumsy and messy?'

"All done," Christine said with an exaggerated sigh after gathering all the materials she may or may not need. She was excited that Sam was finally at her house, and sitting on her couch. She collected the last of whatever materials she found, extremely nervous to think. "Alright, uhmm, your pose."

"Arrrgh!" Sam groaned only after being in the same awkward position for about 10 minutes. "How much longer."

"Not that long," Chris replied behind her canvas, trying to concentrate more on her drawing than stare blatantly at Sam.

Chris actually didn't need Sam as her model. She had always had a photographic memory for things that interested her and would draw them with just a glance, she had also drawn Sam at the cafe a few weeks ago, but she needed a reason to invite Sam over, and this was the only option that came to mind.

"Fine," Sam, on the other hand, started regretting her decision, not that she hadn't before, but she had no idea modeling was this stressful. However, she was already here, and there was no going back. 

So much for being nice... 

Sam was back on the sofa. She couldn't feel her legs, so she lay down and settled on staring at nothing in particular. The glass-like ceiling allowed the almost evening sun to peer into the studio, giving her a warm feel while she ignored the piercing stares from Chris at intervals.

"Are you done?" Sam asked, still staring into the ceiling above.

Chris flinched when Sam spoke. "Uhmm, i-it'll take a few more hours," She replied, looking at her art piece like her life depended on it.

"I thought you were done judging by the fact that you haven't stopped staring in a while," Sam said, turning to look at Chris. "It's quite a bother."

"S-sorry. Sometimes some work could take a few hours to a few days to get completed," Chris looked down as she felt her cheeks grow warm.

"Oh." Sam nodded and sat up on the sofa. She wasn't one to initiate conversations, but the quietness and stares were eating up at her skin. "Do you live alone?" She asked, unable to ignore that the house was big enough to accommodate three times the people that came to the bar during rush hour.

"No, I live with Nancy and Stephanie. They're... house helps, sort of." 

"Hmm." Sam didn't know how to keep up the convo, but she did notice the stress it took for Chris to finish her sentence. Sam's thoughts were put on hold when her phone buzzed in her pocket.

'How is your date going?'

Sam sighed at the text that she had just received from Sky but replied still. She was already beginning to wonder why Sky hadn't texted for a while to ask for 'juicy gossip' as he calls it.

'It's not a date.'

Sam texted back and got an immediate reply. 

'Whatever you say.'

Sam slightly groaned, causing Chris to look at her, but her gaze was averted immediately when Sam looked back. Glancing at the time on her phone, it was already almost 3 pm, and she got up ready to take her leave. Although she was weirdly comfortable, she didn't want to overstay her welcome.

"I guess I should start leaving now," Sam said, picking up her jacket from the sofa.

"Now?" Chris whined, trying hard not to pout. "Stay a little bit more. I'm sure you don't have anywhere urgent to go." She paused and bit her lips, thinking of a good excuse. "Your words, not mine, and you already told me your whole day was free."

Sam looked at Chris, somewhat startled by what she heard. It was true she had nothing else to do for the day and just wanted to go home, but Chris had earlier said she had completed modeling. Why the hell does she want her to stay?

"Whatever," Sam said, much to her surprise, and just plummeted back on the sofa. Maybe she was tired and just found the place comfortable enough, she told herself the only explanation for her irrational thoughts, not yielding to the conclusion that Chris's words had too much impact on her.

Meanwhile, Chris had already done all she could with the painting. Although it was far from finished, she still admired it. She didn't deny that she admired Sam and wanted to know more about her, but she was failing in that aspect.

She thought of what she could do to pass the time since she had told Sam to stay longer, but nothing came to mind. "Would you like to walk with me? I can show you around the house." Chris had expectant looks in her eyes as she waited for an answer.

"Why can't I just sit here?" Sam said with an eye roll. She wanted nothing more than stare outside, absorbing the warmth the place gave her. However, she got up with the same motion as before and took her jacket with her before she asked. "Are you sure you're just a comic artist?"

"Hmm?" Chris was already packing up her art tools or rather throwing them around where she thought best since she wasn't thinking now.

"Your house... looks really posh. Aren't you a secret agent or something?" Sam asked, finally putting on her jacket.

Chris laughed at the question. "Well, my parents bought it. I wanted to leave alone, but they wouldn't let me, so I ran away. They offered me this house, saying it would put their mind at ease knowing where I was." Chris was already chatting away, almost making Sam regret asking. " ...but they still got me two housekeepers." She finally said with her arms folded.

Sam studied Chris for a minute and gave an almost silent chuckle. Who in their sane mind would reject something like that? Well, she knew for sure that her dad didn't give a shit about her. Chris's situation sounded more like bliss, and she would be happy if she had parents fussing over her like that. Although she also admired Chris's courage. 'If only she could run away back then,' She thought to herself. Maybe she would have lived differently.

"Is this it?" Chris asked, pulling up by the side of the street. She had pestered to take Sam home, and they were currently in front of Sam's apartment building.

"Yeah, can never miss it," Sam replied and immediately got down. She felt she needed to say something but didn't know what and let the awkwardness kick in. Thankfully, the busy street distracted them for a moment.

"See you some other time then," Chris was already out of her car waving at Sam, who half waved and half shrugged.

"Yeah," Sam said once more and walked into her apartment for the first time in a long time with a genuine smile.