Willam felt a mix of pride and nervousness welling up in his chest and stomach. Hearing Henry say that Willam's drawing was beautiful… it was like a small dose of adrenaline to his system. Yet, Willam tried to push that feeling down, and spoke up.
"Thank you. I worked pretty hard on it…"
His voice was soft, almost timid. Then, Willam looked over and watched Henry, still looking at the drawing with that strange expression on his face.
Henry's eyes flicked up to meet Willam's again, a spark of something flashing in them for a moment. It was like a wave of electricity running through Willam's spine at the intensity of Henry's gaze. Then, a small smile tugged at the corner of Henry's lips.
"You're quite good at this."
He said quietly, his eyes going to the drawing again for a moment, before coming back to Willam's face.
Aiden felt his heart skipped a beat. He forced himself to continue talking, trying not to show how flustered he got from the compliment.
"… I've been drawing since I was young."
William mumbled, his fingers nervously playing with the corner of his sketchbook, Henry was still holding. Henry chuckled softly, his eyes fixated on Willam's face for a long moment.
Then, he spoke up again, his eyes flicking to the sketchbook in his hands.
"You should sketch me sometimes."
Henry said, sounding casual, but there was more to it, something… deeper, more intense. Willam's eyes widened a bit from the words, his heartbeat quickening again. Henry chuckled again and handed the sketchbook back to him.
Willam took it, his fingers accidentally touching Henry's hand again for a second. It felt like a tiny electric shock, and it made Willam look up again, watching Henry.
Henry was smiling at William, a soft, almost warm smile. It felt different from the polite, upper-class smile Willam saw him give other people.
They stood there for a moment, their eyes locking and neither of them saying anything. The air felt thick and Willam's brain felt muddled.
Then, Henry spoke again, his voice again low but somehow much more intense.
"Let me see one of your drawings again sometime. I'd like to…"
He trailed off, then looked away. The look on his face was hard to read now.
He looked back at Willam with a smile again. "It was a pleasure to meet you. Have a great day" Henry said. That made Willam's heart race a bit as he watches Henry walk away, mixing in croward.