Paint and Silk.

Elijah wasn’t entirely sure how prepared he was to paint Chase. Usually he’d be set up in Paris with everything he needed including Arnold breathing down his neck about painting and not seducing. But today it was a rushed job in an attempt to find his stuff in the Room of Requirement. He’d spent most of his fifth year in there so there were a lot of stored paintings and sketches there that he needed to send to Arnold. It wasn’t that he didn’t have the things he needed but he was in an alien environment. He had spent the last year in the Room of Requirement but he hadn’t had any models in there to really make the place familiar to him. Given the choice he would have asked Jen to let him Floo over to Paris but he figured that it was easier to just use the Room of Requirement.

A window had appeared upon his request and he had a couple of different set ups he could use. It was up to Chase what she wanted to used as a base. He was favouring the window but the bed, chaise long and the other pieces of furniture could have worked just as well. There were also a load of different props in a box somewhere and some silk sheets hanging from a floating rail. His easel was set up and he was perched on a stool in front of it with his sketch book in his lap. Presently Elijah was drawing a few little different scenes in each corner and in the middle of the page in an attempt to get the look of it right. He had a feeling Chase’s piece would sell for a hell of a lot and Arnold would squeeze the life out of Elijah if it did.

Idly, Eli tapped the page with the end of his pencil. He stopped the inane practice and brought the end to his lips. He caught the wood between his teeth and bit down on it, thinking all the while. He didn’t quite know how Chase was going to deal with the whole nudity thing. She was a model so she must have had some practice in that area. Still, if modesty was what she wanted then he was going to push the boundaries of modesty as far as possible. He looked up and stared at the hand painted French screen for a few moments before dropping his eyes back to the pages in the sketchbook. He curved the pencil tip across one of the lines, bringing out the definition of the line, and bit the end again. It would be easier to play around with different sets and styles when she arrived.

Chase glanced down at the piece of paper. It was today... and it was in the.. Room of Requirement? She didn't quite know where that was, so she had to follow the instructions to the dot. Turning a corner, she saw the tapestry, and the vase, and realized that was where she wanted to be. There was a door across from the tapestry, and Chase hesitated. Elijah would be painting her.. and the only thing that would be covering her would be a sheet. She wondered how prepared she was for this, she could feel her cheeks burning already, and knew she would have to calm down before he could paint her, because he probably didn't want the blush in the picture.

Finally getting her wits together, Chase strode down the hall quickly. She had rationalized her clothing, realizing she would be taking it off anyway, she had chosen simple black sweat pants, and a white, almost see through tank top. Her lacy bra could be seen just visibly, and she had her arms crossed over her chest, as though afraid someone besides Elijah would see, even though there wasn't anyone else in that corridor. Halting in front of the door, Chase hesitated again. What would she find when she opened it? Elijah of course, but what else? Everything set up... her heart hammered, her cheeks were pink, and she slowly put her hand on the doorknob. It was now or never.

Pushing the door opened she was first startled by how light it was in the room. Silk hung from the ceiling, windows of every shape and size, couches, beds, everything. She found herself blushing even more, and then her eyes fell on Elijah, and she could almost visibly feel herself calming down. She shut the door behind her and bit her lip. "Hey.. nice place you got here." She said smiling at him and held her arms out to the side. "Take a good look." She said giggling slightly. "Have any plans for me? Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it okay?" She said smiling at him and walking towards him, but veering off and touching a hanging silk piece, her eyes roaming over the pictures in the room. "Did you do all of these?" She asked amazed, her eyes raking across the pictures so as to take in every detail, but then her eyes went back to Elijah.

For someone as blasé as Elijah it was strange for him to be feeling as nervous as he was. He wasn’t worried just a little bit out of his depth. He knew his models on a different level than he did his friends so changing up the way he acted around Chase was a big step for him. Well, it was more of a leap than a step because friends and models were on completely different wavelengths. Models, depending on how long you kept them, could become casual lovers. Rarely did artists indulge in anything other than pleasure where their models were concerned. But Chase was a little more delicate. Well, she was delicate anyway but her position with him was delicate. He could fuel her fantasies all he wanted and would enjoy every second of it but Elijah had a job to do. This time it was on her terms. In a way the roles had reversed. She was leading and he was following.

The door hinges squealed and Elijah looked up. Chase, in all her glory, stepped inside the room. She shut the door behind her, not that anyone else would notice the door, and caught her lip between her teeth. Elijah watched silently, taking in her appearance and taking his time in doing so. If asked he probably would have lied and said he’d been drawn to her hair. He was but he was still a teenager. He might have had a certain level of maturity but hormones and lust did outweigh that several times over. So his eyes first fell to the lacy bra that was displaying itself beneath the thin, see-through fabric of her t-shirt. He cleared his throat and quickly averted his eyes. “A couple,” He said after a moment. “I haven’t really decided which one is the best though at this moment in time.”

He watched, his attention completely moving away from the sketch book, as she took in the paintings he’d mounted on the wall to save storage space. He didn’t realise how much he’d actually painted last year. Perhaps his bitterness towards his mother had turned him into a painting machine. He had been still stuck in the same rut, often skipping classes and ignoring authority. To be thrust back into the schooling environment had hurt him more than it had helped him and he’d rebelled against it much to his mother’s chagrin. If he actually let Arnold know about the paintings stored there then the man would let him off for a while. Elijah would let him know around Christmas time so he wouldn’t hound him any time between December 20th and December 25th. “I did.” He confirmed, his eyes travelling to the one he’d done of the Thestrals in early October.

Elijah put his sketchbook down on the table beside the easel and got to his feet. He pulled an emerald silk sheet down and opened it out. He grabbed a set of grips off of one of the tables and took a few out. He placed them between his teeth so he didn’t lose them and held the sheet out for Chase. “Do you want to get changed?” He suggested, gesturing to the French screen. “Then I’ll secure the sheet.” He took the grips from his mouth and smiled. “I don’t know where you’d want to start....I was thinking about taking a few pictures first for later use.” He cringed a little at his words and backtracked. “You know in case something needs to be changed shading wise and, uh, to add to the book I guess...”

Chase looked at Elijah, and smiled slightly, looking at the sheet he was holding. Oh no.. here it was already? But she had just entered the room! She felt herself blush so hard her face was the same red as her hair. She nodded carefully and took the sheet from him and started towards the screen he had motioned towards. "Okay.. just.. tell me if I look absolutely horrible okay?" She said softly and walked behind the screen. There was a rustling of clothes, and then her shirt was thrown up over the top of the screen, followed by her pants. She didn't do the same with her underclothing, just kept those hidden behind the screen.

Wrapping the sheet around herself, she took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the screen carefully. "Okay.. you can... secure it now." She said, her face flaming red. Sure she had done almost nude scenes, scenes where she was kissing men, scenes that hadn't made sense to her at all, but those were different. She didn't know the artist in those situations, and usually it was just a few pictures, not a real painting. She smiled at him and brushed some of her red hair out of her face and then looked at her feet, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Hey.." She said carefully, hoping that she didn't sound to nervous. "Maybe.. today, we could pretend like we aren't best friends? And you act like I'm just another model okay? I'll do what you want, and you can position me in any way you want, I don't care! I just.. I want to be your model for today.. not your friend, and I don't know you okay?" She said, squaring her shoulder and looking him in the eyes. "So tell me where to go Elijah Krum." She said softly, no smile on her face.

Perhaps he wasn’t as prepared for this as he’d originally thought. Elijah felt his heart speed up, his body anticipating what was to come rather than his mind. Usually it was both organisms working together but this time he truly wasn’t sure how to handle this situation. He didn’t paint friends. Well he did, but not in the way he painted models. Elijah tugged his hoodie off and chucked it at one of the sofas he wouldn’t be using, leaving him in his t-shirt and jeans. Elijah threw his arms up above his head, stretching and kept his eyes away from the silhouette that was being produced from behind the screen. That was why he loved that French screen as much as he did. They were completely unaware that he could watch if he chose to do so. Of course now, Elijah gave Chase some privacy.

He dropped his arms back down when she emerged from the screen and he smiled. He moved so he was stood behind her and put the grips in his mouth again. He needed to adjust the sheet somewhat. She was holding it the way she would probably hold a towel when emerging from a bathroom. That wasn’t exactly the way Elijah wanted it although he’d never done a piece in a bathroom before. He took the sheet from around her and moved it around a bit before bringing the sides down around her back. He overlapped the two pieces and secured it with the grips by her lower back. It was then that he noticed the scar. Elijah’s eyes widened slightly and his fingers ghosted over the base of it. What could have caused it? Elijah’s eyes followed the line and he bit his lip. He didn’t want it covered up. Actually he wanted it on show. Perhaps someone else would have wanted it covered but it was just another part of Chase; that was all.

Her next words shocked Elijah somewhat. It was as if she’d been reading his mind, his thoughts and concerns. Elijah wasn’t sure what to say really, all he could do was nod in agreement. He swallowed and cleared his throat a little before pushing some of her hair away from her back and onto her shoulder. He took her hand and led her over to the window that the room had created. He stood her on the left hand side of the window and angled her slightly so she was facing it but her body was angled in a particular way so that it looked as if she wasn’t facing the window but in fact someone else. Elijah gently kissed her shoulder and stepped away. He reached for his camera and began to sort out some of the requirements on it, making sure it would take a black and white photo as well as a colour on. “How often have you done this then, Miss Moor?” he asked, watching the LCD screen on the camera before snapping a picture and turning the camera landscape.

Chase let him readjust the sheet on her, and let it clip into place and then shivered when his hand ghosted over the base of her scar. She glanced behind her to look at him and see how he reacted to it, and was almost more startled at what she saw on his face then being mostly naked with only a thin sheet keeping her from him. She couldn't help but notice his muscles when he took off the sweatshirt, and now they stood out clear as day. Again, her cheeks flamed red, but she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, settled herself and opened them again, attempting to see not Elijah, but just another painter.

Chase let him position her, and found her body shaking slightly as his lips brushed her shoulder. She closed her eyes and then opened them to see him messing with his camera. Taking pictures already, she stayed perfectly still for a moment, thinking about the answer to his question. "I've never been painted before actually, I do photo shoots, and I'm really good at holding a position for a long amount of time." She said trying to sound professional. "Even if it's a tough position, I have some muscles." She let a smile cross her lips and she looked at him.

"I've been in modeling since I was a child, but most of it was just for beauty pageants and stuff, I haven't been serious into modeling until just recently." She smiled slightly. "My.." She choked for a second before taking a deep breath and saying the word "Mother... made me do modeling a while back, and I got pretty popular.. but again, I haven't actually been painted. "She said softly, keeping the position he had put her in, trying not to move her lips to much in case it spoiled the shot.

Elijah took as many pictures as he felt he needed and moved to the piece of fabric covering one part of the window. He adjusted it slightly and stepped back again before taking another picture. He put the camera down and sat down at the easel. He put the sketch book on the floor and began to lightly sketch out the important aspects of the painting itself. He was careful, not wanting to have to use an eraser. He glanced at Chase and smiled a little before continuing to draw her. He got the outlines together and slipped off of the stool. He walked back over to chase and stood behind her. He took one of the grips out of the back and a piece of the material fell away. He took a few more grips out and adjusted the sheet again. This time it was a little freer and he’d left the grips out. The ends of the sheet were left to dangle by her ankles and her whole back was visible as well as her bum.

Paintings had to be arousing in some way or another. Well, his had to be anyway. Elijah knew some of the paintings he’d done weren’t model orientated but those he didn’t sell as they were for his own viewing pleasure. But this would definitely impress some art lover. Elijah rarely kept his paintings which was why he took the pictures. Stepping back, Elijah took Chase in. He took an unlabelled can off of one of the tables and stepped back to her. He rearranged her hair a little bit, letting parts lay on her back and some on her shoulders with other bits filling the gaps between them. He then sprayed the water that was in the can. It would dampen her hair and allow him to work it a little easier. He sent the can across to one of the tables using magic and began to run his hands through her hair, mussing it up and giving it a frazzled look.

If he was going to describe it then he’d say sex hair and that was what he wanted to go for without trawling through the act to get the real thing. He was wondering whether that would be easier to do and no doubt it would but he wanted an excuse to put his fingers through her hair. “There are different types of models,” He said, keeping his eyes on her hair. “Only the best can be both. Artists are particular. They like virgins in both senses of the word. Those who have never even touched the realm of modelling they love. The girls completely clueless, unsure of how to act...it is mostly a control thing but some like to teach the girls how to do this, that and everything else. Others don’t care who they get as long as she’s got talent. Then there’s those who stick with their instinct and pluck particular ones from the masses. It is those artists that turn the girls into models.”

He stepped back and looked at his work. It wasn’t perfect, actually far from it but the gist was there. He sighed in frustration and stepped forward again, fluffing her hair up some more. “Why is it,” He asked her with a smirk. “That you can never reproduce something by cutting corners? But then again...if you put work into it, the end result is worth it. Cutting corners in this instance truly isn’t working.” He decided. Elijah picked her hair up and dropped it again, letting it fall onto her back. He could have just created the hair in the painting but he liked seeing what he had and without having it on a photograph he couldn’t get the shading right. Perhaps she would get treated like a regular model after all.

Chase could feel her legs trembling when he started to take the pins out of the back of the sheet. It fell to her ankles, and completely exposed her entire back to him. Her instinct was to grab the sheet and cover herself up again, but she knew better then to do that. But the fact that he got a full view of her scar, and well, bum, completely threw her off, and made her head spin a little, her heart racing. He moved away from her again and started to mess with her hair, fluffing it up, putting water in it, but it laid as flat as ever.

"I've never had very... cooperative hair.." She said softly, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves, but all she got was a huge whiff of some cologne he was wearing, and it sent her heart into overdrive again. Legs trembling, she realized sort of what he was talking about, and her eyes went wide, staring at him for a long moment, her brain trying to register what her heart already knew he meant.

“Why is it,” He asked her with a smirk. “That you can never reproduce something by cutting corners? But then again...if you put work into it, the end result is worth it. Cutting corners in this instance truly isn’t working.”

Chase suddenly felt butterflies erupt in her stomach, and her eyes found his. She was far from virgin in any sense of the word, but the fact that Elijah was talking about how the water wasn't helping, and he needed to produce something much more.. natural. Her face was aflame again. "Elijah.." She said carefully, her voice trembling as much as her body was. "Are you... are you saying what I think your saying?" She decided to make sure she had heard right, better not just come and say 'yes Elijah yes.' better to let him be able to cover up in case he wanted to.

But Chase had a feeling even if he covered up, there was nothing stopping HER from taking action in this case, as her body was suddenly telling her she wanted. She looked up at him, and felt the butterflies again, why were there always butterflies?! She smiled slightly and reached up, grabbing a strand of hair and letting it fall back into place again, weakly. As though thinking it through, when really her mind was completely blank.

Subtle had never been an appropriate word to use when describing Elijah but he felt that in that particular instance he’d been quite tame. He was suggesting exactly what she was thinking he was suggesting. Well, if they were on the same page then he was. Cutting corners wasn’t something Elijah typically did. He liked to go along for whatever ride life was going to take him on but he had felt it best to allow Chase have some dignity or modesty left by the end of the day. It didn’t seem as if her hair was agreeing with Elijah though. He didn’t want to upset Chase but her body was working against him and his good intentions. Either that or he’d not had good intentions at all and half of his mind had been plotting against the other half.

Elijah swallowed and smirked a little. He allowed himself a little bit of time to let her words skin into her consciousness. She knew what he meant. Proper artists didn’t cut corners liked Elijah had tried to do for her sake. It had backfired, obviously, and she wanted to be treated like a normal model anyway. It was simple. To achieve said look would be excellent for both of them and it would really help Elijah’s visuals later on. It would also most probably give the sheet a rumpled look and make everything a bit more authentic.

Idly, Elijah began to trace his hand over the skin of her back. His fingers danced expertly over her skin, drifting northwards and southwards in sweeping motions. He hummed a random note to himself and let his hand drift to the sheet. He edged it away, not quite letting it fall but giving him more access to her skin. He pushed some of her hair off away from her back and dropped a kiss onto her shoulder like he had done before. Then he stepped back and smiled. His pupils had dilated, the darkness nearly overwhelming the irises which were much the same colour. Elijah picked his camera up again and set up the capture screen.

“Quite possibly,” He spoke as if he were talking about the weather to a complete stranger. “Unless of course,” now he met her gaze, “You’d rather do something else...” He gestured to one of the couches where he knew the state of her hair wouldn’t matter to much as the friction with the pillows would soon set it right. “We have all day,” He added afterwards, his hand moving back to the camera.

Chase felt as though she was being doused in freezing cold water at every spot his fingers touched her back. She closed her eyes, and leaned into his fingers slightly, her breath starting to come quicker. A soft kiss on the shoulder, and her eyes snapped open. Realizing he had pulled the sheet down farther on her. He suddenly backed up and started to mess with the camera again. She stared at him for a long time, before finally breaking her position. The sheet was still held where he had secured it, even if it was open in the back now, she looked at him and moved a bit closer to him.

He was gesturing towards the couch, but she didn't even glance at it. She took a deep breath, and her mind quickly ran through everything she was about to do. How much it might hurt, maybe even destroy the last amount of friendship she had with Andrew.. if he ever found out anyway. Her eyes narrowed, but suddenly, she had her hands on Elijah's shoulders. She didn't care about stupid Andrew, he had ruined it with her. Ruined his chances of ever keeping her. Elijah... sure he had been through a lot of girls, sure.. he would never choose just one, but somehow, that thrilled Chase. She would never be tied down, never be sent to bed, or locked in the house.

Her mind whizzed back to what Elijah had said on the grounds. He knew her better then any boyfriend ever could. But now she knew, he didn't know her yet. Her hands on his shoulders, she stared at his chest for a long moment, before finally looking up into his eyes. "Are you serious right now Elijah?" She let her foot take a small step backwards. She didn't want to be played with right now. She was half naked, only covered by a thin sheet, in a room where no one could enter until they left. She stared at Elijah, and then let her hands fall. "If you are.." She bit her lip, and then smiled slightly. "Kiss me right now.. if not.. make me go back to my position.." She said squaring her shoulders.

Her heart couldn't take much more of the tension between them. She could feel her legs shaking, her mind was whirring, she wanted to feel his hand in her hair again, even if it was just to mess it up with water, she wanted to feel the soft touch of his lips as he kissed her shoulder. She looked up at Elijah, her arms hung loosely at her sides, at a complete loss for what to do. If he kissed her.. her mind would cease to work until her body had enough, if he forced her to go back to her position.... she didn't know quite what she would do. Probably never try for him again, but, somehow, her mind knew he wouldn't force her back into position. Somehow, she could already feel the taste of his lips on hers.