*insert clever title here*

[Mia]

First semester is finally over. Andrew just took his last exam and now he can finally relax, if only for a few weeks. If this is what 8th grade is like, I don't want to go to high school. Andrew headed down the street towards the Shopping Center in search for some new art supplies. He was running dangerously low and wanted to go buy some before the snow really began falling heavy. Andrew entered the art store, pealing off his gloves and stuffing them in the pocket of his jacket. After about an hour he finally finds what he's looking for and goes to pay for them, leaving the store. His stomach chooses then to growl, and he remembered he hadn't eaten since breakfast early this morning. "What is there here for me to eat?"

[Dani]

Chynna headed out of the art store, a big smile plastered on her face. After several hours of looking, she had finally located a decent Christmas present for her older brother Lucas. Since she was twelve years old and no longer a baby, her mother had given her money and the overwhelming responsibility of buying each of her siblings a Christmas present. It would have been an easy task if it weren't for the fact that she had twelve siblings, nine of whom were older than her. Sammy and Molly were pretty easy to shop for since they were still little and were very vocal about what they liked to play with. Her older sisters were pretty easy as well. Most of them were into clothes, so a stack of gift cards to Bloomingdale's took care of them. She knew that Alexia was into music, so she got her an iTunes gift card. The only ones left to take care of were her brothers and they were pretty tricky. Luckily, she remembered Lucas's interest in art and got him a gift card to the art store. If only I could figure out gift cards for the rest of them..... She glanced around the shopping center to see what other stores were there. As she looked, she caught a glimpse of her friend Andy from school and waved politely at him.

[Mia]

"Maybe I'll just get a hotdog." Andrew muttered to himself, though he couldn't stop his nose from scrunching at that thought. He didn't particularly like hotdogs, but he also didn't have very much money to spend, since he'd spent most of his on the art supplies. "Pizza might be cheap." Maybe for just a slice. Andrew sighed, finally turning to walk away, he would just eat at home, or get something on the way. He was about to start walking when he noticed someone waving at him. Squinting his eyes, he realized it was Chynna, and waved back, smiling. Andrew walked over to her, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Hey Chynna. How are you?" He asked when he finally reached her.

[Dani]

Chynna was fully prepared to keep walking after waving to Andy. Sure, they were friends, but she wasn't really sure if he still wanted to talk to her. It had been awhile since they'd hung out and given her preconceived notions about teenagers; he probably didn't want to hang out with a seventh grader anymore. She knew it was a silly thing to assume. He had told her in the past that he was nice and hadn't ever given her a reason to think that he was lying, but people did change. "I'm doing fine," she said, smiling a little. "Just Christmas shopping. What are you up to?"

[Mia]

Andrew didn't expect Chynna to remember him, let alone stay there and talk to him. She'd made it perfectly clear how she felt about teenagers, and although he'd been super nice to her, he still didn't expect her to believe him. A smile spread across his lips when she smiled a bit. "I'm just got done buying some new art supplies. I haven't even begun Christmas shopping yet. How is that going for you?"

[Dani]

"It's going alright," Chynna said, her smile growing wider. "I got my sisters' stuff, but I'm kind of having trouble getting stuff for my older brothers. I got one of them a gift card to the art store, but that's only because he's an artist and I know that he'd appreciate it." She tightly gripped her numerous shopping bags, not wanting to accidentally drop or lose anything. "So you're an artist too?" Even though they had talked before, she didn't really know a whole lot about Andy. Perhaps now was a good time to change that.

[Mia]

"Gift cards are always good. That's probably the route I'm gonna take." Walmart was always a good choice. It wasn't the best place but he wasn't exactly rolling in money, and Walmart pretty much had something for everyone. He noticed her tighten the grip on her bags and frowned, just then noticing the amount she was carrying. "Are those heavy? Do you want to sit somewhere?" Without waiting for an answer he gently took her elbow and led her too an empty table, taking the bags from her and directing to sit while he sat across from her. After he sat was when he realized what he'd done and he let out a nervous chuckle, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry. I didn't even wait for you to answer." He smiled a bit, he was super over-protective over friends and family, especially females, and tended to do things without thinking. "In answer to your question, I am an artist. I mostly draw people, my twin most often, but I like to draw scenery too."

[Dani]

Chynna had barely opened her mouth to speak before he took her bags from her and led her to go sit down. Wow, he's really polite..... "That's alright," she said, as she pulled out a chair and sat down. "I actually got my older sisters gift cards. Those bags are mostly stuff for my little brother and sister. They're five and three. My mom got Sammy some toy cars for his birthday last month and I got him a race track for them. She got Molly a dollhouse for her birthday and I got her some furniture for it. They're so lucky that their birthdays are like a month before Christmas. They don't have to wait that long for presents. I have to wait six months for mine." Her ears perked up when he mentioned drawing pictures of his twin. She couldn't imagine her twin brother JJ ever drawing a picture of her. Even if he asked her to sit and pose for a picture, she probably wouldn't do it. Knowing him, he'd probably depict her as an ugly witch or something. "That's nice. My older brother draws too. He used to draw pictures of his girlfriend, but they broke up. Now he draws sunsets and things like that."

[Mia]

"That's nice, I kinda wish I had younger siblings but knowing me I'd be over-bearing. I mean, I have nieces and nephew so I guess its the same." He shrugged, glad she didn't seem put off by his impulsive action. I have to be more careful next time. If there would be a next time. He wasn't sure how Chynna stood on the whole teenager thing still, but he didn't want to accidentally scare her away. "My birthday is in September, so its only 3 months, but I completely understand. Although sometimes having a birthday so close to Christmas can be a bad thing. I have a sister who's birthday is in December and she only got one set of presents when we were younger. Had to wait for Christmas and everything." He laughed lightly. "Oh, I actually need to find more people to draw in order to practice better. Jackie is probably getting tired of being drawn, and nobody else will sit still long enough." Andrew suddenly got an idea, and hoped that she wouldn't disagree right away. "Have you ever been drawn?"

[Dani]

Chynna nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm glad to have them. All of my other brothers and sisters, except for my twin brother, are in college and high school. I feel like such a baby around them sometimes. It's nice to have people in my house that are younger and smaller than me." She couldn't believe that she was actually telling him this. She never thought that she would actually wind up confiding in a teenager, especially considering that her worries stemmed from the very presence of teenagers. "My mom's birthday is in December, so I know what you mean. We always do something separate for her, but sometimes people forget about it." Her eyes widened a little at his question. "Nope, I've never really been drawn before, unless you count a picture that my little brother drew for his kindergarten class of our entire family. I was a green stick figure."

[Mia]

Andrew listened to her talk with simple nods here or there, not really saying anything in answer, until she answered his question. He smiled lightly, laughing just a bit. "I wouldn't count that." He chuckled lightly. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to let me draw you. My sister is starting to volunteer at the Pet Store so she isn't around more often, and nobody else wants to sit there and let me draw them."

[Dani]

Chynna's mouth practically dropped open. "You want to draw me?" She was completely caught by surprise. Why on earth would he want to draw her? She wasn't a bad looking person, but whenever she looked at herself in the mirror, the words "work of art" didn't exactly come to mind. However, despite her confusion, she found his offer to be very interesting. It wasn't everyday that a person got an offer to have their picture drawn. "I-I guess it would be alright," she said after a long pause. "Did you want to draw a lot of pictures of me or just one?"

[Mia]

"Yes." Andrew chuckled lightly at her reaction, it was adorable. "I think it would be fun." Plus it would give Andrew an excuse to see her more often. Ever since their talk at the school, he'd caught himself just randomly thinking about her on occasion. Drawing her would allow him to see her, and hopefully get to know her. When Chynna finally agreed Andrew smiled. "We'll see how it goes after the first time." He already knew he wanted to draw several pictures, a lot actually, as many as he could, but he didn't want to scare her away. "And how much you like posing." He added the last part with a soft laugh.

[Dani]

"Okay then," Chynna replied, nodding her head. She was still confused about the idea of him drawing her, but she figured that it would be a good way for the two of them to hang out together. Teenager or not, he was pretty much the closest thing that she had to a friend in Riverside. They may not have been able to have the same classes together in school or able to eat lunch together, but at least they had drawing sessions. "How long will I have to sit still for? I'm not sure if I can hold still for longer than an hour. You'll probably get only half of my head drawn or something."

[Mia]

"Depends on how long it takes me to draw the picture." Andrew shrugged lightly. "I wouldn't draw the whole thing in one sitting though, that would take forever. We could take breaks too." He knew he always had to take breaks with Jackie, she didn't like sitting for long either. It usually took him a week to draw a picture of her. Somehow though, Andrew didn't think he would mind if it would take just as long to draw Chynna. Andrew's stomach chose then to growl, and he touched it with a light laugh. "Ahhh, I forgot to eat. Have you eaten anything yet?"