The almost kiss was something that completely flew out of my mind when I caught a look at the calendar the next morning. The brush that had been on my hand was now currently hanging by some tendrils of hair, and my mouth was propped open.

A month.

One more month until the year was officially over.

After my shock, I quickly finished yanking the brush through my hair, and sped out my room, apologizing as I bumped into some guards and maids. They all just gasped or chuckled, trying to avoid getting into my path as I stumbled into the dining area, where Ian was already seated.

"Do you know what day it is today?"

He paused midway with a piece of fruit to his mouth and frowned. "No... is it an important day?"

I sat down next to him and spoke as I filled up my cup with juice. "We have one more month. Exactly one more month Ian."

I heard his fork drop noisily on the plate, and I winced, not daring to look at his face. I silently brought the glass to my lips, and took a small sip of the cold refreshment. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him staring at me for a few seconds, before he looked back down, wordlessly as he stared at his food. I slowly ate, watching him, and relaxed when he picked up his fork a few moments later.

"Oh.. that..."

He didn't eat much after that. I did see him swallow a few bites, but he was mostly just playing around with his food. I on the other hand, was starving. I ate almost everything I saw, and was even licking the chocolate off my fingers instead of wiping them.

"Did you have anything in mind for yourself today, or did you want to do something together?" I asked once my hands were clean. The maids were silently cleaning up our mess, and I sent them a tiny nod and smile in gratitude as Ian slowly turned towards me.

"Whatever you want. I came here for you."

I shivered at his tone, but nodded and stood up. Something from a few months ago came into mind, and I smiled, knowing he would be surprised, but happy at the same time. I grabbed his hand and silently dragged him down many hallways. I stopped at a door I had never been before until now, and slowly turned around, a smile on my face.

"What is this?" He asked softly, but his tone was filled with curiosity. His gaze was flickering back and forth from the door to me.

"I know, but at the same time, I don't know what it is." His expression just made me laugh and clutch my stomach. He just smiled, shook his head and cocked his head to the side as he waited for me. "I remembered what you liked to do on your spare time, and I thought that maybe once you came over for a visit, -which I didn't expect for you to come as soon as it was done- that you would enjoy it."

His eyes widened as he slowly realized what I was talking about, and my smile got bigger. "Are you serious?" He whispered, not tearing his eyes from the door.

"Yes. We are... friends." I gulped, but kept the smile on my face. "I want you to be comfortable when you stay here in the future. As future queen,-" He quickly glanced at me as we both smiled at that word "-I don't want my guest to feel like if they aren't in their own home. This room was just gathering dust, so I convinced my parents into turning into this."

Without hesitation, his hand wrapped around the knob and pushed the door open. It swung around without a noise, and as soon as he stepped in, the automatic lights we had installed came on.

"Just in case you have your hands full and can't turn on the lights. Just make sure you're moving every thirty minutes or so because they will turn off if they don't detect movement." I chuckled as he still gaped at the art room.

Everything was brand new. Everything and anything an artist dreamed of having was in this one room, and it seemed like I couldn't have thought of a much perfect way to make it at home.

"Anyways," I drawled out a few minutes later, rocking on my heels as I stared at him moving around. He was touching everything with slow, soft movement, and gathering a few things underneath his armpit as he went around. "I brought you here because... well because you said you wanted to paint me one day." He stopped looking at the oil pastel colors and snapped his blue gaze to me. I raised my hands up in the air and half smiled. "Well... here I am."

"You... you want me to draw you?"

"Yes. If you want. I have nothing else to do, so I can sit down and be your model for the day."

He didn't even think about it. He just smiled, nodded once and then walked quicker around the room, picking up a few more things. He then walked to the door, and motioned with his head as his hands were full. "Come on. I have a spot in mind for this."

I followed him silently to one of the few living rooms we had. I was momentarily surprised he remembered his way here, but then stopped once he crouched down in front of a bench right underneath the window. The maroon curtains were draped apart like always, bathing the bench in a warm pool of light, and my mind clicked everything into place.

"I'm sitting there?" I pointed to the bench as he plopped a few pillows on it and on the floor.

"Not really. You're laying on it."

I blinked rapidly, but didn't argue. I laid down sideways, and automatically laced both of my hands underneath my head. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, and was about to open them up to look for his instructions when his voice stopped me.

"Don't move. That's perfect."

So for the next few hours, I stayed in that position.

Well at least I thought it was hours. I was pretty sure I had fallen asleep not even a few minutes into the drawing. I just remember moving a bit, feeling like if I was falling and I sprang up, finding him concentrating on the page in front of him. He didn't even notice that I had moved and stretched, feeling my back pop and ache from being in one spot too long. My stomach growled, and I looked behind me, seeing the once lighted sky now grey with the storm outside.

"Ian?" The only movement that came from him were his eyebrows. They furrowed down even more as his concentration peaked to his work even harder. I had to literally stand, and wave my hand underneath his face to get his attention.

"Oh, you're awake. I didn't even see you move."

"How long did I sleep?" There was a covered tray next to him, and one small lift of it made it known it was untouched.

"Hmmm... a while I guess. I'm not sure, I lost track of time a while back." His eyes traveled back down to his work, and I knew I had lost him again. I didn't even bother trying to get his attention back. I just grabbed the tray and began to munch on everything, feeling my stomach growl in agreement as I chewed. It wasn't long until is long, lean fingers grabbed the spoon I had just dropped, and scooped up some rice so he could feed himself. I looked up from the plate and saw him grinning, laying back, with the picture to the side.

"Are you done?"

"Yes. But- no, no, no, no!" He chuckled as he slowly moved the paper behind him. "No peeking. I want to frame it first and then you can see it."

I shrugged. "Fine with me."

I shook my head when he tried to hand me the fork again, and looked out the window to the pounding rain. It wasn't long before a throat clearing had me looking back, an eyebrow raised as he just stared at me.

His mouth moved as he tried to form words, but no sounds came out. He ended up sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. His tongue quickly passed through his lips, before they opened and words came out.

"Charlotte...." he sighed and grabbed my hands, making my breathing stop and my body freeze as he stared at me. "I want to thank you again, for everything you have done."

My breath came out in one big whoosh and I smiled, relaxing underneath his touch. "It's no problem. You don't have to thank me."

He was shaking his head before I finished speaking. "You have no idea what you have done for me. You've done... more than what anyone has ever done. So... thank you."

My cheeks slowly began to burn and I looked away, eyeing the designs on the carpet. There was one more squeeze of my hands and then they were released before movement caught my attention. He was standing up, taking his artwork with him. He tucked it all underneath one armpit again and then stretched out the other hand, giving me a small smile. "Come on. Let's go dig through the kitchen for some dessert. I'm craving some cheesecake."

My eyes lit up at the sound of that, and I grabbed his hand eagerly. "I call dibs on the chocolate drizzled one." I sprinted out into a run, jokingly pushing him to the side and he laughed.

"Hey! For that I get that slice!" I could hear him running behind me and I squeaked.

"Not if I beat you first."

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