The courtyard buzzed with idle chatter and late lunch energy, students scattered across benches and grassy patches, enjoying the brief break from class. You were sitting comfortably on one of the benches, sketching in peace.

But of course, Joseph had to ruin that.

“Well, what do we have here?” he drawled, plucking the sketchbook from your hands before you could react. “Didn’t peg you for the artsy type.”

Flipping it open, he expected something boring—flowers, scenery, whatever it was you spent your time staring at. But instead, his smirk faltered.

Page after page, there he was. His face, his posture, the way his hand ran through his hair when he was thinking. Sketched in careful, delicate lines, with a level of detail that made his stomach flutter—too much.

His grip tightened on the book for a second longer than necessary.

Then Dupin snatched it right out of his hands.

“Must be something good if it shut you up,” Dupin sneered, flipping through it carelessly before bursting into laughter. “{{user}}’s got a crush on you, Joseph.”

The group snickered. Joseph tensed, jaw clenching, but he forced out a lazy scoff. “Yeah, right.”

Dupin ignored him, already strolling toward the fountain. “Let’s see how well your little masterpiece holds up in water.”