Outdrawn

by Deanna Grey

I used to think I was in love with him before I realized he was simply a beautiful man who knew how to listen and express his emotions in a sincere, non-threatening way.

Noah's work helped get me through my fog a few months ago. At rock bottom, I'd turned to her comic, and it'd been the best thing about my day. My obsession with her characters was embarrassing to admit, especially after I'd spent years putting distance between us. The art world liked to compare our work because our styles were similar, but something deep inside me knew she had the potential to be better. My growing love for her story proved that.

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SHARA WHEELER

The conflicting emotion I got from seeing how soft she looked versus how hard she actually was would never cease to confuse me.

She looked at me now, those dark brown eyes confident. I didn’t know why they set a spark in my belly, the kind of spark I got when I have a long day of drawing ahead of me. Those kinds of days were the only ones I looked forward to.

The softness of her outfits mirrored the feeling one would get from watercolor paintings.

So, the pond wasn't hard to find.

LMAOOO

Once I was done, I put my pencil down and nudged it slightly in her direction in the hopes she’ll notice.

Lots of things made me happy: art, perfectly seasoned rice, bike rides downtown, and now, apparently, making Sage smile because of something silly.

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VALORANT CAMEO!??

I'd always had a good relationship with loneliness. Lonely had been my safe place. In silence, no one expected anything from me. That lack of expectation meant I could be myself. Of course, it got hard, but that was a trade-off I'd been willing to make. Or, at least, I thought it was.

Be so for real right now."

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I'm determined, not obsessed."

toaster lamp."

THAT DAMN TOASTER LAMP

"Can I kiss you?"

We love consent

"I can still be lonely in a crowded room."

“I know. But when it’s us, I want to make sure you feel safe to be, to do, say, or just be.”

“You stare at it any time I pull up.” “I’m staring at you, Sage. Not the bike.”

was hers…if she wanted me. She had to know that. I'd let her know that.

"Because I know I want to be with you," she said firmly. "I know I want to see your smile and hear your voice every day. I know I want to help you feel seen and heard. I know not a day goes by when I won't work hard to give you everything you deserve. I know that you want me to have everything I deserve. You're never going to make things easy. You'll never sugar coat things. I know when we're together, we are petty assholes, but we're also something beautiful, something far bigger than the art. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Noah, we can be bigger than the art. I know that."

The last panel was of the glasses-wearing woman on one knee. I let out a strangled laugh and turned around to find Noah on one knee.

"It's flooded with flowers and decorations," I explained. "And I learned that song. The one from The Last of Us. It's really sad but beautiful and I wanted to play it for you before I asked you to marry me."