Title: Over the Canvas called Spring (Repainting Seasons Part 1).
Genre: Cliche-ish (?), Character Development, Romance (?)
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): Jessica/Tiffany
Summary: "In that year, there was no picture, so together they painted spring."

---

"Remember that blonde? The girl who can't stop asking questions that can't really be answered right away?"

Tiffany does remember.

She remembers how the blonde sat next to her for one semester in English class. The lesson was about Shakespeare and the morals he tried to portray through his stories when someone had poked her elbow to get attention.

She had ignored the itch to turn around because the teacher was looking.

"Does it really hurt to love?"

Tiffany remembers furrowing her brows then as she waited for the professor to turn around. She had asked herself the same question for a while until her mind unconsciously slipped it into a chest, locked it out of her head, and threw the key away when no one bothered to answer. That, or the question was too silly and the answer was too obvious, but she wasn't quite sure yet.

Another poke had stolen her attention and she craned her neck to look.

"Does it?" She asked again.

Tiffany had merely blinked, stared, blinked again, and then narrowed her eyes as she took sight of the blonde's expression. She couldn't see anything other than genuine curiosity in those pools of brown as Tiffany noticed the slight cross of the blonde's lips that curved out.

She felt the blonde gently tug on her sleeve, those fingers clutching around the thin fabric. Tiffany could feel the girl's heat seep through the cotton material and graze against her elbow.

Tiffany couldn't seem to get her lips to move when her body appeared to be content to remain still; her eyes left to just stare. It was when the blonde tilted her head to the side in wonder that Tiffany finally found her voice to speak.

"I - I don't..." she croaked, suddenly embarrassed. She coughed into her hand and drifted her gaze elsewhere when she saw how those strands of blonde flit over the girl's jawline, shaping her face. "...I don't know,"

It was true. She didn't because she forgets and she briefly wondered what the girl would think.

Tiffany hesitantly returned her gaze to the blonde when the girl pulled on her sleeve again.

"Will I know if I do?" She queried, and Tiffany felt her brows crinkle as the blonde continued to stare.

She wasn't quite sure what to think of her, the blonde. Was she doing this on purpose? Putting on an act of naivety towards her fellow peers to come off as innocent? Or, was she naturally just like that?

Tiffany still figures she was when she had asked the blonde to clarify.

She cleared to avoid any more embarrassment, "Do what?" Tiffany asked, even if she knew the answer to that.

"If I love," and Tiffany had briefly wondered if the girl's mind processed things as clearly and logically as the rest, "will I know then?"

Tiffany had wanted to say 'of course, isn't that common sense?' but the blonde's brown eyes kept firm and shut. There was something there, in those auburn depths that Tiffany couldn't decipher and it made her think.

Was she really serious?

The third tug on her elbow made her blink, made her clear her head and stare again. And that was when Tiffany realized she was.

The blonde had took her awed silence for a 'yes,' and Tiffany saw how her lips loosened from that rigid pout and instead settled for curving upwards. Tiffany hadn't realized her gaze fell to the blonde's lips to watch them form a soft, crooked smile until the blonde leaned just a little closer to take her eyes again.

"Then, can I love you?"

And Tiffany had merely walked away when the bell rang, though she didn't miss the way the blonde had reached out to grasp her sleeve again, her voice calling out 'wait, where are you going?'

Tiffany had found it all silly, really.

---

"She likes sitting underneath that oak tree behind the school grounds just to sleep. Kind of cute, isn't it?"

It takes Tiffany some time before her memory clicks and she remembers again, agreeing wholeheartedly.

She remembers how word had spread like fire around the school campus. How 'cute' the blonde had looked beneath a giant oak tree that no one actually ever bothered to poke fun at her for it. It was as if the blonde's serene image had halted the world to just stop, stare, and admire.

Tiffany remembers being one of the many passer-bys occasionally taking more than enough glances for her mind to permanently stow away the picture of spring.

She was just about to walk away when her voice called out, that tender tone making Tiffany's hairs stand on the back of her neck. It made her pause as her ears quirk to pick up the sound of footsteps coming closer. Tiffany had struggled not to move when she felt the girl latch onto her sleeve again, hesitance seeping off the grip as doubt dripped behind her.

"I - I'm Jessica," she mumbled almost inaudibly, making Tiffany strain her ears. "and I'm sorry, for forgetting to introduce myself."

Tiffany felt the blonde press just a little closer against her back, but not close enough for touch. She could feel her breath glaze and seep through her sweater, warm air sliding against her skin. Tiffany breathed in when she felt the girl's hand slowly - almost painfully - lower from her elbow to the end of her sleeve.

But that was as far as Jessica went, meekly holding on at the cotton material, as if unsure if she was allowed any closer.

Tiffany had wondered then if she would ever let her.

"So don't be mad anymore, okay...?" Her light tone was tender, but Tiffany could still hear the tremor in her voice.

It had never been about the lack of introductions, but apparently, Jessica had took it the wrong way.

"...Tiffany," she replied quietly.

And she felt the hold on her sleeve loosen, signalling that the girl was surprised before Tiffany could hear the smile spill from Jessica's lips. Tiffany never understood why she felt relief wash over her like a wave when the girl decided to drop her hand to slip their fingers together instead.

Jessica moved from her position behind to stand beside her, and Tiffany could feel no more hesitance from the blonde's form. Jessica was looking for her forgiveness and approval.

Thing was, Tiffany had given them when Jessica didn't need them in the first place.