Edward rolled his eyes. He was sure his teacher would laugh if they heard anyone call him smart. But then she was pretty foolish at some stuff.

"Whatever.." he said dismissively. What did he care if she cried? He liked making people cry because then they took him seriously. And knew he was a big deal.

Still.. he looked at the sea glass and carefully tucked it away in a pocket after staring at it for a moment. He noticed her smile and the corners of his lips threatened to curl up and return the smile but he managed to stifle it.

"Thanks. It's a prettier piece anyway. " He said slowly and finally took the chance to sit on the bed. It was soft! Maybe he'd convince her to just hang out there until the brother came home. He wad sure they hadn't met so he couldn't know him well enough to kick him out yet, right?

Mable stayed by the desk while Edward sat on the bed, her face turned away from him.  Ah!  Ah!!!  Hearing him really say it was better than she'd imagined.  Her cheeks hurt from how wide she was smiling, amplified by what was probably a very embarrassing blush.

But she didn't have time for that!  She had company, a friend over, and she was going to make the most of it while she could.  So Mable took a breath, bringing her hands to her face to rub her cheeks and joined Edward, sitting across from him on her brother's bed.

"We should play on the beach together sometime, you know," she said.  "We could look for more shells together, or dig, or draw in the sand.  I'm not much of an artist, though.  How about you?  Can you draw very well?"

Edward scrunched up his face as he tried to lean to the side to see what she was up to. She had been facing away for a while. Girls were so weird.

He was slightly relieved when she turned back to him and talked about the beach. He almost told her about the gold, but stopped himself. What on earth was he doing?? Telling her about treasure! That was for him to find so he could be rich.

"Sure. We can go. I head there sometimes for reasons. Can I draw?" He thought of the rude doodles he'd done that got him in trouble a lot and smiled. "Sure I can."

An artist!  Mable was in the presence if an artist!  She clapped and erupted into giggles.  How lucky was she to have met Edward!

"You'll have to draw me something someday, then!  And we have to draw together in the sand.  It would be so much fun, I think.  I'm not very good at it, but at least I won't be wasting any paper.  I - well, this is sort of a secret, so don't tell anyone I told you, but I used to draw in proper books when I was younger, but I'd really get in trouble for it.  Only when I was caught though!"

Mable was probably intending to whisper her secret, but excitement kept her voice closer to a normal speaking level.  She laughed again at the memory, tugging on a braid.

"My dad didn't read, and my brother never learned, so unless they saw me doing it I was fine!  But I was so young, I'd forget to put them back most of the time... well, I know better now than to get caught!"

Edward wanted to tell her she was asking a lot from him. He didn't know if they'd do anything together, but she seemed like she wasn't thinking ahead. He didn't care, really. He laid his head back on the bed and listened, nodding idly to her chatter when she mentioned drawing in books. He thought he could very well fall asleep but instead, sat up.

"What? Who cares if you draw in books? That's dumb. Books are just useless stuff, at least you gave them something to look at." He laid his head back down immediately, considering how long she'd notice if he just fell asleep. If he did fall asleep though, she could take his shoes. Or her brother, and he'd be without them. He hugged them tighter and stared at the ceiling in his conundrum.

Seeing Edward lie down on her bed made Mable do the same on her brothers, though she had no intention to fall asleep.  She wasn't tired at all!  The beds were just very comfortable, and she felt strange just looking at her friend if he wasn't looking at her.  The ceiling wasn't very interesting, but Mable kept herself occupied by talking as she usually did.

"Books aren't all stupid!  Some of them are very nice, actually.  Like the Bible, or cooking books, or books with maps in them.  Those are nice, but I'm not so sure about others.  Have you ever drawn in books, Edward?  I'd like to see some of your art, if you're willing to show me."

Ed furrowed his brow in thought. He didn't agree at all. Those books were all awful, at least the ones he remembered. Well, maps were okay. They were full of places he'd rather be at than Whitby. He couldn't read most of the names though. He shrugged.

"I haven't drawn in books. I mostly drew instead of did my work in class. So I don't have nothing to show you." He said honestly and closed his eyes. He was sure she wouldn't like his artwork. "Maybe one day if I get some paper and stuff." Which would be never.

Hm.  "Paper's a little hard to come by," she said, crossing her hands over her stomach.  "We can always draw in the sand, though.  Or draw in books, so long as no one sees."

Mable imagined it, and smiled.  She did have that bible that came in the hotel room, so if they really needed something, they could always use that.  She doubted God or Father Brennan would approve of that sacrifice, but... Well, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

Lacking anything else to say next, Mable started humming Edward's song to herself again, stopping for a moment now and again to remember what came next.  She was so happy in that moment.  A content smile made itself on home on her face, enjoying the company of her new friend and the soft bed below her, the hotel room full of warm air.

"Maybe.." Edward said uncertainly. He didn't know if he could draw anything a girl would like. She'd probably be annoyed if he drew his usual stuff. But then so what? He would draw what he wanted to!

She began to hum and he felt that and the soft bed started to have an effect. He stifled a yawn and rolled to his side, curling up around the shoes. Sleep was taking him and he didn't really care to fight it off. Rude or not, he was quite happy to sleep in the room of someone he just met maybe an hour or two ago.

Mable continued humming for a long while, oblivious to her friends sleepy nature.  When she eventually sat up and saw him on her bed, she felt bad!  Was her room so boring that it put him to sleep?  What a terrible host she was.

The girl was contemplating what to do next and only panicking slightly when the door to the hotel room opened.  And who else would it be but her brother?

He stepped in through the door and paused when he noticed Mable on his bed, beginning to smile.  Then, he noticed Edward on the other bed, and froze.

"What the hell?"

"He's my friend!" Mable quickly explained, but her brother did not look convinced at all.

"Out," he demanded, "now!  What the hell, Mable?"