Lover • l.mk

Paint

The night with him was better than I expected. He's so nice and ... understanding. I had fun after such a long time. I learned a little about him over the course of the night. He is charming and endearing. Even though he is a bit stubborn, that makes his personality even more entertaining. He loves to laugh at his silly jokes. He often quotes Shakespeare. He loves watermelons.

We talked about the past. When we used to play together. I did not expect him to remember all that. We never had a good relationship. He used to tease me and I would sulk. He secretly favored me when we all played together, but I never noticed. I was too busy hating him. It was not until I was clear about my feelings for him. But he had moved into a dorm at that time. And even if he had been here, I would never have confessed it to him.

He invited me to his house today. I stared at the clock for an hour until it was four of the clock so I could finally go. My parents - my mother does not usually allow me to go to a friend's house. And if I am honest, I have never had a friend who wanted me at their house. But she allowed me because it's Mark. His dad and my father were close friends. We have that family friendship thing in us, too.
When the clock struck four, I went down the stairs and marched over to his house. His house was only three houses away from mine. I could clearly see his roof from our lawn. As I approached his house, I felt something heavy in my chest. I took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell. It was not long before the door opened and Mark came out smiling.

"Hey," I said awkwardly smiling

"Hey, come on in please," he said and stepped aside

I walked past him and he closed the door.
His mother came out of the kitchen carrying an apron. A smile was plastered on her face.

"Haelynn, it's so good to see you," she pulled me into a hug. It was awkward at first, but it got better with time

She broke away from the hug and smiled at me.

"She waited for you more than I did."

"So did I, but Mark couldn't stop staring at the clock and regretted that he should have told you to come early." She half-grinned and looked at Mark.

My cheeks turned rosy. I turned my face to Mark, who was as flustered as I was.

"Excuse us, Mom," he said, grabbing my hand.

I felt heat rising in my body. I looked at our intertwined hands and my heart beat faster. He pulled me into his room.
When we got to his room, he looked down at our hands and dropped them.

"So this is my room."

I took in everything that came before my eyes. His room was minimalist but comfortable. It had everything you need in a room. I saw his guitar sitting in the corner next to his bed.
He noticed me staring at it and began,

"I played guitar in high school. I haven't in a long time." Said he smiling, as if remembering something

I looked at his bookshelf, which was filled with books. The first shelf contained the classics. The other was for poetry and the last seemed to contain the usual romance novels.

"I haven't updated this shelf in a while. Some of my favorite books are back in the dorm." He said, seeming to read my mind

I nodded in response. And my eyes wandered to the other shelf where the music albums were. I knew he was someone who would have something like that. Every day I seem to learn new things about him. I think I know him better than he knows me.

"Actually... There's something I wanted to do with you," he said, scratching the back of his neck

"What is it?" I asked him

"Painting. I wanted to paint with you." I frowned as I listened to him

Not many people know that I paint. It was just a hobby, but over time I got better at it.

"Sure," I said and smiled a little

"I'm not as good as you, of course, but I thought I'd give it a try."

"Painting is not about being good, you just have to express your feelings. If you paint with feelings, it looks better on its own," I told him and his smile widened