Drawn to you

Chapter 2: The Blank Page

Jake sat at his desk, staring at the blank page before him. The click of his pen was the only sound in the small, dimly lit studio apartment. Outside, the city hummed with life, but inside, Jake's world was still. His eyes flicked over the pile of sketches on the floor, the unfinished comics, the half-finished character designs—all discarded attempts at creating something new.

The clock on the wall ticked away the hours, but the pages of his sketchbook remained untouched. "What am I doing?" Jake thought. He wasn't sure anymore. He used to love this—drawing for a living. But lately, the joy had drained away. There was no spark, no big idea to bring his work to life. He had tried it all: superhero stories, dystopian worlds, slice-of-life dramas, even graphic novels based on dreams he had. Nothing worked. The pages just stared back at him, judging, waiting for something that wasn't coming. Jake took a deep breath and shifted in his chair, running a hand through his hair "Maybe it's time to try something new." He thought about romance. Everyone loved a good love story, right? Maybe this could be the breakthrough. He'd seen so many popular romance comics—sweet, heartwarming, sometimes tragic—stories that connected with people on a deep emotional level. Maybe that was what he needed. A simple romance, something pure and uplifting.

He picked up his pen again and began sketching the outline of a couple: a boy and a girl, sitting on a park bench, their eyes locked. He drew a few hearts in the background, the classic romantic imagery. But as he added more detail to the characters, something felt off. It was too clichéd. Too formulaic. This isn't me, Jake thought. Where's the spark? Where's the life? 

Frustrated, he crumpled up the sketch and tossed it in the corner with the rest of his discarded ideas. Romance was supposed to be easy, right? He knew all the tropes. He could have written a romance comic in his sleep. But something about it felt hollow. The more he tried to force it, the more the pages felt like traps.

He leaned back in his chair and scrolled through social media. There, again, were all those successful comics: Sarah's bestselling romance series, full of longing glances and starry-eyed confessions. Theo's lighthearted, funny love stories, adored by readers. And even Liam, whose romance comics were raw and emotional, filled with messy, complicated love.

I can't do that, Jake thought, his eyes lingering on a post from Theo about how he spent hours working on the emotional beats of a recent story. I can't even come up with a single original idea for a romance.

Later that Day

Jake needed a break. His eyes were sore from staring at the screen too long, and his mind felt like a jumbled mess of half-formed ideas. He grabbed his jacket and slipped out the door, stepping into the crisp evening air. A walk would do him some good. Maybe a change of scenery would help.

He wandered through the quiet streets of his neighborhood, aimlessly passing by cafés and restaurants, until he found himself in front of Morningside Books, a small, cozy shop nestled between a couple of buildings. He didn't visit much anymore, but it had always been one of his favorite places. The smell of old paper, the quiet hum of soft jazz music playing in the background—it was the kind of place that felt like an escape. He pushed the door open with a creak and entered. The bell above the door chimed softly. The store was practically empty, save for a few people browsing and a barista setting up the coffee counter near the entrance. Jake wandered through the aisles, his fingers brushing against the spines of books, looking for something—anything—to spark his mind. then he finds it, a book.