Goodnight Moon (Camren)

❁ i.

The composition of the painting was curious. Lauren's eyes moved from place to place unable to decide what the focus of the piece was. She could only imagine that the art reflected the chaos within the artist itself. The colours were vivid, almost to the point of lurid. The stroke lines bold and the images from out of this world. It was both stunning and headache inducing, like a novel condensed onto a single page. She'd have liked to see it as a series of paintings with each idea given time and space to be expressed, to communicate the meaning that was inside its creator. Releasing a heavy sigh Lauren walked back over to her own canvas that stood pure and clean in the middle of her apartment lounge, brushes laid out perfectly by its side, but the brunette just couldn't bring herself to take a seat on the pathetically small, wooden stool that sat in front of it. She had nothing. Not a single idea. Not a single thought. Not a single concept. She was completely and utterly blank and had been for weeks now, and with her final deadline drawing closer the hours of sleep began to decrease drastically.

Slumping onto the couch furthest away from the taunting set-up, she buried her face in her hands releasing a groan as her left foot shot out to kick whatever was in front of her. The sound of glass shattering on the wooden floor instantly snatched up her attention as she noticed shards from the innocent vase had managed to spread themselves across the floor, one had even somehow manage to shoot straight into her leg slicing a small cut to her calf which, truthfully, Lauren had barely even noticed was now bleeding quite heavily. There was sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs before Dinah sprinted into the room, a confused look plastered on her face as she studied the scene. When her eyes eventually landing onto Lauren's minor wound she was gone in a flash, but soon enough returning with a bandage and cloth in hand.

"You're a nightmare," she breathed, kneeling down in front of the absentminded girl, trying her best to prevent any more pain being inflicted onto her.

"I just can't do it Dinah."

A pair of hazel eyes flicked upwards to study her friend. Over the weeks everyone had learned to stay out of Lauren's way, as she grew more and more frustrated with herself for the lack of inspiration that was coming to her mind. She would be impossible to talk to at times and they could hardly remember the last time she got a decent night's sleep or ate a full meal. She was over thinking and stressing herself out so much it was becoming a worry for everyone. Yes, her career was on line if this deadline wasn't met but at this rate so was her health.

"Lo, you need to take a break. Go out for your walk. Clear your mind. Take a breather and when you get back there will be a bottle of red wine with your name on it waiting for you alongside a Disney movie marathon courtesy of the bestest friend you could ever wish for." Dinah smirked, now towering over Lauren as she stood up.

"What did I ever do to deserve a friend like you?" Lauren half-heartedly laughed, burying her head in her hands once again before reluctantly raising herself from the couch. Dinah shrugged sarcastically.

"Who knows, but you was blessed. That's for sure." She mocked whilst dodging a pillow that Lauren had hurled weakly towards her. "Curfew is at 10." 

Grabbing her door keys, Lauren headed for the door hesitantly. Glancing behind her shoulder she watched the Polynesian disappear into the kitchen once again with a smug grin plastered on her face.

— ✾ — 

With each step, Lauren pounded her feet onto the sidewalk releasing some of her anger, walking in the fresh air usually helped clear her thoughts. She paused abruptly as she reached the entrance to Central Park, tossing her head back and looking up at the faint outline of the moon which was now beginning to make its grand appearance - the great expanse of the sky making her feel even smaller and more insignificant. Face wiped clean, as if a screen had been pulled down to hide her emotions, she hurried along. Eyes plastered to the floor, she stared at her shoes. The cold painted bright red on her cheeks and the wind threw her hair around aimlessly as she made her way to an abnormally large rock placed in the heart of the park. From the top she could overlook the entire place, observing everybody's evening antics and sketch as freely as she wished. Digging into her rucksack she pulled out the rusty old black book and slid open the page she had bookmarked yesterday with a pencil. Every page was filled with New York; the skyline, the commuters, the trees, the flowers, the silence, the chaos, you name it, Lauren had probably drawn it. But that wasn't enough, not enough for her manager at work at least. She had an exhibition deadline in six weeks and there was still no sight of an idea. New York was a banned theme, despite the city being her one true love, every showcase her theme would be the same but this time she had been challenged to prove she was a diverse artist, she needed to discover a new muse.