Feather

Nine

Peyton knocked on the double doors, looking up at the large house. The bright sun was hot in the sky, since it was the start of summer, the glare it produced off the painted white walls made her curse herself for forgetting her sunglasses. Slowly, the door opened to reveal a lady, she was wearing a white tshirt, and blue jeans, her hair short and curly as usual, "Hello, Mrs. Hood."

"Peyton? I haven't seen you in a while. Is everything okay?" She smiled, opening the door wider to let Peyton inside.

"Yeah, everything's fine, how have you been?" she asked.

"Same as always. Family, work. My life is rather dull," she laughed, "so to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"I actually wanted to see Calum. Is he in?"

"In the attic as always." She shrugged with a slight eye roll and a smile.

"May I?"

"Of course, I've missed seeing you around the house. Maybe you can stay for dinner? I'm making crab." She grinned.

Peyton took off her biker boots, placing them by the door with a large grin, "you've always known how to twist my arm, Mrs. Hood."

"I've also always told you to call me Joy but you never do."

"Nope." Peyton called out happily as she practically skipped up the large staircase.

She took the stairs up to the third floor, smiling when hearing Otis Reading's Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay loudly through the door. Peyton opened it slowly, the large french doors where open, letting in the natural light. Calum had his back to her, sitting shirtless in front of a canvas as he concentrated on the painting he was working on, a small bead of sweat running down his spine.

Staying quiet, she slowly walked around the studio, which was what Calum had converted it to so he could work in peace, and looked at all the work he had been doing. It had been a while since she had seen him, being occupied with work, and everything with Michael but Calum's talent never ceased to amaze her.

Peyton tiptoed behind him, looking at the piece he was working on, and smirked as she whispered into his ear, "nah, I'm way prettier than her." He jumped almost three feet in the air, staring back at her with a hand over his chest, and fear in his eyes, making her giggle.

"Are you crazy? You almost gave me a heart attack." He breathed heavily.

"You love me really, Cal." She grinned.

"Sometimes I do wonder," He shook his head, putting down his palette and brush, before pulling her into a hug, "I've missed you, Bean."

She sighed, taking in his scent, that was a mixture of paint and cigarettes, "I've missed you too, Kiwi."

They hugged tightly, her 5'8" height being surrounded by his large 6'2", and she hadn't realised how much she missed an innocent hug. Peyton had met Calum at school, they were just shy of thirteen, when she was walking home one day, and Calum fell out of a tree as he tried to climb down it. He had been up there trying to paint a bird that was perched on one of the branches. Luckily, he hadn't fallen too far, and all he got was a sprained ankle but it still hurt, and she helped him home, wiping away his stray tears once in a while.

Calum felt embarrassed but just smiled shyly, as she tried to take his mind off the pain he was in, asking why he had been up in the tree in the first place. When Calum told her, her eyes had widened, and she began to ramble on about all the artists she liked and paintings her parents owned.

Calum liked that she was as enthusiastic about art as he was, even though she admitted that her skills left a lot to be desired. When they got to Calum's, Peyton told him that she lived just the next road along, making both of them laugh that they had lived so close for so long but never met each other. They both said it was fate that they met when they did, although Peyton had giggled telling him he didn't need to throw himself out of a tree for her.

"So where's Luke?" She asked as she pulled away from the hug.

"Uni, I think. What time is it?"

"Just after two." Peyton told him, sitting down on the beanbags Calum had in the corner.

"Yeah, he's at uni then," he took the canvas he was working on off the easel, putting it on a desk to dry, grabbing a new one, and attaching it to where the other was previously before turning to face her, "so what's with the get up?" He nodded to her outfit, as he sifted through his paints.

"What? I'm wearing denim shorts." She frowned looking down at her exposed legs.

"And a sweater," he laughed, "it's like 30 degrees outside."

"I'm alright in it." She shrugged, looking down sadly at Michael's sweater.

Calum didn't say anything after that, seeing how she snuggled into the jumper, he figured Peyton would talk about it when she was ready. He positioned the easel in front of her, and took a seat on the stool, adding some paints to his palette. Peyton watched him intently as he began to paint, strokes harsh yet precise. The way his muscles tensed and relaxed with his movements. She would never get tired of watching him paint.

So that's what she did. Peyton watched Calum paint. She sat there for hours as he worked, the sun lowering in the sky as he mixed, and added different colours to the canvas. His eyebrows would furrow once in a while as he added smaller details, his tongue poking out the side of his mouth. Then after one final stroke, "okay, I'm done." He nodded slowly, admiring his own work.

Peyton stood up, walking behind Calum, and looking over his shoulder at the painting. She couldn't help but gasp. It was beautiful, so delicate but capturing a harsh tone that showed a sense of confusion. It still amazed her how quick he could create something so powerful, his way of seeing things, of knowing things. She reached her hand out, following the curves of the body on the canvas without touching it.

"Why did you paint me naked?" Peyton asked, never taking her eyes off the dark red heart he'd painted into her hands.

"Because that's how you looked holding onto that sweater," he looked up at her, "I know it's not yours," He said, placing his hand on her chin to make her look at him, "is it Michael's? All you ever do is talk about him."

"Yeah," she sighed, looking down, "fuck, Calum, I'm so fucking in love with him." She shook her head slightly, a tear falling down her cheek.