Voice. LH Au

2.0

Arden's POV

I sighed dramatically as I greeted the warmth like an old friend , flopping down into the nearest sofa , hoping its plushiness would encase me from the cold. I peered up to see Jess' warm smile as she handed me a mug of peppermint tea.

She's honestly knows me too well.

"Hey I hate to do this to you but Michael's in town from college and I was going to go see him before the snow gets too bad". She rambled.

Michael is Jess' boyfriend of 4 years and they are the most sickening couple ever. They met in high school after bonding in detention (Jess had gotten in trouble for back chatting as usual ) , and Michael got caught smoking. After Jess lectured him, they soon bonded after finding they hated the same people.

Specifically their old algebra teacher who had it in for them both since day 1 : Jess because she 'forgot' 2 weeks worth of homework , whereas Michael may or may not have keyed her car.

Trust me Michael is a really really nice person and was then- he was just friends with the wrong people. He also only smoked because he was having family issues at the time but he's all good now.

I on the other hand was a fairly good student despite the fact that my pe teachers hated me because I always refused to do it- it's 34 degrees why don't you run 3 laps and see how you feel .

Let's not forget I was, and still am asthmatic. Yes I am the defenition of a nerd but what can you do, boys in books are better.

"It's fine honestly , I'm going to shower ,work on my drawings then probably pass out watching Tv" I smiled taking a sip of my tea.

"Oh that's right! How's the portfolio coming along?" She asked inquisitively , her green eyes boring through me.

"Pretty good I guess. I need about 10 more drawings so I'm probably going to end up in the park at some ridiculous time before all of the screaming toddlers come out" Jess rolled her eyes slipping on her coat.

"Please. I bet you're only going to flirt with the barista to get free Starbucks".

I groaned in response. Me going to get hot chocolate in winter was not uncommon , but Jess is under the impression I only go to pick up guys. It's hard to do that when you're well me? Rejection is probably one of my biggest anxieties amongst other things.

"Will you just leave already? We've been through this before!-"

Jess was quick to cut me off. "I know 'I'm in a very committed relationship with my drawings' "she said in a mocking high pitched voice opening the front door.

"You know I won't hesitate to tell Michael about what really happened to his Xbox". Jess groaned and promptly flipped me off before leaving slamming the door.

To cut a long story short , Jess Is realy clumsy ( anything breakable can't be around her). If you have a best friend you'll understand- what's a friendship without you both knowing eachothers shame?
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Showers for me, always seem to be a place where all of your thoughts seem to take over your mind.

For example I could be having the busiest day and be in the biggest hurry , then suddenly I'll get random inspiration for a huge drawing project that will keep my social life non existent for a full month.

Unfortunately procrastination is undeniably one of my worst traits (I almost missed my baby sisters birth) - so as a result I try to keep my showers short.

After slipping on my comfortable over sized hoodie I slumped down onto my bed looking blankly at the page in front of me.

My tangled mess of damp hair fell limply over my shoulder as I continued to stare blankly. Recently I had been experiencing a slight block. I always try to convey a deeper thought within my drawings but when you're as quiet as me , sometimes you run out of things to say or express.

I closed my eyes tightly throwing my head back into my unmade bed. Groaning loudly I rolled sideways only to fall off my bed to land with a loud thud.

"Oh for gods sake." I muttered huffing my hair out of my face.

That's when I noticed it. The most blatantly obvious sign in my whole room. There in the clutter on my floor was a discarded coffee cup. Its appearance was nothing special just a red, cardboard cup from Starbucks probably discarded by me , after one of my infamous outings to the park over the past month.

I silently face palmed myself , blinded at the fact I'd most likely have to pick that up later. Until it hit me.

The image that had been burned into my mind so clearly for the past few hours , now edging my inspiration further. I scrambled over hurriedly to my long forgotten sketch book and began furiously sketching.
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The image of the boys piercing blue eyes was now more real then a memory as they stared back into mine from the paper in front of me. The coffee cup , much like the unknown boy , stood out to me.

It occurred to me that I had given the boy the hot chocolate earlier because he reflected a unique trait that was highly uncommon to see in that park of people who were so normal.

Like the coffee cup , the boy was iscolated amongst everything. It wasn't looks that drew me to him (despite him having the face of an angel) , maybe it was that sense of the unknown.

The unknown scares me undeniably as I admittably have issues with change. I don't really wonder about peoples personal lives but his eyes lacked emotion, so there had to be more to him. Of course?

As I fell asleep my mind clouded with thoughts of the unknown boy. I don't even draw pictures of my own family who had been asking me for years!

Deep down this is what troubled me significantly. Drawing a picture of a stranger or a model sure no problem , it's nothing personal binding us together. I can assign my own story to the person and think of all of my own thoughts - but he was peculiar.

I couldn't assign a name or backstory to him for some reason beyond her. The sense of the unknown bothered me immensely as i never get this attached to a daydream , yet I couldn't help but be torn in two as I was drawn to the boy.