Colorful Lies

5: Rose

I wasn't sure what to do when I noticed Rinn was acting differently. She started opening up more, and I was glad. She smiled and laughed and told jokes at our lunch table. She did bump into me once, but she helped me pick up my books and said sorry. I was surprised when she asked us to come to her choir concert.

"Um... Sure." I said.

I glanced uneasily at Piper. She shrugged.

"I mean, I would ask Ryder to go, but he would probably embarrass me." She grinned sheepishly.

Sincerely, I was happy she reached out to us. Two nights later, we were sitting in the auditorium, waiting for the concert to start. When the choir got to L'dor Vador, Rinn came up to the front of the stage and waited until her solo. Her voice was amazing. After it was over, I noticed Vincent in the crowd. I smiled to myself. He had his sketch pad and was looking intently at the canvas.

I nudged Piper. "Look." I pointed in Vincent's direction.

She giggled. "They would be so cute together, don't you think?"

"Piper, why do you obsess over other people's relationships?"

"I guess it's because mine is perfect, so I need to compensate for lack of drama."

I rolled my eyes.

The next morning, we confronted Vincent in the hallway. I couldn't believe Piper had talked me into this. I had a feeling from the beginning that this was going to end disastrously, but Piper insisted on it.

"Hi, Vincent. We need to talk to you." Piper grinned.

"Okay... Why?" He asked.

"It's about Rinn." Piper giggled.

His eyes widened. "What?"

I winced. "We know you like her."

"How did you find out?"

"Arber! Who else could have known?" Piper chirped.

He didn't look surprised. "Okay, what is there to talk about?"

I took a deep breath. "You have a floor to ceiling portrait of her in your closet?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Arber showed you the closet?"

"Yes."

"Ugh!"

Rinn walked behind Vincent and saw us talking to him. Her eyes widened and she walked faster. She must've picked up on his feelings.

"So, are we done talking?" He looked at his watch. "I have Advanced Oil Painting in fifteen minutes and my locker is on the other side of the campus."

"Yep. Sit by us at lunch though." I replied.

"Yeah, sure." he walked away.

During lunch, Flynn walked over to our table and whispered something in Piper's ear. She smiled and followed him into the hall.

Flynn walked back in about five minutes later, without Piper. Eboni assured me that she was most likely okay. She came in a few minutes later. Her hair was now down and slightly wet. It covered most of her face but I caught a glimpse of red, puffy eyes that had been hurriedly concealed by foundation. A tear rolled down her cheek. Eboni and I were the only ones who noticed. Rinn and Vincent were engaged in a conversation about an indie band, James and Liam were discussing classic movies, and the other people at our lunch table were either making paper airplanes or eating. After lunch was over, I had to go to AP English Literature and Advanced Physics. But as soon as I had a free period, I found Piper crying on our balcony.