Starry Night: Les Artistes Sont Amoureux

seven

That night, I finished buttoning up my shirt before grabbing my camera and racing down to the amphitheatre. Spending time with Teddy helped me to forget that Vincent was angry with me, so I was going to spend as much time with him as possible. That seemed selfish, but it wasn't. I also hung out with Teddy because he made me smile. He was funny and kind, and I truly enjoyed his company. 

When I got there, I found Teddy wearing all black, pacing nervously. I smiled and said, "You're not a very good ninja," I teased. Teddy jumped and turned around before laughing. "You scared me," he said. 

"Sorry," I smiled. "I thought ninjas didn't get scared?"

"Well, it's like you said, I'm not a very good ninja," Teddy said. I smiled again and rolled my eyes.

"Let me get a picture of you, you spooky nerd," I said. Teddy scoffed before dropping into a frog pose. "It's gotta be aesthetically pleasing," Teddy said as I laughed. I shook my head and snapped a picture with my polaroid, showing it to Teddy when he stood up.

"I'm the best looking ninja ever," Teddy said, taking a swig of his water. I laughed and said, "I'm keeping this."

"Then I'm taking a picture of you to keep." Teddy pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of me. I laughed as he did it.

"Absolutely stunning," he smiled, showing me the picture. I blushed and said, "So, what are we doing tonight?"

"Well, I know of this very cool coffee shop with live music," Teddy said as we started walking. "They have different themed nights too. It's a lot of fun."

"That sounds great," I said. Teddy smiled and gently laced his fingers with mine, making both of us blush. 

When we got to the coffee shop, I froze. French music floated out to greet us as someone left the shop. I couldn't believe my ears.

"Did you know they were playing French music tonight?" I asked Teddy. He smiled and nodded. I gasped and rushed into the shop. On the little stage was Louise Attaque, singing J't'emmène au vent, which happened to be one of my favourite songs.

"Do you like it?" Teddy asked from my right side. I looked up at him with tears in my eyes. "I love this song," I said. "I play it on my violin all the time. Thank you." Teddy left to get us coffee while I found a table for us to sit at, singing along under my breath to the song.

"Je voudrais que tu m'appelles plus souvent, que tu prennes parfois les devants," I sang quietly as Teddy handed me my coffee. "Merci beaucoup," I smiled before continuing to sing. 

"What is he saying?" Teddy asked me. 

"Well, in English, J't'emmène au vent means I take you away in the wind," I said, pausing to sip my coffee. "I guess you could say it's a love song. He saying he wants this girl to try harder for their love. In the chorus he says, et je voudrais que tu te rappelles, notre amour est éternel et pas artificiel, which means, I would like you to remember that our love is eternal and not artificial. So yeah, a love song." 

"Amazing," Teddy said quietly.

"Yeah," I agreed. "It is a pretty amazing song."

"No, I meant you," Teddy said, taking me by surprise. I blushed and looked away. Just then, someone else went up and began to sing a cover of Formidable. 

"What is this song about?" Teddy asked. Still flustered from his earlier comment, a=I answered while staring down at my coffee. "Well, formidable means wonderful, or terrific in English. So, the chorus is him saying you were wonderful, I was terrible, together we were wonderful, right? But, the song was like written from a drunk man's perspective. So after the chorus, he's trying to talk to some girl, and she's not having it. Literally translated, he says, 'Hey baby, oops, miss. I don't want to hit on you I promise. I am single since yesterday, fuck. I can't have a kid , and well its not, hey come back.' Then he starts explaining that he's drunk right now, but if you had seen him yesterday you would have seen that he was wonderful. Then it's another chorus, and he starts talking to some other guy, saying that being married doesn't mean anything because his wife is just going to leave him, and then accuses the guy of cheating."

"Wow," Teddy said, taking a sip of his coffee. I was finally able to look at him again before I said, "That's not even where it ends. Then he starts talking to some little boy and tells him that his mother is annoying because she doesn't want grandkids too early, and that if his dad cheats on his mum its because his mum is getting old. Then the kid gets angry and leaves and the drunk guys is yelling after him. 'Ah right,' he says, 'You're all a bunch of saints.'"

"That's really intense," Teddy said quietly. "You are an intense people." I laughed and shrugged.

"We try to keep it real," I admitted. I didn't tell Teddy that I had blasted this song once a day when my dad left, until my mum had broken my CD out of anger and betrayal. I didn't think I'd want to tell anyone about that, except Vincent. I immediately pushed that thought out of my mind. I refused to let him infringe on tonight. Instead, I focused on Teddy, talking about his childhood, his friends back home, and how his best friend was going to try and come to visit soon, during something the school called Besuchstag, or Visiting Day.

Does that really happen?" I asked, never having heard of this tradition. Teddy nodded. 

"You should write home," Teddy said. "Get someone to come see you. It's so much fun."

"I think I will," I smiled. This led to Teddy asking me who I'd invite to come visit, and thus opened up a conversation about my childhood. I told him what I was comfortable sharing. I grew up an only child, with my mother. I was never popular, but I was liked. No one ever bullied me. My best friend, Phillipa, was the one who had encouraged me to pursue art and helped me with my application. We had been best friends since grade one, and she had been the subject of my first paintings. 

We spent the rest of our night just talking, occasionally breaking up our conversation so I could translate the current song for Teddy. We finally left at around 11, holding hands as we walked back to the school. Teddy made sure to walk me to my dorm, too, like a gentleman.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," he said when we reached my door. I blushed before stepping forward and squeezing him tightly.

"Just because my name is Teddy doesn't mean I am a teddy bear!" He laughed, hugging me back.

"Thank you," I mumbled, refusing to release him. "For giving me a piece of home."

"I didn't realise you missed France so much," Teddy chuckled, rubbing my back gently before kissing the top of my head. In all honestly, I hadn't realized how much I missed France either. The food, the music, the language. I missed home, and I wasn't aware that would ever happen to me. 

I finally stepped back and looked up at Teddy. He smiled down at me, and I couldn't seem to stop myself from leaning up and kissing him. Teddy froze for a moment before tangling his fingers in my hair, kissing me back. When it ended, Teddy kissed my forehead, promised to see me tomorrow, and left. I went inside and sat on my bed, unsure of what to think. The kiss was, a kiss. It was nice, I suppose. But it wasn't magic. It wasn't lovebirthdeathlustdesiresexpassiongreedsinholiness. The only person who had ever made me feel that, even briefly, was Vincent. But, he hated my guts at the moment. I really wasn't sure what to do. 

I knew I liked Teddy. That much I could admit. But could I fall in love with him? No. I wasn't willing to do that. I would stick to my goals. No one would steal my heart. Not even Teddy.