blank canvas

Paint Splatters

I'm an art student. I spend all of my days sketching. I get inspired by the things around me. But now, my inspiration is running dry.

"Argh! Why is this so fucking difficult!" I groan. "You're lucky Ms.Jung isn't here, and that we're early. She'd give you hell for swearing." Jongin laughs. "Now's not the time, Jongin. Why don't I have any inspiration anymore? I'm going to fail all of my exams at this rate!" I say in annoyance. Jongin just smiles at me sympathetically, and goes back to painting. "Aha! My two early birds. Listen, I have a new student coming in today, and I feel you would be the perfect - tour guides for him, shall I say." Ms. Jung says, bustling through the door. "Of course, miss. We'd be honoured." I smile, and go back to chewing my pencil. Slowly, students start to pour in, until the only seat left is the one beside the person at the table next to mine. A small, shy looking boy comes in through the door, chewing his lip. He has paint covering his hands, jeans and sweater. "I apologise for being late, Miss. I got a bit caught up." The boy says, in a polite voice. "That's fine! Students, this is Byun Baekhyun. He is new to our school, so make sure to welcome him. Hm, Jongin, why don't you sit next to Kyungsoo? Baekhyun, you can sit next to Chanyeol." Miss. Jung says, pointing to me. The boy flops down into the seat beside me, and takes out his pencils. "Right, today we're focusing on portraits. I want you to pair up with the person beside you, and one of you has to draw the other. Got it? I'm leaving it to you to choose who draws and who's the model, but any arguing and I'll choose for you." Ms. Jung says sternly. "Right, so how about-" I say cheerily, but the boy interrupts me. "I'll draw." He says quietly. I just nod and sit up as straight as possible. I steal a glance at Jongin, who is blushing as Kyungsoo draws him. I try not to move as Baekhyun looks at me every so often, then draws my features. I stare at him and look at every detail of his face as he draws. His hands move flawlessly across the page, as if he's making no effort at all."I'm finished. You can look, if you like." Baekhyun says, taking his hand off the page. I stare at the drawing, speechless. He's drawn in every single detail of my face, it looks like a photograph. "How- where- what-" I stutter. Baekhyun smiles softly and leans back in his chair. "How'd I what?" He asks. "How did you make it look so- realistic?" I say. He just shrugs. "I never caught your name, by the way" he says. "I'm Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol. Also known as Yeol, Yeollie, Chan, Channie, big ears, Yoda, teeth rich and happy virus by my friends." I reply. "Huh. Nice." Baekhyun says, and takes a long drink of water, as if he hasn't spoken that much in his life. Come to think of it, he probably hasn't. "How did you not catch my name if Ms. Jung said it?" I asked, confused. Baekhyun sighs, as if i'm being dumb. "How else was I supposed to start up a conversation? Ask you where you live?" He says. I mutter something along the lines of "Fuck you" under my breath and look over at Jongin. He's blushing and smiling at Kyungsoo like a lovesick puppy. "Who's that?" Baekhyun asks with a wrinkled nose. "Jongin. My best friend. Why?" I ask. "You're best friends? I thought you were dating. I mean, you keep looking at him." Baekhyun says. "Yeah, i'm looking at him blushing like a fool because of his crush." I say, rolling my eyes. "But, are you gay?" Baekhyun questions. "Why does it matter?" I ask, recieving a glare from Baekhyun. "Fine, I am. Funny thing is, people always seem to think boy artists are gay." I say. Baekhyun smiles at me and says; "I am too. Gay, I mean. I have a boyfriend." As he says this, i feel a bit funny. It's probably nothing. When someone talks about their partner, you'd expect them to look happy. Not Baekhyun. I see a hint of sadness behind his blue eyes. "Um, are you okay?" I ask. "I'm fine." He says. He looks down and starts fiddling with his sleeves. The wool seems to be unravelling a lot and it's really stretched. He must do that a lot. "Right everyone, time's up! Please hand up your paintings." Ms. Jung says. Baekhyun takes the painting and i notice a scratch on his hand and a bruise on his cheekbone. It's probably nothing. He walks up to Ms. Jung, gives her the painting and slowly walks back to his place. Ms. Jung starts talking, and as i'm listening i sneak a look at Baekhyun. His hands seem to be shaking and he looks like he's not listening. One by one, droplets of water splash the table. Tears. "Ms. Jung, may i take Baekhyun to the nurse? He doesn't seem too well." I say. Ms. Jung looks at Baekhyun, and nods. I gently pull him up and lead him out of the class. "You're having a panic attack. I'll bring you outside." I say calmly. I put my arm around his tiny shoulders and walk him outside, sitting him down just outside the school doors. Slowly, his breaths start to go back to normal and he stops shaking. "What a great first impression" He says tiredly. "Don't worry about it. My mum has anxiety, i get it." I reassure him. "I don't think i've ever been more embarrassed" He groans. "Hey, it's fine. Really." I say. "Whatever you say, I guess." He shrugs. "What was that all about, anyway?" I ask. "Chanyeol, I don't want to leave school alone today." He says shakily. "Why?" I ask softly. "Please, Chanyeol. Get me out of here." He says. "Baekhyun, we can't just leave." I say. "Please, Chanyeol." He begs. And as he looks up at me with tears welling up in his eyes and his lip wobbling, I know i can't say no.