My Gray, Your Neon

Chris - The Past

"Hi, I just moved in down the hall." Lily smiles while reaching out her hand.

The man in front of her seems rather tired. He nods and shakes her hand, "Welcome to the 'Castle', I'm Chris."

"Lily," she says.

"Beautiful name. Well Lily, let me know if you need any help settling down," he says and looks over his shoulder as if checking something in the room.

Lily unconsciously follows his eyesight. She sees a blank canvas.

Oh, he seems busy, she thinks to herself. "Really appreciate the thought. I will get back to unpacking then, see you around!" Lily says as she turns to leave.

"Wait, do you have a couple minutes?" Chris asks, he grabs on to Lily's arm.

A little stunned, Lily nods, "What is it?"

A smile lights up on Chris's face, he drags Lily into his room and seats her on to a chair in front of him.

"I'm working on this piece and my model cancelled on me last minute," he pauses and quickly returns back to his canvas. "I just need you for a couple minutes so I can do the outline."

It's Lily's first time being a model. She's a bit nervous but somewhat excited to be a part of an art piece. She freezes her body in the pose Chris asked her to take and scans the room with her eyes.

This room is so vibrant, it's almost like a color palette. Lily thinks to herself.

"Can you look towards the window?" Chris says as his hand moves deftly across the canvas.

Lily obeys.

The sky out there is pretty gray today, she thinks to herself.

Minutes pass by, Lily patiently waits for her cue to finish. Time seems to go extra slow when she's asked to remain in one position. She glances with the corner of her right eye. Chris is still working fervently on his painting. She fidgets with her sleeves, trying to find a good timing to speak up.

"You are beautiful, Lily," Chris comments all of a sudden. Lily's cheeks redden with the praise.

"Thank you," she says, lowering her head. "Are you almost done?" she grabs on to the chance to ask.

Chris pauses and looks up with a frown, "Sorry I got carried away a bit." A smile quickly returns to his face, "Come, take a look." He waves his hand, signaling Lily to join him on the other side of the canvas.

Lily stands and skips her way to the canvas. She's never seen herself in a painting before, this is very exciting. Then her eyes meet the figure on the painting and the expression on her face freezes as she tries to grasp the situation.

"Is this me?" she asks, pointing at a neon pink figure on the canvas.

"Well, it's a piece inspired by your silhouette," Chris says as he washes his brush back and forth in the water. "What do you think?"

"It looks very... unique," she says, still contemplating if unique is the appropriate word.

"Thanks, unique is what I am after," he says. "Can I get you something to drink, Lily?"

"Oh no, it's fine, I think I will be heading back soon," Lily says and points to the door.

"Oh, please let me get you some tea, if you aren't in a rush today," he pauses, "I would love to keep you a little longer." He wraps his hands around hers, looking right into her eyes.

Lily sees his eyes, there's a certain depth to them that seems to have the magic of pulling her in. Before she realizes, she's already seated on the chair again looking towards the window. She takes a sip of the earl grey tea Chris prepared for her.

Oh well, I guess I'm in no rush.

She glances at the man who's now passionately painting behind the canvas again, a smile sneaks up on her face and the taste of earl grey lingers on her tongue.