Yellow Paint

Sitting there in front of the canvas with a palette in my hand, I examined the piece that I had ensemble. I was lost in it until a small voice started led me.

"I am out of yellow paint could you lend me some." I was too engrossed to argue.

"Well if you can find it in this mess it's yours." I replied. No matter what I visualised it wasn't enough to give my drawing that edge to make it stand out, it seemed incomplete. In the end I had no other option left I needed expert opinion.

"Jimin-sshi? Could you tell me where do I lack what is missing?" I pleaded him.

"Well there you might just add a bit of shimmer in the moon and a little of grey in the reflection and highlight the strokes on the left hand side. It'll look good." He said without a glance at my canvas and without stopping his paintbrush. I looked at the canvas while he critiqued it. And it seemed worth a try. I did as he had asked me too.

I stopped after I had done those slight changes. Observing every detail I had added in the painting.

"I still think it lacks something. Don't you think so?" He said as he stood behind me and rested his head over my shoulder. I somehow was able to guess his goofiness.

"And what is that?" I asked inquisitively.

"Can't you see, in the bottom right hand side corner?" I couldn't see anything wrong it seemed perfect to me.

'Well it seems worth the effort to me.'

"I mean you can't submit this without me name written on the corner!" of course the artists signature. Within seconds I signed my art piece before he could bring his paintbrush within the area. He just chuckled. I looked over his canvas beautiful as it could be. He was an artist and I literally gained inspiration from him. I even wanted to be able to paint like him. He was too perfect; good grades in school; he was good in painting as well as swimming. Not only this; he was kind and cheerful. I was his fan in literal sense. Not that I would say this to him. I really admired him.

We put our art to dry off and then went to join our succeeding classes. The last bell rang I went out to our meeting spot. Jimin and I had met 6 months ago at this same spot, I was lost looking at the school and he helped me out. Ever since he had passed me that infectious smile of his, we have become bff. We had planned to go out on shopping today. Well I waited Jimin coming in late was totally out of the blue, but in his case out of the yellow. He has an unhealthy obsession with yellow. I mean he was wears yellow like 24x7. The only other colour I have seen him wear in orange and once, red and that's it. He would always be here on time.

So I went in to look for him. Oddly his class was cancelled for the day. I snooped around the cafeteria where he had left no clues, asked his friends which were as clueless as me. I was prepared to smack him if he was in the bathroom for this long until I stumbled across the arts room. I saw a painting but it wasn't any painting you would see in our prestigious arts room. It was way too crude whole canvas yellow and nothing else. Jimin I shouted and then walked towards the men's washroom.

I entered the washroom there he stood at the sink with his back facing me. I walked it as quietly as I could I decided to scare the shit out of him I crouched and approached him as quietly as possible then when I had reached.

"JIMIN-AAH WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE I AM GOING ALL NUTS LOOKING FOR YOU?

"A...Aaniya? I... you here...?" he stumbled on his words. But something else caught my eye.

"Are you crying? Did something happen?" I approached him, he sniffled. He turned and continued to wash his hands. I engulfed him into a hug. He kept washing his hands and crying. I tightened my embrace. I saw he was washing the paint from his hands, same yellow colour.

"Were you at the arts class?" I asked. He nodded. I rested my chin on his shoulder. He was crying hard. Something was not right but for now I held him.

"Don't worry I am not going anywhere. Let it out. You will feel better you always do." I reminded him and held him from standing up and giving me a fake smile. We sat there after a while his sniffles subdued. I offered him water.

"You want to go to your place or mine." I asked.

"Yours if..."

"Let's go Atta boy." I said picking up our bags. We walked back to my place in silence.

"Jimin-shi could you put the movie on and the usual isn't it?" I asked when I opened the fridge.

"Hun..."

"Okay, usual it is." I brought his favourite cookie-&-cream and two spoons.

"So what are we watching?"

"Home Alone, Ahh! My favourite..." I said sitting by his side handing him the spare spoon. By the time we had come to the end of the movie Jimin had laughed out loud and it was genuine. I smiled when I saw him like that, everything felt so perfect. We both parted ways. Next day was going on smoothly. It seemed he forgot what had happened yesterday.

I went to meet him in the cafeteria. I saw him sitting there at the table with his snacks in-front of him. I sat in front of him. He gave me his smile. I knew it wasn't real.

"Jimin I have known you enough to distinguish between your genuine smiles and fake ones. You can't fool me there." He knew, it was true, his smile fell. I gave him a feeble smile.

"You don't even know me?"

"Yes that true, I don't know you. But you never trusted me enough to tell me what's going on with you. I am waiting for you to trust me and open up. You make me feel like you need someone but you don't want someone." I said.

"I want to help you out; I really want but you have to let me...You hide so much behind that smile." We ate in silence. He stood up to leave. I held his hand.

"So I'll see you today after class then?" I asked him with a smile. He nodded in response.

"Take care, see you then." I said with a smile.

I waited at the meeting spot for Jimin arrived. We'll go out today I'll buy him that yellow shirt he adored the last time. I waited but he didn't show up. I walked back in. With what I had said to him I was afraid of him doing something off. I went to his class and he was not there next I ran to the art room. I opened the door in haste. I saw him there.

"JIMIN!" I shouted for I had finally found him there. He was sitting in front of the yellow painting he had made before. He turned to see me and wiped his mouth with his sleeves.

"What are you doing?" I demanded he looked at me.

"Nothing!" he replied but His face said something else. His lips still had a big smudge of yellow paint that I had seen him swallow.

"FIRST SPIT THAT THING OUT!" I ordered him. But he just showed me his yellow tongue.

"Why?" I whispered to him I could barely find words I stared deep into his eyes probably hoping to find a reason. Did I even know him? What was I even doing? What is going on with his life? Is this the Jimin I used to know? Silently a tear rolled down my cheeks. He made me sit down by his side.

"You know, if you could give happiness a colour what would it be?"

"Yellow" I whispered.

"That's what I was doing; trying to find out ways to make me feel happy." He said. So his clothes his infectious smile everything was a lie.

"I painted my room yellow, until everything consumed by the colour yellow but it wasn't working then 1 day you said that happiness is internal." Wait did I say that?

"Then why can't I paint the walls inside and hope for happiness." I was too dumbfounded to say a word. Either he is suffering or he is an idiot. Either way I am ready to help him clean this mess.

"Vincet Van Gogh, he used to eat... yellow paint because he thought the same..." he stated as if that was able to justify his actions.

"Say something?" He asked me.

"I can't, I don't know what to say." I replied. Thinking any way I could help him. He looked at me with those puppy eyes. I stood up and dragged him with me to the washroom.

"Go spit it out." I ordered.

"One because it is bloody poisonous and two I don't want my happiness to die and three we have to find your yellow."

There you have it.

hope you liked it. its kinda quirky but depressing.

tried my hand at something new... fingers crossed

Kohinoor~