~Repaint Tomorrow~

=And So We Meet=

Sighing heavily as she stared out the window of the studio, Aisha was bored. Sitting in the window wrapped in a warm blanket and a warm cup of tea in her hands, the aspiring painter watched the world outside. It was a cold day in Velder, the biting sting of early autumn keeping her indoors where it was much warmer. She liked days such as this, where she could sit and watch the world pass her by. There was no need to rush about her day, no need to buy more supplies with her limited income and certainly no need to go visit friends from her days in high school.

Most had found jobs as interns at big companies, while others had families to tend to and marriages to mend. Aisha herself remained single, her first and only experience with dating brought to a tragic end when she found the boy kissing someone else. Since then, Aisha diligently kept herself busy with schoolwork and painting. She didn't have time to worry about dating.

Many people had teased her that she was just being too skeptical and that she should give love another chance, but Aisha didn't think so. She had set rules for a reason, and while she was not the type to foolishly believe that he was "the one" after only a month and a half, she was confident that they could make something work. About two weeks later, she was proven wrong, and had even found out she had been only a distraction. He had no real intention of staying with her.

Scowling at her reflection, Aisha turned her thoughts to better things, like her neighbor, Eve. Although she looked young, she was actually a few years older than Aisha and had graduated college at 12 multiple times. Aisha felt jealous, honestly. Her grades had always been exceptionally high, but she was no genius like Eve. The older girl seemed to be on a much higher level, one that no mortal could reach. There was a joke between them that Eve was secretly an android built in ancient times to research the evolution of the planet and as such had gained a higher knowledge of all things. Eve would simply remark that it was all indeed true and that her true desire was to rule over the world with her army of machines.

Eve was also a wonderful mechanic, able to pull apart anything she got her hands on and put it back together better than before. She had even fixed several of Aisha's appliances and even her laptop. Aisha was grateful to the blunt, though kind woman.

Eve had long silver hair and large yellow eyes that bestowed her with a sort of innocence that clearly the older woman liked to make use of. She had two blue facial markings under her eyes as well, which was really just strips of tape with millions of tiny machines that linked her mind to that of her drones Moby and Remy and even her robot servants Oberon and Ophelia. Aisha wasn't sure how anyone could handle having their awareness split into four machines like that, but Eve didn't seem to mind at all. She hadn't seen Eve smile quite as much as she used to before she had designed the robots, but the odd twitch of her lips could be seen from time to time and a small giggle did escape her at Aisha's expense. However, she was mostly preoccupied with Oberon nowadays, who seemed rather afraid of Eve. After hearing all the things she would do to the poor thing if he didn't cease his antics right away, Aisha could fully understand his fear.

She shook her head to clear her mind of the shorter woman. "Thinking about Eve isn't going to get my project done," Aisha sighed, setting her mug down in her lap.

"I agree. That would require action, rather than distraction, which you seem to have been immersed in for the past half hour." Eve responded calmly from her seat nearby. Aisha yelped and scooted away from the voice, turning her gaze to Eve who was dressed in little but a nightgown yet again. Eve's poker face remained as she regarded the younger girl with amusement. "I've come seeking Oberon yet again. He seems to have developed the habit of taking refuge here."

"He does have some interesting hiding spots…" Aisha nodded slowly, thinking back to the time she found him posing in her closet in her old school uniform. Even Eve had to admit it was a funny thing to do, even for a robot and burst out laughing for the first time in ages. Ophelia remained as silent as ever, but it was clear she wouldn't let Oberon forget it. "But if you think he's here, then go for it."

"Thank you. I promise I will not be long." Eve said, turning about and scanning the room thoroughly. It didn't take much longer after that to find Oberon. Eve had walked right past him on her way in; he had tried pretending he was a coat rack. Aisha had missed it too, before she realized she didn't have one. Never had a use for it since she never had company that stayed very long. Once Eve had spotted him and efficiently disabled him to keep him from running, Eve excused herself, dragging her butler behind her by the leg. Aisha had a feeling he only made things worse for himself.

Turning her attention to the blank canvas, Aisha frowned. What was she going to do? Her deadline was in a few weeks and she'd been staring at it blankly for almost a month now! Hoffman, though a reasonable and understanding man, was not always very patient with Aisha and often demanded a piece from her on such short notice and sometimes even gave her impossible deadlines. It also didn't help that her pieces rarely sold for a high price. None of her art had been amazing enough to feature in a museum for long. She thought back to her first appearance. Only 10 minutes was all she had been given before it had been taken down and replaced by something else.

Aisha threw up her hands in defeat after a few moments and sighed heavily. "Oh damn it all!" Aisha shouted. "I got nothing. Might as well call Hoffman tomorrow and tell him to terminate the lease. I'll just get a job at Rena's shop and hope she can pay me enough to get my own place."

Rena was an old upperclassman of Aisha's who had helped her when things with her not-to-be-named ex got out of hand. Aisha had returned the favor by helping the older woman open her flower shop and get some business flowing. Aisha had never seen the woman look so cowed after the first few days of no business. Even her fiance at the time, Raven, could do little to cheer up his busty soon-to-be bride. But Aisha had called in some favors, and her old friends liked the place so much they told their friends. Eventually, Rena's shop was the most popular one in town.

Rena was always very sweet on Aisha, to the point of seeming like a doting mother to the girl. She always made sure that the girl could come by if she needed work, and even paid her in full even if she didn't work a full day's shift. Aisha felt bad for going to Rena's whenever she needed the money, but the woman didn't seem to mind at all. She cared a lot about Aisha and owed her a lot for getting her business. If there was one thing Rena wanted for the girl more than anything in the world, it was to see her dreams come true.

"Never give up on your dreams! There may come a time when the people you meet will inspire you the most." Rena would always say, and Aisha had to admit, a part of her believed her. Eve was one such person who inspired her. In fact, she sometimes painted Eve and Oberon together. Aisha even painted Raven and Rena together as well, though she was too ashamed to admit it to the blonde woman. When she'd given the painting to the woman, she'd lied and said it was something a friend of hers drew, but who was she kidding? Besides her and Eve, she had no friends.

Aisha sighed and flopped back into her window seat, staring out the window. Maybe a walk would clear her head? All she was just going to do if she stayed inside all day was mope about her life and her lack of inspiration. "What the hell. If there are any gods listening and you have inspiration for me, then give me a sign!" Aisha called out to the empty apartment. After a few moment's silence, she sighed yet again and shook her head. "Figured as much." She rolled her eyes and went to her room to grab a jacket and her keys. She decided she'd take that walk after all. Maybe she'd even go and see Ara, a girl she'd met a few times in high school. They weren't exactly friends, but she was a kind girl who could be a bit clumsy at times.

Aisha left her apartment with no real destination in mind, hugging Ophelia as she passed the maid by, and waving to Eve who lay on the ground peeking out of her door at the violet haired painter. "Would you mind going to the sandwich shop across the street and bringing me something to eat when you get back? I left the money in your coat pocket earlier." Eve asked. Aisha nodded and smiled at the older woman. "Thank you. I should be done fixing your cellphone by tonight as well."

"You're the best, Eve."

"I try."

Aisha chuckled as she waved again, making her way down the steps. As she came through the door and looked around, the streets of Velder felt like home. Compared to back home in Elder, where everybody knew everybody, she had the luxury of anonymity. Nobody really knew hew her, so she could walk down the street with little more than a tank top and her underwear, and no one would know that she was the struggling painter who had moved there several months past.

She started down the road with heavy sigh. She'd forgotten where she was originally going to go in that short space of time, so mindlessly wandering seemed to be a good enough plan of action. Stuffing her hands in her pockets and whistling a tune she'd heard on the radio recently.

She wasn't really into music, but lately it helped her sort out her moods and sometimes even inspire her. There was a song specifically she really liked that helped her think. It was a slow instrumental song called Repaint Tomorrow. In fact, that was what Hoffman had told her, and thinking it was some kind of code word, she looked into it. In some way, she was grateful to the cryptic message, though in a way it was an unnecessary headache as well.

"Music is food for the soul, huh?" Aisha muttered. She hadn't noticed when she bumped into someone, but as she looked up to apologize, she froze.

The first thing she noticed when she looked up was that his hair was a very dark red, almost crimson. His eyes were almost entirely the same color. His hair was styled in an odd way, as far as Aisha was concerned: brushed back and spiked, with two very long bangs framing the side of his face, wrapped in cloth.

And if his hair was odd, his clothes were absolutely...weird. They made him look almost androgynous in a way and he didn't seem to mind. He wore a vest that was cut short and baggy jeans, with a brown leather belt with the Velder crest on the buckle. The vest was open to reveal scars across his chest, an a particularly deep gash that started from the left corner of his collarbone, down to his right hip. Aisha purposely skipped over the fact that he was pretty well toned as well.

With a knowing smirk, the boy grinned. "Stare any longer and your mouth might start watering." The red head chuckled. Aisha blushed at his words and blinked slowly. "...cat got your tongue? Or are you too distracted by my body to say something?"

"S-sorry! I just-"

"Relax, I'm just kidding!" The redhead chuckled noticing Aisha's heavy blush. The boy's chuckle didn't help Aisha calm down in the slightest and she looked away before he teased her for staring or something again. The last thing she wanted was to have this boy constantly teasing her. He seemed to notice this and chuckled more. Aisha's blush did not fade. "Anyway, I'm sorry for bumping into you. I was lost in though."

"No, it's okay. I was too." Aisha said softly. "I-I have to get going so..."

"I understand. I don't know where you're headed, but I hope you're able to sort out your thoughts." The boy said with a smile. Aisha couldn't help but crack a small one of her own. She gave a nervous wave and turned back in the direction she was headed in the first place before she realized—she didn't catch his name. However, as she turned back around to ask, he was already gone, lost in the crowd of people. It was a bit of a shame, but she couldn't do anything about it now. She proceeded on her way, her thoughts drifting now, but always coming back to that boy who teased her as he did.

It felt familiar in a way, but she couldn't really say how.

Aisha was from Bethma, far to the north; an 18 hour drive actually. It was hot and dry for the most part, but also kind of empty. Most people forgot about Bethma because it wasn't a big city like Elder or Altera. In fact, if her parents hadn't gotten divorced and her mother awarded custody, she would never have gone to one of the best high schools on Lorensia.

High school life was a chore for Aisha, between juggling her studies and spending time with friends. She couldn't even call a majority of them anything remotely close to that. They were really just people she spent time with to fill the air with background noise. She found it too odd to study in silence. It was also the time she met her ex boyfriend in sophomore year. He was a Junior and very sweet to her at first. Now she realized he just thought she was easy because she was a bookworm.

After high school, where she discovered her love and talent for painting, she got a scholarship to attend Velder's finest art school. It was a bit out of her way, but she made it just fine. She was given her own studio, supplies to start with and what's more, her school was close by; only a 5 minute drive. Aisha went in fully confident she could make it.

It's funny how easily confidence can be shattered. The teachers were all world-renowned artists known in every inch of the world, even parts she didn't even know about. And all of them, had only negative things to say, both of her style and the content of her paintings.

Aisha was what you would call a dreamer. She thought of things such as magic and dragons, and would paint them, no matter how ridiculous they seemed. Her teachers would always pick on her for it, and that was what made Aisha mad.

"This again? When will you grow up?" One teacher asked.

"Let me guess, more fairies this time?" Asked another.

"I understand that I said to be creative, but I meant it in a way that would suggest something...more realistic." Said a third.

Each time she got nothing but ridicule from her teachers, and it began to affect her work as well as her mindset. She would rack her brain for something that would please her teachers, something that would at least earn her a passing grade and yet—in the end she still failed, and they had the gall to feel disappointed of all things! As if it was anyone else's fault that she thought everything she painted was pointless or stupid! She hadn't painted anything in months that she felt even remotely good about!

Aisha sighed, letting her pent up anger wash away and felt her shoulders sag. She felt defeated. She honestly didn't know if she even wanted to continue painting anymore. She felt useless, just like the effort she put into her paintings. She knew on some level they were actually really good, but...she sighed again, heavier this time. "Damn it all..." She muttered.

When she looked up, she was in front of Rena's shop. The blonde woman was sitting outside with a pen in her mouth and a pad in her lap. She looked deep in thought, so Aisha decided to be a little sneaky and quietly tiptoe over. She got a look at Rena's notepad and smiled faintly. There were mostly doodles on the paper, some chibis of her, aisha and Raven, and even one of Eve with the same blank look on her face while everyone surrounded her and smiled. There was a heart in Eve's hands that had the girl's birthday on it: February 18th.

"You should take classes." Aisha spoke up suddenly, startling Rena.

"MOTHERFU—"

Rena yelped before catching herself and blushing madly. She glared over at Aisha who was giggling to herself and stuck her tongue out at the older woman. "You're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days. Goodness..." Rena replied, placing a hand over her heart and huffing. Aisha snatched the notepad away from her before she could say anything and flipped through the pages. There were similar drawings to the first, each with their birthdays in a heart that the person in question was holding. She rather liked her picture. Rena was cuddling her in that picture, and Raven looked a little jealous. He always did when Rena hugged Aisha a little tighter than she did him. Speaking of Raven-

"where's grumpy face, anyway?" Aisha asked, passing the notepad back.

"Allergies, like always. He's too lazy to go home and be miserable there, so he's hogging the couch in the break room." Rena said with a nonchalant shrug. Aisha snickered and sat down beside her friend. Rena wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Also, I met a cute boy earlier. He looked about your age, maybe younger. He was buying flowers."

Aisha didn't like that slight suggestive undertone in her voice and pointedly ignored the comment altogether. "I think I might quit school." She said rather bluntly. Rena frowned at the girl now. "I just don't cut it. My ideas are weird and tacky, I'm fairly certain my techniques are crap, my teachers hate me and I just don't fit there. I'm just a shitty painter, Rena." She sighed, leaning into the older woman. "I don't even know why I was so excited about the scholarship in the first place."

"Now hold on! You earned that scholarship, Aisha! You're good! Why, if you ever put any of your art for sale, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!" Rena said, trying to cheer up the girl.

"You're the only one who would. Eve doesn't count. She'll buy anything if it means filling her room up to the brim with stuff." Aisha replied, waving off the woman's sentiments. Rena hated when the girl got into these moods. It was hard to convince her that she actually did have more talent than she gve herself credit for. Rena honestly wanted to shove the notepad in her face and tell the girl that she was the reason she had started doodling in the first place.

"Rena~" A miserable, deep voice called from the window above their spot out front. From the window poked the head of an older man with tanned skin that had a slight green tinge to it. Gold eyes stared unfocused at the two women as the man scratched lightly at the odd white patch of hair on his head. Rena sighed and looked up. "I can't find my allergy medicine...could you come help me look?"

"You're so hopeless..." Rena replied as she shook her head and stood up. "You both are. Coming!" She called up to the man. Aisha waved slightly and Raven gave an apologetic smile. "don't you dare quit either, Aisha, or I'm kicking your butt all over this store and then some!" Aisha simply waved to the woman and started on her way elsewhere. Eve probably wouldn't be hungry for another hour, so she had all that time to think of where else to go.

Aisha decided to take the long way home and walk through Velder's park. It was really pretty around this time of year, and she liked sitting on the benches in front of the lake and watching the birds or something. Sometimes some children would even come up to her and ask her to play. She could never refuse. She liked children. They were something like a weakness for the girl.

However, when she arrived...

The redhead from before was sitting on the bench she normally would with a guitar in his lap. She couldn't hear the words he was saying, but it was clear that he was singing. She got closer to hear him and grimaced when a twig snapped under her foot and alerted him to her presence. The boy looked up and smiled faintly at her. "So, you heard that, huh? I was hoping it'd be empty this time of day." He said, scooting over just enough for Aisha to have a seat.

"Usually it is." She said, taking the offered seat. "Although that's mostly on the weekends. During the weekdays it's bustling with couples or families out on a picnic."

"And cute girls, I assume?" they boy asked, grinning slightly at Aisha. Whether he meant her or not she didn't know, but she shrugged anyway. She wouldn't know, she didn't swing that way. Although she might if Eve ever showed interest. The little girl was adorable enough as it, and very cute. It'd take all of her willpower to refuse the girl and then some. But why should she? "Well, anyway. What brought you here? Still lost in your thoughts?"

"Not really. Just feeling really down about myself now." Aisha replied with a sigh. The boy nodded slightly and sat the guitar down in its case. He fished in his pocket for something for a moment and pulled out whatever it was. It was a candy bar. He offered her some but Aisha refused. "I don' really like candy."

"More for me." He said with a shrug. "Candy usually helps me when I start feeling down. It's sort of like a magic pick me up."

"Apparently thinking so much as even a hint of that will get me an F." Aisha grumbled. The boy stared at her in confusion. "I'm a painter—well, I hope to be anyway. I got a scholarship to attend an art school close to where I live. The teachers there always laugh at my paintings and tell me to 'grow up'. I can't even mix paints together without some sort of criticism!"

"Wow, your teachers are real assholes."

"Tell me about it. But there's nothing I can do about it. I just don't cut it there. Maybe I should just give up. My friend Rena owns an art shop, and there are plenty of apartments for rent in that area so I could easily just work there, I guess." Aisha replied.

"If you're just gonna give up on something you enjoy that easily, why'd you even start?" the boy asked.

Aisha shrugged. "We had art class in my old high school, and I took it because it seemed interesting. My teacher and everyone in class said I had a natural talent, and I guess I went with it because it felt good to be praised for something I didn't even know I could do."

"And now that people are actually challenging you, you're just gonna give up?" He asked.

"I don't know. I guess?"

"Then give up. Run away and show them that they were right about you." He said with a nonchalant shrug. Aisha stared at him. Did he really just— "Don't give me that look, you're the one that's running away from her problems, not me. Well...I guess I am, but that's beside the point." He shrugged. "My point is, if you want to be seen for the artist you know you are, and the artist you can be, stop whining and show them."

"But my teachers—"

"Are trying to help you in a very asshole-ish way. You are your worst critic, and they're trying to wake that part of you up so you can judge yourself if your art is good enough or not. You can't always rely on others to tell you what's good and what's not. That's one part of being a painter, or a singer, or a dancer or an actor is. You judge yourself. If you feel like you did good, then that will give you confidence. If you feel like it's not enough, then improve it. Y'know?"

"...I never thought I'd ever get this kind of advice from a random stranger before." Aisha said, but she took his words to heart. She smiled at him, a genuine one this time and the boy grinned back. "Thank you...er—"

"Elsword. Elsword Sieghart. Wanderer and lady killer extraordinaire." He said, bowing in his seat with a slight flourish. Aisha rolled her eyes at him and he chuckled. "I'm kidding. Don't worry, I won't try hitting on you or anything."

Aisha shrugged. Whether he thought her cute or not was not really on her mind to be quite honest, and she'd have called him blind and crazy if he thought she was cute. "Aisha." She said, bowing slightly herself. "I should get going soon, though. My roommate's waiting for her food."

"Don't wanna keep her waiting, huh? Well, it was nice yellin at you and all." Elsword joked, and Aisha giggled softly as she got up. "Hey," Elsword said, stopping her. Aisha looked back. "If you've got nothing better to do, let's meet back here tomorrow. And bring your art supplies! I wanna see you work."

"Sure. I've got classes in the morning, but I'm free all afternoon. How about at 3?" Aisha asked. Elsword nodded. "Great, I guess I'll be seein ya then."

With that, Aisha returned home after first getting Eve's dinner. It was a little late, and she had to run to get inside before the shop closed, but luckily she was still able to order Eve's sandwich. When the shorter woman asked what took so long, Aisha hesitated. That was all Eve needed, however, and a devious grin covered her face just then. Aisha felt her face burn. "You met a guy." She accused. As if on cue, Oberon poked his head from behind the door, and Ophelia stopped what she was doing to stare at the violet haired girl. "Oh, Aisha! I'm so glad! You've grown so much!" Eve spoke, hugging her taller friend tightly about the waist. Oberon and Ophelia reciprocated the ction and Aish felt her annoyance rising.

"Knock it off, it's not like that!" Aisha grumbled, shoving the little mechanic and her robot servants off. Eve didn't stop grinning though, and Oberon woul occasionally turn around and imitate a make out session. Despite being mute, Aisha understood the gesture well enough to know what he meant and each time, she kicked Oberon's shin and glared at him. "I said knock it off! I don't even like him in that way!"

"Okay, okay." Eve said, though clearly unconvinced. "What are your plans for tomorrow?"

"I—I was going to go to the park and paint. You know, get out of the house for a bit." Aisha spoke quietly. Eve smirked, but let it slide. Aisha almost never went anywhere without sufficient reason or motive, but at the very least she was making an effort. Whoever this person was, he'd probably fall for her soon enough. "Anyway, why'd you ask? Did you need me for something?"

"I'm out of tea, so I was going to ask you to run to the store to get some tomorrow. I don't really trust Oberon to do so without Ophelia nearby, and I need her to help me with my latest project." Eve replied. Aisha opened her mouth to speak, but Eve waved off her words. "Don't you worry about it. It's not too important, so I'll just go get it myself once I'm finished. Your cellphone is in your room now, by the way."

"Have I ever told you that you're the best, Eve?" Aisha asked, hugging the shorter woman and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

"You could stand to mention it more." The little mechanic replied, puffing her chest out a bit as she did so. Aisha laughed and headed to her room for the night. She was tired and wanted to get to sleep early for tomorrow. She had a very taxing day ahead of her, and she wasn't really looking forward to it. Aisha said goodnight to Eve before closing the door. After changing to her pajamas, she crawled into bed and was asleep before her head hit her pillow.

A/N: there have been a lot of changes since the original draft, and I've actuall been sitting on this one longer than any other. It's actually my favorite idea so far, so don't hesitate to let me know your thoughts! Criticism helps me out a lot!

Don't expect regular updates though. Not that I've been updating More Than You Know regularly either, but still. From now on, Updating will be rather slow, so I hope you have patience and stick with me! Nd always remember: reviews will get you apple gummies~

Til next time

~shine