Adrian's POV

I often get lost when I'm painting, but tonight was something different. I was so desperate to get the picture out of my head and onto the canvas. I'd been trying to get it right for almost a week but it never came out like I wanted it to. I was so absolutely absorbed I forgot that Sydney was coming to get me until there was a loud and angry pounding at the door.

Hurriedly covering the canvas with some paint covered sheets to hide it I shouted so Sydney could hear me,

"Wait one second, Sage"

When I opened the door Sydney had a severely annoyed look on her face.

"I told you to be ready for ten minutes ago. I even gave you an extra five minutes so you would be on time – it only takes me five minutes to get here. I called you three times! What were you doing? Actually, I'm not even sure I want to know." She sounded angry too. I hated to upset her, what could I do to make her feel better?

"Sorry Sage, but an artist can't just stop when inspiration hits"

"Let's just go before I change my mind about giving you a lift," Sydney scoffed.

Crap, it wasn't working. Why did my infamous charm always fail me where she was concerned?

"Sage, wait. I really am sorry, I got so engrossed in the painting, I lost track of time." I tried to show the sincere contrition I felt on my face, but I'm not sure how successful I was. Sydney's face morphed from anger to surprise and then quickly changed into a blank expression.

She cleared her throat, coughed and the said, "Well, okay. I'll forgive you this time. Can... Can I see the painting?"

"Ah, unfortunately for you, Sage, it's not yet finished. When perfection has been achieved you can be the first one to see it." I was quite hesitant with my reply. She really seemed affected by my apology.

"Okay. We have to go now or the paint store will be closed and then all of this will have been a complete waste of my time." Sydney was back to her normal self again, which disappointed me for some reason. How does she do this to me? Why does everything she says and does make me feel so strange?

"Great, I'll just grab my money. You might not believe it, but to afford the new paint, I haven't had a drink or bought cigarettes in a week. A whole week!
Are you proud, Sage?"

"Yes, so very proud. But, please hurry up. I'm losing my patience."