CHAPTER THREE
I was cleaning myself up, whipping away the tears, just and Jill, Eddie and Angeline were coming back. I could tell just by the way Jill was walking that she had seen everything that went down with Adrian and I. She was of the opinion that he loved me so I should give him a chance. I don't think she realises how being an Alchemist stops any sort of relationship with vampires. She is just so innocent. Naive, but innocent.
Everyone piled into Latte. Angeline and Eddie in the back were just chatting casually, and effortlessly. It seemed like they just clicked in every way. I was so glad they didn't have the problems I had with my love life.
The drive back seemed extra long. I couldn't wait to get back to my dorm, lock the door and spend the rest of the day under the covers of my bed feeling sorry for myself.
Although, that didn't happen. Jill took it upon herself to try and cheer me up. First we went to the cafeteria for some food. I couldn't help but feel a little suss that Angeline and Eddie had disappeared. Maybe they were just off making out somewhere. They had been doing that a lot lately, and I thought it was cute but I could tell Jill didn't like it. I knew exactly how she felt. When we were done at the cafeteria Jill insisted that I come back to her dorm room. There was no way I could say no so I ended up going along. She opened the door to a dark room, which was not uncommon, but I could sense that something was about to happen. I was right. The lights flashed on and there was Eddie ad Angeline standing there, one holding a tray of whole grain salad sandwiches and the other holding a case of diet pop. On the floor in front of the small TV there was also some popcorn and chocolates next to a small selection of DVDs. I couldn't believe it. They had done all this for me. For me. They owed me nothing but still went to the trouble of making healthy sandwiches and buying diet pop, even though none of them drank it. I felt so special. What was even better was that they had chosen movies that weren't romances, they chose comedies. 'Kick ass' being my favourite of them.
Eddie was smiling brightly as he spoke. "We thought we'd do something nice for you. Not that you can't do nice things for yourself, but we thought it would be nice to be around friends." he was rambling a bit. Angeline was nodding in agreement.
"Oh guys, thanks so much! I really needed this." I couldn't express how truly grateful I was. After everything with Adrian it was so nice just to be with friends.
The night went by quickly and before I knew it I was tucked in my bed ready for sleep to come. It didn't come so easily though, I couldn't turn my brain off. There was too many things to think about. Finally at around 2am my eyelids closed.
I woke up the next day ready for whatever the world would throw at me. I felt a lot better. Last night with my friends had certainly helped. I got ready for school in a breeze, so glad that Monday had finally come.
I skipped breakfast with the guys in order to do some last minute revision for a chemistry test I had first period. I didn't really need the revision but I figured it couldn't hurt to be on the safe side. As it turns out the test was a walk in the park. The rest of the day passed by easily. I had no thoughts of Adrian or what happened yesterday. I also found myself having fun at lunch with Jill, Angeline and Eddie. We were just mucking around, cracking jokes at each other and occasionally some food was thrown. I kind of felt like a rebel. I had let my guard down a lot today. I was treating the group as friends and not as evil creatures of the night. I also appreciated them not making a big deal about the whole thing with Adrian. These guys really were true friends when it came down to it. After school we all gathered on Jill's and Angeline's room to continue hanging out. We were all laughing at a stupid joke Eddie made when my phone in my pocket starting to vibrate. Adrian was calling. There was no way that I was going to answer it in front of everyone here so I just put it back in my pocket and let it ring out. The next thing I know, Jill's phone is ringing. She announces that it is in fact Adrian and steps out of the room to answer it. She was out there for a good 20 minutes. What on Earth could take that long to say? When she finally came back in she had the biggest smile on her face.
"Adrian just invited us all over. He says he has something to show us." Jill beamed.
"When does he want us to come over?" Eddie asked.
"As soon as we can. That's if Sydney's alright with it….." They all looked to me expectantly. How could I say no? I'm sure they would understand if I did say no, but I didn't want to take away the only thing Jill has to look forward too.
"It's fine with me. Let's go now then, if everyone is ready." They all got up straight away and we headed down to Latte. We crammed in and set out for Adrian's.
On the drive over I started to wonder what Adrian wanted to show us. Nothing, absolutely nothing came to mind. There was nothing he could change in his apartment that would warrant us to come over especially to see. He had already showed us his new car. As far as I knew, his life was pretty boring. Maybe he just wanted some company. I couldn't blame him though; living alone would be pretty dull.
I parked the car and we all got out. I had a plan for tonight. I wasn't going to say anything to Adrian. I was going to act normal to everyone else but ignore him. If I didn't talk to him I wouldn't be tempted to do, or say, something I might regret.
We didn't even need to knock on the door, Adrian was already there waiting to welcome us in.
"Evening, Sage." He seemed in a good mood. I didn't reply, I didn't even acknowledge him at all. Out the corner of my eye I saw his smile falter. I felt bad, but it was better than the alternate.
As soon as I walked through the doors I saw it. In the far corner was an easel with a sheet covering the painting on it. So this is what he wanted to show us. It was just a painting though. I had seen Adrian's paintings in the past and they were great but I couldn't see why we had to see this one.
"Everyone, young and old, gather round. You won't want to miss this." Adrian was saying in a circus announcer's voice. I stood behind the others so I could only just see the painting; I didn't really want to have to give my opinion on this. Adrian rambled on a bit more with the announcement-y thing. Would he just hurry up and show us already!
Finally, finished with his little spiel, he unveiled the canvas.
Shock, complete and utter schlock went through me. It was a painting all in gold. My gold cross and my golden Lily. But it wasn't a perfect picture of them. My cross and Lily were smudged and swirled together so that you could only just tell what they were. The paint was laid thickly on the canvas so there were chunks here and there. It was the most beautiful think I had ever seen. The way my golden Lily was tangled with my cross was just breathtaking. Absolutely stunning. I could tell by the look on Adrian's face that he was proud of his work. I was proud of him too. He could finish something he started.
Adrian looked to me. "So...?"
I was at a loss of words. I wasn't expecting anything like this. "It's amazing." Was all I managed to get out. He smiled proudly and went to the kitchen. Was this what it was going to be like all the time now? Him trying to impress me?I really could appreciate the beauty of this painting, but did he really have to show it to everyone like that. I contemplated following him into the kitchen but thought better of it. I was determined to keep to my plan and ignore him for the rest of the night. I went and sat down on the couch and crossed my arms. Jill came to sit next to me. "How great is his painting?" she was beaming. I suppose I could go along with this. "Yeah, it really is beautiful." That wasn't a lie though.
The rest of the night went fairly okay. Adrian kept trying to catch my attention but I just focused on where ever the conversation was going. I started to actually enjoy myself just when we had to leave. I hated having a curfew. We left in a line; Eddie out front, Angeline, Jill then I was last. Adrian stopped me at the door. Jill turned around and gave me a curious look. "It's alright, Jill. Just wait in the car; I'll just be a minute." She nodded and headed for the car. I turned to face Adrian. He kept his distance, which I was grateful for. "Do you really like the painting?" he asked innocently.
"Of course I do. It really is amazing. I just don't understand why you painted this." He could have painted anything else in the world, but he chose this. I didn't quite get it.
"Well for starters; it's you. Your golden Lily and gold cross are who you are. And you are what gets me through each day. If it wasn't for your Lily and cross, where would I be now?" I thought I could sense some crazy spirit happening. He was searching my eyes for something. I'm not quite sure what, but he didn't seem to find it. He sighed. "I guess you had better go now." His eyes looked sad. I felt for him. I really did, but what could I say? I thought real quick and remembered something he had once teased me about. I wasn't ashamed to say it now though.
"You're a brilliant artist. Yes I said it; I think you are brilliant." He smiled a little at that. Before I knew what I was doing, I reach out and hugged him. It wasn't romantic in any way, just pure friendship. I felt his arms gently squeeze me. We stayed like that for a minute. It was nice. Lately I felt like Adrian was slipping away a bit. Not just from me or his other friends, but from the world entirely. Maybe spirit was starting to overwhelm him. Maybe a hug was all he needed to come out of the spirit-induced darkness. I broke away from him. He was smiling softly, like all he really did need was a hug. I didn't say anything else; I was afraid I would say something stupid and ruin the moment. I missed having someone I could count on for anything. We used to have fun, but lately it had become awkward to say the least. I really hoped this was the start of the friendship we used to have.
I left his apartment with a smile playing on my lips, and headed out to Latte where the others were waiting. They didn't seem too bothered that they had to wait for me. I think they were all just glad that Adrian and I were finally back on speaking terms at least. We all jumped in and headed back to Amberwood. We made it back just in time for curfew.
Eddie went his way and Jill, Angeline and I walked up to our dorms. "So are you and Adrian hooking up again yet?" Angeline said the most inappropriate things sometimes. Jill smirked, I giggled- actually giggled- and we exchanged a knowing look.
I wish, I answered Angeline in my head.
Note: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I think Sydney is finally starting to realise how much she does like Adrian. And Adrian *swoon* is trying to win Sydney's affection, but is her Alchemist ways drilled too deep into her that she can never truly let herself be with him? Stay tuned to find out!
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Always and Forever,
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