The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.
- Aristotle
Paige looked bleary-eyed at her clock. "5:30? Are you kidding me?"
The banging on her door resumed. "Open up!" Hanna's way too cheery voice sang out, "We're here!"
Paige gathered a robe around her and opened the door to see Hanna, decked out in a white, painter's jumpsuit and a white painter's cap, with a handful of sketch pads and pens. Pru was beside her, similarly dressed, with a tray of coffee. Behind them stood Emily, carrying a bunch of drop cloths and an apologetic expression.
"What the hell, Em?"
"Sorry. When inspiration hits, Hanna tends to go overboard."
"But I was kidding! She can't actually be planning to paint the walls - the University would KILL me!"
"You don't know the story about this dorm?" Paige shook her head. Emily led her over to her bed and sat her down. Pru, Hanna's newest sidekick, was busily pulling posters off the walls and furniture into the center of the room. Hanna was running her hands over the walls as if, in some Zen-like fashion, she were trying to become one with them.
Emily sat next to Paige on the bed and handed her a coffee. "So, you applied for housing late, didn't you?"
"Yes. I was going to go to University of Wisconsin, to save my parents some money, but when they found out that I really wanted to come here with Pru, they told me not to worry about the cost. By then, I had missed the housing deadline, but I got on a wait-list and, eventually, got assigned to this dorm."
"And you don't know how you ended up getting this room all to yourself?"
Paige shook her head. "I just assumed it was because I applied so late. I figured they'd eventually assign me a transfer student or something as a roommate."
"Well, you're right about the late part. This whole dorm is nothing but people who transferred or got admitted late. Over the summer, the city condemned the building. Just before the school year, the University got a variance that allowed them to use it for this academic year, but it only allowed for half-occupancy. As soon as Spring exams are over, they're going to gut the building and redo it. In the meantime, they don't really care what happens to the walls."
"So this is happening?" Paige was getting excited.
"This is happening," Hannah stepped up and confirmed. "So what were you thinking? A landscape? Still life? A huge portrait of Emily's loving face?"
"I feel as though, whatever you do, it will be Emily," Paige mused. "I mean, she's the one who brought color to my life. She basically did for me what you're going to do for this room."
Hanna bowed her head and walked around in a circle for a bit. "Beautiful, by the way, Paige," she affirmed. Soon, inspiration struck, and she broke into a smile. "Okay! I've got what I need! You two, scoot! I've got to get The Marem in here and get to work! Paige, this place is going to be smelling like paint for a couple of days. Pack a bag - you're bunking with us!"
Paige felt herself flush. "Don't worry," Emily reassured her. "We have a futon." She helped Paige throw some essentials into a bag and took her out to breakfast, where she explained that The Marem, short for "Male Harem," was a bunch of jocks and frat boys who were basically at Hanna's disposal. Whenever there was any grunt work or heavy lifting to be done, Hanna put out the call for The Marem. "Must be nice," Paige said.
Emily unlocked the door and ushered Paige into the apartment that she and Hanna shared. Paige wasn't surprised by anything that she saw: off in the corner, a makeshift studio, covered in art magazines, in the center, on the left, some crates that were serving as both a bookcase and a TV stand, and, next to that, a beat-up couch offset by a couple of unmatched chairs and a futon that looked as though it had only recently been cleared and dusted off. Beyond the living area were a little kitchenette and a corridor which, Paige figured, led to the bedrooms.
The two settled in for an afternoon of studying. After an hour or so, Paige sensed Emily standing above her. "Study break?" Emily offered.
Emily went into the kitchen and started some popcorn popping, grabbing a pair of water bottles for them. They chatted on the couch with the bowl between them for a few moments before Paige got a look in her eye. She picked up the bowl and set it on the floor, climbed onto Emily, and started kissing her neck. Emily moaned encouragingly, running her arms up and down Paige's sides, on top of and underneath her sweatshirt. Paige's hands were roaming as well, but the two of them kept it chaste. It was all about connecting; sharing emotion. They were in no hurry to jump to the next level.
There was a flurry of activity back in Paige's room, as well, where the Marem was busily sanding, taping off, and priming, Hanna was sketching, and Pru was in awe. "What is this power that you have over them - as if I didn't know?" she snarked.
"Well, Pru," Hanna replied with a straight face, "you know what they say, 'Boys are like carpets: Lay them right the first time, and you can walk all over them the rest of your life!'" The girls burst into laughter. "Of course, I'm joking! These boys could only dream of getting with me!"
"I have much to learn from you, oh wise one," Pru sighed.
"I accept you as my apprentice, young Pru. Someone's got to carry on my work when I get out of this place!"
"Let me cook you dinner," Paige said, opening and closing cabinets to see what she had to work with. She ended up making noodles and butter with some veggies and a salad.
"So, tell me your coming out story," Emily prompted once they'd settled in to their meal.
"My coming out. Well, if you can imagine, living in a cowtown in Wisconsin, there weren't a lot of role models for me growing up. I was just really unsure about what I was feeling - was it okay, what did it mean, what did it make me. Thank goodness for the internet!
"My parents took it fairly well. I mean, they didn't blow up or lose their cool - they were just really confused by it all. It was definitely not the awkward birds-and-bees talk that my Mom was expecting to have. Well, still pretty awkward.
"I came out to them before I came out to my friends. Pru put me in touch with an LGBTA club at a high school in the next town. You have to understand - the next town was about 50 miles away. That group helped me out a lot - just knowing that I wasn't the only one, you know? That being gay didn't mean that I wasn't still Paige.
"So, what about you? What was your coming out like?"
Emily chuckled a bit. "Well, I like to tell people that I didn't come out of the closet, I fell out. Maya and I got a little careless and got caught under the bleachers. Young love... I mean, it was nothing even R-rated, just making out, but it didn't take long for word to get around town - and to my parents. I cried, my mom cried, and my dad yelled a bit, but I think that it was mainly because of how they found out, you know? The fact that Maya and I had been sneaking around behind their backs... All in all, I was pretty lucky. Once they got over the shock, they were very supportive. - Well, they're still supportive."
"So, Maya's the girl that you broke up with four months ago? - She was your first girlfriend?"
"Yep. She was the first. We were together for almost three years," Emily said without a touch of regret. "What about you? Tell me about your first girlfriend, if you don't mind my asking."
Paige smiled and dipped her head. "That would be you," she said.
After dinner and some Netflix, Emily showed Paige to her bedroom. There was a dreamcatcher in the window, and its crystals were refracting the dim light from the full moon and a streetlamp across the street. It was beautiful. Paige wondered what it looked like in the morning sun.
"So, this is you," Emily asserted. "I've got the futon."
"Oh, no, Em. I couldn't kick you out of your bed!"
"Oh, please, Paige. You're my guest. Let me be a good host!"
Paige crept tentatively up to Emily and put her hands on her collarbone, slightly bunching the fabric of her girlfriend's t-shirt when she nervously balled up her fingers. "Do you think, maybe, we could cuddle together in your bed tonight?" she asked softly, and immediately hid her face in the space between Emily's chin and neck.
Emily gathered her into a hug. "Of course we can, Baby," she said with a kiss to the top of Emily's head. "I would love that."
Paige and Emily went their separate ways to get ready for bed. Soon, Paige was climbing under the covers and into the protection of Emily's arms. Emily kissed the back of her neck through her hair. Paige reached back and pulled her hair out of the way, and Emily planted a second kiss on the newly exposed flesh there, causing Paige to shiver and let out a low moan. She turned around, wrapped her hands behind Emily's neck, and started kissing her, slowly and lazily. After a few minutes, Paige rolled over and, encircled by Emily's warm, loving arms, drifted off to sleep.
"Quit calling me, Paige," Pru snapped. "I've already told you, Hanna has sworn me to silence!"
"What is Hanna, your new guru? I've known you all your life, Pru. How about a little BFF loyalty?"
"Nice try, Em. You know you'll always be first with me. But this secrecy is for your own good. Trust me - you're going to love it once it's finished!" And, with that, Pru hung up on her.
"No dice?" Emily giggled.
"Your best friend and my best friend make a formidable combination."
Soon enough, Paige got the call to come over and check out Hanna's handiwork. It was all very cloak-and-dagger, complete with blindfolds for Paige and Emily. After Hanna issued a few disclaimers, Pru and Hanna, standing behind their best friends, removed the blindfolds to reveal a mural with a giant moon (the original gray of the walls) behind two lovers' hands that came together to form a heart. Out of that heart, brilliant sunshine poured down onto the city below, bathing the skyline in incandescent light. Campus Grounds was featured prominently in the middle of the cityscape, with two silhouetted lovers visible through the shop's window, holding hands across the table. Paige began weeping. She sought out Hanna and hugged her for a while, until Hanna handed her over to her girlfriend. "Emily..." was all that Paige could get out between sobs. "I know, Baby," Emily soothed, rubbing her back, "I know."
A/N - I have to credit portraitoftheartistasayoungc and her excellent fic, "State Your Sting," for the fact that Emily calls Paige "Baby" in this chapter. If you aren't reading that fic, you should be. Trust me.