Painting my thoughts before I go to bed helps me relax. I splash when I’m angry, I sketch when I’m calm, I scribble when I’m frustrated. Considering I finally got the piece that I wanted, I managed to get a good night sleep. I was nightmare free. I checked my calendar to see if I had any specific meetings that day. It was Friday and the weekend was just beginning. I hadn’t seen Evan since Monday, but part of me hoped that I might see him again. My feet scooted around the room, picking up my pencils and paints – throwing them into my bag. Maybe in the future I should have my bag packed before the next morning. I wandered out of the front door and down to the bus stop. The bus wasn’t busy even though it was Friday. I retreated to my normal spot at the back.

We got to Evan’s stop, and he was waiting, but he had company. They got on the bus and sat towards the front. Evan glanced over his shoulder in my direction. I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn’t make any attempt to look at him. He was playing games with me – trying to get a reaction. Although I was staring out the window from the reflection I could see they were making out.

I let out a sigh as I ignored their lip festival. I glanced around the bus and caught him staring at me while he was locking lips. I swallowed hard as his eyes landed on mine while he kissed her. Once again he tried to get a reaction out of me, rubbing it in that he has a girlfriend. I didn’t give him the satisfaction. I cut my eyes at him and looked back out of the window. Staring at his reflection in the glass I saw him pull away from the girl. I suppressed a smile. Not only is he trying to play games with me, but he’s also doing it to her. I wonder if she knows that he does it, but when I look at her she seems more his type than I do.

The bus slowed down as it approached my stop and I got up from my seat. Making my way to the doors, the red-haired stepped into the aisle, blocking my path. I stopped and stared impatiently at her as she picked her bag up and grabbed hold of his hand. She turned to me and paused.

“Oh my god,” she said, “aren’t you that girl who fell over in the canteen?” She laughed in my face. I raised an eyebrow at her and slowly laughed along, which made her stop, her expression confused.

“What’s so funny?” she asked me.

“Oh I thought you were practising your comedian skills,” I replied as I tried to keep a straight face, as Evan stifled a laugh from my comment. I ignored him and budged past her, exiting the bus. I heard Evan chuckling as I got off. I was cursing Ben in my mind for setting me up on a blind date with him. How humiliating.

I finally entered the art room – not many people were there. I sat down in my normal seat, unrolling my piece for the final – thanks to Evan.

Wasting no time, I continued where I had left off and started painting the red and black colours of the bike. I heard one of the students get up from his seat, leaving the room. It was just me and Evan now – well, the silent version of him. It was just how I liked it. I carried on painting with a smile on my face. A cough interrupted my thoughts, turning around thinking it was my tutor I saw Evan standing there.

“Evan!”

He was leaning against the door frame, watching me intently. He ambled across the room, his arms crossed over his chest as his face came next to mine invading my space. “Amelia.” His velvet voice sent a ripple of heat through my body and I turned away. Remembering the work in front of me, I lifted my arms to cover it but Evan placed his hands onto the sketch before I could hide it.

“Is that me?” he asked. I heard the shock in his voice. I nodded in response, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. If he didn’t know I was into him before, he definitely knew it now. “It’s really good,” he went on. “I like it.”

I looked up at him and saw a sparkle in his eye as he studied my work. They slowly moved over my piece of art and then his eyes locked with mine.

“I loved what you did on the bus. I didn’t know you had a sense of humour.” He chuckled to himself.

Why is he even here? What business does he have with me? I wish he would go away, he’s cramping my work and I can’t concentrate no matter how much I try and ignore him.

I attempted to ignore him and carried on working on my sketch. It was useless trying to cover it now. He stood there watching me. I tried to ignore him but my hands started to sweat. I stopped and put the red paint to the side. I couldn’t work with him staring at me. He made me nervous.

“Why are you here?” I asked, turning back to him.

“I’m a student here,” he shrugged.

I made a face at him. “I would never have guessed. I meant what are you doing in the art room? The last time I checked you don’t belong to this department.”

“I had some free time. Thought I’d pop by and say hi.”

“Great. Hi,” I said, and then flicked my hand at him. “You can go now.”

He walked around the table and sat in the seat opposite me. “Why are you drawing me?”

“I need a final piece for my art exhibition,” I replied.

He raised his eyebrows. “I was your major piece?”

I sighed. “I couldn’t come up with anything.” I saw a smile spreading across his face. “This doesn’t mean anything.”

He leaned over the table, his smile bigger now. It was the first time I had seen him smile like that. It was genuine. I wanted to see more of it. After adoring his smile, I looked away as the heat rose in my cheeks. Silenced filled the room. I hadn’t noticed he had moved from his seat until I felt the cold touch of a hand under my chin. He lifted my head so that my eyes met his. He leaned in closer, but I pulled away.

“Hey, this doesn’t mean you can kiss me now,” I hissed. “And your girlfriend is probably waiting for you.” I finished, as I looked into his eyes, waiting eagerly for his reaction.

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

I looked at him, confused. “Just a bit of fun.” He shrugged then leaned down to kiss me, but I turned my head to the side, so he kissed my cheek.

“I’m not like those girls,” I said to him, carrying on with my painting.

“You won’t be able to resist me forever, Amelia,” he smirked.

“Why do you always try to kiss me? Do you kiss every girl who looks at you?” I said, slamming the paint brush down on the table.

“Chill out missy, I thought you liked me. A little kiss won’t hurt anyone.”

“A little kiss? Do you know what, get out? You know nothing,” I finally exploded. I threw one of my paintbrushes at him. He laughed as he walked out of the room.

Why was he so sure of himself? Does he not know of any romantic gestures? He’s no good for me at all, maybe I should stay away? He’s an arrogant piece of crap.