apartment 17 || xxxtentacion

xvi

cynthia's pov

i sat by window, an easel off to my side, as i stared out my window. i gently dipped my paintbrush into my palette and began dabbing on the canvas, recreating the city landscape outside of my window. i had gotten so consumed with my painting that i didn't even hear jahseh coming up behind me slowly; i hd forgotten that he had slept over last night. how could i have forgotten that? we spent all might wrapped in each other's arms, simply embracing each other's company.

"wow" he whispered from behind me. i simply shrugged.

"it's nothing special to be honest," i said as i continued to paint. i had always been my harshest critic.

"are you blind or something? that's fucking amazing, cynthia," he said, exaggerating "blind". i turned around in my stool and smiled at him. i held my arms out and he wrapped his arms around me in a hug as i did the same. i smiled and thanked him before returning to my painting. i heard his footsteps walk over to the edge of my bed. the mattress creaked as he say down.

"so. any plans for today?" he asked as he laud down on the bed, his arms outstretched. i looked at him out of the corner of my eye. he really was a sight to behold. i should have been painting him instead of the city.

"i don't think so," i said as i dipped my paintbrush into dark grey paint. i usually never had plans, and now that i was considering dropping out of my journalism classes. i really wasn't ever going to have anything to do. jahseh always seemed to change that though.

"how about we just go downtown, maybe shop a little?" he suggested. i really had to watch my money, especially with moving soon, but i figured i could just spend some tome with jahseh instead of killing my wallet.

"sure give me a sec" i said as i added my finishing touches onto the painting.

"ready to go?" i asked, standing right in front of his face, which was right at the edge of the bed.

"no" he said, looking up at my face from his spot on the bed. i stood there with my hands on my hips, giving him a stern but confused look. he pushed his lips out and closed his eyes tightly. i sighed and placed a light kiss on his lips. he immediately opened his eyes and smiled.

"okay now we can go" he said as he sprung up from his spot on the bed. i simply shook my head at him and followed him out of my apartment.

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we had been walking around downtown, hand in hand, for around an hour now. we would stop in random stores, looking at random items that we knew we would never buy. i had done pretty well with avoiding spending too much money; the only thing i had purchased was a necklace with a small rose from a woman trying to develop her own jewelry business.

as we walked down the sidewalk, trying to avoid other people mindlessly roaming around with their nose in their phones, jahseh quickly tightened his grip on my hand pulled me into a store. i took me completely by surprise and i almost fell on the way in.

"sorry," he said as he laughed. i just shrugged it off, i knew he didn't mean to drag me like that. he had pulled me into a small music store. carts of records lined the back walls and guitars were propped up on stands throughout the room. jahseh made his way across the room to look at the records. i found myself walking over to the guitars. the light reflected off the varnish on the guitars and i felt myself stare at them. i imagined how many people had sat there, just strumming on them. what did they dream of? did they ever achieve those dreams?

"hey cynthia, do you like tyler, the creator? i heard jahseh yell from across the room, which snapped me out of my daze.

"duh," i yelled back, as i walked towards him. he had a few vinyls in hus hands. he looked like a picture; his black and blonde hair pulled up and his baggy shirt over another black shirt. he skimmed through different records.

"hey there, cute boy" i said, wrapping my arms around his stomach and laying the side of my face on his back.

"hey baby," he replied, placing one of his hands on mine.

"what you getting?" i asked, peaking around his back.

"just a few records. i was hoping we could play them once we move into our new place," he said as he turned around to face me. i stood up on my tippy toes and kissed his cheek. i turned away and began looking at a fee records. i saw one; because of the internet by childish gambino. i grabbed it and placed it on top of the stack jahseh held in his hands. he gave me a nod of approval and started heading towards the check out area. he payed for the vinyls and we both headed out.

the sun had begun to set as we continued to walk around downtown. the sky became a deep orange color with streaks of pinks and purples. it looked absolutely beautiful.

"sunsets are crazy," i heard jahseh say next to men "they're never the same. everyday the sun sets but the sky is always painted with a different range if colors. i find that amazing." he said, looking over at me with a smile on his face. i grinned back at him.

"kinda like people to be honest. everyone is different, but sometimes you come across someone who completely amazes you." i felt him intertwine his fingers with mine.

"i agree" i replied.

we walked back to out apartments, enjoying the last moments pf the sunset that had painted the sky before us.