Colorful | Phan | Completed

86%

I went home later that night after my mom pleaded for me to.

The kitchen was empty when I entered my house. My friends and I had ordered a pizza, and my family had finished their dinner. I was mostly glad because I didn't have to do the dishes.

Adrian was sitting on the living room carpet when I came in. He shifted his bodyweight when we made eye contact, but we both didn't say anything. I walked past him to the kitchen and filled the kettle up with water. As the water boiled, I tried to think of what to say to Adrian. Too many sentences could ruin our relationship forever, but I knew had to hit his soft spot and make everything better again.

I grabbed the two cups of tea I had made and walked to the stairs, peering down into the living room. Adrian looked up, and I motioned with my head for him to come upstairs. He stood and followed me into my room.

"What's up?" I asked. He mumbled a nothing in response. "I need a model, are you up for it?"

"Yeah." He shrugged, sitting at the desk with all my drawings. I set a tea cup in front of him and prepared my supplies.

I set up an easel and all of my paints, and he quietly stared at the tea as if debating whether or not to drink it.

"Okay. Let's see. Pick a position that's comfortable for you." I said.

Adrian slouched a little and continued to look at the tea.

"How about spread eagle?" I teased. He didn't change his position, only shook his head. "O...kay." I sighed, beginning to sketch his face. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Fine." He muttered.

"I'm sorry for getting mad at you." I commented. "I just... I was scared."

"Yeah, you were scared." He mocked.

"I love you, Adrian. You're my brother and I care about you."

"You care about me so much that you left the hospital and spent the night out. Dad had to talk mom out of bringing me to a mental hospital."

"At least he did." I said quietly, sketching the desk and the coffee mug onto the canvas.

"Yeah. At least he did." He repeated.

We sat in silence will I continue to draw the scene in front of me. Then, I started to add details to the background, and fill color in around Adrian.

"Why are you still with Phil if he cheated?" Adrian asked suddenly.

"Technically they only kissed."

"Technically you were still dating. Is the mark on your neck from him?" He asked. I breathed out slowly and didn't answer, moving my shirt line up my neck. Adrian snorted. "I know what a hickey is, Dan."

"Good for you. Now stay still, I have to add details to your face." We sat in silence for a long time while I drew him. Eventually, he began to hum a duet and I whistled the girl parts.

"You did the wrong verse."

"Huh?"

"She sings 'how dare you trust fate'. Not 'you're not allowed'." Adrian stated.

"She doesn't know the words." I proclaimed.

"She wrote the song." He protruded.

I rolled my eyes. "I sing it better."

"Uh huh." He breathed a laugh.

"What was that? Did the grinch crawl out of his cave?" I teased.

"You're annoying. Just do your job so I can go to bed."

"Do you wanna paint it?" I asked.

"What?"

"Do you wanna paint the rest?"

"I-I guess... Sure."

I stood and he walked over to the easel. "The drawing is good." He complimented.

"Thanks."

"What do I do?" He looked at me.

I sat him in my seat. "You ever paint before?"

"Well, yeah-"

"It's just like that. Except you gotta paint inside the lines." I told him.

"How should I color it?"

"That's up to you, little bro."

Adrian slowly looked back to the canvas, then dipped a paint brush into the yellow. I smiled.