Balance of the Skies (bxb)

CHAPTER 12

Wilford could not help but feel on Cloud 9. He had not expected to meet such great people and make new friends. But that was hardly the highlight of the evening. He smiled even more widely when he thought of Auryn. Not only was the girl extremely attractive, but she was also down-to-earth, charming, funny and smart – a complete package all bundled into a cute parcel. He chuckled to himself on his way to the dorm. On going in, his smile faded slightly however, when he saw his roommate already in bed with his face turned towards the wall.

"Hey Lorien... are you sleeping?" he asked softly.

"Hmm... no."

"Hey erm... I'm sorry if I left you-"

"Don't worry, wasn't feeling up to it anyway."

"Still I feel like shit for leaving you there all alone," Wilford huffed.

"It's okay, really," Lorien turned to face Wilford, who had started to change.

"Well, wanna hear some news? I... well I kind of asked Auryn out and she... well she said yes," the smile on Wilford's face was getting wider and wider as he spoke.

"Wow way to go dude. I'm happy for you. She seems like a nice girl," Lorien forced a smile of his own.

"Thanks man, I'm so excited for next Saturday. You know, actually meeting a girl I would like was the last thing on my mind when I woke up this morning, and now, to think I've actually asked a girl out on a date and she accepted... I can't believe it."

He kept on blabbering excitedly as he put away his clothes, and Lorien politely listened so as not to dampen his roommate's obvious happiness. It was only when Wilford got into bed and switched off the lamp that Lorien realised with a sigh – his best friend was now dating the sister of the only person in the whole school he was doing his best to avoid.

~~~~~

Three weeks passed since the party and Auryn and Wilford were doing their best to spend more time together. This however was causing a strain on Lorien's friendship with his roommate. The latter could not understand why Lorien turned down every invite to hang out with the rest of Auryn's friends. Lorien knew he appeared to be unsocial and unfriendly, but he could not explain to Wilford that he wanted – no he felt he had to – stay away from his girlfriend's brother at all costs. What made it worse was the fact that Koray's best friend seemed to show an interest in Melia, who did not seem immune to his charms either.

So, as time went by, Lorien felt even more isolated, closing in on himself and lying to his friends, telling them constantly that he was fine but had lots of work to do. His moods were reflected in his work, which showed sharper pencil strokes and darker shades. His pictures were full of violent reds, his portraits consisting of sinister sneers. Yet he could not help it. His art was the only way he could express his frustration, this feeling that he was lifeless, cold and angry inside without really knowing why. He even put off video calling his old friends back home since he knew that they - especially Drey – would realise something was wrong. So again, with the same excuse that he had lots of work, he resorted to texting them as the only means of communication. He still found time to write to his grandmother however, making sure to leave out all his troubles.

~~~~~

As Spring Term was nearing its end, all art students were informed that there would be an exhibition in which each one of them would be expected to present three of their best works. Lorien was excited as he saw this as an opportunity to get his mind off his brooding and his constant arguments with both Wilford and Melia. The blue-haired girl was also participating, and that is why both she and Lorien were together in the large exhibition hall, both loaded with numerous works. They were going to discuss with their professor which pieces to show off, as well as find the respective sections they had been assigned.

"You never showed me any of your works Lorien, I am sooo curious," Melia was saying. "Oooh this is brilliant," she said going through his sketches and paintings and selecting a work in acrylic portraying a forest with an eerie red sky – one of his latest works.

"Mmm..." Lorien was absent-mindedly looking around trying to find his professor. The two friends were both standing in front of the space assigned to Lorien, having already allocated Melia's area a few metres away.

"And what about this one? Wait, why does this look like -"

"Isn't that a portrait of my brother?" another voice asked.

Shocked, Lorien turned around and froze. In her hands, Melia was holding the portrait that he had drawn on his 21st birthday, right after he had woken up from his dream. But that wasn't the worst of it. Standing right there, looking from the portrait to him and back again, stood Auryn and Wilford, both wearing a puzzled frown. Lorien would have broken into a sweat if he did not start feeling the now familiar icy-cold grip around his heart. And a few seconds later, Koray appeared behind his sister, holding his side, yet anger quite evident in his eyes.

"Care to explain?" the silver-haired male breathed out through clenched teeth.