Balance of the Skies (bxb)

CHAPTER 30

A week had passed since Lorien and Koray returned to the school. They had hardly met, both being extremely busy with their artwork in an effort to try and submit their respective entries as soon as possible.

Koray could understand that Lorien was still grieving, yet the distance between them was taking its toll on him. There had been days when they did not even meet and it was always Koray who called or texted Lorien. The one time they did meet, the only contact they had was holding hands as, when Koray tried to kiss his boyfriend, Lorien smoothly slipped away from him. The silver-haired male let it slide, thinking that this was how Lorien was dealing with the loss of his grandmother. Yet, the more days that passed, the more anxious he became, taking it all out on his sister and Ty, snapping at them and raising his voice for no reason. He knew he should be talking to Lorien about this, yet he somehow could not bring himself to broach the subject with him, almost afraid of the outcome. In the depth of his heart, he was afraid that Lorien would break up with him, so he kept all the tension bottled up, venting with Auryn or Ty and occasionally getting into heated arguments with Rylan and even Sen once, when she defended Auryn who had ended up in tears. So he ended up secluding himself in his studio, working on his sculpture, getting even more frustrated and letting his insecurities get the better of him, controlling his mind and his moods.

In the meantime, Lorien himself was tormented with thoughts of where his relationship with Koray was going and where it will end up. He knew he should talk to Koray, but he found it easier to stay away, reasoning that they both would be better if they got used to being without each other. Yet, staying away from the man he loved was killing him inside, making him feel weaker. He was being a coward, taking the easy way out, using the competition as an excuse to not spend time with Koray. He wanted to keep the thoughts of having a long-distance relationship buried somewhere at the back of his mind, yet he ended up sadder and more confused with each passing day.

So here he was, right now, in the art room, going through the finishing touches to his art work. He had worked so hard on it these past few days, that he was sure he would be handing it on time and would not be needing the extension he had been granted when he had to go back home. He sighed as he took more pictures to add to his portfolio.

"Hello, Lorien, your piece has really come out well." He had been so engrossed that he had not heard his mentor come into the room.

"Thank you, Sir. I am quite happy with it. I think it turned out okay." He smiled.

"Okay?" the art professor huffed. "Lorien, this is a masterpiece. The atmosphere you set for the picture, the lovely hues in the background... and what to say about the moulding of the two figures? Truly superb, excellent. I wouldn't be surprised if -"

Just then, the shrilling of the fire alarm went off.

"Oh my God. Leave everything and let's go down," the professor pulled Lorien towards the door.

"Let me just put away -"

"Now, Lorien. You can come up later. Getting out of here is more important," and Lorien found himself pushed out into the corridor, where a few other students and teachers were heading down the stairs, all looking bewildered or anxious. Lorien's first thoughts were for Koray and the rest of their friends. Without thinking twice, he took out his phone and dialled Koray's number.

"Hi Darling, where are you? Are you okay? Have you reached the reception area yet?" Koray sounded breathless.

"Koray..." Lorien had to stop to control the pounding of his heart on hearing his boyfriend's voice. "I'm okay, just going down now. What about you?"