Hey There Delilah

Winter was in her dorm, getting ready for class. She was brushing her hair out, her blue eyes focused on her desk rather than the mirror before her. Smile, Winter. Lips curled into a bright, sunny grin. There you go. Hold that smile. She smoothed out her hoodie, her jeans when a picture of her and Summer caught her eye. They were relaxing on the beach in Key West on Spring Break last year. God, Summer's so pretty.

She lifted a hand and toyed with her earlobe. Smile, Winter. You know she's prettier. It's okay. You've got friends, at least. Friends are good, right?

I don't know. Seeing Summer and Kaine happy together makes me want that. She replied to herself. You won't have it. And that's okay. Life is still good, right? Right.

Out the door, across campus. She had her headphones in and put a little jovial bounce in her step as she crossed the quad, waving and greeting the people she knew. Brent over there. Nyla over there. Hey guys! Smile. Bounce. Walk. Hair. Photog, three o'clock. Probably doing a piece on Summer. Turn and wave. Grin. Friendly.

I should be an actress.

Troy was sitting in the quad, trying to figure out what to draw. He'd done most of the usual things, architecture, flowers, abstract. Nobody in the quad was inspiring him. All the people there were average. Nothing was striking his fancy. This wasn't good. He was suffering a creative block. Nothing was working.

He reached up over his shoulder, curling his fingers around his neck, squeezing.

Think, Troy. You've drawn everything here. You've drawn almost everyone here. What's your inspiration today? Oh god no, photographer. No heart, no soul. Not the same as drawing a piece of art, something I can pour my heart into.

He was about to get up and move somewhere else when a happy, bouncy blonde walked into his eyeline. He made a quick outline, catching her face, eyes, nose, mouth. Her hair cascading down in front of her. The rough outline came together quickly, then he started adding detail as she moved on.