Perfection Ch. 02

Emily walked around school in a sort of love-struck trance, with an awkward look on her face. One Angela, her closest friend, had never seen. Angela simply observed as Emily seemed to close her eyes and smile at irregular intervals, and stumble over her own feet. When Emily nearly tripped into a glass door, she decided to address it. She grabbed Emily by the shoulders.

"Emily, what the hell is wrong with you today?" Only then did she notice the oversized hoodie she was wearing. It looked nothing like she had ever seen Emily wear.

Emily's eyes snapped open, and she turned to face her friend. "Nothing. I'm fine. What are you talking about?"

"And what are you wearing?"

Emily coughed awkwardly. "Nothing, just one of my hoodies."

Angela's eyes narrowed. "I've known you for fourteen years, Emily. I can tell when you're acting weird."

Emily sighed. "It's nothing. Trust me." She nearly stumbled once more.

Shaking her head, Angela pulled Emily towards a nearby bench table. Once they were sitting, Angela turned in her seat to face Emily. "I already know something's wrong," she saw that Emily was about to interrupt, and overrode her. "No, don't say nothing's wrong. No use arguing. Just tell me. I'm your closest friend."

Emily sighed. She began to twiddle her thumbs and fidget. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Tristan appeared around the corner, and noticed the pair of girls. Angela, not having Tristan in any of her classes, had no idea who he was, and thought nothing of it. But she began to suspect something when Emily let out a small squeak and blushed furiously. Suspicious, Angela watched as Tristan began to walk over to the table.

Tristan came up to Angela, who stood up. "Sorry if I'm interrupting something," he said, grinning. "I have class next with Emily, and I came to grab her. If that's fine with you, of course."

"No, no, that's fine. We just finished talking anyway."

Tristan's grin seemed to grow wider. "Great," he stuck out his hand. "I'm Tristan. I'm new here."

Angela smiled. Hewas very cute. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized whose hoodie Emily had been wearing. "Angela. Nice to meet you." She leaned in slightly.

Tristan flashed her another smile, and went over to Emily, who stood up immediately, slightly stiff. Tristan noticed the sudden awkward movement, and frowned. "Are you okay?" Angela hid a smile.

Emily scowled at the two of them, and managed to regain her regular composure. "I'm fine," she cleared her throat. "We only have a few minutes. Let's get to Art."

Angela gave Emily a quick glance as they walked by. "We're going to be talking about this tonight." Emily rolled her eyes but nodded. Angela watched as the pair disappeared around the corner, and walked away, heading towards her own class.

----

The art classroom wasn't far, just a few minutes away. The class itself was only fifteen other students. Yet it was one of the biggest electives at the school. The classroom was close to the size of the physics room. Against the wall were several white canvases, perched atop seventeen easels. There was a small counter in the back with a sink and several bowls of brushes and color pencils. The art teacher, an old woman with experienced wrinkles and eyes, clapped her hands loudly.

"Please take your seats. Please choose wisely, you'll be sitting in that seat for the rest of the semester."

Tristan took a seat close to the back of the classroom. Emily, without thinking, sat next to him. Tristan flashed her a white grin that made her stomach flutter slightly.

The teacher clapped once more. It seemed to be something they would have to get used to. "All right, let's get started. She began to point to several places in the classroom. "In the back are brushes. You also have one on each of your easels, but if you need more, that's where you will go. There's also a sink back there, which you will use after every class. Each of you also has an easel. Please try not to break them, they're very expensive. Other than that, let's begin. We'll start off with something simple for the unit. Feel free to draw whatever you'd like for," the professor checked the clock. "The next hour or so. So the rest of class."

Emily gently picked up the brush. She had never painted before, never even drawn, besides the few crayon artworks every child drew. She glanced over at Tristan, who had already started mixing several colors on his palette.

"Do you know how to paint?"

Tristan shrugged. "I've done it a few times." Then he returned his attention to his large canvas. The easels were turned so Emily couldn't properly see Tristan's art from her angle. She looked around the class and saw that several people had already started. With a sigh, she poured small amounts of pain onto her own palette, and began to paint.

---

An hour later, Emily stood and stepped away from her canvas. Her eyes widened with embarrassment as she realized several of her lines were crooked, and some of her paint was trailing down the canvas. Cursing, she quickly wiped the small escaping lines before stepping back once more. She had drawn a cat. Just a simple black cat with yellow and white eyes. She looked around and felt reassured as she saw that most of her peers had drawn just as bad, and in some cases worse. Tristan was still working, and she was curious to see what he had painted.

"That's time, everyone," the professor announced. She looked around at the several easels. "All of you did very good, it's perfectly normal for your first painting to be somewhat bad. Would anyone like to present?"

No one volunteered.

"What about you?"

Tristan cleared his throat. "Me?"

The professor nodded. "Unless you feel uncomfortable."

Emily watched curiously as several thoughts seemed to run through Tristan's head. Finally, he responded. "No, that's fine. I'll go." He lightly grabbed his canvas and walked towards the front of the class, where he leaned his canvas against the wall. There was a collective gasp from several of the students, including Emily, who was, simply put, speechless. The professor seemed to be in a similar state.

Because on Tristan's canvas was a beautiful scene. There was a large beach that stretched across the lower half of his canvas, and a spectacular sunset in the background. The entire painting looked so realistic it could have been a photo. The professor nodded her head, seemingly unimpressed.

"Very nice..." She gestured.

"Tristan."

"Very well painted, Tristan." She motioned for him to go back to his seat. "Would anyone else like to present?"

Just then, the bell rang.

---

"I didn't know you could paint!" Emily said as soon as they were out the door. "That was amazing!"

Tristan shrugged. "It was nothing, really."

"Nothing," Emily echoed. "Are you serious? That was beautiful!"

Tristan grinned and glanced over at Emily. "Like you."

Emily blushed, and she shivered as a familiar warm sensation trailed down her spine and around her stomach. She cleared her throat awkwardly. She went to reply when she was roughly shouldered. She would have tripped if Tristan hadn't been beside her.

"What the hell, Becky," Emily shouted, her face red, but no longer from embarrassment. "Are you blind?" The words were out of her mouth before she could think.

Becky scoffed. She was surrounded by several of her friends, and they were all grinning. "What? Stop crying, you little baby." With a snort, she walked away, disappearing around a corner.

Emily sighed and sat down at a nearby bench, tears threatening to pool in her eyes. Tristan sat beside her and placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close so her head rested gently against his chest. This time, Emily was glad for the comfort, and moved closer. She felt safe in Tristan's arms, and her tears vanished, and over time, she began to forget about the Becky incident. When she had regained control of herself, she looked up at Tristan, who was staring mindlessly off into the distance. She closed her eyes slightly as Tristan noticed her staring and leaned down, kissing her gently on her forehead. His fingers trailed her cheek and brushed her hair back behind her ear. This time, Emily did blush.

"It's okay," Tristan said, pulling Emily even closer. "Just ignore her."

Emily sighed. "I can't. She always does that kind of stuff. I can't just do nothing if she shoves me. Then she'll think I'm too scared to defend myself." But Tristan shook his head.

"She's jealous of you, Emily."

Emily sat up slightly, surprised. "What?"

"I mean, it's pretty easy to tell. She's obviously jealous of you. That's probably the reason why she even 'hates' you."

"Why would she be jealous? Her family is rich, she's beautiful, she's a cheerleader, what could she possibly want from me that she doesn't have."

Tristan shrugged. "You'll figure it out." Slipping his arm away, he stood up, shouldering his backpack. "School's out."

Emily pulled out her phone and was surprised to see that it was. She cursed as she remembered her parents were off on a trip, and she had to walk back home. Tristan noticed.

"Something wrong?"

She shook her head. "Just have to walk home, that's all."

"I can't drive you," Tristan said, reaching for her hand, their fingers interlocking. "Only if you want, of course."

Emily blushed and nodded.

A few minutes later, Tristan pulled out a pair of car keys, and his car chirped. It was a small sedan. Emily blushed slightly but laughed as Tristan opened the passenger door, gesturing her inside. He climbed in beside her. The two sat in silence for a few seconds. He looked like he was waiting for something, Emily thought curiously.

"Are you going to give me your address or am I going to have to find your house on my own?"

Emily laughed and hit Tristan's shoulder. "You could have just asked. Woodourne Avenue."

"You live on Woodourne?"

Emily nodded. "Why?"

Tristan shook his head. "No reason." He pulled out of the school parking lot and began driving, using the GPS to guide him. Just a few minutes later, Tristan pulled into Emily's driveway, and parked his car.

"Thanks," she replied awkwardly. They had driven in silence, for some odd reason.

"Yeah," Tristan said, getting out as well. Emily watched curiously as he followed her to her front door. She giggled.

"I know how to open a door, you know."

Tristan grinned. "Can't be too sure."

Emily grabbed a key from her pocket and pushed open the door. She looked back, staying in the doorway. "Thanks again."

"No problem." they stared at each other for several awkward seconds. Tristan reached out and cupped Emily's cheek in his hand and pulled her in for another kiss. Emily wrapped her arms round Tristan's muscular neck and had to stand on her toes. Their tongues collided gently. Their kiss lasted several moments until Tristan lightly let Emily back onto her feet, who blushed immediately.

"Don't you think this is moving too fast," she asked. "We only met today, after all."

Tristan shrugged and smiled affectionately. "If it is, just let me know." He turned and began to walk away, when Emily called after him.

"Wait! Tristan!"

Tristan swiveled. Emily was fidgeting with her fingers. "My parents are off on a trip, and... I don't know, I'm just really bored on my own... D- do you th-" She didn't seem to be able to get the question out.

Tristan grinned knowingly. "Sure, let me just grab my bag." He turned and disappeared around the bushes. Emily stood in the doorway, several thoughts running through her mind. Was this going too fast? And if it wasn't, was she just some hookup, or did Tristan actually hold feelings for her? She frowned and sighed, but quickly shook herself when Tristan reappeared. She frowned when she saw that Tristan had two bags in his hands.

He handed her her own. "Planning on just leaving that in my car?"

Emily rolled her eyes but smiled. "Thanks." She stepped into the house, closing the door gently behind Tristan. He looked around. "Looks like you really like Michael Jackson."

Emily laughed. "My mom used to listen to him all the time. There's even more posters upstairs."

Tristan raised an eyebrow. He began walking up the stairs. "Which one is your room?" Emily pointed at the room at the far end of the small hallway. Tristan turned back before opening the door. "Can I go in?" Emily nodded, hastily wondering if she had remembered to clear her room recently.

"That's a lot of books.." Tristan said immediately as he pushed through the door.

"Yeah," Emily said, slightly embarrassed. "I like reading."

Tristan grinned. "I know. You were reading when I met you."

Emily blushed, but frowned slightly. "Does studying count as reading?"

"Not today," Tristan replied, waving his hand. "This was a few years back. Back in elementary school, or something like that."

Emily frowned. "What?"

Tristan turned to face her. "Do you not remember?" She shook her head in response. Tristan sighed in mock disappointment. "Do you at least remember that we went to the same elementary school?" Emily had to admit she didn't. She had always been shy and antisocial until most of middle school. She had been somewhat of a loner.

"Well, we did. And when I first went up to talk to you, you were reading a book. Harry Potter, or something like that." Tristan noticed Emily frown. "Seriously?"

"I'm serious!" Emily said, laughing. "I don't remember any of this."

"It was, like I said, in fifth grade or something. It was after football practice, and you were waiting at school, I think. So I went up to you and I asked what you were reading. And you gave me this really weird look and said, 'You've never read Harry Potter?'"

Emily was surprised. She felt as if she were the subject of a completely new story. "Wow."

"Wow," Tristan repeated. "Yeah. But I'm not surprised you don't remember. It was a long time ago, anyway." He glanced at a book that had fallen onto the floor. "What's this?"

Emily managed to read the front cover. "You've never read 'To Kill a Mockingbird'?"

Tristan let out a bark of laughter. He practically tackled Emily onto the bed. "You're evil," he shouted, as he began to tickle Emily's ribs and sides. Emily squirmed and giggle uncontrollably.

"Stop," She managed to gasp between her laughter. "I'm sorry Tristan!"

Tristan continued for a few seconds before stopping and releasing her. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, his hands crossed over his chest. He was only slightly surprised when Emily snuggled closer to him, her chest resting between his arm and chest. He pulled her tightly to him. Emily, not for the first time, relished the feeling of being in Tristan's arms. Several shivers ran down her spine as Tristan trailed his fingers up and down her neck, toying with her hair. Tristan leaned down and planted several kisses on her cheeks, before stopping abruptly. Emily opened her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Tristan sighed. "I just need you to know something, Emily. I-..." He trailed off, but managed to regain his train of thought. "I don't just want you for sex."

There was an awkward silence between the two, but Tristan noticed that Emily had made no movement to remove herself from his arms. Emily, on the other hand, felt several emotions rushing through her. She was incredibly relieved. At least she knew she wouldn't just be some random hookup. But she also felt a small disappointment nagging at her in the back of her mind. She pushed away the thought.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Tristan simply nodded, thankful that the silence had disappeared. He kissed her gently on her head and pulled her close once more. After several more kisses, the two fell asleep.