Paintings Of Him

Chapter 11 - Unrequited

PIE AND EVERYTHING NICE was the local diner down the street, a small building with a bright orange logo that showed a piece of pumpkin pie. The light above it flickered slightly but whenever you entered the diner, the speaker connected to the door would play out a random song so that everyone had their own entrance music. It had brightly colored booths and tables fashioned like a diner from the 50's with tiled floors and milkshakes. 

Jordan and I used to love coming here, sometimes Corbin even got dragged along as he avoided my glare. It was a cute place with amazing food, a place that Corbin decided was brilliant for us to sit down and talk. He was convinced that we needed to hang out without it being weird, so that perhaps one day things could blossom into a real friendship. 

When he finally sat down in a table in the middle of the diner with metal chairs, he grabbed the menu hastily. All of the booths were free but for some reason Corbin had chosen a middle table in the practically empty building. 

"So, let me guess. You want a strawberry shake with cheesy fries" he grinned at me, "...with bacon pieces on the top, of course."

A small smile lit up my face. "Do you know my dessert as well?"

He leaned forward with a confident smirk. "Blueberry pie."

A warm feeling lit up within my chest. "You remember all of that?"

He chuckled. "Of course! Don't you remember how you used to slap me whenever I tried to steal the last bite?"

A grin took over my face at the memory, but it soon faded as the feeling of nostalgia filled my gut. I felt a deep sadness come across me, my head dipping slightly as I remembered that things used to be so simple, and how those times would be something that I could never get back. 

"You're going to get a double cheeseburger with no lettuce and a side of curly fries with extra salt. Then you'll have the cherry pie before trying to steal mine. Oh, and a chocolate shake." I crossed my arms with a small smile as his eyes softened. 

"You sure paid attention too, you even remembered how I hate lettuce, stalker!" he laughed but then his smile dropped, the realization hitting him as he winced. "...shit...I'm sorry."

I shook my head with a strained laugh. "It's okay. I'll go and order."

I left the table shakily, cursing myself. It was clear that I needed to get used to the awkward topic of how well I knew Corbin and how long I had spent obsessing over every detail about him. It was going to be tough, knowing that it would always seem to come up especially as we hung out together. 

As our food arrived, there was a small awkward silence before Corbin cleared his throat. "So...when did you start painting? Do you remember what caused you to try it?"

A small smile took over my face. "I was really young, maybe seven. I mean, I always loved art in  kindergarten and things like that but I didn't really think much of it, every child liked making a mess. I just started drawing some flowers around the house or my parents and I just started to love doing it. I guess it eventually became something that I couldn't live without...I just had to do it every day to let go of all my worries and stress. It was a good way to get things out of my system."

He smiled softly but then rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Can I ask you something without it being weird?"

I shrugged nervously. 

"Is that why you started drawing me? To try and get rid of what you felt?"

The question was innocent, and his intentions were pure. I could see the look of genuine curiosity on his face as he waited patiently, as if the answer meant a lot to him. He seemed as if he was trying to understand when this all started and how it became what we have now.