Chapter 1

Thomas stood there, staring at a painting from around two hundred years ago. It was of a woman standing above a headstone, crying while at the same time, clenching her fist. The name of the painting read “Frustrating Farewell.” Thomas was never someone who indulged himself in art and only went to the museum that Sunday because his mom made him tag along.

“Wow, she looks super mad, doesn’t she?”

A voice came from behind, almost startling Thomas. Someone he has never talked to or seen before.

“Who is this girl?” he thought. “Where’s mom?”

The girl began to move closer and closer to the painting, then stopped, turning her head towards Thomas with a big smile.

“You can see all the individual brush strokes and emotions put into this piece.”

Turning back to the painting she says, “See how she’s clenching her fist, but also crying at the same time? It shows how much she loved the person who passed, but it also shows how frustrated she is.”

Thomas is not the greatest when it comes to social interaction and all he can achieve is the bare minimum, In that given moment, all he wanted to do was find his mom and leave.

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” He said while smiling awkwardly.

She didn’t seem to notice his awkwardness and continued to boast about the painting and its depth and immense detail. Thomas could not seem to break loose of her and forced himself to listen to everything. But as he listened to her, he found comfort. He admired her straightforwardness and ability to express what she loved.

Suddenly, the girl cut herself off and said with a wide smile and with her hands on her hips, “Old pieces like this display so much emotion. This is real art! Modern art is abstract in all the wrong ways and lacks the beauty and intensity art from back then had. Oh, I’m Peyton! In the future, I’ll be one of the greatest artists in the world! Remember my name!”

“I’m Thomas, currently a university student at Burnstone, studying business.” He said, smiling back. “I only came today because my mom made me tag along.”

Thomas never really had a passion growing up. He never liked the idea of working under another person or being a slave to the corporate world. He believed his way out of that dark path was business, which he would learn the ins and outs of and eventually reach the top of the corporate mountain.

“OH, WHAT?! YOU’RE A UNIVERSITY STUDENT AT BURNSTONE TOO?” Peyton said, surprised.

Thomas didn’t know what to say. He was puzzled and shocked by her reaction. This was the first time he had ever spoken to someone like this.

Peyton broke out in laughter, “I’m a university student at Burnstone too, studying art of course!”

Peyton seemed to be the ray of sunshine after a rainstorm to Thomas. He just stood there, looking at Peyton talking. In his eyes, she was bright and he couldn’t help but want to be near her forever.

Then a familiar voice called out, breaking Thomas’ daydreaming. “Thomas? I finally found you.”

Sighing, Thomas said, “Mom? Where were you? I was looking at this painting and before I knew it, you were gone.”

Peyton interrupted. “WOW! You really do look like your mom Tom!” Now, smiling at Thomas’ mom she says, “Hi I’m Peyton, a friend of Tom’s. Oh, and we go to the same school too!”

“Since when were we friends? And why is she calling me Tom?” Thomas thought. He didn’t mind it actually, and was relieved that there was hope that they would be able to continue their interactions.

Thomas’ mom smiled back. “It’s nice to meet you, Peyton. Please take care of my son, he can appear a bit bland, but he is truly a good person.”

Ever since graduating high school, Thomas lost all of his friends or what appeared to be his friends. He realized that they were just people he hung out around to kill time and make his days a little less boring. Every day he tried to ignore the fact that he was lonely and now as a freshman in university, living alone, he couldn’t help but think about that very fact every day.

His mom comes occasionally on weekends to check up on him and likes to drag him out of his room to go places. Today it was the museum where Thomas had no interest. But if it weren’t for this day, some things would not have been.

Thomas checked his phone to see the time. “Mom we gotta get going. It’s almost 5 pm.”

They had a reservation at a restaurant at 5:30 that day and although Thomas said this, he didn’t want anything else in that moment but to stay and look at more paintings next to the very talkative girl known as Peyton.

As they were making their exit, Thomas looked back at Peyton. She was waving goodbye and all he could manage was a smile back and a shy wave goodbye.

Thomas and his mom were now on their way to the restaurant. He stared blankly out the window. “I should have probably asked for her number or something.” He thought.

Thomas’ mom takes a glance at Thomas and asks, “What are you thinking about? That girl just now?”

Thomas sprung up. “NO MOM! I was thinking about what was going to be on my test next week. There are a lot of things I need to study, obviously.”

A week had passed. Thomas couldn’t think of anything else. The one thing lingering in the back of his mind was Peyton and their encounter. He didn’t even see her at school the whole week and even made detours through the art building to try and maybe catch her. But all hope was lost. The days felt longer than usual and although the weather was beautiful, he could not admire it.

Thomas set his backpack down next to a tree and sat down, closing his eyes. She appeared. It was her again. He had never been in love before and always found excuses to avoid it. He would tell himself, “Teenage love never lasts. It’s not real love. Just temporary feelings that will fade away along with time.” These feelings he felt now, were undeniably feelings of love. But he refused to acknowledge that, even though he knew it himself.

A few minutes passed as he sat there feeling the light wind hit his face as Peyton was conjured up in his imagination. She was smiling at him. And as he opened his eyes, he couldn’t believe what he saw. It was Peyton. She appeared out of nowhere, like Thomas’ wish came true. He couldn’t help but smile, seeing her again.

“Who are you?” He said smiling.

Peyton, starting to get frantic. “Uh, uh, it’s me remember? It’s Peyton! Don’t you remember? The future world-renowned artist?”

Thomas let out a little laugh. “I’m just kidding. Of course, I remember. How could I forget the girl who couldn’t stop talking about a painting?”

“But it was such a good painting!” Peyton said while letting out a sigh of relief.

Thomas stood up and reached into his pocket, taking out his phone. “Here. Let me get your number.” He said with a shaking voice. This was the first time ever, in the eighteen years and four months of his life, that Thomas, a complete realist when it comes to love, decided to take a leap of faith and try to write a new story for himself.

Peyton noticed his nervousness and efforts. She couldn’t help but notice his slight fidgeting, the way his eyes darted away from hers, and the change in his breathing. She noticed it all.

Her attention to detail overwhelmed her. “He’s cute.” she thought, typing her number into his phone.

The two stood there in silence for what felt like forever and suddenly Peyton burst out excitedly, “Hey wanna go see the school’s art gallery?”

Thomas thought, “I would love to go see it with you next to me forever.” Of course, he had nowhere near enough courage to muster up these words. “Sure. Let’s go,” he said while putting on his backpack.

As they walked to the art gallery Thomas couldn’t help but take a few glances at Peyton. She quickly filled his mind. “Why is she so adorable? Her eyelashes are pretty long too and her hairstyle is cute today.” These thoughts filled his mind.

Peyton knew Thomas was looking at her and couldn’t help but get a little nervous. She was good at not showing her nervous side though. “U-uh, is there something weird on my face?” she thought.

Finally, they arrived at the art gallery. Peyton took a couple of quick strides around showing off her favorite paintings to Thomas. Her nervousness had disappeared. She was immersed in the art like she was in another world, once again.

A wave of subtle admiration struck Thomas just like when they first met. She was in a world of her own. While still captivated by Peyton, Thomas said, “Will you let me into your world?”

Peyton stopped jumping around and stood there with a face of shock. She very quickly eased up and that shock turned into a gentle smile. She was smiling from ear to ear. Even her eyes were smiling.

Thomas finally snapped back to reality and realized what he said. “Wait, did I say that out loud?” Thomas said starting to panic. He couldn’t believe it himself. His thoughts were in shambles. “Ahhh what will she say? Why did I even say that? I mean it’s true, but does she even like me back?” Thomas’ nervousness grew larger and so did his fear of rejection. He shut his eyes and put his hands over his face. “This is the first genuine person I’ve talked to. I’ve ruined it now.” All these negative thoughts consumed Thomas.

Then these thoughts stopped. “What am I panicking for?” he thought. “I’m used to this kind of stuff. You only meet people to kill time before you die.”

He let out a deep sigh and as he was about to open his eyes and take his hands off his face he felt something. He felt it in his heart. He felt it on his skin. It was a warm feeling. The light smell of flowers. It was as if all his thoughts had gone away like the passing of a storm.

Thomas’ negative thoughts were no longer. He opened his eyes and Peyton was there, holding him tight. “Maybe I’ll try to do this right.” he thought, hugging her back.

Finally, the two stopped and looked at each other. They were mere centimeters away. Thomas lightly grabbed Peyton’s hands and asked again in a clear voice, “Peyton. Will you let someone like me into your world?” Peyton tightly grabbed Thomas’ hands. “We’ll live in this world together.” She couldn’t stop smiling. It was the cutest thing ever to Thomas.