apartment 23 // mitchel cave

16

angeline's p.o.v.

i sat by my window, an easel off to my side, as i stared out my window. i gently dipped my paintbrush into my palette and began dabbing on the canvas, recreating the city landscape outside of my window. i had gotten so consumed with my painting that i didn't even hear mitchel coming up behind me slowly; i had forgotten that he had slept over last night. how could i have forgotten that? we spent all night wrapped in each other's arms, simply embracing each other's company.

"wow" he whispered from behind me. i simply shrugged.

"it's nothing special to be honest," i said as i continued to paint. i had always been my harshest critic.

"are you blind? that's fucking amazing, angeline," he said, exaggerating "blind". i turned around on my stool and smiled at him. i held my arms out and he wrapped his arms around me in a hug as i did the same. i smiled and thanked him before returning to my painting. i heard his footsteps walk over to the edge of my bed. the mattress creaked as he sat down.

"so, love, any plans for today?" he asked as he laid down on the bed, his arms outstretched. i looked at him out of the corner of my eye. he really was a sight to behold. i should have been painting him instead of the city.

"i don't think so," i said as i dipping my paintbrush into dark grey paint. i usually never had plans, and now that i was considering dropping off of my psychology classes, i really wasn't ever going to have anything to do. mitchel always seemed to change that though.

"how about we just go downtown, maybe shop a little?" he suggested. i really had to watch my money, especially with moving soon, but i figured i could just spend some time with mitchel instead of killing my wallet.

"sure, give me a sec" i said as i added my finishing touches onto the painting. i cleaned up my brushes and palette and put it all away.

"ready to go, braid boy?" i asked, standing right in front of his face, which was right at the edge of the bed.

"no" he said, looking up at my face from his spot on the bed. i stood there with my hands on my hips, giving him a stern but confused look. he pushed his lips out and closed his eyes tightly. i sighed and placed a light kiss on his lips. he immediately opened his eyes and smiled.

"ok now we can go" he said as he sprung up from his spot on the bed. i simply shook my head at him and followed him out of my apartment.

_______________________________

we had been walking around downtown, hand in hand, for around an hour now. we would stop in random stores, looking at random items that we knew we would never buy. i had done pretty well with avoiding spending too much money; the only thing i had purchased was a necklace with a small rose from a woman trying to develop her own jewelry business.

as we walked down the sidewalk, trying to avoid other people mindlessly roaming around with their nose in their phones, mitchel quickly tightened his grip on my hand pulled me into a store. it took my completely by surprise and i almost fell on the way in.

"sorry," he said as he laughed. i just shrugged it off, i knew he didn't mean to drag me like that. he had pulled me into a small music store. carts of records lined the back walls and guitars were propped up on stands throughout the room. mitchel made his way across the room to look at the records. i found myself walking over to the guitars. the light reflected off the varnish on the guitars and i felt myself stare at them. i imagined how many people had sat there, just strumming on them. what did they dream of? did they ever achieve those dreams?

"hey angeline, do you like frank ocean?" i heard mitchel yell from across the room, which snapped me out of my daze.

"yeah," i yelled back, as i walked towards him. he had a few vinyls in his hands. he looked like a picture; his black hair pulled up and his baggy shirt over another black shirt. he wore he skimmed through different records.

"hey there, cute boy" i said, wrapping my arms around his stomach and laying the side of my face on his back.

"hello, love," he replied, placing one of this hands on mine.

"whatcha getting?" i asked, peaking around his back.

"just a few records. i was hoping maybe we could play them once we move into our new place," he said as he turned around to face me. i stood up on my tippy toes and kissed his cheek. i turned away and began looking at a few records. i saw one; trilogy by the weeknd. i grabbed it and placed it on top of the stack mitchel held in his hands. he gave me a nod of approval and started heading towards the checking area. he payed for the vinyls and we both headed out.

the sun had begun to set as we continued to walk around downtown. the sky became a deep orange color with streaks of pinks and reds. it looked absolutely beautiful.

"sunsets are crazy," i heard mitchel say next to me. "they're never the same. everyday the sun sets but the sky is always painted with a different range of colors. i find that amazing." he said, looking over at me with a smile on his face. i grinned back at him.

"kinda like people to be honest. everyone is different, but sometimes you come across someone who completely amazes you." i felt him intertwine his fingers with mine.

"i agree" i replied.

we walked back to our apartments, enjoying the last moments of the sunset that had painted the sky before us.