❝Life, much like art, is subjective and open to criticism. Constructive feedback is invaluable, but it doesn't negate the validity of your emotions. Your feelings are allowed to be felt, and your opinions are allowed to be shared. Just because someone says your art is terrible or questions your worth doesn't mean you have to pretend it doesn't hurt. Embrace both the vulnerability and strength that come with expressing yourself through art and navigating the canvas of life.❞
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It's Friday and Aurelia's clearing off the final table of her shift at the cafe. As she cleans the table, her mind goes to the big event for the night. She doesn't know what's making her more nervous. The event itself or the fact that she's meeting Nina. She knows nothing about Nina, besides the fact that she's Elijah's friend.
It did feel good that she would be moving out tomorrow, but she still feels like there's a lot to be said. Elijah has been giving her that cold treatment, and since that day with Andrew, he hasn't been back to the penthouse. She spent the next day alone and confused. Aurelia replayed what went down in her head, but she still didn't understand why he's suddenly treating this way.
"What's got you deep in thought, mama." Desiree, her co-worker, asks as she wipes the counter down. "Did you have a fight with that fine friend of yours?"
Aurelia shakes her head and walks towards the counter, a slight frown resting upon her face. "How do you know for sure if someone's avoiding you?"
Desiree tilts her head and laughs. "It shouldn't be that hard to notice. They won't talk to you, try their best to not be in the same room as you. They might flat out ghost you."
"What did I do?" Aurelia whines as she sits at one of the tables close to the counter. "I didn't even say anything that would make him so cold and distant."
"So this is about a boy, right?" Desiree asks, leaning over the counter, resting her chin on both hands. "Is this about that friend of yours?"
"No. Another guy. A guy that's so confusing to understand." Aurelia tells her, watching her sigh before switching from leaning on both hands to one.
Desiree observes her carefully. "Maybe it has nothing to do with you then."
"What do you mean?"
"Perhaps he's avoiding you because of his feelings about himself," she explains, tossing the towel she was using on the side. "Basically nothing he's doing has anything to do with you. Maybe he needs time to get his thoughts together to talk to you."
Aurelia looks down at her hands, nodding as she listens to the woman talk to her. "If that is the case, I wish he would've told me he needs some time alone. The silent treatment really has me sitting here thinking I did something wrong."
"I'll see him later tonight though." She avoids Desiree's eyes this time. "I don't even know why I care so much. I can't even understand my own feelings."
Desiree walks around the counter and sits across from Aurelia. "Tonight?"
"Yeah," she sighs. "I'm supposed to be meeting my new roommate tonight at this art event. I'm just assuming that I'll see him tonight."
"Is this guy your first boyfriend or something?"
"Boyfriend?" Aurelia clears her throat and shakes her head. "No he's not my boyfriend. I mean he is attractive, and very charismatic, but he's not my boyfriend."
"Then why is this a big deal? Did something really bad happen between you two?" Desiree questions, clearly trying to get the full story, but she didn't want to tell her the details. The situation in full was private, and she didn't feel comfortable sharing that with Desiree just yet.
"It's kind of private, but I can definitely confirm it wasn't that bad, but his behavior afterwards makes it seem like what happened was absolutely horrible." She explained not exposing too much.
"Girl," Desiree says, crossing her arms. "I've been with three men in my life, and I'm only twenty-four. The first guys I dated made me chase them, and to be quite frank, they made me look so fucking stupid out here. The current guy i'm with was the only one that made me feel wanted. He chased me and after saying fuck it to being the chaser, I finally let my current boyfriend in."
Aurelia tilts her head trying to connect what this has to do with her situation. "And?"
"And–I can tell you're a cool person to be around. If this guy is not man enough to tell you straight up what's his deal, the fuck him." Her choice of words made Aurelia flinch. "He's not worth your time. Even though I don't know the full details, I can almost tell he's being a petty little shit and you should not waste your time with a guy that wants you to play mind reader–wants you to chase him."
"So," she sits up. "You want me to just-"
"Fuck it. Move on if you want me to put it simply." Desiree suggests.
Just as she was about to open her mouth and speak again, a group of people walk into the cafe, causing them to cut their conversation short. The group seems familiar, and it was cutting it close to the time she was supposed to clock out. Aurelia decided to help Desiree with these people, and then she would leave to get ready for tonight.
"Adrian texted me, he said that he was already making his way to the grand hall." a familiar saying. "I wished you offered to pick me up."
"I don't even know why you're trying so hard, Rochelle, the man has only focused on one thing since his break up with Ashley." Another familiar voice says, causing her to remember exactly who the two familiar women were.
Rochelle and Becky, the two girls Adrian introduced her to. Also the same girl who thought she was making moves on Adrian.
"Oh!" Rochelle says as they make eye contact with each other. "Hey, Aurelia! How are you?"
Aurelia smiles and clears her throat. "I'm fine, just trying to finish up with you guys so I can go home and get ready for the event."
"Oh, right, you are a part of the art department. I can't wait to see your piece." She smiles before looking at the menu. "Let's see, I think we'll all have the chocolate scones and iced americanos."
The interaction wasn't that bad, she didn't feel any disingenuous intent. After she helped Desiree with them, she left. She didn't really want to continue to talk about anything involving Elijah and Andrew. Thinking about them was hard enough considering they are the ones avoiding her, not the other way around.
The afternoon slowly turns to the evening, and she pulls the black dress she bought from the closet. It wasn't anything too fancy, just a sleeve black mini dress. The dress is the only thing that wasn't too revealing in the store, but that's what she gets for listening to Sabrina and Cameron. It took her a bit to get ready, but she wanted to make sure she looked good. Especially if there's a chance that she could win something grand.
"This is a lot," she mumbles as she eyes her chest in the mirror. Her cleavage is on display, but it wasn't out there, just a lot more than she's used to. "It's fine, don't think too much about it."
Aurelia moves in front of her laptop, where her friends were waiting to see the dress. "What do you think?"
Cameron's mouth hangs open while Sabrina squeals with excitement. "You look so cute!"
"Cute?" Cameron says, before shaking his head. "She's far from cute, the dress is short and tight."
"So?" Sabrina says. "It's not like she's dressing to capture people's attention, besides it was your idea to send her to that store."
Aurelia covers her face and sighs from embarrassment. "Are you both sure it's not too much?"
"How are you even getting there?" Cameron asks as she walks back to the mirror, and looks at the dress again, trying to build the courage up to feel confident in the dress.
Sabrina hums in agreement. "Yeah, the dress is cute, but I don't think you should go out in that without a ride. Weirdos come out at night."
She knows her friends were right. She needed to find a ride, and after overhearing Rochelle and her friend's conversation, calling Adrian was out of the question. The only person to ask is Elijah, but would he even talk to her? Would he continue to give her the silent treatment and avoid her.
"I can maybe ask Elijah."
"The roommate?" Sabrina says, but her voice is full of concern. "Didn't you tell us that he's acting weird, what if he says no?"
Aurelia groans from frustration, she didn't mean to snap at them, but what did they expect her to do. She has to go to the event, and if taking the bus is going to be the only option for her then she'll do it.
"Guys," she murmurs, sitting on the bed and turning the laptop to face her. "I know you're worried, but if I have to take a bus uptown, I will. This event is important for me and a big opportunity, I can't miss it just because I have no ride."
Cameron nods his head slightly. "We know, but we're still worried and-"
"However," Sabrina cuts Cameron off, making Aurelia smile a bit. "We trust her to make her own decisions, and we must not worry because she got this all figured out. Right, Cameron?"
The male shrugs, making Sabrina repeat herself. "Right?"
"Yeah, Yeah." Aurelia laughs softly and sighs. "Just have fun and try to take pictures if you can. I want to see some sweet memories by tomorrow morning! Got it."
Nodding, she stands from the bed and walks over to her box with her jewelry inside. She looks for her gold necklace, the one her mother gifted her at her graduation party, and the matching earrings with it. As she looks for some rings to go with it, Sabrina calls her name. Walking over to her laptop, she looks at the screen.
"Yes?"
"Make sure you wear those black knee high boots with that dress, I think it'll go perfectly." Sabrina suggests. "I also have to go, so if you can send a picture of your fit after you're completely done, I would appreciate it."
"Sorry for keeping you both here with me, I know you must be busy." Aurelia says, looking down at the rings before walking over to her shoe box, retrieving the boots Sabrina was talking about.
"It's fine, you know we'll drop any and everything for you." Cameron says, making her pout a bit. "But I also have to go, Relia."
Aurelia fully understood, she nodded her head and told them she'd talk to them tomorrow. After she ends the call, she finishes getting ready, not putting on much make-up. As she finishes, she lets her hair out of its wrap, letting her straightened hair fall down. Brushing through her hair, she runs her fingers through it trying to fix it a bit more. Once she's done, she takes her purse, with the gold chain strap, and puts her broken phone and wallet inside. As well as lip gloss and perfume. The only thing left for her to do is pull on her boots.
"Aurelia."
She flinches and looks at her closed room door. She quickly slides on the boots and stands up. Aurelia opens the door slowly and looks up at Elijah. The moment their eyes met, he adverts them down, looking her outfit over. This is the first time he spoke to her since their last conversation in the hallway.
"You look nice," he compliments.
Feeling shy, she utters a thank you before stepping forward. Elijah steps back, giving her some room to move forward. "You were going to say something?"
"Right," he clears his throat, scratching the back of his neck. "The event. I wanted to know if you would like to ride with me there?"
Aurelia took this chance to look him over, he did look nice. The black shirt underneath the blazer was button low. She saw his chest tattoo a bit more this time. His hair is slicked back but it wasn't in its typical bun, it was in his natural state. Why did he look so good, especially when she's supposed to be frustrated and confused with him? This is what she meant by him being distracting.
He was all dressed up just like she is, was he participating in the show or just watching it?
"I was going to ask you, but..." her words trails off along with her eyes. "You and Andrew have been hard to reach lately."
Elijah sighs softly, causing her to look up at him again. "Is there a reason why you've been avoiding me? Why did Andrew never come back after the day I told you about what I heard? Did I say something Elijah?"
"Look," he says, not looking at her this time. "Let's just get to the event."
It was clear he didn't want to speak about it, and she wasn't going to be pushy or stubborn. Maybe Desiree is right. Maybe she should just forget about it. He's clearly not willing to tell her anything despite not saying anything wrong. So she won't waste her time or breath.
"Okay." She says confidently, but anyone could tell she's not happy with him. Not happy with how he just brushed her off like that.
Aurelia walks past him, turning her head away from him. Before she could make it to the door, he grabs her wrist. "Aurelia, wait."
She pulls her wrist from his grip. "I don't want to hear it. Can we just go?"
Regret. His eyes were full of regret, but she didn't allow him to speak. She gave him many chances to, and all he ever did was ignore her or avoid her.
"Alright. Let's go." he murmurs, sighing deeply.
The drive to the event was silent. Elijah didn't even play his jazz music, the genre he loves so much. The only thing that could be heard was the wind brushing against the car. Inside the car she could smell hiss light cologne. The cologne she could smell throughout the penthouse, but it was overbearing and strong. He smells good. He looks good. The man is like a perfect painting but that's just her inner consciousness trying to get the best of her.
"Nina," he speaks just as he parks the car. "Will be inside somewhere. She's tall, blond braids, and a green dress."
Aurelia takes her seatbelt off and slowly gets out of the car. She could hear Elijah do the same thing, but she didn't wait around for him. She made her way towards the large doors where a lot of people were filling inside.
"Oh my god," someone in the crowd says loudly. "It's Elijah James!"
Aurelia makes sure she isn't being pushed by people as they turn around to speak with Elijah. When he told her before about being well off, she didn't think anything of it. When she found out that his brother is a famous artist, an artist she happened to look up to, she could hardly believe. No wonder everyone on campus is drawn to him. He's more than well off.
"This is why I told him to use the side door."
Aurelia turns around, quickly stopping in her tracks before she runs into Sunny. She laughs awkwardly and looks back at the people crowding Elijah. Even though he had an expressionless face just before they got out of the car, he's now smiling as if nothing happened.
"You don't think people just showed up for him, do you?" She asks in a joking way, but Sunny's face looks serious.
"Unfortunately, they are here for him. Him and his family." Sunny murmurs. "Since his family is sponsoring the event, we got more rich people willing to spend thousands on the best paintings and sculptures."
He respectfully places his hand on her upper back and guides her further inside the fancy grand hall. "Come one. I want to show you where your piece is."
"Mine?"
Sunny grins. "You didn't hear it from me, but I think yours is causing a stir. Which is good."
Of course, hearing that made her panic a bit. She didn't know if that meant something negative or positive. She was already freaking out that there were so many people present. Which also meant so many people had already seen her work. As they made their way further in the grand hall, Sunny took her up some marble stairs, and there, hanging in the middle of the room was her painting. So many people were crowding it.
"There it is, Incompletion by Aurelia Mitchell." He grins as he slides his hands in his pockets. "It's really beautiful, Aurelia. Especially the vulnerable description for it, and now I must ask you."
Aurelia is in awe as she stares at her artwork, hanging on display. "Yes?"
"Do you love it?" He asks her, causing her to look up at him. "Do you feel confident in this piece? Be honest."
She looks at her painting one more time, analyzing the brush strokes and the direction she took with the oil paint. Aurelia worked really hard on the piece, and to see it hanging up on display, she couldn't help but to love it.
"Yes." she smiles. "I do."
Sunny nods and smiles at her. "Good."
"Sunny?" Someone says softly, causing Aurelia to look over at him as he has a quiet conversation with the man who just walks up to him.
It seemed very important, and she could tell it was serious from how Sunny glances around before nodding his head. He turns back to her, making her tilt her head a bit. "Is everything alright, Sunny?"
He smiles and nods slightly. "Why don't you enjoy the rest of the event? Up here are the paintings, downstairs are the sculptures, and if you go a floor lower, it's the metal art. Refreshments are on the top floor."
"Alright."
Aurelia watches Sunny and the unknown man walk away together, though she was curious about what was going on, she quickly decided to mind her business. Tonight was obviously special, and she wanted to soak it all in. Walking closer to her painting, she could see so many people have side conversations as they view her work, she was starting to feel much more comfortable and confident.
"I don't get it."
Turning beside her, she sees Arthur, Elijah's brother. His presence alone is making everyone stir. However, his statement made her nervous. What did he mean? Did he not read the description?
"I can tell this person has not used oil paint before," he continued. "And the title is just labeling what it is–incomplete. I get this is an event for amateurs, but I expected more from the art department students. Especially since I graduated from the same art department."
It was harsh. His criticism was harsh. So harsh that all that confidence was gone.
"If I were to change this piece, I would've left it colorless and titled it something more profound. Infinite Incompletion." He chuckles, causing some people around to do the same as they glorify his harsh words. "But then again. Art is subjective. I would spend money on it though."
Aurelia bites her lip, holding back the tears that were so close to falling. Her idol. The man she looked up to just tore the piece she worked so hard on to pieces with his harsh mocking words. Is this why a lot of people don't recommend people to meet their idols?
She excuses herself through the crowd crowding her piece, well in this case, they are just crowding Arthur, and walks towards the bathroom. Once she's inside, she bumps into a girl on the way in.
With tears running down her face, she looks up and sniffles softly. "Oh god, I'm sorry."
The tall girl smiles empathetically and shakes her head. "No, it's alright. You won't be the first person to run into her with tears covering your face."
The woman turns around, her braids flowing down her back as she grabs some tissue for her. "Here you go, hun."
Aurelia utters a small thank you and carefully pats her tears. The woman walks back over to the mirror, fixing her make up a bit. Her backless green dress hugged her curves, and the slit up the side showed off her long legs. Even her dark skin was smooth, and not one mark in sight. The blonde braids really do fit her, and it ties the look all together. She looks like a model, but maybe she's just a goddess.
"I'm Nina by the way." she smiles before looking over at her. "I'm assuming you are Aurelia?"
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