"Oh, Please.........Oh, Will you please come back to bed now". A girls voice pleaded from out from the adjoining bedroom.
"What exactly are you doing in there anyway?".
The blonde, curly haired young man tried to ignore her as he poured himself over masses of thick, oversized text books, numerous sheets of paper, loads of technical and even more colourful graphs, lined notebooks and an assortment of pencils, rulers, erasers and sharpeners.
Not getting any sort of an answer, the girl now decided to slide herself out of the bed the two of them had moments before been sharing, draped a dressing gown around her naked form and padded barefoot out into the kitchen to where the young man was sat there alone, to see exactly what he was in fact doing.
"Jeez........ Look at all of this! It's....... Its like a bloody classroom in here!". She exclaimed, seeing him sat at the elongated kitchen table surrounded by everything that a successful student needed and more!
However, the young man wearing a pair of black rimmed spectacles and not an awful lot more, wasn't even half tempted to look up at her, for all he seemed to be interested in, at this precise moment was getting on with his massive work load.
The girl though, undeterred by his distinct lack of interest in her, padded over towards him and gently placed her two hands onto each of his bare shoulders, then leant over him.
"Sweetheart........... I'm trying to study here". He spoke gently and huffed quietly at her disturbance.
The auburn haired girl with an array of freckles all over her cute button shaped nose, wrinkled it up in disgust as she then went over and sat herself down on the vacant kitchen chair beside him. She wasn't a scholar, nor was she ever interested in anything of an academic nature. This girl had extremely well off parents who gave her what she needed and more, so she had no desire at all to carve out even a semblance of a living for herself or to find her own way in this big wide world.
All she had ever been interested in, from quite an early age, was having oodles of fun, smoking pot and getting laid by smart, vulnerable, good looking young men.
And in Art Garfunkel she had found exactly that!
He was the absolute perfect candidate for her little collection. In fact she had congratulated herself many, many times over on acquiring such a perfect specimen!
This guy loved to indulge in more than a joint or two, was very smart in his appearance and was also extremely good looking with his wild, eccentric blonde hair. He also spoke very quietly, had come from a well mannered and respectable family, but was also terribly shy, very insecure and totally lacked in any sort of self confidence whatsoever!
He also had, the most amazing, expressive, dazzling blue eyes that she'd ever seen in anyone before and had therefore become totally and utterly captivated by them.
Yes...... She had definitely hit the jackpot with this one, that was for sure, or so she had thought.
When Emily Epstien invited her new acquisition to her home for a few days whilst her parents were away on a business trip, she had no idea that he would be bringing along his entire classroom with him as well!
Art Garfunkel had turned up at her door with a rucksack bulging full of what she had first thought were his clothes, several bottles of liquor and a shed load of pot. She was disappointed, to say the very least, to find it actually contained school books of all things!
Emily had laughed at the contents and thought it was an elaborate joke on his part, in trying to seem ultra intelligent. She told him that she didn't really care about any of that sort of stuff and said it was a stupid thing for him to do, carrying such heavy, cumbersome items half way across New York City just to prove something to her. And anyway she then had told him that he wouldn't in fact have anytime for studying or anything like that, after what she had in mind for him!
Unbeknown to Emily though, Art Garfunkel was deadly serious about his studying. He was actually in the middle of doing a math degree, hoping to one day perhaps become a teacher or a professor of some kind.
Art loved to study, almost as much as he loved smoking pot but at this moment his priority was to get this assignment done so that he could move on to the next one.
"What are you studying anyway?". She yawned lazily leaning over him to look at the papers, haphazardly picking one of them up.
Art sighed as he took it back off her.
"Is it Math?". She asked, in a disgusted voice, "Urgh....... That was my least favourite subject in school. Why would you want to study something like that for? It's so tediously boring".
Again Art sighed.
"Because....... I actually find it very interesting". He said, without looking up.
Emily leaned over him, placed her head onto his bare shoulder and looked up at his array of curly blonde locks.
"Do you wanna know something". She said dreamily, "You really don't have to waste your time doing any of this sort of stuff you know, you could actually be anything you wanted to be, just by being you...... did you know that?".
He smiled to himself.
"Is that so". He said, as he continued to write.
"Hell yeah". She said, now looking down at what he was writing but unable to understand any of it.
"It's also a very well known fact that left handed people simply have way more creativity and natural ability within themselves than boring old right handed ones".
She then added, noticing that Artie was actually writing with his left hand.
He smiled again, but still did not look up, as he now asked :
"So which hand do you use then?".
Emily let out a little giggle, before leaning into him a little closer.
"Which ever one you would like me to use handsome. I'm pretty adept with either hand......... I thought you knew that!".
She then giggled some more.
"I meant to write with". He sighed.
"Oh, that's boring". She said, "I don't write anything down if I can possibly avoid it, besides there's much more use for hands other than for holding pencils".
Artie smiled again and shook his head. He was now finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate now, especially with her commenting like this, so he now straightened up and then leaned back in the chair, putting down the pencil he had been using as he did so. He then took off his black framed glasses and set them down neatly in front of him on the papers.
"Ooh....... Now That's much better". She cooed, "Now I can see those wonderful blue eyes of yours a lot more clearly".
"You're very sweet". Art then said, reaching up to push a hand into the softness of her auburn hair.
"I know". She grinned, happy now that she had got his full, undivided attention again. "But I am serious about what I said before you know, you could be absolutely anything, if you set your mind to it".
She then went on.
"And what makes you say that?". He asked, his twinkling blue eyes searching the whole of her face.
Emily blushed. She thought his eyes were so amazingly beautiful and he had that unusual way of looking at her sometimes, which made her feel as if she was the single most important person in the whole, wide world that really mattered to him and somehow she liked that.
"Well......". She said, now nestling into his shoulder a bit more, "You do have this very unique aura about you, it's a very profound one, you know, a sort of magnitism".
"Magnitism?". Art repeated, "Isn't that a bit of a made up word?".
"Well...... It might be". She shrugged, "Who really cares, I just know that you have it. You also have some really interesting qualities hidden deep within your soul and I don't mean academically either. There's something more, something....... Oh I don't know, maybe really creative or something, a talent perhaps. I just have this feeling about you".
She then started to laugh, as if embarrassed somehow in what she was about to say next:
"You know..... I do have this gut feeling........... That one day you're gonna be really famous for something".
Art gave a little smile.
"You over estimate me".
He said, releasing his hand from her hair and now trying to edge himself away from her to look at his books once again.
But Emily was having none of it and pulled at his arm.
"Please, let's go back to bed. I'm bored with watching you studying, let's get stoned and spend the rest of the day making love".
She grinned excitedly.
"As tempting as that sounds". He smiled back at her, "I've honestly got to have this finished, sooner rather than later. Its important to me".
"So am I, aren't I". She cooed, now forcing one of her hands to stroke the upper part of his bare right thigh.
Art exhaled deeply and turned to look at her and again she blushed, as she continued to stroke at him.
"Look....... Of course you are". He spoke softly, now reaching down to take hold her hand that was now stroking, tantalisingly close to his private area.
"And your kind and your very sweet but..........". He suddenly said, now abruptly moving her hand away from him.
"I really do have to finish this".
He now felt exasperated by her demands and Emily could now tell that there was no shifting him.
"Okay, okay". She relented sadly, putting her both hands up, as if in surrender, "I'll go make us a coffee, then I will just sit here quietly until you've finished your school work".
Art smiled at her and nodded his head.
"I would appreciate that". He said.
"Then, when you're done, can we get back to enjoying the next couple of days?".
Again Art nodded and blinked slowly at her.
But as she got up from off the chair and moved towards where the coffee cups were situated, Art now started to think about what she had just said him, the thing about being able to do anything that he wanted.
Now tapping a pencil between his teeth he was actually finding it quite hard to get back into his studying, her words kept coming back into his head. This was very unusual for him, because usually he was quite able to shut himself off from any sort of distractions and concentrate his mind fully on the job of studying.
But not now, not at this very moment. This girl had somehow inadvertently jolted something that had lay hidden deep within his memory and had made him remember about some very special moments shared with one very special person whom he had held in very high regard and also had a very deep affection for. It was also something that, at the time he thought that he wanted, something that was once so very important to him and then suddenly wasn't anymore.
He now began to wonder if, in fact it was still very much there!
Emily came back with two cups of hot steaming coffee and placed them both onto the table. Then sat back down on the chair opposite to Artie, putting her feet up onto the seat and leaning back. She was a lithe, skinny shaped girl, quite small in stature also, so she was quite able to sit in this position with ease. She also had been expecting Art to be busily writing stuff down by now, scribbling things down, solving problems and flicking through his text books, but he was not. Instead all he was doing was just sitting there, tapping the pencil he was holding idly within his fingertips and staring into space.
She gawped at him.
"Big problem?". She now asked, taking her mug of coffee up to her lips.
She obviously thought that he'd come across a question in his paper that he was finding particularly hard to answer, which was quite odd really, because when she had seen him studying before, he had always been in full flow.
Artie leaned back in his chair once again and let out a deep breath.
"Yes, a huge one in fact". He answered without looking at her.
Emily now suddenly realised that he was not talking about the math subject, but something a little more personal.
"Care to share?". She asked.
Art moved uncomfortably in his chair.
He wasn't much for speaking about personal feelings or thoughts as such. He was a young man, he found it difficult. But this girl had inadvertently hit upon something that had reignited deep down feelings within him. Things he thought he'd actually forgotten about, things that had been buried so deep within him, that he thought they'd never resurface ever again. He had found them to be exceptionally hard to even think rationally about, never mind speaking of, as it was both awkward and difficult and also really quite painful.
Maybe it was time to open up, even just a little bit. Release the tensions and the anxieties that had laid dormant inside his head.
It might even help him to understand........ Why?
He took in a very deep breath:
"I don't suppose you've ever trusted someone so very much and been so incredibly in tune with them, that you almost thought as one person have you?".
He asked.
Emily frowned.
"No...... Can't say I ever have". She shrugged.
"So..... I take it that you haven't experienced such a deep closeness with one other person that you could almost tell what they were about to say before they actually even said it, or you knew exactly what they were thinking just by being in the same room as them".
Art explained, now looking more closely at her.
Emily shook her head.
"No, never. Look where are you going with all of this?". She asked.
Emily was a little taken a back by Art's sudden revelations. She hadn't expected him to be coming out with any of this but she somehow knew that it had got nothing to do with her own relationship with him.
To be fair, they hardly knew one another, never mind be that much in synch.
"Well......". He began slowly, "I did. I once had such a relationship with someone and it was so very intense that it now seems to have had a long lasting impact on me".
"Oh, I....... see". Emily said slowly. "And what did she do to you then? Go off with some other guy?".
Artie looked hard at her for a moment and immediately thought it somewhat strange that she had wrongly assumed it must have been a female he was talking about.
"I can somehow see it within you that you'd get hurt really bad if a girl did the dirty on you". She went on. "You have that sensitive thing going on that most guys just don't have!".
Artie looked down and smiled shyly to himself.
"No..... You really have. Its quite unusual for me to be around someone who thinks so deeply like you do. Its a rare commodity you know". She went on.
"It can be a burden". Artie mumbled, his face falling serious again.
"So? What happened then?". Emily went on, taking another sip from her mug.
"What did she do to you?".
Artie shook his head and gave a slight smile of amusement to himself, that Emily should continue to presume that it was in fact a love affair he'd once had with a girl that had affected him so very deeply.
Of course in Art Garfunkel's case it was not.
It might have been easier for him if it had of been a girl which had caused him such pain and heartbreak, it might even have been so much easier for him to come to terms with!
He gave a deep sigh.
"Oh, It was the usual, you know". He then mumbled, not wishing to elaborate too much.
"Yeah, well I figured as much". Emily said, now slinking from off the chair and making her way towards the biscuit barrel at the other end of the kitchen worktop.
"You see". She went on, "That's why I don't believe in all that serious shit that everyone else seems to be into. It just doesn't cut it for me".
Artie watched impassively, as she now dipped a slender hand into the ceramic, lion shaped top of the biscuit barrel and took out a couple. She held one up towards Artie as she offered him one but he politely shook his head.
"The way I see see it.....". She went on, taking a bite from one of them before making her way back to her seated position on the chair once again.
"That sort of namby pamby, falling in love shit is totally for losers. It's the sort of nonsense rubbish that so many people think about, crave for and yearn after all the while and where does it get you in the end?".
"Well..... It can be a fulfilling experience though". Artie mumbled.
"Yeah, until it all goes tits up, which in most cases it does". Emily said.
"Take what you are going through now! You're a prime example! I myself can't be doing with all that heartbreak shit. It's so not worth my time and energy, that's why I avoid falling in actual love. I suspect you already knew that about me anyway, what with you being so astute and all that!".
Art nodded in agreement with her, before she carried on:
"You see, most people, they are actually brainwashed into believing that being in love is the single most important thing ever! And it's not!".
"Isn't it?". Artie asked with a slight grin.
"Of course it isn't!". Emily snapped.
"I suppose you've been brainwashed into believing it is too".
Artie shook his head at her, totally perplexed about how she seemingly perceived things, things that he certainly did not himself, believe in.
Wasn't being in love the most wonderful thing ever?
"So? You must have been totally and utterly so deeply in love with this girl then? You know, for you to still be feeling this way about her". Went on Emily.
Artie gave a little cough and moved about sort of uncomfortably in his chair.
In love?
He didn't think so. But he certainly felt a great deal of affection for this one particular person.
"And see where its now got you?". Emily ranted on, "You're all at sixes and sevens about you're feelings for her. You still miss her terribly, yet she's not around anymore and now you don't know how to feel about it. Whether you're happy it's all over with or whether your sad, despondent, depressed or just plain old relieved. You really have no idea now, just how to feel.
And that's because you've been manipulated and brainwashed ".
Artie took his mug of coffee to his lips and looked over its rim at the girl sat opposite to him.
" And just who have I been manipulated and brainwashed by, may I ask? " He said now taking a gentle sip.
" Songwriters". Emily suddenly proclaimed.
Art Garfunkel almost spat the contents of his mouth all over his unfinished assignment and had to swallow quickly in order to prevent it, resulting in a bit of a coughing fit.
"It's not that hard to believe". Scorned Emily.
"I tell you they're the worse".
Artie was shocked and surprised that she had actually come to this conclusion and was now proceeding to wipe down his bare torso with his hand.
"And just how have you managed come to this absurd assumption?". He asked without looking up.
"It's simple". She said, biting into her second biscuit.
Artie now gave her a quizzical look, followed by a deep frown that made long lines appear along his particularly high forehead, waiting for her to at least explain her findings.
"Look...... Its such an airy fairy world out there, that these so called songwriters have somehow decided that they would like to capitalise on people's feelings. They just love to wax lyrical about love and finding love and falling in love and being in love, all of that sort of stuff, when what it really is, is a pure fabrication of the truth. They're all telling lies!". Emily suddenly announced.
Artie looked down and smiled to himself again. Emily noticed this.
" Well they are! ". She said," All of them. They just sit there, writing down what they think people want to listen to, songs about finding true love and then staying faithful, true and loyal forever and ever........ Amen!".
Artie began to laugh.
"I don't think that's a very fair assumption". He muttered.
"Yeah! Well I think it is!". She scoffed. "And totally justified".
Artie again shook his head at her.
"I have to disagree with you on that one, I'm afraid". He then said.
"Although the majority of songs are written about relationships ....... Not all songwriting is about love you know".
"Well then? Mr. Smarty pants....... How many songwriters have you known?". She suddenly asked him.
Artie raised his head up, very quickly.
He hadn't ever told her anything about his previous life. Not a damn thing about being on the very verge of future pop stardom with his close songwriting friend. He didn't actually think it was relevant enough to let her in on this aspect of his life.
It was important to him and him only.
He certainly wouldn't want it to be ridiculed or patronised by her or anyone else for that matter, although he did find it interesting that she had chosen this particular scenario to put her point across.
"I'm just saying that's all, that not every song you hear on the radio are songs about love ". He said gently.
"Umph...... Mainly it is". She said, "Just look at you! You're living proof by now having these painful things going on inside your head, not to mention your heart being broken into a million little pieces. I tell you....... These songwriters have a heck of a lot to answer for! ".
Artie looked down.
He wasn't absolutely sure that it was the songs that had been the source of his pain, but one thing was definitely for sure........ It certainly was the songwriter!
This girl had really hit the nail on the head in some respect, although she would not have anyway of knowing it and Artie definitely wanted to keep it that way.
So he gave another deep, inward breath. Trying to prevent his feelings of hurt, pain and betrayal from coming up to the surface. But it was so much harder than he had first thought it would be as now tears begun to suddenly sting at his eyes.
He puffed out his cheeks and again moved uncomfortably in his chair as a soft, delicate, gentle hand now folded around one of his.
Art looked up.
"It's okay". Emily soothed. "I do know you're still hurting over her, that's plainly obvious. But you can be rest assured that I'm not about hurting anyone. I'm here for a bit of fun and nothing more, you understand that don't you. If you're still hurting over her....... Well, you're still hurting. I'm just here for fun".
Art looked over at Emily and smiled wryly, his eyes were now wetted with tears.
"Awwww....... Just look at those blue eyes of yours". She soothed.
"How could anyone have made you feel and look so sad. She must have really, really hurt you...... Right?". Emily asked, somewhat cautiously.
Art looked down and once again shuffled uneasily in his chair, as he now smiled to himself.
"Yeah, I got hurt". He said without looking up,
"But I also got very angry about things too. You could say that I got totally Incensed by what happened".
He took in a breath.
"I got betrayed you see. Selfishly betrayed and I can never forgive that ".
"Oh...... my". Emily looked at him in wonder.
Although they hadn't known one another all that long, she found this sort of revelation by him really quite hard to believe.
Art, she had somehow presumed was an extremely placid, laid back, gentle sort of guy. The type of person who would not particularly rise to anything that most people would find themselves getting annoyed by. He was always so calm and totally relaxed but she was beginning to see there were some hidden depths behind those beautiful, kind and sincere eyes of his.
"Did...... Did she know how much she'd hurt you?". Emily asked, cautiously.
Art turned to look at her, right into her eyes but this time she did not blush. She was appalled to think that someone would actually hurt this most nicest of guys and she really needed him to open up a little bit more to her.
He then looked back down again, twisting the pencil he now had in his hands , nervously around and around in his fingertips.
He then took in another breath.
"No. I never said a word". He said, quietly, "I just............. Well, let's just say the relationship broke down after that. It's since then left me with severe trust issues and I mean big, huge trust issues".
He took in a big breath, as if he was trying to hold back his tears or something, Emily couldn't really be sure, but he was certainly feeling very emotional about all of this.
"Betrayal, to me anyway is the single most harmful thing that one person could do to another. Its as simple as that". He explained.
He took in another large breath and Emily looked deeper into the attractiveness of his wonderful blue eyes to see if there was any semblance of more wetting. There didn't appear to be any and she therefore thought that probably he was just trying to compose himself a little.
"It will never go away, what was done to me. It will always be there............. No matter what". He then added.
Emily continued to stare at him, unable to believe that someone could be like that towards somebody like Artie.
She thought he was akin to a puppy. A sort of vulnerable, defenseless puppy who had been beaten and kicked around and she wondered what sort of a person could actually do that to him.
"Well I hate her". She suddenly cursed. "I really hate her for doing that to you!".
Art looked under his eyes at her. He did not raise his head. He almost seemed hurt that she had said that to him.
"It's not a very nice emotion that". He said gently, "Hate will eat you up inside, gnaw away at your very soul and in the end destroy your every existence. That is why I chose to say absolutely nothing at all".
"Well, I would have knocked her block off!". Emily retaliated.
"No, you wouldn't have, anyway it's best left alone, stored in the past, maybe for some future reference, something to learn from I guess". He smiled, sitting back up straighter now and leaning towards her.
"So you're never going to allow yourself to ever get serious with anyone else ever again then". Emily sighed. "Just because of her!".
"I really have no real desire to....... no". Art continued to smile. "Its just a lot easier to stay away from that kind of thing you know. That way you won't get hurt, it won't tear you up inside when you realise the pain of betrayal. It just makes more sense to try and live out a quieter, happy, solitary existence without all the eventual heartache that a close relationship that you once thought you had with someone, ends so abruptly and permanently". He continued seriously.
"That's why I've decided to lose myself in all of this. Studying helps me to elevate all the pain, to study so hard, to lose yourself within books and words so that it's just me and me alone that I have to deal with".
Emily stared hard at him.
"It's a real pity that". She whispered, "You seem like the type of guy who still has so much love to give, but you also need it back too. You crave love and acceptance, but I can also tell that you somehow felt that you had quite a lot to live up to with her".
"That's very true". Smiled Artie.
"Yeah, I think that somehow she had put you up on a kind of pedestal....... Or something like that at first, idolised you maybe....... then somehow she must have found her own self confidence in some way, maybe through you and then selfishly left you high and dry".
Artie nodded his head slowly.
"That's about the sum of it". He mused, pressing a finger now to his lips.
Emily smiled at him.
"I can see you have been severely crushed by her. But I'm sure you'll learn to trust again some day. Not everyone will be like how she was towards you, you know".
"I know". Art nodded slowly, although he didn't really believe this.
"You will be able to let yourself go again, it may not seem it at the moment....... But it will happen. Someone will come along and will love and adore you for who you are and not for their own self esteem and you will love again, especially yourself. Please do not allow this girl to ruin you as a person. You know, the way I see it, she's the one who has all of the problems........ Not you".
Artie shook his head slowly and smiled.
He didn't have the heart to actually tell her that it was in fact a guy and not a girl who had put him through all of these conflicting emotions, besides if he tried to correct her now, it would come across as strangely weird.
He took in a large breath.
"Have you ever considered a career?........ You know in psychoanalysis?".
"No". Emily laughed out loud.
"Because you'd be very good at it....... Excellent in fact". Smiled Artie.
Emily puffed out her chest.
"Really? Do you think so?". She asked, "Well... I suppose it comes with having a very good listening ear and then trying to help out problem guys like yourself, who seem to find themselves having".
She was now smiling broadly at Artie.
"So?...... Have I got you right then?". She asked him.
"Remarkably so". Artie grinned back at her.
"Yes.....its a bit scary to be quite honest".
"Good". She smiled, "Then I hope you'll do something about it. Live a little............. learn to love again, you know.......... Enjoy yourself a bit. She shouldn't be the only relationship you ever have. Jesus.......... You're a good looking guy, you should use it to your advantage and try to forget all about her and her stupid, ridiculous betrayal ".
Artie nodded his head slowly as if he was coming to terms with everything she was now telling him.
Then he smiled at her.
" You know I'm right ". She then added.
Then she continued to look up towards his curly blonde hair, taking it all in as if she was scrutinising every little twist within it, before then taking her hand up towards his head and gently entwining her fingers within his locks
"I simply love your hair". She whispered, quietly.
He now turned to look at her.
"Do you know something, You've just made me realise something very important this afternoon". He said, seriously.
He then looked so hard and deeply into her eyes that the poor girl blushed like never before as she now released her fingertips from his hair.
"You've made me feel as if I should start to believe in myself a bit more, you know if I want to be a teacher or something like that, then perhaps I really could be". He went on.
She smiled at him, her blush though was as strong as ever.
"I told you, I can see a real talent........ Somewhere deep within you. You just have to realise it for yourself". She whispered in reply.
Then cupping the side of his handsome face with her hand, it was now Emily's turn to look into his eyes.
"Now then, are you coming back to bed with me or what?". She asked, seductively.
She then stood up slowly and entwined her small, slightly freckled hand into his.
Artie began to get to his feet, hesitantly at first and glancing back at all the paperwork left on the table.
The gentle tug of persuasion on his hand made him now realise that in fact he was not in any sort of mood now to continue with anymore studying.
The lure from this very prettiest of girls had now got too much for him and the things she had said to him now made it impossible for him to continue with his studying. He had a lot of pent up emotion now that needed to find its release, so he figured that his school work could, for the time being at least, wait for a little while longer.