Just give in...
Don't give up, baby
Open up your heart and your mind to me
Just know when
That glass is empty,
That the world is gonna bend...

I slowly opened the door to find Dahlia, paintbrush in hand, humming softly to the song playing on her small iPod on the dock.
The canvas was filled in streaks of vibrant colors, also mixing in with darker colors.
The vibrant red clashed with the royal blue, as if the two colors were fighting for dominance.

Sensing my presence, Dahlia quickly turned around, a smile on her heart shaped face. Small specks of paint on her faded Owl City shirt and sweatpants. Her hair was tied into a bun to prevent paint getting into it.

"Oh! Hey Roman."

"Hey kiddo. Just checking on you. " I answered awkwardly, feeling bad for interrupting her while painting.

"I didn't mean to annoy or scare you,-" I was quickly interrupted by her.

"No, it's fine! You can stay if you want. I haven't seen my siblings in years. You're anything but annoying."

Shrugging, I decide to go ahead and sit down on the side of the bed, watching her continue to paint her canvas. She also resumed humming and slightly dancing along with the song.
As I looked around her room, I noticed how it didn't take a lot of time for her to add her own personal touch to it. Pictures hung around the room, along with quite a few beautiful pieces of her previous work in painting.

Each had it's own theme a meaning, but there was one in particular that caught my eye.
It was a beautiful forest, each and every detail of the painting was done accurately, obviously completed over time with a vast amount of patience. The sun was brighter than ever, giving life to each leaf on every tree, a glitter of the reflection from the small pond nearby.

Dahlia and I talked, mainly catching up to years we spent, separated from each other.
She told me about her career, the obstacles and tedious work she had to face to get where she is now.

It was now quiet, hours had quickly gone by. It was now dark outside, but the painting of the forest was still in my head. I finally decided to ask her about it.

"I don't really know where it came from exactly. I remember having a dream about it a few days prior, but the imaged stayed exactly where it was. I couldn't get my mind off of it, I couldn't focus past those trees in my head. I finally decided to paint it, not wanting it anything less than perfect. The second I set my paintbrush down, a weight was lifted from my shoulders. It was as if I had to do it, like I had no other choice." She told me, a proud smile flashing on her face as she glanced at her artwork.

---

I glanced at the clock, sighing when I noticed how it was already 8pm. Andy heard my sigh and he looked at me, slightly concerned.

"What's wrong?" He asked cautiously, feeling as if he had done something wrong.
I looked over to him.

"It's already 8. I didn't think that the day would go by so fast.." I say, trailing off.

A slightly relieved smile spread across his face, mixed with humor at my words.

"Yeah, they say that time flies when you're having a good fucking time." He says, now looking over to me.

"You got a curfew or something? Is Roman gonna be mad?" He teases, smirking.

I laughed a little. We had spent the day together, Ashley, Angel, CC, Cristo, Andy, and I.
Bane didn't want to go, and Cielo wasn't feeling well. Jake and Jinxx were both spending the day with their girlfriends, Ella and Sammi. We hadn't met them yet, but it was definitely something I was looking forward to. The remainder of us had decided to spend the day at starbucks and shopping, doing and talking about a bunch of shit. We all had a great time. Andy was now driving in his car, with me in the passenger's side, music playing on the radio.

"It's not that. I just have a shitload of things to do tomorrow, so I'm gonna need plenty of sleep and a bunch of Monster energy drinks to be able to function." I smile and lay my head on the window, watching the road ahead of me.

Andy nods a bit and is quiet as he turns a few corners and eventually pulls up in front of my house.

I thanked him for the great time I had throughout the day and reached out my arm to open the car door when his hand was on mine. It wasn't forceful and too sudden, like Jason's. I shuddered a little at the memory, but I pushed the feeling aside as I looked to Andy.

"When can I see you again?" He asked softly.

"Soon, I'm sure. I'm just gonna be really busy tomorrow. Why?"

He quickly shook his head, his long black teased hair swinging from side to side and he smiled.

"You're a really cool person to hang out with. An awesome friend to talk to. We need to have days like this a lot more often." He says. He released his hand from mine.

I nod in agreement as I open the door, stepping out. "I promise. We'll do this a lot more often. Hopefully with the rest of the guys." He nods also.

We exchange our goodbye's and I walk to the door of the house, unlocking it with my key. I enter the house, watching the car drift off into the night as it disappeared. I closed the door and headed upstairs. I heard Roman and Dahlia talking in her room.

Deciding to go talk to them for a bit, I opened the door to find Dahlia sitting in an office chair and Roman laying on her bed, listening to her while looking at the artwork in the room.

Notes

So Happy I Could Die- Lady Gaga.
I apologize for the short chapter and the long wait. Chapters may be slow this month due to upcoming events, but once this shit is all over, I promise to update more often.