The Bad Boy's Muse

Ever had a boyfriend?

Rohan’s POV

I was seething with anger; I have never felt this way before. Helpless, insulted and immensely jealous. In all of my life as a teenager, I have never been in a situation where a girl stood me up or preferred me to someone else. Apart from how absurd it sounds; I also feel like I just lost something Important and I hate to fail so much. Memories of Grace laughing and clinging on Steve was fresh in my memories till I got to the house. I just wanted some alone time and I knew what I needed to do.

One of the beauties of staying with the Gupta is being able to explore without being stopped. Mr Gupta had discovered my obsession for arts and quickly converted his garage into a mini studio for me. I accessed the garage from outside the house punching in the combination before stepping in as soon as the door swooshed opened. I dumped my bag on the floor beside the Canvas and reached out for my pencil; I was angry.

Usually, when I draw, it has always been with a clear and uncluttered mind but today I could feel the heaviness of my heart on the pencil as I sketched. My pencil formed strokes and strokes of things that I have never experienced before; it was as though my pencil had been possessed. Known for my patience and my pertinent desire for details; I was surprised as I began to splash colour all over the canvas.

As I drew, Graces features kept fleeting into my mind’s eyes. Her hazel eyes were filled with curiosity and warmth peeking from well-trimmed eyebrows. Those eyes continued to tease me as I splashed another round of colour swooshing each drip with my brush, I was raving mad. Her smiles, which curved into each chin and reached her eyes would forever be a constant definition of what a dazzling smile means. I continued drawing, pausing occasionally to squirt the colour of whatever it is I was creating. It didn’t make sense at all what I was doing but there was this burning urge to continue with whatsoever I was creating.

Tomorrow, I promised to give Grace a piece of my mind. She has to pick between me and Steve as much as I am sure she would pick me; she should be grateful that I decided to become an option that is not my usual style. I had too much pressure on me to be bothered by trivial things and people like Grace who do not know at face value what it really means to have a Rohan in their life. I had promised Mr Gupta that I was never going to get into trouble of any kind in exchange for the freedom to explore the field of Arts. Probably, my Dad may have given him an insight into what I had done in India which if he knew, he never bothered to show it.

Since coming into the family, I had felt peace and for the first time in a long while, I was truly comfortable with family. Mr Gupta and his wife never failed to display how much they were crazy for each other. His daughters were allowed to explore any area of interest and Mr Gupta once told me that his first child had dabbled into every form of art ever known. Right now, she was crazy about ballet and her parents already gave their blessings. There was warmth at every corner of the house, the banter, the chatter and the gossip were all new when I had first arrived in New York. I didn’t know families did that.

I squirted another round of colour this time around, Grace’s image flitted back into my mind’s eyes. Her platinum blonde air flowing with the wind came into sight as I tried to meet up with her. I wanted Grace to be mine, and I was going to make her mine even if that was the last thing I was going to do. The guttural need to possess her and mark her was so strong that I didn’t know when I hurled the brush away from me, finally done with the drawing.

I was emotionally drained and tired; I had been going on for hours now without realizing how much work I had done. I stared at the painting on the canvas trying to make meaning of it, it made no sense, just an endless circle of lines and spewed colours. Too tired to make sense of it, I picked up my school bag and trudged wearily into the living room.

“I was beginning to wonder what was still keeping you in school. Didn’t know you were working” Mr Gupta smiled sheepishly at me. He was making out with his wife on the couch.

“I came back a while ago and had the strongest desire to do something” I muttered walking towards the kitchen, I was thirsty.

“What’s wrong with you, dear?” Aunt Ada, Mr Gupta’s wife asked.

“Nothing” I muttered gulping down the first glass of water. All that drawing had left me quite thirsty.

“Are you sure? You don’t look so happy?” she came towards me and gazed pitifully at me.

“No, really I am fine, I just had a really bad day. Schoolwork, annoying classmates and tons of assignment. Else, I am fine” I forced a smile hoping she would let me be.

“Alright, your dinner is in the microwave” she waved towards the kitchen and disappeared upstairs.

“Women problems?” Mr Gupta inched his way towards me, finally settling on the stool that stood against the kitchen island.

My heart skipped a beat as I busied myself by turning on the microwave and setting the timer. I was looking for a way to avoid these questions. Back in my house in India, no one basically cared how you fared or why you’re sad. That was perhaps the only advantage.

“Nope!” I shrugged with unease lowering my gaze wishing he wouldn’t stare at me that way.

“C’mon son, it’s got to be a woman problem. You’ve been with us for a while now and I know you don’t just get back from school and go straight to your draw besides all your body is splattered with watercolour. It has never happened before, so spill” Mr Gupta encouraged me.

“Nothing, really” I tried to convince him while his doubtful stares were boring a hole into my face.

“Okay! Just remember that women are complicated creatures and as much as it may sound like a joke, I have enough experience in dealing with things like this. So, it’s best to actually ask me but it’s fine, you can ask me whenever you please, okay” he winked at me went back to the living room, probably to watch football.

I hated how much influence Grace had over me already.

Grace’s POV

I was helping Aunt Harriet to slice carrots in the kitchen; it was the hardest of cooking I had ever done as the bits kept jumping in a different direction. I was getting frustrated already.

“So, how was school today?” Aunt Harriet started.

“School was normal. I made a new friend today” I said as a manner of conversation.

“Wow! that’s pretty fast. So, what’s her name?” she was chopping the green peppers with such precision and expertise that I envied so much.

“It’s a he and his name are Steve” I informed her.

“Uh…uh” she exclaimed with excitement “I knew you had a bit of me in you” she continued.

I laughed in amusement enjoying how normal she was with the revelation that I had a friend.

“So, this Steve, how did you meet?” she looked at me and continued chopping the items on her board.

“Well, I met him in Chemistry class. He walked up to me and introduced himself as Steve Miller. When I wanted to tell him my name, he told me, apparently, the whole school knows me as Grace from England, the girl with an accent” I sighed.

“Wow! you’re born to be a homecoming queen, my darling” Aunt Harriet squealed with delight.

“Uh?” I tilted my head in confusion.

“A homecoming queen is” she started saying.

“I know what a homecoming queen is, Aunt Harriet” I interrupted my aunt with a sigh. It was so annoying when people assume you don’t know certain things “I am a bit confused while you think I will be made one”.

“You’re barely a month in school and you’re already popular. That’s a very good sign” she told me “very soon, a lot of boys including jocks and very popular boys will ask you out and believe me, that’s like a winning point already”.

“I don’t know if I am cut out for all of that” I shrugged my shoulders indifferently “the only thing I am concerned about is getting to classes each day without getting lost and understanding the teachers. I am not sure I want to participate in anything” I was finally done cutting the carrots.

“Okay” Aunt Harriet chuckled behind a knowing smile.

“So, this Steve that you met, is he handsome?” she continued.

“Well, he has good features. Tall, outspoken, extremely jovial and friendly. He wears glasses too and then he told me he’s a nerd with a twist” I told my Aunt who was gazing at me with all curiosity.

“Can I meet him? You could introduce him to me tomorrow after school” Aunt Harriet suggested.

“Okay!” I nodded my head in agreement “I’ll tell him that”.

“No, you don’t have to, all you need to do is to delay him a bit after school by engaging in small talks till I arrive and then you could be like” Aunt Harriet’s voice drooped low as she imitated me “oh! come to say hi to my Aunt” she finished demonstrating “something like that. So, the guy doesn’t feel too important either but I’d like to meet your friend and every other friend you make subsequently.

“Thank you, Aunt Harriet” I smiled my gratitude.

“Ever had a boyfriend?” Aunt Harriet asked after a while.

“No,” I shook my head trying to hide the embarrassed blush rising towards my cheeks.

“Really?” Aunt Harriet eyes bulged in surprise.

I nodded my head.

“When I was your age, I had a boyfriend. His name was Collins and his dad was a squire at that time. We use to sneak out to the garden each night and share a kiss or two. Most days, I go with your mother. She always meets your Dad there too. They were head over heels” she looked wistful.

“Wait!” I tried to take in the information I was getting “Mom snuck into a garden to make out?”.

“Yeah! she was the wild one at first until I joined much later” Aunt Harriet gave me a wink.

“It’s hard to imagine that” I chuckled. Trying to imagine my mother sneaking into a garden to meet a boy. She was so principled and wore her disapproval on her face.

“You cannot begin to imagine what she’s capable of, anyway, I could tell you bit by bit if you promise to keep things between us” Aunt Harriet eyed me.

“I promise” I lifted my right hand.

“Alright, Grace” Aunt Harriet chuckled.

I couldn’t wait to hear all my mom’s stories.