You put your arms around me and I'm home.

-Unknown

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'When we first started hanging out,' Gavin began.

I raised an eyebrow at his choice of words.

'I used to think you would never leave but now I'm honestly surprised when you show up.' He finished.

'Hanging out? Really? That's what you decided to go with?' I arched an unimpressed eyebrow.

'And that's all you got from the sentence? Really?' He mimicked. 'I guess we're both just that bad.'

'Touché.' I grinned.

He smirked.

'So who or what are you going to draw?' I asked.

His hipster art teacher has asked the entire class to draw something or someone that inspires them while she lounges lazily in the chair. She didn't say the lounging part out loud but that's what she's doing. Apparently that's a very teacher-ly thing to do.

'Dunno.' He shrugged.

'I keep telling you, draw Asia. Girls like that.'

He shot me a pointed look.

'Okay. Okay. I get it. You were asked to draw someone who inspires you and that's what you're going to do.' I put my hands up in the universal sign of surrender. He nodded in response.

He picked up a brush and dipped it in a mixture of fiery red paint and then orange.

Unable to help myself, I continued. 'But people might start to look at you weirdly if you keep drawing Kelsey all the time. Incest, as disgusting as it sounds, is a thing.'

He paused, paintbrush in the air, barely touching the canvas. He shot me a playful challenging grin over the top of his canvas.

'What makes you think I'm painting Kelsey?'

I would've asked if he was painting his mother but he would've told me if that was the case. He was painting someone or something else.

I frowned.

I want to know.

I tried peeking at the painting but he blocked my view with his long trim body so I had no choice but to wait and see.

I did not like that choice.

Trying to guess didn't help much because he kept dipping the paintbrush in red and orange and I couldn't think of anyone who had hair that colour or wore clothes that colour apart from me. And I already know that I don't inspire him.

I blackmail him which is so much more fun. And its also a lot easier too.

I tried to ignore the unwanted feeling in my chest. It was making wish I was the one he was drawing.

He can draw whatever he wants. That's his problem. Besides I'm sure whoever he draws will be some boring good-for-nothing do-gooder. Ha! Good for him!

And no one like do-gooders anyways!

Except those who benefit from their good doing.

And those who don't have to do stuff because the do-gooders did it already.

Oh who am I kidding? Everyone likes do-gooders to an extent.

Unknowingly, my lips formed into a petulant yet cute pout. The kind I would never be able to pull of if I was actually trying to.

Suddenly, Gavin's face broke into a beautiful wide smile.

Unconsciously, I returned his smile. 'What?'

'Nothing.' He shook his head but the smile on his face didn't diminish.

'You don't just smile like that for no reason. What is it?' I asked.

'You'll see.' His smile took on a mischievous teasing edge as he returned to his painting.

He was smiling because of the painting. An annoyed frown slid onto my face.

Who the hell is he painting anyway?

He had the stupid smile on till he completed the painting. I propped my chin on my hands stared out the window sulkily.

When he finished his dumb painting, he dropped the brush with exaggerated flourish. The students sitting close by shot him a questioning look.

'You done?' One of them asked.

Gavin nodded with a proud all too pleased grin on his face.

Whoever it is he drew must be really special for him to be smiling like a spitting camel that hit it's target.

Do camels smile? Who cares. I don't even want to know who he drew anymore.

Why do I want it to be me? What I want is for him to stay away from me not to inspire him! Come on Vasilisa! Get your head in the game. It's not like he even thinks of me in that way. Jeez, we girls are completely indecisive and just a little messed up.

The exaggerated gasp of one the students brought me out of my musings.

'Dude, that is...' He fumbled, as if he couldn't find the right words. It didn't help that he was referring to the drawing.

My mood took a swift nosedive.

The boy eventually settled for, 'Wow!'

I rolled my eyes.

'Gavin this is... It's beautiful.' Girl 1 whispered reverently.

I hissed. I couldn't help it. The green-eyed monster reared it's ugly head.

I can't believe I'm jealous because some human made a painting. Okay, admittedly Gavin isn't just some human and its not just any painting. Its the painting of the person that inspires the guy I kinda maybe might possibly more than like.

But I'm an awesome half witch half ghost for heaven's sake. I should be better than this!

Obviously you're not.

Shut up, subconscious! Now is not the time for your honest self analysis.

'It's the best painting I've ever seen.' Girl 2 piped.

'Who is she?' Girl 3 asked quietly as if it was against some unknown law of nature to speak normally in the presence of the damn drawing.

I scoffed.

'Someone who inspires the heck out of me. But she doesn't know it. Yet.' Gavin replied with a secret smile.

'She's beautiful. The painting is amazing.' Girl 2 said.

'Are you guys... Are you two together?' Girl 1 asked.

'If you're not, hook me up bro.' One of the boys piped up. The scathing glare Gavin shot him would've been enough to shut even me up.

Who the hell is this girl that he feels protective towards? God, I hate her already!

'We're just friends.' He growled in a tone that showed that friends was far from what he felt for her.

Pickaxes, torches, scythes, hand them here people. I am killing this girl this very instant so help me God.

'Sure. You're just friends.' Girl 2 drawled, rolling her eyes.

'Hook me up, dude.' Boy 3 goaded.

'Don't you have a painting to get to?' Gavin ground out with a hard look. His hostile remark served to disperse the group.

One thing I was happy for.

As soon as the group dispersed he turned his attention to me. A teasing smirk in place.

'What?' I scowled.

An all too smug smirk slid onto his face.

'Don't you want to know who I drew? You seemed very interested a few minutes ago.' He said innocently.

'Well I'm not interested anymore.' I all but snapped.

'Well I think you'll be interested in this particular painting.' He said with a secret smile as if he'd guessed that jealousy was the reason why I didn't want to see the painting anymore.

I scowled, resisting as he steered me towards the painting.

'What in heaven's name did you paint anyway?' I asked, my curiosity warring with the green-eyed monster I've come to hate.

It's better if I know anyway. That way I can put myself out of my misery plus I'll have someone to direct my jealousy at. It's a win-win for me. Not so much for her but that's what she gets for for stealing the guy I kinda maybe might kinda like.

A steely resolve swept through me as I let myself be dragged to the front of the painting.

I'll hate her whoever she is. That's guaranteed. There's no stopping it.

'You're gonna have to open your eyes if you want to see the painting.' Gavin's voice brought me out of my musings.

I didn't even realize I had screwed my eyes shut.

Oh sweet heavens, I'm not ready to see her. I can't do this. I don't want to know who she is. If I do, it'll break that body organ which must not be named.

'I don't want to see the painting. I don't want to know who she is.' I said in a choked whisper.

'I think you do.' He said softly. 'Open your eyes Vasilisa.'

Because I can't seem to control myself where Gavin's concerned, my eyes opened against my will. Damn it.

I glanced at him with an open vulnerable look that I normally wouldn't be caught dead with but my heart was going to be shattered in few seconds so I was as good as dead anyway.

Funny. I lived two hundred years as a ghost and seventeen years as a human before that and never once have I been so certain of heartbreak. Sure, I came close once with my best friend but nothing ever happened. Even then I wasn't stupid enough to actually let him get that close but somehow, just somehow Gavin managed to blow all my defenses to smithereens and now he's about to do the same to my heart by showing me a painting of the girl who inspires him. A girl he no doubt cares about more than a friend. A girl who isn't me.

With that sobering thought, I opened my eyes. Might as well get the heartbreak over and done with.

Dragging my gaze away from Gavin turned out to be much harder than I expected and dragging it to the cursed painting took even more effort.

'What!' My jaw fell to the ground.

A genuine smile slid onto his face.

A soft answering smile tugged at my lips once I managed to pick my jaw off the ground.

'That's me.' I whispered softly. 'You painted me.'

'I was to paint someone who inspires me and you inspire in so many ways. You have for a long time now.' He replied.

'What? How? All I do is blackmail you, boss you around and get on your nerves as much as I can.' I frowned. 'Why did you paint me?'

'Because I know you. The real Vasilisa. Not the person you let everyone see.'

'What do you mean?' I asked, feigning ignorance even though a sinking feeling settled in my gut.

He can't possibly mean what I think he means. There's no way he could've found out. I was careful.

'I know Vasilisa. I know.'

'Know what?' I asked doing my best to not look like someone who was hiding something.

'That you spend your nights fixing up the homeless centre so the women there have a more enjoyable stay. And I know that you help the old couple who live at the end of the block to fix all the broken fixtures in their house because they don't have any children to do it for them. And I know you....'

'Stop. Stop. Just stop.' I whispered, my eyes prickling.

'What?' He asked.

'When you put it like that, it seems like I did something good but I just did what anyone else would've done. It was nothing special.'

'So you say. Yet no one did it. Except you. You're amazing. I know that. What I don't understand is why you try to hide it.'

'I...' The words got stuck in my throat and I choked.

'Let's talk somewhere private.' I said on noticing the weird looks everyone was giving Gavin.

I meant the deserted hallways but when Gavin led the way to his car, I followed. Because when it comes to Gavin, I have no self-control.