John's POV

Alex went to law school for the first time last week, and all he's been able to talk about is how great it is there. I would chuckle at the little smarty pants every time his eyes lit up about some new thing he learned, and it only made me more nervous for my school. 

He loved it, but he was smart. Way smart. 

He talked about the pressure the professors put on him, and I wasn't sure I was ready for that. Not that I was babied in high school, it just wasn't as big a deal.

"Look at my artist! He's all grown up, doing what he wants to do." Alex giggles from the bed. I turn and see him sitting up, rubbing his eyes. 

I threw my hoodie on and then went and sat next to him, holding his hand. "I thought you'd sleep in a bit more, since you don't have any classes today." I say.

He shrugs. "I did sleep in, it's almost eight in the morning." I chuckle and roll my eyes. 

"I will never understand you, Lex." I tell him. 

"Whatever, you don't need to understand me to love me. Are you excited for art school?"

I sigh anxiously and he squeezes my hand gently. "I'm excited, really, but so nervous. I did nothing all of high school, and now I'm going to a school that's actually important?" 

He smiles gently at me. "I think you'll be fine. You're mainly focusing on art classes, which should be fun and easy for you, considering how amazing at art you are." 

I blush a bit. "Lex, I'm not that-"

"Don't you even finish that sentence. Look around at these walls and tell me they aren't beautifully painted." He raises an eyebrow. 

I look around at all the flowers and nature painted onto our walls and smile gently. I point at a poorly drawn red flower. "That one's my favorite." I tease. 

He looks at it and rolls his eyes. "Shut up, I'm a nerd, not an artist. That's your expertise." 

"And yet you wanted so badly to add one flower of your own there." I say, leaning my head on his shoulder as I look at the wall. 

He shrugs me off. "Whatever, go finish getting ready so you're not late. I'll go make us coffee." He gets out of bed and I chuckle and finish getting ready. After I got everything together and drank my coffee with Alex, I gave him a quick kiss and walked out the door, driving to the Jersey City Art School.

I step onto campus and examine my surroundings carefully, not sure what to think. I never liked school before, but I was hoping I could focus on something I actually wanted to do. I had to do this.

I take a deep breath and walk to my first class, looking around me at all the students. So many different people here, no one looked the same. It made me smile. I felt welcomed. 

When I enter my first class, there are no desks anywhere. Just couches near the walls and art supplies scattered across tables and easels in the middle of the room. I smile gently and take a seat at the end of one of the couches, next to a blonde-haired girl with green eyes and pale skin. 

I smile at her and then she returns it, before the teacher nods at all of us from her beanbag chair in the front of the class. "What's up, artists? I'm Professor Brunsworth, but you can all call me Thalia, I don't really care. I know you're all artists, but we are going to use this class to really find your true creative side." She says as she stands and moves around the classroom. 

She was in her twenties, I'm sure of it, but that made her just closer to our age, and made me feel more connected to her. 

After she finishes telling us about her credentials and how her class is going to work, she sets us out on our first project, a partner one to be exact. The blonde girl from earlier came up to me, smiling nervously. "Hey, I don't really know anyone, so I thought maybe I could partner with you?" I hear a bit of a southern accent in her voice and I smile at the familiarity. 

"Why, of course." She smiles after hearing my accent as well and we go outside. The project was to spend some time outside and "connect with nature" before we come back in and paint it. Or maybe we were painting it outside, I'm not really sure. 

We look at some of the flowers and I pick one that was a lilac color, but not a lilac flower. 

"So, where are you from?" She asks suddenly. "I mean, I heard your accent and figured you were somewhere from the South? But clearly you haven't been there in a while." 

I chuckle gently. "I was born in South Carolina, moved in seventh grade." I explain. "Went to New York and now my speaking habits are a bit different, but I still get the accent comment quite a bit." 

She nods and smiles. "I'm from Georgia, so not too far. I reckon you're new to Jersey?" 

I nod and raise an eyebrow. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well, I've only been living here a year, but yeah sort of. The way you looked at that flower, says a lot about you." 

"Oh, really? Why is that?" I ask, tilting my head and smiling. 

She shrugs and picks one. "These are everywhere. More like weeds than flowers, to be honest." 

I laugh softly and set the flower down. "I see, I see." I then mentally facepalm. "Where are my manners, I completely forgot to introduce myself. I'm John Laurens." I tell her. 

She smiles brightly and sets the flower down next to mine. "I'm Carrie Withers. It's a pleasure to meet you, John." 

I nod at her. "The pleasure is mine." 

I smile as I look around at all the students. All creative, looking through nature and soon will be painting beside me. This school is the perfect place for me. 

1042 Words