There were so many other things she could have been doing.
She could have been at the studio. She could have taken her sister to the Bodies exhibit. She should have been practicing her solo
for her lyrical class...but she was here. An art exhibit with her mother for one of her favorite painters. Not that she minded spending the day with
her mom, she didn’t. She just...she had a funny feeling this wasn’t the place for her. She didn’t know what it was but, she knew as she pulled
her thin cardigan around her arms that she didn’t really want to be here. But there was really no choice. Her mom wanted her for the day, probably to
give a short reprieve from her dad who had spent the last few days telling her that thighs were getting “a little thick”...
Siobhan sighed a little at the thought before turning her attention back to the art. Her mother had gone off in search of the artist and left her to
her own thoughts. As per usual her mind drifted to dance, her lips subconsciously beginning to hum Priscilla Ahn’s “Dream” as she went over her
lyrical routine.
"Dhruv, put-I want the new piece over there, honey. Over there..." Heaving the massive 32 x 44 canvass into his arms, Dhonny shrugged it further onto
his chest, careful not to rip the paper that covered his mother's newest masterpiece. He hadn't even seen the piece yet but he knew that it was
probably way bomber than the last. She'd worked for an entire week on this one, forgetting to sleep most of the time...and eat. For an entire week.
Yeah, that's how devoted she'd been to this one. And that, alone, let him know that this one would be the centerpiece of her next exhibit. The past
one, the one that'd been up for at least a month, was coming down and four new works would go up in their place. His mom had a sweet gig in the
contract she'd made with this gallery. The Attic would display her work as long as she kept, exclusively, supplying them with pieces. Exclusively,
being the operative. Considering his mother's work was no joke, the gallery was winning the most. The chance to feature Eve Ross's work. And his mom
got a temporary reason to set up residence in Kapuhai Reef.
"Oh...my baby holding my baby. Come here..." With a tiny smirk, Dhonny put the painting in the spot where his mother had directed him to, sticking his
hands in the pockets of the faithful pair of jeans he wore, the ones that sported tiny paint stains and were worn at the knees. Falling into his
mother's arms the way he always did, his face nesting in her thick, braided hair, he moved his arms around her uncovered waist, hugging a woman who
use to be taller than him. Now he towered over her.
"You keep playing the hiding game with the new shit, Eve. It must be THAT good, right?" Holding her waist, he felt her squeeze him before she let him
go, her arm linked around his waist as they walked together, onto the gallery floor. Dhonny was use to his mother being secretive about her work. The
revealing was as new to him as it was to everyone else when they first set eyes on it. The only one that saw EVERYTHING she did was of course, his
dad. But then again, they shared everything. Smirking again at his mother's answer, or lack there of as all he received was a sweet laugh and a laugh,
he looked away from her and to the floor where a couple of future clients were gazing at her work. Before he could look away, his eyes caught a
familiar face. A completely unexpected, familiar face.
your body's like art i ain't even thought up yet...
One, two, three. One, two, three. One...Oh shoot...The dancer in her mind stopped with her thoughts as she hit a snag in her routine. She’d
forgotten. She was mid-arabesque penchee, her leg lifting as she squared her hips and...she forgot. She had no idea what came next and she felt herself frown at
the simple idea of forgetting a dance on-stage. Fuck. Lyrical. Dance. Ugh! She hated anything that wasn’t ballet. She was certain something jazz
related followed the beautiful structure that was her penchee and that was why she didn’t remember. Ballet was second nature to her, it was
something she could never forget. This...lyrical...ugh.
Siobhan shook her head clear of the dance and her frustration and brought herself back to reality. She would worry later. Now she would find her mom
and hope that she was finished or almost finished with her time her. She sighed, her eyes leaving the wall as they began scanning the room for her
mother’s raven--Oh. Her eyes stopped as they found a familiar face. It wasn’t her mother’s but, it was certainly one she knew. Dhruv Ross.
She’d heard of him. Apparently he had a little talent...and according to her friends, he was pretty cute. She could agree, she guessed, her eyes
meeting his as she gave a small wave. She knew his face from a few of her classes but she’d never spoken to him really...
It seemed as good a time as any seeing as her mother had gotten herself lost...
Dhonny's steps slowed, his hand loosening a bit on his mother's waist, his ears tuning her voice out as he watched the familiar face, wishing he could
pin a name to the person he already knew. She went to King's Prep. Yeah, he'd seen her around, especially in the Annex. The way she walked through the
halls, floating effortlessly, he could tell that she was at Bonnaire for the exact reason he was. She was a dancer. But that's about as far as his
knowledge of her went. No name, no class schedule...just a pretty face and the light, weightless steps of a dancer. What he did know was that she
wasn't...a regular to the gallery. Actually, the art around her didn't seem to phase her. Her eyes had yet to look anywhere but straight ahead. She
wasn't really...looking at anything in the gallery. Her gaze was stuck on something in her head. Her moving lips, Dhonny read them. A rhythmic count
fell from them, stopping suddenly, breaking her concentration.
"Who's that?" His mother's voice sounded, ending his thoughts. Looking down at his mother, by his side, his brow furrowed, confusion spreading over
his face. "The girl you're staring at...who is she?" Smiling at him, she prodded him for more information, looking for some teen drama answer that had
to do with an unrequited crush. Not quite.
"She goes to school with me..." He answered, his eyes returning to the girl, just in time, it seemed as he watched her hand raise and wave to him. He
nodded back as he felt his mother's hand fall from his waist.
"And you...should go talk to her. She looks lonely...you'd be good company." Smirking again, he rolled his eyes and pushed his hands back into his
pockets, his Doc Martens sounding over the quiet chatter in the gallery as he walked closer to the spot where the girl stood.
"You go to KPA, right?" Pointless question. Dhonny was pretty sure that's where he knew her face from, but he sucked at all things "conversation".
That conversation starter was as good as it was gonna get.
your body's like art i ain't even thought up yet...
She hadn’t meant to break up his conversation with the woman he was with. They looked...comfortable, like that. His frame seeming to tower over hers
as she held his waist. Her wave had simply been a friendly gesture. A short hello among colleagues. She didn’t mean to start a conversation. But,
Siobhan watched as the woman he was with left him, stepping away after a few words and leaving him alone. Guess neither of them really had a choice
now did they...Hm. It was better this way she guessed, She and her mother hadn’t been here for more than 20 minutes, she knew that whether she found
her or not, she wouldn’t be ready to go...Dhruv could keep her company for a little while couldn’t he?
Apparently he was going to try, his boots sounding as he approached her, stopping in good speaking distance. Where she would have expected a
‘hello’, stood a question with an obvious answer. You go to KPA, right? What? Really? He had no idea who she was?...Well that
was...extremely hard to believe. Not to toot her own horn but...she was kind of a big deal. She was one of the top dancers at BonAire, not to mention
they had at least three classes together...So what exactly was he playing at? How could he not know her?
“Yeah-,” she said slowly. Her eyes narrowing a little in her confusion. “Siobhan. We have like...three classes together-,” She could kind of
hear the attitude in her tone but, she was justified! Here she was, she knew his full name and the fact they they’d breathed the same air for at
least three hours a day and he...wasn’t sure if she went to KPA?
His mother leaving him standing there, without any other option BUT to go and have a conversation with someone he'd seen around at KPA, wasn't much of
a surprise...at least not for Dhonny. His mother was such an open, free person with words that she felt that everyone around her should be and do the
same. Not exactly. Unfortunately, Dhonny was like his father, a man of very few words, but a lot of "show". Conversations just didn't come easy. Being
shy wasn't an issue either, there just wasn't much to say. And when he did say, he often said the wrong thing...well, what people thought was
the wrong thing, many times being what people didn't want to hear. So, Dhonny did the next best thing...stayed quiet. But when his mother got like
that, it was best to just play along and give her what she wanted...or else, she tried harder. And that would've probably ended in her pushing him at
the girl and telling her he'd love to paint her...nude. Yeah, compliance was obviously the better option.
So, in compliance, he walked right up to the girl that he'd barely taken the time to talk to on KPA's campus and...asked her if she really went there.
What? There were people with doppelgangers all over the island. It would've been pretty fucked up for him to just walk up to the girl and start having
a conversation about the joys of KPA and Bonnaire and she didn't even GO there. He only remembered seeing her there, but it didn't mean that she
was who he thought she was. But her answer (was he sensing attitude?) told him that his question was...again, saying the wrong thing. He
was...great...at that. So, he should've just "known" her? Right. It was obvious that they'd never spoken, never held a conversation, never gave each
other direct eye contact in the hallways and definitely never spoke in the classes they shared, yet, he should've known her immediately? Well. He
could just about sense how this convo was getting ready to go.
"My bad...we do, don't we?" Nodding his head and ignoring her obvious attitude. "You look...different out your uniform..." Siobhan. The face had been
familiar, but there'd never been a name assigned to it. Especially not THAT name. That name...he had positively, absolutely heard. Plenty of times.
Especially out of his boys' mouths. Yeah, they talked about every girl with a memorable set of "twos". "The twos" were what his boys called the pairs
on a female. Two legs, two breasts, two lips. And Siobhan was one of the names they'd mentioned...and often. Dhonny, although he stayed quiet during
"two" talk, could see why. But the twos weren't the only things they talked about when it came to her and the girls she hung out with...
"What brings you into the gallery? You don't seem to really...be into anything in here." Looking to the works on the displaying walls, his eyes slowly
came back to her disinterested ones.
your body's like art i ain't even thought up yet...
My bad...we do, don’t we. She didn’t believe this! He still had no idea who he was talking to. She could hear it in his voice; the
complete lack of care that he had about whether they’d met or not. She nodded a little as her eyes looked to the painting she had been standing in
front of as he said something about her looking different out of her uniform...Whatever, because he’d seen her out of her uniform too. When she said
they had classes together, she didn’t just mean core classes. They had dance together...That was why she couldn’t believe he didn’t
know who she was! He had to have seen her dance and not to toot her own horn but, that was something people noticed! But no. Here he stood.
Clueless...Ugh.
She was kind of finished with their “conversation” but, he didn’t leave, a silence settling as they listened to the low buzz of small-talk among
the other people in the gallery. He could go now. Really, he hadn’t had to come over but, it was her own fault really, she shouldn’t have waved.
She should have gone back to trying to remember her lyrical routine so she could hit the studio when she left here. She needed to practice, to find
“control”. That was what she’d been told. But that wasn’t her fault! She had control, she had technique; they were asking her not to use it!
One minute she was stiff the next she needed control...it didn’t matter. She would be in the studio until she found a balance and mastered the dance
that she could now barely remember. She was snapped out of her thoughts as he spoke to her again. Sadly, he wasn’t saying good bye to her.
“I’m not-,” she said nonchalantly, he mouth speaking before her brain told her that was an appropriate response. “I mean, not that the pieces
aren’t great. They are, it’s just-,” she paused looking for the right word to end her back tracking. “Art just isn’t really my thing...”
There. That wasn’t bad. She just wasn’t into paint on canvas. Lots of people weren’t. “I’m here with my mom. She a fan of the artist.”
Dhonny couldn't hear thoughts...but he could definitely read facial expressions and this girl was...livid. Completely pissed that he hadn't
known who she was, immediately and asked for an autograph, declaring his complete love and devotion to her very existence. Yeah, maybe her anger
didn't go that deep, but she was definitely pissed. So sue him. At least he'd remembered her face, his photographic memory helping out in that
area...even if it hadn't helped him remember her name. He'd known that he'd seen her around enough for her face to stick and that she was reoccurring.
She was right. He'd had a couple of classes with her and...some of them were even dance. But they'd never had a reason to speak or...acknowledge each
others' existence before that day. She hung with an entirely different group of people than he did. The kind that wore their money and prestige like
banners of honor and looked down on other people that they didn't. Dhonny didn't really care for that type and he didn't make an effort in remembering
them either.
As a silence fell in the conversation that had already gone entirely wrong, within seconds of it starting, Dhonny couldn't help but look her over out
of the corner of his eye. One thing that he had remembered about her, that if he'd watched her long enough, he would've seen before he'd asked her
about her attendance at KPA, was her...stiffness. The way her back seemed like it hadn't slumped a day in its existence. It was something she carried
when she danced. Perfect posture. Sure, he'd seen her dance. Nothing memorable though. Lots of technique and...and it was...she was typical. Yeah, she
was good. Her lines were flawless. But she was...recorded. She reminded Dhonny of a student sitting in a class, soaking up subject matter, only to
spit it right back out on the test. Nothing penetrated. Nothing sunk in. That was what her movement looked like. Like she did everything by the book,
but none of what she did penetrated to the very core of her. She danced like she didn't even feel it... She looked...empty when she moved.
And if Dhonny wanted to see something repetitive and mechanical, he would've watched clothes spin in a dryer.
I'm not... Smirking, Dhonny wasn't surprised by the complete lack of emotion in her voice when she commented on his mother's work. Instead of
reacting, he smirked, his eyes turning from her, looking to a painting that was mounted on one of the gallery's walls in front of them. Cleaning up
her answer, she explained how art wasn't her thing...how she was only here because her mother liked his mother's work.
"You're mother's the fan." He repeated her answer, nodding slowly as he wondering how long his mother expected him to play "social" with Siobhan. He
was running out of material. "Well, Eve-my mother...is the artist. Guess that explains why I'm here."
your body's like art i ain't even thought up yet...
She wasn’t overdoing it! She had good reason to be upset with this nobody that seemed to think that was a title she carried. It wasn’t. It never
had been. Siobhan was literally born somebody. She was the daughter of Vicktor van Fallon, Danseur Nobel for 15 of his almost 20 year career.
Siobhan was his successor, an extension of himself, his greatest masterpiece. At least...that was what was expected of her. She learned at a very
young age what being somebody meant and she also learned what it took to stay a somebody. Precision, perfection, passion. Three things every dancer
needed to strive for if they wanted to make it. Three things she was supposed to have been born with. She could admit that it was a burden she
sometimes wished she didn’t have to carry; being yelled at for small mistakes in turns and jumps that a common dancer only dreamed about doing, the
high expectations, constantly worrying about her weight. She hated it sometimes...but, she made her father happy...most of the time.
Of course now wasn’t about her father, now she was miles away from his influence which seemed to be how her mother liked it lately. She didn’t
know if it was the building pressure her dad was putting on her now that it was time for her to start college shopping, or if it was something else
but, her mom was hanging out with her more and more and mostly without her father. That’s what brought her here, The Attic, talking to a classmate
that wasn’t even sure of her existence. She knew of his. Like she’d said, he was apparently talented. That’s what instructors said
anyway, even her father said he had potential...and Siobhan could see why when he danced. He was...wild. She could admit, his pirouettes were flawless
and they seemed never-ending but, Dhruv didn’t seem to know structure, he didn’t know order, he didn’t follow instruction! No one knew what was
going to come out of him when the music started and maybe at first that was...cute...but no one would be willing to work with the kid that couldn’t
follow instruction.
Or take cues it seemed. He was pretty much dismissed. But for some reason he was still searching for--and finding--words to say to her. The art? Yeah,
it was nice. She could see her mom probably buying a few of them for the house or the studio but, art wasn’t what Siobhan was really into. She
didn’t know the first thing about it and if she had to be honest, she didn’t care to. Dance was her art and it was the only one she had time for.
She listened as Dhruv repeated her words. Yes, her mother was the fan. And his mother...“Oh-,” the short syllable left her lips with a twinge of
surprise as she looked to him, his eyes never leaving the painting in front of them as he “explained why he was here”. She pulled her bottom lip
in, chewing nervously for a lack of anything good to say. She’d pretty much called his mother’s work mediocre, citing her ignorance of art as a
reason behind her judgement. If conversation wasn’t over before, there was definitely no coming back from this. Luckily as she looked away, her eyes
found her mother and the woman Dhruv had been with moments ago across the gallery. Oh good.
“It seems they found one another-,” Siobhan said pointing. Giving a weak smile she began walking toward the women. She and Dhruv were done talking
she was sure.
This conversation...was lovely and it was just what Dhonny wanted to be doing on a Saturday afternoon. Who didn't want to be making pointless
conversation with someone whose face couldn't say "get away from me" any louder than her attitude did? All that attitude was completely unnecessary,
especially when neither of them really wanted to be near each other in the first place. Not that he had anything against Siobhan. He barely knew her
or anything about her outside of watching her dance a few times in one of the classes that he didn't even remember them having. But her attitude and
disdain for everything around her at the moment was...too much. And Dhonny didn't judge. He didn't look for reasons to hate as it was definitely all
love. But sometimes, it didn't even take looking for reasons. Not with the way Siobhan's nose had just turned up at his mother's work...at art. No
wonder all she had was her technique and form. How could she be an artist when she didn't even...enjoy it? And art was art to Dhonny, there was no
separation. Seeing the beauty in one wasn't enough for him. He saw the beauty in it all. No one greater than the other. Because ever piece of it was
anger, sadness, happiness, love, hate...every piece of it was emotion.
Nothing but a "oh"? Sure, he didn't expect her to rejoice at the news that his mother was the artist behind the work exhibited in the gallery, but he
did expect something other than an "I really could give less than a fuck" "oh". Scoffing quietly, he kept looking at his mother's piece that they stood in front of, a piece that meant quite a bit to him. It was one of his favorite pieces, one that she'd painted when
he was about five or six. She always displayed it whenever she had a show or set up residence in a gallery. It was kind of her staple piece, the
most...evoking. And...Siobhan looked at it like it was that wet, smelly thing in the corner. You know, the one that you're almost afraid to pick up
because there might be a living organism under it? Dhonny didn't get her. Not like you could really figure out a person in two seconds of
conversation. But there was something there was already something about her that he just didn't get...the stick up her ass.
The arrival of their mother's came just in time as he turned around to face them, Siobhan turning on the spot as well, both of their steps starting as
they seemed to have the same thing in mind. Getting away from each other. His mother came straight to him, her slender arm wrapping around her waist
as she looked from him to Siobhan, smiling. Was that the "well, she's cute" look? Ha. No way...
your body's like art i ain't even thought up yet...
Why was this her life? Here was exactly where she wanted to be on a Saturday afternoon; talking to a kid from her class who had no idea who she was
and kind of insulting his mother’s work because she had no idea who he was, beyond a name, either. It was a great day. This whole trip was crap. All
she had wanted to do today was get her lyrical solo down before she had her test performance on Tuesday. The routine was simple enough and it wasn’t
that she couldn’t do it, it was just...boring. She wasn’t at all interested in a piece that really wasn’t saying much beyond the story
of a little girl growing up. The crap bored her to tears and for that reason, she had trouble remembering it...She was more excited about her
contemporary piece than anything else. Her Technical class, the one she had with Dhruv, was going through genres of dance and studying the technique
of each, fun in theory she guessed but only when they were doing something she was into. She hadn’t thought she’d be excited about the
contemporary piece but her mother had helped her choreograph something amazing and even though it wasn’t ballet, she couldn’t pretend she
hadn’t had fun with it.
Wait. Was he still saying something...No. No they had been standing here in silence as her thoughts ran over one another. Lucky for her she spotted
her mom again before she was forced to say something else. She was talking to the woman Dhruv had been earlier. She was...laughing. That fit she
guessed. her mother had always been one for fast friends. It was Siobhan that rubbed people the wrong way all the time...as obviously evidenced by her
mini-conversation with her classmate. As she walked away from him and toward her mother, she felt him move behind her and even though his steps were
on air, she knew he was following. Good. They could get back to their mothers and go their seperate ways until the weekend was over and the
had to see one another again. Or at least that was her hope as she approached, a polite smile on her face as her mother spotted them,
stopping mid-sentence for introductions.
“Oh, Eve, this is my daughter Siobhan-,” her hand touched Siobhan’s shoulder, pulling her closer to the conversation before she turned her
attention, “Honey, this is Eve Ross. A friend from...ooh, we’ll just say years ago-,” she laughed then, as her daughter waved a bit.
“Nice you meet you Mrs. Ross. Your pieces are beautiful.”
The diversion of his mother and what seemed to be Siobhan's mother was completely welcomed...for a moment. For a second, Dhonny really thought that
their mothers, who had been in, what looked like, very deep and friendly conversation, would see their offspring and totally forget about each other.
They would separate, take their respective children home and never speak again. No, that only happened in the world of opposite and desirable
outcomes. Dhonny's eyes rolled as his mother smiled up at him, hoping that he divulge, at that very moment, the conversation (or lack thereof) that he
and Siobhan had been having. Not so much. The only thing on Dhonny's mind at the present moment was finding a way to untangle himself from his
mother's arms, duck out the back door and make his way, on foot, back home. 18th and Vine wasn't far enough away to not think of that as an option,
especially since introductions had started.
A friend. From years ago? Okay. He'd admit it. That kind of made things worse. The whole "him not knowing Siobhan's face well enough to know that he'd
been going to school with her for the past couple of years" thing. Their mothers were friends. And he couldn't pick her out of a line-up if he had to.
Not like a girl like Siobhan would ever actually be in a line up. According to Koi, the twos she hung with were so squeaky clean that they gave Mother
Theresa a run for her money. Dhonny hadn't really thought too much about Koi's words, thinking that Koi was probably just salty because her girls had
rejected him once...or twice. But now, he wasn't so sure. Looked like his boy had been telling the truth. All that stiffness and haughtiness? Yeah, it
looked like rumors weren't just rumors...
"Oh, thank you love! What a nice thing to say." Dhonny smirked quickly at his mother's words. Your pieces are beautiful... Who was Siobhan
playing with? She'd just insulted the very same pieces before his mother arrived and now they were beautiful? Dhonny wasn't a "better", but he was
sure that she still hadn't really looked at them.
"And this is my sun, Dhonny." Dhonny smiled at his mother's voice, at the play on words that she always used when she introduced him. He was her
"Sun", the light of her life. The brightest thing. But he was sure that Siobhan's mother hadn't caught on to the word play. Extending his hand and
shaking hers softly, his mother introduced her further, her words telling him that she was the woman that had been after a few of his mother's
pieces...and was paying very well for them. He nodded at the brief description of who she was and stepped back, ready to say the words that would free
him from the conversation that he didn't really want to be apart of in the first place. But before he could open his mouth, his mother's grip
tightened on his waist as she spoke.
"Catalina! Didn't you tell me that your daughter is at Bonnaire, too? For dance, right? Then these two must know each other..."
your body's like art i ain't even thought up yet...
A friend...That was great. She knew exactly where this was going. Eve Ross was a friend from years ago and her son went to BonAire with Siobhan
and...yup. This was going exactly where she thought it was...Siobhan never understood how her mother and father ended up together. They were the
poster children for “opposites attract” because Catalina was as different from Viktor as different could possibly be. Siobhan’s father
was...well if she had to be blunt, bland. He was a stickler from rules and structure and routine. That was to be expected with his
upbringing. Her mother on the other hand was eclectic, rebellious. To hear her dad tell the story of how they fell in love, that was the very thing
that attracted him to her. Strange, because he hated everything that Siobhan did that might fall under the category of rebellious...
Wait, what were they talking about? Siobhan smiled politely as Eve thanked her for her compliment. Moving on to introduce...Dhonny? Mm. She guessed
that was...appropriate. People had nicknames and she had no right to judge their preferences but, Dhonny? From Dhruv? Dhruv was just so much
more...really? Dhonny? Well, she wouldn’t be calling him that at the dinner they would surely have to endure together. Yup. That’s exactly where
this was going and she her thoughts were only made sure when Eve asked if Siobhan and Dhruv knew one another.
“We have a couple classes together-,” Siobhan volunteered, not offering the fact that they didn’t exactly know one another. Hell, they barely
knew of one another. So there was obviously no connection for her to speak of...Their circles didn’t even overlap, her friends rigidly
against anyone that associated with the crowd he ran with. So yeah. They shared a few classes. That was all. And that was all there needed to be. Of
course her mother had different plans.
“Eve, you and your family have to come over for dinner-,” she began, her mind jumping to a completely different topic as per usual. Siobhan
resisted the urge to heave the sigh weighing heavy on her as her mother continued, “I know Viktor would love to see you again and Dhonny and Siobhan
can get to know one another a little more.” Catalina smiled at her daughter, a barely noticeable wink in her eye as, an arm fell over Siobhan’s
shoulders. She knew what that wink was and her mother was way off base. Dhruv wasn’t even close to having a chance...and with the
conversation they’d had before this one, she was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.
This was a bit more than Dhonny bargained for and definitely a whole lot more than he could chew. When he spotted Siobhan standing in the Attic,
surrounded by his mother's art, he never figured that he would be standing with both their mothers, watching them plan what looked a lot like a play
date. First of all, the awkwardness. Dhonny was beyond certain that he wasn't two years old anymore so the idea of a forced anything was uncomfortable
to say the least. Especially since Dhonny had never been forced to do a thing in his whole life. His parents were very...hands off. Not the "Oh shit.
We have a kid?" type of parents. But the kind that liked the idea of using independence and self-defining experiences to shape and mold their child's
life and personality. In fewer words, his parents pretty much hung around in the background while he, and only he, directed his own life. From when to
potty train to the move to Kapuhai Reef to pursue dance, everything in his life was his to shape and mold. Life, to his parents, was like a piece of
art. From conception to finish, it was up to the artist to define what their own life would be. And that was why all of this "matchmaker" shit was
beyond weird. Yeah, Dhonny was going to call it like it was. Friends, girlfriends...they'd all been Dhonny's choice without a second thought from
Divyesh or Eve about the girl or what Dhonny decided to do with them. Why were this girl...and her family so important? And why the hell were they
having dinner together!? Dhonny couldn't say it enough...he wasn't about that life. And by the looks of it, nor was Siobhan.
"Oh! I like that idea. Next weekend would be great. And! And I could cook that dish you're always asking me about...you know the one!" Eve and
Catalina's voices melded in agreement as she let Dhonny's waist go, her petite hands clasping together in excitement. Out of the corner of his eye, he
couldn't help but give her a searching look that he quickly resolved when she turned to him, looking for his approval. Dhonny knew his mother, he'd
seen her this excited before. Whenever a new creation flooded her mind, taking over her thoughts, she got giddy like this. Her onyx skin almost glowed
from the thrill of something new, something to create. You could almost see the electric current from the spark of genius flowing through her. There
was so much electricity, Dhonny expected it to flow from her, straight out of her finger tips. But his life...wasn't her canvas. Friendships were his
to make and he didn't want to make this one. Not at all. No fucking way. And the look on his face was sending that message.
"Eve..." He spoke quietly, the excitement on her face turning into a sharp scowl as she read the expression on his face. She already knew what was
coming. Some excuse to back out of being sociable with people that he really didn't...want to be sociable with. No offense against Siobhan and her
family, but he could already sense the uncomfortableness that the night would be. He'd already had a bit of it, standing and talking to her while they
waited on their mothers. Searching to find conversation, avoiding each other's silence...and attitudes, on her part. Dhonny really wasn't hungry for
that type of punishment.
"I kinda have...I'm going out with Koi next weekend. Remember?" Now, that was true. Koi's house was empty that weekend and everyone, not just Koi's
friends, knew what that meant. Party at "The Kidd's" house. Considering Dhonny hadn't missed one yet, he hadn't planned on doing that this
weekend, dinner party or not. But his mother obviously had other ideas.
"Right." She said dryly before she pursed her lips and turned back to Catalina, her eyes still connected to him as she scalded him with her famous
"hot side eye". "Koi will be fine without you for one night, baby."
your body's like art i ain't even thought up yet...
She knew it would come to this. It always did. If there was anything her mother loved more than meeting new people--or in this case running into old
people--it was inviting those people to dinner parties. They excited her or something, the fun of “sprucing up the house” and cooking some
impressive meal for whoever was coming...That had her name written all over it. And usually whatever made her happy, made Siobhan happier. She
attended her dinners simply because they made her mother happy. Sure, some of them bored her to tears but she kept a polite smile and ate until she
was excused...or until her dad started subtly hinting that she’d had a roll too many...But this dinner? This dinner with Dhruv and his family? Oh
she didn’t want any part of this and by the looks of things neither did her schoolmate. Of course, Siobhan would say nothing and endure the dinner.
What choice did she have, as it seemed her mother had already made up her mind and Mrs. Ross had wholeheartedly agreed...
Dhruv on the other hand did not look the least bit pleased about the arrangement his mother had made for his time at all. He made no attempt
to hide his distaste for the idea and Siobhan mustered all of her self control to not roll her eyes in front of the group. Was it really that serious?
They would spend a couple hours together civilly enjoying a meal and they would never have to speak again. Shoot, they didn’t have to speak to one
another during the dinner. It was more for their parents anyway...but it seemed he didn’t care all that much. He didn’t want to go. Period. He had
other plans...Koi? Ugh. Of course. Siobhan pulled both of her lips in to keep her thoughts from spilling into the air. He would rather spend a sex,
drug, rock ‘n roll filled night at Koi Kidd’s house doing God only knew what, than endure a simple hour and a half with her family. Nice. No. It
was selfish. And it seemed his mom found it selfish as well, telling him he could miss just one. Honestly, Siobhan was thinking the dinner might be a
lot better without him...wishful thinking she supposed.
“Well great-,” Catalina interjected, the smile that had yet to falter growing with the glow that this event had created. “I promise it won’t
be as bad as you think, Dhonny. We’re not as boring as we look-,” she winked at him then, a silent reassurance that matched Siobhan’s verbal
one, but not the tone it was presented in.
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