Chapter 50: Resistance
Painting used to come naturally to Rylee. She could pick up a brush and splash colors on canvas without hesitation or regret. She was always the first to bring new ideas to her parents, or tack unfinished art pieces on the wall. It was only lately that it became a fight, and all those ideas changed.
When she looked at a canvas now she had to force herself to get started. There was always a voice in the back of her mind doubting every choice. 'The eyes aren't right. The fur isn't spaced correctly. I don't like that color choice.'
The longer she looked, the harder it became to move her hand. She wanted to create freely like she once had. Now she just eyed the imperfections and froze in place. It was like her own hands would not listen to instructions.
Evan encouraged her, reminding her to keep working even when she didn't want to. The worst obstacle was the empty canvas. He believed in the slow and steady mentality that could fix anything. That was why he went for supplies and made her wait at home. He was trying to keep her from avoiding her lack of inspiration and teach her how to continue when she was feeling defeated.
Rylee wondered how he would react seeing the hopeless paint blobs she had shuffled across the background. She felt ashamed as she set down her supplies and stared wistfully at the ceiling.
However, letting go of her brush turned out to be a bad idea.
Bandit took her preoccupation as an opportunity to steal one of her paint brushes and bolt out of the room with a tail wag of delight. Rylee yelled in surprise and scrambled to her feet, torn between the desire to stop her wayward dog and the interest in not injure herself further. All the commotion must have drawn attention because Evan rushed into the apartment looking winded, dropping his bags and snatching Bandit before he could splash any paint on the doorframe.
"I see I'm missing all the fun," he panted. Rylee bent to pick up the bags with an embarrassed expression on her face.
"At least he didn't eat the paint this time...." she joked. They returned to her room and Evan glanced at the discarded picture on the floor.
"No luck?"
Rylee shook her head. He surprised her by wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head.
"Maybe it's time for a break then. That trip to the store was more exhausting than I predicted."
"What happened?"
"Just some obnoxious strangers." He sat on the bed and pulled her next to him. Rylee accepted his affection, but her worry didn't dissipate.
"You can tell me about it," she insisted, catching his eyes. He seemed sad, and that made her even more concerned.
After a moments hesitation, Evan sighed, "I'm worried I've put a target on you. When I was at the store someone recognized me. What's worse, I guess the fan group for my comic found out you're my girlfriend. They seemed to feel entitled to invade more of my privacy the stronger my following becomes."
Rylee's brain struggled with the new information. It was crazy to think Evan's artwork had reached the point he had a fan group, let alone one that would even care about his love life. "Why would it matter who you date?" She asked.
Evan sighed, "It shouldn't, right? But I still want to protect you. I've heard endless stories of stalker fans. I don't want to feel comfortable because I'm just a web artist. Crazy doesn't have limits."
Rylee's heart sped up and she felt touched by his words. She hugged him tighter and kissed his neck affectionately. "I'll just take it as a challenge. I'll work hard to get up to your level. Maybe then they won't have much to complain about."
It felt like the spark she was missing suddenly appeared. She had something to prove now. She didn't want to drag Evan down, so the only solution was to catch up to him. If she also had popularity, maybe he wouldn't feel so guilty. Evan presses his face against her hair so his breathe was warming her scalp.
"We still...have plans for FanQuest?" Rylee asked timidly. Evan pulled back and looked at her, suddenly stern.
"Of course! I'm not going to let some teenage brats ruin our time together! Although I'm starting to wish I could spend the whole show by your side," he grumbled.
Rylee laughed, "Hey, we have jobs to do. We gotta make a living somehow." She looked down at the canvas, and reached to claim the discarded paintbrush from him. "Enough distractions. I better work. The show will be here before we know it!"
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