Light shone through a set of expensive looking glass panels, illuminating a figure sitting next to an easel.

Every few seconds or so, the sound of a brush meeting the canvas would sound out, interrupted by a slew of silence before the next action would be carried out.

Long matte black hair bathed in the sunlight as a scene was being constructed.

A well-kept straw-roofed cottage took up half the space on the canvas, the background filled to the brim with dense foliage and tall spruce trees.

Thick layers of snow covered the location, leaving a faint outline of where a worn stone path leading out of the cottage had once been, some small mossy stones slightly poking out from its white captor’s grasp.

Through a small window, a flurry of red and orange could be seen, depicting a small fireplace which gave a sense of life to the motionless building which had been chained to the ground by gravity.

One thin ray of sunlight had persevered throughout the ruthless layer of brown and grey leaves, hitting the snow and causing it to melt slightly, graciously enabling an insignificantly looking yellow flower to bloom, the first of many to come.

A heavy sigh left the picturesque girl’s red lips as she moved her wrist to leave a signature in the bottom right-hand corner of the piece, signalling the start of a round of applause from the two who had been watching Lea’s movements for what had seemed to be an eternity.

Lea looked over to Aaron and Chloe, a small smile gracing her countenance before she refocused on the scene she had just painted.

“I’ve been painting ever since I could pick up a brush; My parents are usually not the stubborn type, however on this particular subject there was no room for discussion.” She lamented, picking up the artwork and moving it over to a wall decorated with similar pieces.

“This talent of mine has never brought much good for me.” Lea sighed, stepping back a few paces after she’d adorned the wall with her newest piece and appreciating the thirty or so of them.

Aaron was looking towards the ground, rubbing his hand behind his head as he commented, “Exceedingly beautiful.”.

Throughout the hour or so they had been allotted for lunch, his eyes were always on Lea’s form. Watching carefully as to the care which was embedded with each and every stroke with which the black-haired girl had graciously allocated to the canvas which greedily devoured every action.

The crimson orbed friend of his attempt to set apart herself from the art that hung behind her as clear as day.

On one side was a black-haired girl that tailored her appearance to be in stark contrast to the art which she crafted, even going as far as to wear metal piercings and red contacts.

On the other side were a gallery of serene and pure stokes of paint which culminated into a quiet and confirmative piece of art which soothed one’s soul.

Aaron had thought that Lea looked more excited about the graffiti that they had seen a week or two ago than her own piece of work, looking at it with what seemed to be a hint of happiness in her jewelled orbs.

Looking up in awe at the artwork that had been placed upon the wall before her, Chloe had been fascinated by the finished products and the techniques and care that had been wantonly poured into it, subsequently not having noticed Aaron’s somewhat odd behaviour that he’d been displaying.

Chloe looked down to her small wrist, wondering if she could ever create something with such meticulous intent.

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“You should come with me and Chloe to the arcade today! You seem to have enjoyed it the last time the three of us went together.” Aaron suggested, a goofy grin growing upon his face as he imagined miraculously beating Chloe under Lea’s encouragement.

Lea looked towards Aaron and then over to Chloe, who was rigorously focused upon her art, before letting a smile leak out onto her face and jovially agreeing.

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The dingy neon lights which spelt out the name of the arcade illuminated the medium sized brick building, the alleyway between the arcade and next shop along being obfuscated in darkness.

Adorned in a set of somewhat expensive looking black clothes, Lea followed her two friends into the building and looked at the surrounding machines, attention enraptured by the flashing lights and catchy sound effects.

Immediately after walking through the entrance of the arcade, a flood of vibrant music entered Lea’s ears.

“This might as well be mine and Chlo’s second home.” Aaron explained as he and Chloe made their way over to a familiar game console, the small girl beginning to stretch out her fingers in preparation for what was to come.

“This’ll be the first game we teach you, but before that you’ll have to watch the usual beatdown warmup match.” Chloe exclaimed, getting more pumped by the second as she quickly overtook Aaron, jogging over to the machine and slotting in a few coins.

Aaron let out a shallow sigh as he turned over to Lea, looking at her expression which had turned vibrant due to Chloe’s unusual competitive nature coming into full effect.

Letting out a lofty giggle, Lea walked over to where Aaron had taken a seat, standing behind him whilst peering into the screen where it showed the two avatars that the two had picked.

“Same rules; since it’s a warmup game all characters are allowed!” Chloe sang, picking her favourite.

Usually, the small girl ended up confined to a few of the weaker of the personalities since otherwise she’d wipe Aaron with ease, but for the first few games before Chloe had fully warmed up, the older boy could usually trade blows with her no matter the character.

The match began, the two evenly trading damage as Lea hummed intriguingly at how graceful their movements looked, all seemingly having some sort of purpose or trade-off.

Halfway through the five-minute match, Chloe all of a sudden started to gain the upper hand, signalling a sigh from Aaron.

“Come on Chloe, you know you want to let me win.” He whined, on the verge of losing, looking around the side of the display to see the girl was completely focused on the game.

Lea patted Aaron’s back and gave him a few words of encouragement, but unfortunately not even her support could prevent against Chloe’s ruthless smackdown, Aaron only lasting a few more seconds before dramatically drooping onto the floor after losing as if he’d just melted.

Standing up from the chair, height unchanging, Chloe started her usual victory dance next to Aaron’s dejected body, Lea laughing at both of their antics.

“Alright, now it’s your turn for a beatdown!” Aaron cheerfully sounded, his attitude taking a complete one-eighty shift after realising that he would no longer have to suffer alone from Chloe’s tyrannical reign. There’d be another victim now.

It didn’t take long for Lea to realise how skilled the other two had become. Grasping the controls, her character jaggedly moved around, a far-cry from the gracefully moves the two had been executing for the past five minutes straight.

The trio continued to play, sometimes switching machines for a brief period before coming back to the main one to freshen things up for the newcomer.

Aaron had seen a new side to Lea, just like he had Chloe when he first introduced her to the arcade and games.

Perhaps this was the true version of herself that she kept locked away under many barriers; now unafraid to make risky jokes or crude remarks when faced with failure.

Nevertheless, Aaron thought to himself that he liked both of the sides that he’d seen of the artist, both vibrant and beautiful in their own respective ways.

Excusing herself to go to the bathroom, Chloe had left the two to play a few rounds on their own.

Aaron seemed to enjoy cracking jokes with his female counterpart, or ruthlessly beating her in any game which she chose, fully taking in every reaction she made.

Catching a glimpse of the two on her way back, the small orange haired girl felt a little ache in her heart, seeing the two so close and laughing whilst chatting about random things.

Just the way Aaron looked at her when Lea wasn’t looking worsened the pain a hundred-fold. Aaron hadn’t ever done the same with her; no matter the subtle advances she had attempted to make.

“They’ll ditch you soon enough. As they should, murderer.” The figure behind her giggled to itself, inching closer to the small girl with every second.

But as soon as her thoughts started to turn fearful and negative, Chloe calmed herself down.

“They’ll still be my friends no matter what… So it doesn’t matter. I… I should be supporting them instead!” she resolved, walking towards her two friends and away from the fuzzy black figure who sharply eyed her movements.