Perfectly Imperfect

Perfect; adjective; complete in all respects, flawless

There was a smear of black paint dripping down my painting, ruining the beautiful blue and green landscape; a single imperfection. I ran my finger over the paint, staring at the black medium that now stained my finger. One little thing could ruin everything; one simple little thing. I shut my eyes for only a moment, running my finger along the scar on my neck before sighing. Unlike my canvas, I was expected to be the epitome of perfection.

Being from a upper-class family, I was expected from the day I was born to be perfect. My parents were always so picky when I was a child, making sure that I was well-behaved and on my way to being a clean-cut adult; a magnificent example of a perfect citizen.

I pulled my apron off, placing it on a nearby hanger before grabbing my brushes. I would have to redo the painting another day when I had some time. Right now though, I had to be sure that I was prepared for tonight's event. My parents had received an invitation to a dinner party a few days ago from a man who was high on the list of upper-class. The reason behind the event was unknown, but my mother was begging me to go so that I could help my father make new connections for the family business.

Water and paint ran down the drain of the sink and I glanced up at the mirror in front of me. When I was born, I had dark brown hair and blue-green eyes like my mother, but around the age of fourteen I had an “accident” that caused it to change; slowly my hair began to turn white and my eyes became a silvery-gray. My parents suddenly became fearful, pulling me out of school and keeping me shut in the house for a couple of months. A single, wet finger moved a stray lock of hair away from my face and I sighed; I never understood why they had acted the way they did.

I dropped the cleaned brushes into a cup next to the sink before leaving my studio and walking through my apartment to find something to wear tonight. Most days, I'd prefer just to wear a simple shirt and a cardigan, but since tonight was a social event, I was expected to dress nice. I ran my hands over the soft fabric of the shirts in my closet before pulling out a simple, light blue button up, a gray blazer, and a pair of chinos before laying them across the bed. The ensemble made me cringe slightly; I hated dressing up and forcing myself out in the open for these types of occasions.

My hand ran through my hair as I glanced over at another mirror, checking out my appearance. I was in need of a haircut and I probably needed to shave before I left my house. I walked towards the reflective surface, running my middle finger on my left hand down the paint smeared scar. There was a slight bump along my skin that made me cringe and quickly jerk my finger away before I walked away from the mirror, heading across the room to grab my phone off of my bedside table. A small alert was on the screen, telling me that I had a text message from a close friend of mine.

Dashiell: I heard that you're going to the fancy dinner party tonight. Do you think your parents would give you a moment to come see me?

I rolled my eyes, sitting down the phone. Dashiell and I had been friends since elementary school. The two of us used to be incredibly close, but after we graduated last year, we had drifted apart. We haven't spoken much in the past year and a half, but we still managed to text and call each other every now and again. Knowing that he was going to be at the party tonight put my nerves at ease a little bit. It would be nice to see my old friend and spend a little bit of time with him, only if my parents would let me away for a few minutes though. Staring at the phone for a long moment, I picked it up once again, opening my messages before typing out a small sentence.

Frost: I'll see if I can arrange anything.

A smile played my lips as the message was sent and I locked the phone once again, sitting it down on the bed. I knew that there was a rare chance that my parents would let me loose at the dinner, but I could still dream. They had always been overprotective of me and I've never understood why; all I really knew though, was that they began watching over me more closely right after my accident.

My eyes glanced at the mirror one more time before I walked towards the bathroom to take a shower. My mind was tumbling over thoughts about the past, my parents, my scar, and the single, simple imperfection that streaked down my painting. It felt as if all of those things fit together like puzzle pieces, but I quickly shook the thought away, knowing that tonight's dinner was the most important thing that needed to be on my mind. It was something that needed utter perfection.

---

Mother played with the dial on the radio as I sat in the back of the car, watching the flashing lights pass by as we drove down the busy city street. Father kept complimenting my mother every five minutes as she kept checking her makeup in the mirror and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the two of them. I had been spending most of the fifteen minute ride lost in my own thoughts and it almost seemed like I didn't exist to the two of them; this was a normal occurrence though, unless we were out in the public eye.

“Frost, don't slouch; you'll mess up your back and you've already wrinkling your shirt,” Mother said, glancing back at me for a moment before I straightened my back and pulled out my phone, glancing down at the time before looking out the window once again. I listened to the soft music that my mother had put on the radio, shutting my eyes, and sighing.

I was enjoying the seclusion of mind until my father snapped me out of it, saying, “Frost, are you interested in helping me make a few connections with other businesses tonight? If you don't, you can always go with your mother's idea of trying to find you a companion; isn't that how you put it, Genni?”

You could almost see my mother's face grow red in the darkness of the car as she gently hit my father on the arm. “Oh shush, Thomas. When you were Frost's age, you were trying to get me to sneak out of the house to see you.”

A soft chuckle left Father's lips before he glanced back at me in the rearview mirror and asked, “So what will it be, son?”

I shook my head and let off a soft sigh before saying, “I guess I'll have to go with you, Father. D-Do you mind if I talk to Dashiell for a bit though? It's been ages since we've last spoke and I just want to take a couple of minutes to catch up.” Mother glanced back at me as I spoke before she looked at my father as if she was searching him for an answer. Throughout the years, I had caught them doing this more than once; looking at each other in such a way each time I asked certain questions.

“Only if we happen to see him, Frost. I'd like to let as many people know about the business as I can and I cannot do it without you,” he said, placing his hand on top of my mother's as if to comfort her. I slightly questioned these gestures, but knowing of their overprotective parenting, I had grown accustomed to it. Rather than rolling my eyes, I paid attention to my phone, opening up a game, and enjoying the silence that had suddenly subdued the car.

---

“And this here is my son Frost,” Father said, clapping his hand on my shoulder as I shook hands with a couple of his former colleagues. We had arrived at the party just a little over an hour ago and all I had been doing was introducing myself to handfuls of people. I had yet to see my childhood friend and I was beginning to grow tired of shaking hands with mere strangers.

My eyes searched around the room as my father talked to the two strangers. People stared at me as if I stood out like a sore thumb before my eyes landed on a single dark-haired individual who had his arm wrapped around a pretty blonde. I tapped my father on the arm, whispering in his ear, “I'm going to go talk to Dashiell,” before wandering off across the room, running right into someone.

“E-Excuse me,” I stuttered, glancing up at the male's blue eyes for only a moment before walking off. A chill ran down my spine as I glanced back, only to see him staring at me with a slight smile on his lips and I shook my head before grabbing Dashiell by the shoulder and saying, “You got lucky this time.”

“Frost! It's been way too long,” he said, pulling me in for a quick hug as people around us stared as if we had no class. My face turned red as my friend stepped away from me, wrapping an arm around the blonde's waist before he said, “Oh, allow me to introduce you to this beautiful dame. This, my friend, is my gorgeous girlfriend, Ashlee.” I shook her hand before saying, “I'm Frost. I don't know how much Dashiell told you about me, but the two of us grew up together.”

She gave me a small, red-lipstick smile before saying, “Dash, has told me a little bit about the trouble that the two of you used to cause, but it's nice to finally meet you.” I nodded my head before Dashiell leaned over to me and said, “Where are your parents at? I'm almost positive that they didn't let you run off on your own.”

My eyes trailed around the room, landing on my father who glanced over at me with his dark brown eyes. “Father is just behind us talking to some old colleagues, but I have no idea where Mother went; last time I saw her, she was going to speak with the host's wife.” My friend nodded his head before he said, “Your father seems to be watching us very carefully. Is there any reason why they're still watching over you so closely? I hate to sound rude, but you're nineteen; I'm sure you can take care of yourself, Frost.”

I looked down at the floor with his words. What he said was true; I've been able to take care of myself since I turned eighteen, but my parents have always kept me sheltered. Truth be told, I was lucky that I was able to have an apartment of my own. “Y-You've known how they've always been, Dash. Ever since I had my accident all those years ago, they're afraid to let me fly too far from the nest. I-I'm just hoping that one day they'll let me loose, but until then, I just have to deal with their overprotective parenting and their forcefulness when it comes to bringing me to these functions.”

Dashiell nodded his head before my mother walked up beside me. “Dashiell, it's good to see you here. You've grown so much in this past year that I almost didn't recognize you. I hope you don't mind if I steal Frost for a few minutes; there's a few people that I'd like him to meet,” Mother cooed, tugging softly at the sleeve of my blazer before Dash looked at me for a long moment before he said, “I-I don't mind at all, Mrs. Hillary.”

Mother gave Dashiell a bright smile before she said, “Good. He'll be back in a little bit then. It was good to see you again!” At the end of her sentence, she began to drag me towards the staircase, my father following close behind. “M-Mother where are we going?”

She stopped in her tracks before she looked at me and said, “Did you not hear what I told Dashiell, darling? I want to introduce you to a few people; a family that your father and I have been close with for years, to be in fact.” A soft smile held her lips as the began to pull me by my sleeve again as I glanced back at my father. The older man simply shrugged his shoulders before I gave up and followed my mother, almost tripping on her heels more than once.

“I'm so sorry it took us so long, I couldn't find my son anywhere,” Mother said to a couple who stood right next to the staircase, drinks in their hands. The man simply nodded his head while his wife said, “You shouldn't worry about it, Genni; we sent Spencer to get drinks a few minutes ago and he has yet to return... Speaking of him, there he is now.”

“I apologize for taking so long, Mother. I accidentally bumped into someone and ended up spilling a little bit of wine on myself.” I turned around only to meet the blue eyes of the man that I had ran in to not long ago. My face turned red at an instant the moment he held out his hand to me and said, “Allow me to introduce myself; I'm Spencer Brennan; I presume that you're Frost?”

I was frozen in place, just staring at the older male. His hand was hot against mine as I my eyes held his and my mother tapped me on the shoulder, throwing me back into reality. “Y-Yes, I'm Frost. It's a pleasure to meet you.” I stuttered, staring at those icy blue eyes. There was something about the way that his eyes bore into me that made my skin crawl and my mother hit me on the arm once again before I turned to Spencer's parents.

“I apologize for my son's manners; I have no idea where his head is at this very moment,” Mother said, shaking her head as I looked down at the floor in shame. Mrs. Brennan hummed softly before she said, “I'm sure Spencer could teach him a few things, couldn't you, son?” I glanced up at the older male, chewing at my lip as he gave me a cocky smile that told me he had a few dark intentions in his mind.

“I'll be more than happy to.”