The chattering of the public outside indicated that there were hundreds of people out there waiting to get in. I was behind a curtain that opened up to the gallery space, excited and nervous for my final project to be revealed. In only a few moments, my exhibit would be opened to the public.

I was letting my fingers dance and fidget, then I felt the familiar warm caress of Evan as he rested his hand gently on my shoulder.

“They’re going to love it. They’re going to love you.” He reassured me.

I turned to look at him. He’d gained his weight and muscle back was now even more glorious than ever.

“What if they don’t like it? What if it’s a huge failure, and I don’t get my BFA?” I asked, showing my vulnerable side like I’d been practicing.

“That’s impossible.” He said. “You’ll have hundreds of eyes on your work, right?”

I tensed up. “Right.”

“And you’re telling me, that there’s a chance in hell that all one hundred percent of them won’t like it?”

The worry ebbed away as I realized what he was saying.

“Trust yourself.” He encouraged. “I do.” And he squeezed my hand.

I glanced at my watch.

“Looks like it’s time,” Evan said, “I’m here for you the whole time.”

There was a lot riding on this. There were high-ups from the art world going to be here today for the opening of the exhibit, and Professor Washburn was a huge fan of my work ever since I’d figured out how to incorporate my emotions into my pieces.

After me and Evan got back together, it all just clicked. And every piece of him that I produced was a showstopper. Inks, markers, paint, charcoal, mixed media, Evan was there in all of them. He was truly my muse, my inspiration.

My professor had pulled some strings, since she said I was a student that showed the most potential. And she got my my own, private show. Then the art school solicited important figures from the art world to come see it. This showing could make or break my career.

We stepped into the gallery space, and to my surprise, it was crowded with people already. There were patrons taking pictures of my art left and right, posing for selfies with it, and I could pick out some well-known critics from the art world in the crowd looking at some of my pieces.

The walls were plastered and every inch was covered with images of Evan, my muse next to me, linking his arm through mine. I had never been so proud.

“Are you afraid that they’re all seeing pictures of you naked?” I asked him, trying to gauge his reaction. It was too overwhelming being in my own head right now.

“Not at all.” He said with a confident smile on his face. “Remember? I’m used to people seeing me at least mostly naked, from when I was a swimmer.

This semester, Evan had quit swimming. He said he’d never been happier.

“I’m so proud of you,” he said to me, “Making a thousand of anything is no easy thing to accomplish.”

I stood up a little straighter with pride. I knew he was right—it had been hard. And all of the emotion that I had to unlock to create these pieces had been even harder. Images of Evan were all over the walls—in black and white charcoal with a pained look on his face, to paint in psychedelic colors, to cubism. And my more recent pieces of him were on the right side of the room, so the passerby could see the emotional evolution of the work.

It tracked the emotional evolution of our relationship. I wondered if any of them would get that. It was in the description on the wall where there was that white rectangle that told people what the work was about, but it was still pretty vague.

Then the fans started coming up to me.

“Did you do this? Is this all your work?” Someone asked me. Then I was overrun by them and there was someone burying a big, fancy camera in my face. Suddenly what I said mattered.

I gave a short speech. Evan tried to get out of the frame, to let me bask in my glory alone, but I kept him by my side, letting him know that I wanted him here. He was a part of this, after all.

I was nervous, but as long as Evan was there with me, I knew things would be okay. No matter what releases happened tomorrow, no matter where my art career went, I was truly invincible with Evan by my side.