https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPlFmoLZBDw
>Your heart is slamming against your ribcage.
>Your legs burn, but not unpleasantly so.
>Your arms feel heavy, and your head feels heavier.
>None of these are unfamiliar feelings.
>As a matter of fact, you love them.
>In another life you’d probably be a runner.
>You look back to see if they’re catching up.
>Of course not.
>You can’t help but laugh as you continue running, your breath visible in the frigid air.
>Expertly dipping and weaving your way through the crowd, you dive over the hood of a car, rolling to keep your momentum on the other side.
>You run until you finally make it to your car, throwing the door open and tossing your bag in the back.
>You jam your key into the ignition and listen to the engine roar to life.
>You take half a second to adjust your mirrors before slamming it into reverse and pulling out onto the street.
>You huff and puff, glancing in the rearview mirror every now and then in case they catch up to you.
>They never have before.
>You get a call.
>You reach to the back seat to try and locate your phone, but give up as it finally stops ringing.
>If it was important, they’ll leave a message.

>The car comes to a halt in your usual spot, just outside the apartment complex.
>You grab your shit and hop out of the car, rushing upstairs to your apartment.
>When you enter, you flip on the tv and change it to the local news.
>There it is. Your latest work.
>It’s a landscape, a snowy mountain pass in the sunset; the foreground dotted with snowy trees, stripped of all life. You spray painted it on the side of an old brick building. It took all night.
>You smile, reading the headline.
“Anonymous Painter Strikes Again.”
>If only they knew how apt that headline is.
>You are Anonymous, and you crave attention.
>Any kind, really. Good, bad, doesn’t matter to you.
>You’re an artist. The more attention you get, the more people see your art.
>The more people who see your art, the more happy you are.
>Is it pretentious? Yeah.
>Do you care? No.
>This is the 4th time you’ve done a public painting. Or as the police call it, ‘Vandalism.’
>You hear a pounding on the door.
>Your smile dies with the television.
>You toss the remote on the couch and speed walk to the door, looking through the peephole.
>It’s your neighbor, Sunset Shimmer.
>You pop the door open and lean against the doorframe.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” You ask, eyebrow raised.
>”Oh cut the shit, Anon. I know it was you. Again,” she says, pushing past you and into the apartment.
“Woah, Sunny, relax. What’s the problem?” You ask, closing the door behind her.
>”Don’t ‘Sunny’ me Anon, you know what the problem is. Not only did you almost get caught this time, but when I called you didn’t answer!”
>Oh, so it was Sunset who called you. That actually was important.
>You sigh, grabbing her shoulders, pulling the leather of her jacket taught.
“Sunset, I’m sorry. Okay? I was already driving when you called me. You know I would’ve answered it if I could.”
>Her eyes dart around your face, full of an untraceable emotion.
>You take a mental snapshot, saving this moment for later.
>She sighs, hugging you.
>”I would say don’t do that again, but I know you will. Just…” she pulls back, looking into your eyes. “Be careful.”
>You smile.
“Of course, Sunny.”

>She suddenly breaks the embrace, blushing profusely.
>Internally, you sigh. Externally, you keep your cool.
“So, did you like it?”
>She looks at you with a surprised smirk.
>”Of course I did. The color pallete was phenomenal. You’re so fucking talented that it blows me away sometimes.”
“Oh yes, please keep stroking my ego!” you grin, opening the fridge and taking out the OJ.
>She rolls her eyes. “Oh shut up,” she says, taking a seat on the couch and turning the TV back on.
 >She looks to you, pensive. “What did you think?”
>You tilt your head.
“Like, while I was painting it?”
>She nods.
>You lean against the counter and think.
>Should you tell her?
>Of course it’s her.
>She’s your biggest inspiration.
>You love her, and it comes across in everything you paint.
>Every single painting you do is lighted by the Sunset.
>Often your paintings reflect your feelings.
>This most recent painting is deliberately cold, isolating, and lonely.
>Because you’re unsure if you’re ready, or if she feels the same.
>So you pushed her away, into the distance of the painting, while your daily life, the foreground, became cold and barren.
>No. You know now’s not the time.
>But what do you say?
“Honestly, I was thinking about home.”
>She pauses the TV to take a closer look at the painting, thoughtful.
>You take this opportunity to study her.
>Every little thing she does makes you crazy.
>You shake your head and drink your OJ.
>She turns back to you. “Where’d you grow up?”
“Montana,” you say in between sips.
“My family had 300 acres of land, and I grew up playing in the snowy forest. I get nostalgic a lot,” you say, tossing out the carton.
>She looks back to the TV. “So this was another ‘snapshot’?”
>You nod. 
“Yeah. It was February, I think.”
>You move back into the living room to look a the painting.
>”What were you feeling during this ‘snapshot’?”
>You fold your arms, deciding to tell a half truth.
“Lonely,” you say, looking back to her.
>She frowns, staring deeper into the painting.
>Suddenly, she stands, crossing her arms. “When are you going to show me the studio?” she asks, nodding her head towards a pair of curtains.
>You laugh.
“When you finally show me those photos you have of me.”
>She blushes. “You know I can’t do that! It’d be weird!”
>The first time you talked to Sunset, you caught her taking photos of you checking your mail with a professional camera.
>You nod.
“Exactly. Now shush about the painting. If you want to you can just go see it. Not like it’s in an exhibit or anything.”
>She mumbles something under her breath, glancing back to the TV one last time.
“What was that?”
>She shakes her head. “Nothing, don’t worry about it,” she says before heading out.
>The sound of the door puts a period on her visit, and you look back to the TV.
>Soon. You’ll tell her soon.

>2 weeks later
>You open your eyes to darkness.
>You take out your phone and check the time.
>11:38 PM
>Perfect.
>Tonight’s the night.
>You’re gonna tell her.
>You get off your couch and stretch.
>You go to your closet, picking out a black pair of sweatpants, black hoodie, and black shoes.
>Slapping them on, you search for your balaclava.
>Where the fuck did you put it?
>Whatever, it doesn’t matter.
>You grab your bag and empty it.
>Won't be needing too many colors for this one.
>You move to your studio, grabbing your climbing gear and throwing it in the bag.
>You also grab all of the paints you’ll need.
>Time to go to work.
>You open the door and lock it behind you.
>When you turn to leave, you see a familiar face waiting there.
“Oh, uh, hey Sunny.”
>”Where you going, Anon?”
>You scratch your shoulder.
“Work.”
>Sunset sighs.
>”I’m going with you.”
“What? Why?”
>She looks you over. “I don’t want to have to worry about you. That’s why.”
>You grin
“Aww, you worry about me?” you tease, poking her in the side on the way past her.
>She jumps and groans, following you.

>You make it to your destination with Sunset after a silent ride.
>”Big wall.”
>You shake your finger at her.
“Ah ah ah, big canvas,” you correct, looking to the side of the building.
“Here’s the fire escape, cmon,” you say, waving for her to follow you.
>She looks around before running over
>You both make it to the fire escape, the ladder hanging just out of reach.
>You look around the alley.
>Nothing. Shit.
“Alright Sunny, I need your help here.”
>She nods. “What do you need?”
>You crouch down.
“Climb up on my shoulders and see if you can’t get to that ladder.”
>She climbs up on your shoulders and you slowly stand.
>”Please don’t drop me.”
“I won’t. I promise,” you say, looking up to see if she can reach.
>Her fingers are juuuust out of reach.
“Okay Sunny, I’m gonna do something crazy. You ready?”
>Her eyes become saucers. “What’re you gonna do?!”
>You jump.
>She shrieks a little louder than you expected, but she latches onto the ladder out of instinct.
>Her weight comes off of your shoulders as you come back down.
“Hell yeah, Sunny. Climb up! Hurry! You were a little loud.”
>She gives you a glare.
>You can see it though. That little glint in her eye.
>She loves this.
>She climbs up the ladder, and you get a perfect view of her ass.
>Boy, that’s a fucking feast for the eyes.
>When she gets to the top she sends the ladder down, and you catch it.
>Can’t make much more noise.
>You climb the ladder and follow her all the way to the top.
>When you get there, the roof of the building is a short, dangerous climb up.
>You step onto the railing of the fire escape, making sure to hold the top rails tight, before turning and sliding your feet to the edge.
>You turn the corner and look to your right.
>There it is.
>You take a deep breath and take the jump.
>Sunset shrieks again, covering her mouth this time to muffle the noise.
>Your fingers just barely manage to get enough traction on the edge.
>From here it’s just a pull-up.
>You make it to the roof and look around.
>Empty. Awesome.
>You turn around and lean over the edge.
“Your turn Sunny.”
>She takes a deep breath and nods.
>She mimics your motions perfectly.
>Finally, she looks to you at the edge.
>”I swear to god Anon, if this was some elaborate plot to kill me I’ll…”
>She looks down.
>”I’ll haunt you forever.”
>You give her a wink.
“I’ll catch you, Sunny.”
>She nods, taking the leap.
>Her arms meet yours and you latch on, tugging her up with you.
>She ends up on top of you, both of you nearly hyperventilating.
>She looks down to you, grinning before laughing and rolling off of you.
>She looks at you from beside you.
>”You know you’re nuts for doing this stuff, right?”
>You laugh, looking back at her.
“What does that make you?”
>She smiles and stands, pulling you up.
“Alright, now we gotta find something to hook this stuff to,” you explain, pulling out the climbing gear.
>”Why didn’t we use that for getting up here?”
>You grin at her.
“It’s more fun without it.”
>She rolls her eyes, looking around the roof.
>She points to an air conditioning unit right above where you’re going to paint.
“Perfect.”
>After getting the equipment hooked up and yourself strapped in, you nod to her.
“Now’s the fun part.”
>You slowly begin scaling down the side of the building, paint cans rattling in your bag.
>The next 4 hours are an emotional rollercoaster of painting and humming to yourself.
>Sunset waits on the roof, keeping watch and letting you do your thing.
>Soon enough, you’re finished.
>You scale back up to the top of the building and take your stuff off.
>”How’d it turn out?”
>You glance at her.
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever painted.”
>She laughs. “Well now I’ve gotta see it.”
>You laugh and pack your gear, motioning for her to follow you.
>You both descend the fire escape and climb the down the ladder.
>You look at the sky, tinted pink by the sunrise.
“What time is it?”
>”6:13.”
“Alright, time for the big reveal.”
>You and Sunset walk across the empty street.
>When you turn back around, you both see it.
>It really is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever painted.
>”A-anon…”
>She covers her mouth with her hands, looking back and forth between you and the painting with tear filled eyes.
>It’s a snapshot of her from two weeks ago, looking concerned over your antics.
>You turn to her.
“Whatcha think? I’m gonna call it, ‘Sunny.’”
>She jumps at you, pulling you into a long, passion filled kiss.
>When you break it, she holds your back, staring into your eyes.
>”I love it.”
“I love you.”

THE END