Open Painting With Starlight

[Lars van Houten]

Lars' priorities had been weird lately. He spent most of his free time either with Blake, or thinking about how to meet Blake as soon as possible. He'd gotten pretty good at coming up with excuses for his absences, which wasn't something he really liked about himself. But he had no choice, unless not being with Blake was a choice. But he didn't feel like it was, Blake made him happy. Lars had been unable to sleep, he'd wanted to paint. Not only that, he had wanted to go outside to do it. He'd grabbed an easel, canvas, and some paints and sneaked out of the dormitory. He set things up in the Great Lawn, with only the stars and moon to give him light. He knew he was breaking rules by being outside after curfew, but Lars wasn't really thinking about that right now. He soon started painting, creating a starry night like the one above him, with the lake silent and dark beneath it. Though he had a feeling that by daylight it wouldn't look very good, he was enjoying the simple process of being outside in the cold night air by himself, painting something that was just for him. It was a good way to process his feelings and thoughts, and he knew deep down that something needed to change soon. Lars couldn't hide forever, even if Blake wanted him to.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy had recently realized that the best time to take in the castle was in the middle of the night. There was something magical, or more magical about walking through the silent corridors of the castle and across the empty lawn. There was really nothing that compared to sitting by the lake in the moon light. She knew it was against the rules but she hadn't gotten caught yet, and it wasn't like she was doing anything wrong. She was just walking. It was a few months ago, when she couldn't sleep that she made the discovery. And she found herself wander a lot recently. Mostly just thinking, about her friends and her classes, and the plants she kept next to her bed in the dorm, but also about herself. The weather was still warm so she had decided to take off her shoes as she strolled along the grass, making her almost silent amongst the background noise of the night. She stopped short when she spotted some familiar red hair and decided to check it out. Poppy could tell it was Lars almost immediately and she quietly joined him. "What are you painting?" she asked softly. They were the only ones out there but there was a level of digression she knew to keep. Besides whispering felt appropriate for under the stars.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Painting like this almost made Lars forget about his surroundings. It was like his whole world narrowed down to his canvas and his brush. So when he heard a quiet voice next to him, he jumped in alarm, some paint splashing onto the ground and onto his shoe. Lars looked down at the girl by his side, thinking for a moment it was his sister before recognizing Poppy. It briefly flashed through his mind that he should say something about her being up and out so late, as he was a prefect, but then remembered what he himself was doing. He could hardly pretend he was patrolling. "Oh, hi." He said quietly. "Sorry, you scared me." He glanced around, just in case there were more girls popping up to startle him. But they seemed to be alone. "The stars and the lake." He finally said quietly. "What are you doing up?"

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy grimaced as Lars flailed around, and she gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry.” she whispered and helped him straighten his things, before she sat down on the ground next to him and looked at his work more closely this time. “It’s pretty. It reminds me of the stuff my mom paints.” she said and felt a bit homesick at the thought. Her mother’s work was a bit more abstract but seeing a painting in progress made her feel fond. Poppy shrugged as Lars asked what she was doing out. “I like the quiet.” she said simply. “I like walking around knowing that no one is looking at me.” she said and looked up at him. “What about you?” she asked, and nudged him. Careful not to do it while he was painting so she wouldn’t mess him up. “I’m sure the lighting is better during the day.” she said with a small laugh.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars shrugged when Poppy apologized, dismissing it a bit. It had been his fault for being so compelled by his painting that he didn't notice anything else. He'd been lucky she wasn't a professor or a fellow prefect. "Oh, thanks." He said, feeling a bit shy at the compliment and the comparison. "I didn't know your mom painted." He then added. He added a few more stars to the painting, tapping his brush against the canvas to create little white dots on the dark sky. "I get that." He said, as she explained she liked the quiet. "Careful you don't get caught by a more rule-following prefect than me." He added with a light laugh. Then he paused as he pondered a response to her next question. "I had a lot on my mind." He then admitted. "And this is the best way to get it out."

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy put her hands behind her and leaned back and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, enjoying the way the night felt. She looked back to Lars when he mentioned her mom. “Oh yeah.” she said with a nod. “She does landscapes, usually more abstract though. And sometimes she uses different kinds of paint and stuff.” she explained. Or explained as well as she could but it was hard to describe things that were purely visual like art. She watched as Lars added some stars and enjoyed the way the paint smushed together. “Yeah, I’ve been lucky so far.” she said with a small laugh when he warned her about other prefects. “And I follow the rules all the time. I feel like I couldn’t get into too much trouble for just this.” she said with a shrug and gestured to the empty lawn. “But maybe that’s just wishful thinking.” Poppy sighed and leaned back again. “Like what?” she asked absentmindedly as she looked up at the stars.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars was curious about the paintings Poppy described, but figured it was weird to ask to see someone's mother's work. He smiled a bit. "That... sounds really interesting and cool." He said honestly. "Do you paint as well?" He asked her, as she seemed tlike the type to him. He glanced at her with a joking smile. "Well, you did just get caught by a prefect, technically." He joked lightly. He still had a hard time wrapping his head around that title for imself, even though it had been nearly two years now. "I hope not." He then said as Poppy said she probably wouldn't get into too much trouble. But as Poppy asked him what he had on his mind, Lars tensed. He couldn't tell her, obviously, but maybe he could say something close to the truth. "A boy, mostly." He said softly, thinking about Blake.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy fiddled with the grass and after a moment started to braid together some of the strands. “They are.” she said, a little distracted. “Kind of.” she answered tentatively. “I like to draw but I mostly copy things I find. Like flowers and bugs and random stuff.” she explained. She wished she could be creative enough to paint things that only came from her mind but that just wasn’t a skill she had. Poppy looked up at Lars’ joke and smiled. “Don’t take this the wrong way. But I don’t know if you’re a very good prefect.” she teased, before giggling. She noticed the way Lars tensed when she asked about what was on his mind and she wished she hadn’t been so nosy. “Oh? I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.” she said quietly, but couldn’t help but sound a bit curious even if she didn’t want to pry. Poppy wasn’t surprised it was about a boy. That seemed to be the root of everyone’s problems lately. She had known when he was dating Elliot and had even delivered a rose from him. So whoever he was seeing now must be new. Or a secret.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars smiled when Poppy said she liked to draw, but then immediately said she only liked copying things. Lars shook his head. "That's still art." He told her. "And honestly, very tricky. Give yourself some credit." He said with a shrug. Talking to Poppy was almost like talking to his own sisters, though they never seemed to need him to cheer them up. It was usually the other way around. Lars laughed softly when Poppy mentioned he wasn't a very good prefect. "You can blame Professor Josephs." He said lightly. He felt himself blush when Poppy said she hadn't known he was seeing someone. His mind flashed to Blake's panicked look when he'd considered showing the flowers off in public. Crap, he had to be careful here. "I'm not." Lars said quickly, focusing on his painting so Poppy couldn't look into his face too clearly. "It's just a crush. Uh, he's straight." He said, forcing out the words.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy considered what Lars was saying and nodded. "Yeah." she said with a sigh and laid back completely on the grass. Her mother had something similar when she had shown her some drawing she had done for fun in herbology. She took a deep breath and looked at the stars as she felt the grass poke the back of her arms. "It's just, I feel like I have so much stuff going on in my head all the time but any time I want to get it out it never turns out right. And not just art." she finished with another sigh. But she laughed when Lars said to blame Professor Josephs. She even had to cover her mouth to keep from being too loud. Poppy sat up as Lars seemed to get more serous. "Hmm." she mumbled thoughtfully when he confessed what was on his mind. She let a silence fall around them but it didn't feel too awkward. Instead she let it settle as she considered what he said. "Have you told him how you feel?" she asked, tucking her knees too her chest and resting her chin on them, as she looked at him.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars nodded as Poppy explained how she felt, it honestly felt familiar. "Well, even if it's not right... you at least got it out." He told her. "I think that helps a little, don't you?" He asked her with a smile. He wasn't sure if he was really saying anything that made sense, but it made sense to him. And somehow, he felt like Poppy would get it. Lars kept on painting as a silence fell between them, though he paused when she asked if he'd told Blake how he felt. He hated having to lie, but knew it wasn't himself he had to protect. It was Blake. "I don't think there's much of a point." He said quietly. "It won't change anything."

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy scrunched up her nose. "I guess so." She admitted with a sigh. It wasn't like Lars was suggesting something she hadn't already considered herself. And she wasn't sure if hearing it from someone else was helpful or irritating. She knew it was true but it wasn't like it made it any easier. It was much more comfortable to live in her head then to try and explain it to anyone else. Poppy felt a little silly for wallowing in her own self made problems when Lars seemed to be going through much more serious turmoil. She chewed in her lip and considered the problem at hand. “Maybe.” she eventually admitted. “But it might help, if you get it out. ” she added and nudged him slightly with her knee, making sure he wasn't holding his paint brush too close to the canvas when she did.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars hoped he had been able to help Poppy a bit with her feelings about her art, though it was something he could definitely relate to. He painted for a bit more, completely unsure if the painting would look even halfway decent in the daylight. He didn't really care. He sighed and shook his head, smiling a bit as she nudged him. "Letting it out won't help anyone, not me nor him." He said softly, not enjoying how he was lying to her. But even though he wasn't completely truthful about what he was saying, he still felt like it applied to him and Blake. It wouldn't help to let Blake know just how much it was bothering him, to hide and pretend.

 

[Poppy Perkins]

Poppy hummed to herself as she considered what Lars said. She tried to imagine his situation, to have a crush on someone and for them not to feel the same way back. It hurt her heart to even think about it and she took a deep breath. "I guess not." she said quietly. Suddenly she was very tired and her bones felt like they were made of stone. Poppy yawned and looked back at the stars, her eyelids heavy. "You deserve a nice boy. Who has a crush on you too." she said in a sleepy voice, only half aware of what she was saying.