Old School Week Slowing Down

[Blake van Houten]

Blake felt... almost like a ghost of himself. He had tried so hard to build the reputation he had always been told he should want, to do the things his dad had made him think would make him happy, but none of it helped. He dreamed almost every night about how Tyler's lips had felt on his own, spent more time than he would ever admit thinking about the long-dead flower hidden at the back of his bedside table drawer. The Yule Ball had been useless, he couldn't lie to himself anymore. Walking along the lakeside his heart hiccuped as he spotted one of the causes of his confusion, hesitating before wandering over to where Lars was painting. Years ago he would have taken this chance to push the Ravenclaw in the lake, but now Blake felt... ashamed of that younger version of himself. What had he been thinking? "What're you painting?" He asked instead, trying to glance at the canvas.

 

[Lars van Houten]

It had taken Lars a long time to feel comfortable painting outside again after Blake had first made fun of him. And even now, he kept his wand nearby in case he needed to defend himself. But any worries soon faded away as he focused on his painting, carefully looking at the effect the light had on the water before trying to recreate it on canvas. He was so focused on his work that he didn't notice anyone approaching him until they spoke. And at that point, he jumped and immediately blindly grasped for his wand. "Blake." He said, frowning. "What... what do you want?" He tried to hide his painting without smudging the paint.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake hadn't expected Lars to have such an extreme reaction to his presence, snorting with laughter. "To... know what you're painting?" He asked, amused. "Like I said? Thought it was a pretty obvious question."

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars eyed Blake with suspicion, frowning at him as he laughed at him. "Yeah, right." He said slowly. "You're more likely to throw it into the lake. Or laugh at me for it." He paused. "Or come to think of it, probably both." He added coldly, though he sat up a bit straighter again, revealing more of the painting.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake sighed in frustration, holding his hands up. "I'm nowhere near your stupid painting. I just wanted to know what it was." He snapped, frowning at Lars.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars sighed too. "I know you weren't." He snapped back. "It's just something you'd do." He then hesitated, before placing the painting on the grass. "Here, now you can see it." He muttered. "It's the lake. Which you probably could have guessed from where I was looking at." He added, the last part mostly under his breath.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake frowned, but he couldn't really argue with Lars. A couple of years ago he probably would have thrown the painting in the lake for fun. He was surprised when Lars took it down to show him, studying the painting in surprise. "It's cool." Blake said quietly, staring down at it, then looking up at the lake. "Looks like the real thing." Blake didn't really understand art, but things looking like the things they were supposed to look like had to be good.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars didn't know what he had expected Blake to say, but a compliment hadn't been it. He blinked in surprise, then looked at the other boy. "Thanks." He said quietly, not bothering to hide his surprise. "I was trying to get the light right. Where it's reflected on the water." He said, gesturing ahead to the lake. "See? But it's tricky." He sighed. "I'm better at painting flowers." He admitted, then winced. Surely that was something Blake would laugh about.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake nodded, looking at the light on the lake on the painting, then in real life. "Looks pretty good." He commented. Maybe Blake just didn't have a trained enough eye to understand what was wrong with the painting, but it looked right to him. He nodded when Lars said he was better at painting flowers, surprised. "That's... cool." He said quietly. Blake was silent for a long moment, before looking up at Lars. "Hey, uh... I'm sorry I was a d*ck about your paintings when we were kids." He said slowly. "They're cool."

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars was pleased with the compliments, but also suspicious. He didn't really think Blake was here to discuss his art. "Thanks..." He said cautiously. He waited for the other shoe to drop. But the last thing he expected was an apology. He blinked up at Blake, confused. "That's... nice of you to say." He said slowly. "But why are you suddenly apologizing? What happened?" He raised his eyebrows a little bit. "Is it because Tyler is no longer whispering in your ear?" He added. He'd noticed the two boys hadn't talked lately.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake shrugged evasively when Lars asked why he was apologising, not quite able to bring himself to look at the Ravenclaw. "Just realised I used to be kinda a d*ck." He mumbled, though his head snapped sharply to look at Lars when he brought up Tyler. "What? Did he tell you anything?" He snapped, a flood of terrified adrenaline rushing through him. He had always thought the last kindness Tyler had done for him was keep his secret, but what if that wasn't true?

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars shrugged at his words, feeling weird about agreeing with him but kind of agreeing with him anyway. He was just about to suggest Blake sit down too, as it was hurting his neck a bit to look up at him like that. But then Blake seemed alarmed by something he said. Lars frowned. "Why would Tyler ever talk to me?" He asked him with an incredulous laugh. "He'd never give me the time of day."

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake forced himself to relax when Lars denied his fears, taking a quick breath. "No, yeah, you're right. It's cool." He hesitated. "Just... look, that guy sucks. Don't listen to him."

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars leaned back a bit, squinting up at Blake, the sun shining down behind him. "I know." He said as he said Tyler sucked, a slight smile on his face. "I've known that since first year. It's you who just caught up." He joked lightly. "What happened with you guys? I thought you were best friends.'

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake looked down, sighing softly as Lars talked about Tyler. Had he really been stupid thinking Tyler was a good friend? He had... never told anyone, though. As angry as he was, he kept coming back to that thought. He tensed when Lars asked what happened, shaking his head. "Nothing. He sucks, we're not friends anymore, that's all."

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars sighed. "If you're going to keep talking to me, won't you sit down?" He asked him, shielding his eyes from the sun. "It would make it easier to talk." He said with a shrug. "And I figured you guys weren't friends anymore, you never talk." He said softly. "I was wondering what changed." He paused, wrinkling his nose. "Did you guys fight?" He knew he was being nosy, but he had really been wondering.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Part of Blake wanted to flee this conversation, get away and never talk about Tyler again. But... something about the sunshine and the softness in Lars' voice made him want to stay, and he was sitting down next to Lars before he had even really made up his mind. He regretted the decision as soon as Lars went on about Tyler, looking away over the lake. "...Yeah." He said quietly, thinking back to last year. "It was... stupid. About girls." He added quickly. "But... it's whatever."

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars was actually a bit surprised Blake went to sit with him, but gave the boy a slight smile. He moved his paints aside, fairly sure he wouldn't paint right now, for a while. He nodded at Blake's words. "I see." He said softly. "Can't say I've ever had an argument about girls." He muttered with a slight smile before shaking his head. Then he glanced at him. "Was he a jerk to you?"

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake flushed when Lars joked about never having argued about girls, looking down. Something about the joke sent a pang through his stomach. He could never imagine living like that, joking so freely about something that hurt him so much to think about. He was actually relieved when Lars asked about the fight, trying to focus on that. "Kinda." He said slowly. "But I was kinda a jerk to him first. The... whole thing was really stupid. Doesn't matter now, anyway."

 

[Lars van Houten]

A small part of Lars could admit he had made the joke just to see how Blake would react, and to see if he might show his mean side finally. But he didn't say anything. Lars shrugs. "Then why don't you just say sorry? Maybe he'll say it back." He said softly. "It sucks to lose your best friend. Things... are still strange with me and Elliot, so I kinda know how it feels." He admitted. "Though Elliot is nicer than Tyler." He said, feeling bad for comparing the two.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake snorted at Lars' suggestion that he apologise to Tyler. Admittedly his pride was the biggest reason he hadn't even considered that, but he dismissed the thought as quickly as it had been said. "Nah. There are things he could... I mean... it's complicated. Not talking to him is working, it's fine." Blake didn't know what he would do if Tyler brought up their kiss, and he didn't want to give him the opportunity. He listened as Lars talked about Elliot, face twisting more. "Wasn't he your... you know?" He asked hesitantly, unable to bring himself to say the word out loud.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars knew better than to argue with Blake. If he didn't want to apologize, he wouldn't. But at the question about Elliot, Lars felt himself blush a bit. He nodded, glancing over at the water. "Yeah. He was my boyfriend." He said, forcing himself to use the word even if it felt strange in front of Blake. "But before that he was my best friend, and now... that seems ruined." He said a little sadly. "We're working on it, but it's not the same." Why was he admitting all this to Blake? He didn't know.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake's feelings about this whole conversation had gone from... cautious optimism to fight or flight. He was in over his head. He tried to listen as Lars went on about his relationship with Elliot, but a million thoughts were at war in Blake's head now, thoughts he had been hiding from all year. He shot to his feet, mouth dry and palms damp. "I, uh, gotta go." He said quickly, taking a step back. For a moment, the panicked child inside Blake considered how easy it would be to grab Lars' painting and just... frisbee it into the lake, but instead he took another step back. No, no, he just... needed to get away from this whole situation.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars felt disappointed as Blake got up, which was a surprise in itself. He frowned a bit, then nodded. "Sure." He said, trying not to be hurt by the sudden change in attitude. Blake had probably just been bored. "See you." He said, grabbing the painting again and turning back to the lake. There was no reason Blake should see he had hurt his feelings.