The Roof; Monday Afternoon.

[by137.livejournal.com]

It might be best not to ask how A.J. got big pieces of plywood up on the roof. He wasn't entirely sure, either, but they were there and so were his paints and it was a gorgeously misty kind of day, perfect for inspiration, and so he was going to have some fun.

It might be best not to ask how A.J. planned on moving them once he was done, either.


[[ open! Having Monday off = calm before the storm! ]]

Comments

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

"Er, hello!" Shortly after class, Jeff made his way up onto the roof. "Have you seen a pair of trousers somewhere around here?"

[by137.livejournal.com]

"Trousers?" A.J. looked up from where he was stretching to get the top of the plywood. "Only the ones on me now. You're the guy who came into the diner yesterday. You're not dead, so I'm going to take it that we avoided any allergies?"

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

"The allergies were just psychological warfare on my mother's part," Jeff replied, letting only a little surly seep into his happy. "I think she's hoping I'll develop some."

He paused, staring momentarily at the plywood before ignoring its existence as somehow not notable. "I think my dog's got strange notions about the meaning of 'playing fetch'," he said.

[by137.livejournal.com]

"Strange?" A.J. asked, tilting his head at Jeff for a moment before plunking the fat brush he was using to smear blueish-grey paint over the plywood into a big bucket of cleaner. He leaned back on his heels and rolled up to standing, wiping his hands on his jeans. "Involving your pants?"

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

"I was holding this stick and I said 'fetch'," Jeff sighed, beginning what appeared to be his best attempt at scouting the area, "And then she ran off with half my wardrobe."

[by137.livejournal.com]

A.J. let out a laugh; he couldn't help it. "Where do you think she took them?"

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

"If I knew that," Jeff said, sounding mildly offended, "I wouldn't be looking, now, would I?"

And then paused.

"...Please tell me she hasn't swallowed them again."

[by137.livejournal.com]

"She hasn't swallowed them again," A.J. said. Not that he knew, but the guy had said please.

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

And because right now, nothing could squash his happy for long, Jeff grinned at A.J. "Thanks," he said. Then noticed the paint... thing again. "What's that?"

[by137.livejournal.com]

"Sets," A.J. said. "Preliminary ones, for the musical. That," he nodded toward the current plywood, "is part of the castle."

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

"Oh," Jeff said, tilting his head, "I thought that was something else."

Hey, wait-- "There's a musical?" he asked.

[by137.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," A.J. grinned a bit. "You must have missed the posters. The Dream Oath. Romance, really chinsy stuff, but fun." He gave Jeff an odd look. "What did you think it was?"

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

"...That's really not important," Jeff said. "It's just if you tilt your head a little, it looks a bit like a forest of unmentionables, doesn't it?"

[by137.livejournal.com]

"Unmentionables?" A.J. asked and then, turning, tilting his head a little, took a look. He didn't see it. At all. But that certainly didn't mean he didn't appreciate the alternate interpretation. One of the best things about art, after all, was how no one ever saw it the same way. "Huh. Interesting. Very interesting."

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

"Well, it's not quite on the same level as breasts, of course," Jeff noted, soberly. "But I imagine that's going to be an interesting musical. Do the costumes match?"

[by137.livejournal.com]

"We don't know what we're doing for costumes yet," A.J. admitted with an unashamed grin. "We're a very...easy going sort of set crew. We do have lights. And talk of jet packs. And, apparently, potentially dirty sets."

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

"You've got an excellent motif going on here," Jeff said, sounding like some kind of demented art critic, "You should embrace it."

[by137.livejournal.com]

"I don't even really know how I did it," A.J. admitted, since he still didn't even see it, but he certainly wasn't one to quell the spirit that was interpretation. "So maybe it's just a matter of letting it embrace me."

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

Jeff grinned a sunny, sunny grin at A.J. "That's the right way to go about it," he said, "Though be careful not to hit the nudity treshold."

Wisdom dispensed, he went off elsewhere in pursuit of his trousers.

[by137.livejournal.com]

"...Nudity threshold?" A.J.'s head tilted as the other guy went off to find his pants. He still didn't know who he was, but he had half a mind to just start calling him Eddie.

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

Annette was sure no one would be on the roof Monday afternoon. After having been punished (http://umbitch.livejournal.com/1636.html?thread=241764#t241764) by Umbridge she didn't want to be out about in public dancing crazy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xi4O1yi6b0) like she was. It was just...humiliating.

She didn't at first see A.J. cause her head kept jerking in time with her legs and arms, but as she moved on further out, yeah, she saw the plywood and then him. Annette was going to go for nonchalance here, "Hi...A.J. P-painting...today?"

[by137.livejournal.com]

"Uhhh...yeah. Um, Annette?" A.J., watching her in utter confusion, set aside his paintbrush, but remained crouched in front of his plywood. "You okay?" She was moving around like maybe someone had dropped a spider down the back of her shirt or something. Maybe she had a really bad itch?

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"Kind of...not?" Annette was jerking her thumbs and kicking her leg awkwardly, pouting. "Umbridge g-got a...shepunishedme. What are you...painting?"

[by137.livejournal.com]

"...Prelim sets," A.J. said, frowning at Annette. He said it distantly, because the sets didn't matter. "She punished you? That's why you're moving all weird?"

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"Prelim s-sets. Can...well, I'll w-watch k?" She wrinkled her brows and her foot curved as she kicked. Man, what kind of dance was this? "Yes. She waved her wand at m-me and look! I-Im a f-f-freak!"

[by137.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, you can watch, but..." A.J. ran an uncertain hand through his hair, frowning thoughtfully at her. "You really can't just stop or anything like that?"

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"It's a spell..." she shrugged her shoulders and her thumbs hooked back as her arms jutted outwards. "I don't know how...how long it will l-last. I tried to sit...already. It...it wouldn't work. I can leave...I know you're working. I-I'm distracting huh?"

[by137.livejournal.com]

"A spell?" A.J. asked, ignoring the part about being distracting because she wasn't. Okay, she was. Kind of hard not to be, moving around like that, but that didn't mean he was bothered by it. "Like, a real magic spell? You said wand and stuff, didn't you, so I guess so...huh."

He moved over to Annette; he didn't think it would work, but he had to try anyway. He went to put his hands on her shoulders and try to hold her still.

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"Real magic...she said this name and next thing I knew Iwasdancinglikeafreakyperson!" She took a deep breath and she was starting to get just a little bit tired. She's probabaly kicked her legs a hundred times since seeing Umbridge.

A.J.'s hands on her shoulders only managed to keep her facing him. She made puppy dog eyes up at him and her leg jerked to kick out. Hopefully he wasn't in the way.

[by137.livejournal.com]

A.J.'s face did sort of scrunch a bit and he slumped oh-so-slightly as he tried to ignore the errant foot in his shin and the pain it caused. He bit his lip, and moved his hands to her elbows rather than her shoulders as if that would hold her better.

"Not helping, is it?" he asked worriedly.

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

Annette knew she kicked him by the thud against the toe of her shoe (she was still wearing her school uniform) and she said a feeble, "I'm so sorry."

It wasn't helping but she was thankful for any and all efforts on his part. "It makes me want... to say the F word A.J. and... I never say the F-F word."

[by137.livejournal.com]

A.J. kept holding her, just taking a slight step back to avoid the feet, because at least it seemed to keep her arms down (although it wasn't easy) and maybe they'd get tired before he did? (Fat chance).

"Do you want me to say it for you?" he offered.

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"It could help my f-frustration but you don't have to. Wouldn't be n-nice of me...to ask that." Annette's head jerked with her leg and she suddenly said, "Whooo!" This was insane!

"Think I...I should just go to my room. I-I could tie myself down...or...something. I-I-I man! This sucks!"

[by137.livejournal.com]

"Do you think you even could lie down?" A.J. asked. "I mean, you know...oh, and? Fuck fuck, fuckity fuck fuck. There." He grinned at her. Clearly, he didn't have the sort of barriers against swearing that Annette had. "Hopefully that helped relieve some of the tension?"

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"I...could throw myself on my bed." It was worth a shot. And she totally cracked up at A.J. and gave him the thumbs up, even though hers were doing that hooking back thing. "I...thanks A.J. I love y-you for that. Okaythen, guess I-I'm going to work my way back. Dammit. Been so-so hard getting up those...s-steps Whoo!"

[by137.livejournal.com]

And A.J., reluctantly, let Annette go, arms ready to fly up to cover and protect his face if one of those hooking thumbs went straight for his head. "You...sure? You need any help?"

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

"NahI'mokayA.J.thanks!" She turned and kicked her way towards the door, her head jerking with her thumbs. Hopefully she would encounter no one else on the way to her room.

"Remember A.J. this is n-not the...real me!"

[by137.livejournal.com]

"'Course not," A.J. said, pressing his lips together against a grin before calling out, "You usually dance a lot worse than that!"

Joking, of course, he thought maybe some humor would help.

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

Annette laughed, or tried. "You...know that's not true! Y-you love dancing with me! I-I'm the jukebox queen!" And she was gone. She probably stumbled down a couple stairs but she was okay. She was made of tough stuff. Probably.