The Roof; Late Friday Morning.

[by137.livejournal.com]

Although he'd spent a proper day afk brooding, A.J. was still feeling upset about that whole thing with Annette coming in the other day. And the more the thought about it, the more angsty emo upset he got. Maybe, yeah maybe she didn't know any better. But Annette was smarter than that! She had to have known what she was doing, and if she knew what she was doing...

Because he most likely didn't have the strength to put his aggression out in most forms, he did it through his painting. He'd laid down a big canvas on the floor, picked up a few brushes at once, each dipped in certain paints and just slashed and stabbed and dotted and streaked wherever it felt right, or effective. Jackson Pollack on moody, teenaged boy angst, as A.J. tried to figure out the conundrum of the fact that he always seemed to want what he couldn't have, and then what he could just....He hoped to find the answers in the paint. He'd title this piece "Solution to a Problem about Love that's Not as Messy as Blowing Out your Brains."


[[ open roof is open ]]

Comments

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

River had wandered up to the roof, hoping to find some privacy, but as A.J. was there that wouldn't be he case. Still, he was good company, although his state of mind kept seeping into her thoughts, making her pull the imaginary veil that shielded her from the emotions of others tighter around her.

She approached A.J., watching him paint while remaining silent.

[by137.livejournal.com]

At first, A.J. regarded River with only an sharp incline of his chin, his expression set firmly in reflection to the emotions he was spilling out onto the canvas. He was in the middle of a move that he wasn't quite sure how to make. Finally, drawing in a breath, his arm swung out in a strong circle, arching the paint, and then he sharply brought his hand down, so splattering the blue paint sharply down for the graceful but dangerous sort of arch he'd just made. His lips pressed together as he looked at it; a lazy, splotty, angry sort of question mark and he sighed. He started this to get answers and was only getting more questions. Maybe he just needed a break.

"Hey, River," he said, finally, shoulders hanging as he turned toward her with an extremely weak attempt at a smile.

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

"Hello." River didn't smile back as he didn't really seem to be in the mood for smiling. "Doesn't work?"

[by137.livejournal.com]

A.J. drew in a slow breath as he looked at the painting. "Not...yet," he answered, doubtfully, and then he sighed as he went to grab a bucket of grey paint.

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

"Persistance can be good or bad." She tilted her head. Perhaps painting wasn't the way to solve this particular problem, but she said nothing about that. "It's not an uncommon problem," she added quietly.

[by137.livejournal.com]

"What? Persistence?" A.J. frowned a little.

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

"That which you're trying to solve." She fell silent, observing the painting.

[by137.livejournal.com]

"Oh," A.J. said, his eyes following River's toward the canvas. She couldn't mean...nah, how could she? "Yeah," he sighed in slight frustration, running a paint speckled hand carelessly through his hair. "I know. Modern art, right? I like it how it is, but most people will probably look at it and that it's just splotches, big deal, so I gotta work in something to make it connect more. Even thought it's not a...very...well connected piece by theme."

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

"Timeless problem," she replied. "If the circles start spinning you might loose your balance." She frowned a little, still studying the painting. "Might want to watch where the mind wanders."

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

Annette wandered up to the roof to get a bit of fresh air and to look out over the school grounds. Sometimes she just did this; time alone to be reflective about certain situations that seemed vexing to her. Lately it was A.J and she wasn't about to lie to herself about him. She was just going to be silent in the inward struggles that plagued her, and hoped that some form of answer would come to her in the peaceful quiet of the morning.

However, it was not to be as she spotted him the moment she stepped out onto the floor of the roof.

[by137.livejournal.com]

A.J. had, in a manner of speaking, managed to immerse himself in the work enough that it wasn't just angry splashing and frustrated splattering anymore, and he, armed with a thick brush and a can of orange, knelt down beside his large canvas to start painting circles. There needed to be circle, starting big in one corner, spiraling across the canvas and looping around each other as they got smaller and smaller and finally disappeared, which might have been just a little bit of wishful thinking. He didn't notice Annette; he was too into the work at this point.

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

She was uncertain, unsure whether or not to approach him and Annette took several moments in consternation to consider carefully her mood, possibly his. Had she remembered that he worked on Wednesdays, she never would have gone to the diner with Dick.

Or would she have? She hated these thoughts that turned around in her mind leaving her with mixed emotions and troubled feelings. It wasn't right, or fair, and she knew she was doing it to herself.

Unwittingly she found herself moving towards him. It was an action that was without thought and when she was at his side, she knelt down beside him, staring thoughtfully at the circles.

[by137.livejournal.com]

A.J.'s attention shifted when he felt someone approaching, and then his question of who was answered quickly enough when she was kneeling down next to him.

Come on! His jaw set firmly and his grip on his paintbrush tightened and he became very, very intent on that big orange circle in the corner. "Annette," he said, straining to make it sound casual.

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

His straining wasn't good enough and she knew... she knew there was a definite change between them.

"Hi, A.J." she said quietly.

[by137.livejournal.com]

A.J. kept his focus on his painting, finishing up the circle and reaching the other way to grab a smaller brush waiting with red to outline he shape with. He drew a thick line steadily around it and, since the orange was still wet and with a small dab of white he started to blur the edges. He didn't say anything. What would he say?

[misshargrove.livejournal.com]

Annette didn't look at him yet, instead she kept her gaze focused on the circle and was trying to figure out it's purpose. She stared hard, unblinking, watching what he was doing and doing her best to understand the signifigance. Each person's interpretation could be different, her's could be different from his...

"You are upset with me," she stated simply.

[by137.livejournal.com]

The brush stopped for a second as A.J. realized he needed to make a choice right then. Pretend that nothing happened or that he wasn't upset and just deal with it for the sake of preservation, or be honest. Knowing how well he did at that first one (which wasn't well at all), he continued painting again and simply said, "Yeah."

If she knew that much, she'd probably know why, which meant she did know what she was doing and...well, he didn't think he should have to say much else.

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

After a while, Jeff, bored and finding himself strangely roommate-(and girlfriend)less, wandered up onto the roof. He spared AJ half a glance, then moved on to rustling about the premises, looking at things. "It's weird being up here when I've still got all my underwear," he noted.

[by137.livejournal.com]

...Somethings just...would always manage to get through angst like a knife through butter, and that...that was one of them. A.J., who'd been distracted and wrapped up and brooding, hadn't really noticed Jeff, but he couldn't not notice Jeff's words.

"...what?"

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

Jeff looked up from where he'd been fiddling, flashing A.J. somewhat of a confused, oddly patronising smile. "Last couple of times I was here I had to compensate for lack of pants," he explained, "And trousers, 'cos my dog keeps doing things to them. It's weird being up here without that particular brand of urgency. Emergency clothing urgency really gets the adrenaline going."

[by137.livejournal.com]

"I...can't say I'd know," A.J. admitted. "And, uh, no offense, but I'm glad this time is different? Don't know if I could handle any...emergency clothing urgency right now..." He let out a wry breath of a laugh, shaking his head as he went back to his painting a little. He half wondered if this guy who's name he still wasn't sure he knew or not would point out anything suggestive in this one like he did the sets. Pointing out something like that right now might actually be helpful...

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

Eventually, it became somewhat inevitable that Jeff find himself standing by the painting, staring down at it with a scrutinizing glint in his eyes. "Your squiggle's too squiggly," he commented, "There should be more of an arch, there. And honestly, right now it sort of lacks entirely in cleavage of either the upper or bottom variety."

[by137.livejournal.com]

..Or maybe not so helpful. A.J. shook his head.

"Everyone's a critic."

[scary-jeff.livejournal.com]

"That's why all the best paintings are nude," Jeff noted, with some satisfaction, "There's no need for criticism if everybody's naked in it."

[by137.livejournal.com]

"The best?" A.J. asked, although, really, he slowly realized that some of his favorites, yes, involved nudes. Huh. "But I don't know if there's no need for criticism just because they're naked..."