AH collections

The sugar baby escapades (6)

OT6
Word count: 17704
Chapters: 18

It's the end of term gallery show on campus. It's for his pre-req painting class, and he's been required to dress up for the occasion. It's considered to be a black tie affair, so Jeremy dresses as finely as he can, smoothing back his recently blue-dyed hair. He gave invitations to the crew, shrugging off the importance of a night like this, because he knows they're busy what with the recent Haus fuck up. ("God fucking dammit, James," Geoff had said. "This is why we can't have nice things.")

Still. He's hoping maybe Jack can make it out. She always does.

He gets there early to make sure the setup is right and welcomes in the flood of parents, friends, and prospective employers. It's a great night for young talent to show their faces, and immediately, Jeremy can see Tess being surrounded by three well-dressed persons so she can explain the madness behind her painting entitled The Death of Minos. The figure of her painting—a simple close up shot that captured the person's collarbones and up to their mouth—looks familiar, and Jeremy frowns suspiciously.

Leave it to Gavin to get himself involved in the gallery somehow. He's way too taken with his friends.

The night continues successfully, and Jack shows up in a striking red dress with a V-neck and slits up both legs. She hugs Jeremy when she sees him and looks to his painting.

"Oh, Jeremy. This is gorgeous."

"Thanks. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out." And he is. He can see his own improvement from the beginning of the term to now, and he's come so far. And he has so much further yet to go.

"Did the others say they were coming?"

"I talked to Geoff, but he sounded rushed. I'm sorry, baby."

Jeremy shrugs. He wasn't expecting anything, honestly. They're criminals and managing several branching crews at the same time. And what with Haus fucking up and the vein in Geoff's forehead bulging, he assumed it was going to be a long night.

But he's happy here as it is. Jack doesn't do the grand gestures like the others do. She likes keeping it simple, and Jeremy is occupied enough with talking to fellow classmates and visitors, explaining the theory behind his painting.

"So, I titled it Agony because I wanted to capture the side of us that we often try to hide. The angry part of us that's just screaming all the time, so that's when you get to the left half of the painting and it all begins to melt together to create this muddled self-perception of ourselves."

He answers their questions, explains the methods he used while he worked, and many people seem genuinely interested in what he has to say. It's great. And then comes the question—

"Yeah, hi. What colour of gold did you use for the highlights on the right side of your painting? I've been looking everywhere for that shade."

And it's Gavin. He sees him there, and he spots the others, dotted throughout the gallery, milling around, blending in.

Jeremy answers and after that the crowd begins to dissipate. Gavin approaches him sheepishly. "Sorry we're late. Geoff was bitching about us looking presentable. It took forever to get out of the damn house."

Jeremy laughs and looks down at the floor. "It's fine. You didn't need to come. It's not that big of deal."

"Hey, don't say that. We love what you do. And this? Stunning. Absolutely perfect."

They don't come up to him in a group, and for that he's thankful. They come up by themselves, or in pairs like Jack and Geoff. They look their fill, lean in close to see the detail Jeremy's put into his work. It's a rather relaxing evening, and by the end of it, Jeremy and his friends are bone weary and exhausted. They've finished the semester on a high note, and it feels good to have made it this far.

Outside in the lamp lit streets, Jeremy stands in a group with his friends. They plan on hitting up a bar to close off the night, and are inviting Jeremy to tag along. He's ambushed by a giggly Michael before he can answer.

"Jeremy," he says, wrapping a strong arm around the back of his neck. There's slight bruising around one of his eyes, concealed by Gavin's hands no doubt, but still. They probably ran into trouble tonight. "We're gonna ... we're gonna hit up Taco Bell on our way back. You should totally bring your friends." He sounds a bit out of it, probably on heavy duty painkillers as well. Poor guy.

Jeremy holds him up and spots Ryan's gaze. He gives him a look and nods to Michael. Ryan makes his way over.

"Hey, Michael," Jeremy says. "That sounds great, but I was actually planning on going out for a few drinks. Maybe next time, pal."

"Okay, okay. I just want you to know that ... you're damn amazing, you know that? Look at this guy." He's talking to his friends now. "He's so good, and so humble, right? It drives me crazy sometimes."

Ryan swoops in to save the day. "All right." He takes up Michael's other arm and tugs him away gently from Jeremy. "I think we're going to call it a night. Call us if you need anything, okay?" He brushes Jeremy's shoulder gently and says goodnight to Jeremy's friends before hauling Michael away to the crew where they wait for Geoff's limousine to pull up. Geoff salutes him and ducks inside.

"What's up with Michael?" Paula asks. "He seemed really out of it."

"Oh," Jeremy says, pulling something up quickly. "He's a semi-pro boxer, and I guess the fight was a bit rougher tonight than usual."

"And he still came out to see your show?" Rob says. "That is, like, the sweetest thing I've ever seen. Fuck, Jeremy. I'm getting, like, second handed love vibes from you. This is just too adorable. I need to go drink my feelings away."

They go bar hopping until one am and Jeremy feels like crawling back home and under the covers of whoever's bedroom door is open. Mostly, he's feeling morose. If Michael was hurt bad, then the others must be sporting various wounds as well.

When he gets to the penthouse, it's dark and quiet. Geoff is up in the living room his feet on the table. He startles when Jeremy tosses his keys in the key dish by the front door.

"Hey, Lil J." He stretches and yawns. "Have a good time?"

"Yeah. Are you guys—"

Geoff waves him off and then pats the cushions next to him. Jeremy sits down. "Listen," Geoff says. "Tonight was for you. And yeah we had a schedule conflict, and yeah we're a little beat up, but this night was for you. You don't need to worry about us all the time. Take some time for yourself, okay?"

"Okay," Jeremy says. I'm trying.

"After this, we're heading to the Swiss fucking Alps," Geoff says. "Enough of this Haus bullshit. They can sort out their own problems next time."

"Sounds like a plan, boss."