Blank Space °°Brallon/Ryden°°

°5°

Dallon walked down the street, huddled in his gray jacket with Brendon's dark hoodie draped over his arm. Brendon's studio was supposed to be nearby where he was, but Dallon felt lost. The short buildings that lined the street all looked the same; they were built in a very generic fashion. The cemented six foot fence with an arch and a wooden door to lead into the tiny yard that came with the small space.

Dallon gripped his pocket, tightly. He had dressed down for this meeting with Brendon. He only wore jeans and his gray sweater with large, aviator style sunglasses. He didn't want to feel like he was showing off, like Brendon had suggested the last time they met.

"Dallon!"

His attention was drawn to the other side of the street, where Brendon was throwing his arm as high as he could into the air. He had a grin on his face as Dallon double checked the road for oncoming cars before running across.

"Hello, Dallon." Brendon said, sticking out his hand.

"Hello again." Dallon panted slightly, giving Brendon a smile as he held out his own hand to shake.

Brendon was wearing a white shirt under a paint splattered apron. His arms were also stained in color, which seemed to be dried; different shades of blacks, reds, and whites.

"Excuse the mess." Brendon apologized, "I just got inspired."

"Don't worry about it!" Dallon said, shaking his head. He looked down, remembering the jacket on his arm. "Oh! You forgot this the other day." Dallon said as he pulled his hands out of his pockets to extend his arm with the jacket to Brendon.

Brendon smiled as he reached out for it. "I wondered where I left that, thank you."

Dallon just smiled in response. As Brendon folded the jacket over his own arm, Dallon looked around the small, enclosed yard. A large, dark canvas was hanging on a rope that went from the cement wall to the building hidden within. Scattered paint and spray cans littered the ground around it. On the canvas itself, splatters of red surrounded and overlapped a white outline of a person. The shape of the outline didn't seem to match up with Brendon, making Dallon wonder who it was modeled on.

"Would you like to come inside?" Brendon asked, making Dallon shift his attention back to him.

"Yes, please." Dallon nodded.

Brendon waved for Dallon to follow him to the black door that popped out of the gray building. Dallon hurried over as Brendon opened the door and stepped inside. The space was huge; it was a large open area with a small second floor loft. The lower, open level was covered in different styles and sizes of canvases, prints, and neon lights. One section of wall was simply a huge sheet that draped down from the wall and covered a short section of the floor in front of it. Paint cans and spray paint littered the space around it. Dallon spun around in awe as Brendon walked past him with a small smirk.

"Sorry if it's a bit underwhelming." Brendon said, walking over to a desk and swivel chair near the door. He let the jacket slid down his arm and plop down onto the chair's seat. "Some of my best work is going towards the exhibit."

"No, this is all stunning!" Dallon laughed in amazement, spinning around to try and take it all in. There was a brightness to some works, while a darkness loomed inside of others. Dallon walked closer to one of the walls of art. A blue neon skull hung over a short row of paintings. The first photo showed a clean skeleton in a dark suit, sniffing a faded rose. Next to that, was what looked like a portrait; the familiar face, however, was split between two expressions. It seemed that one half was an unsettling calm, while the other half was twisted in an agonizing fear. The final picture in the row was a sleeping figure with a hidden face. Dallon let his eyes trail along the wall, seeing an unlit neon of a trail of Z's.

"Different imaginings of a soul at ease." Brendon said as he walked up on Dallon, making the taller of the two jump. "Because sometimes you wonder if it ever truly is." He gestured to the painting in the middle.

"Woah..." Dallon let out softly as he looked at the split expressions. Looking closer, Dallon noted that the calmer side of the face had a stripe of red running over his eye that had a black lightning bolt effect crossing over it. Dallon squinted at the face. It halfway looked like someone he had seen before...

"Who is that?" Dallon finally asked, "If anyone at all?"

Brendon nodded. "Yes, my model and old partner, Ryan." He explained, "I loved his art... But it took a path away from mine..." Brendon frowned with an absent look crossing over his expression. He quickly snapped out of it, however, with a rapid blink and slight body jerk. "This was one of the last things I modeled after him..."

"I'm sorry..." The words slipped past Dallon's lips without much thought. It just seemed like the right thing to say in response.

Brendon let out a soft chuckle, looking down. "It's alright. It was a time ago, now..." He sighed, "Feels like years..."

"What was his form art?" Dallon asked, curiously, finding it hard to look away from the middle portrait.

"He was very... Calm." Brendon replied after a moment of thought, "A bit of a hippie in his own way. He loved photography, especially of flowers." A faint smile appeared on Brendon's lips with the words.

Dallon finally found it within himself to tear his eyes away from the painting. "He sounds interesting." He said with a look towards Brendon.

Brendon turned to Dallon with a smile. "He was, but his art is in the past. I would like to see more of your art."

"Mine? Gotta give me a pose and a minute for a caption." Dallon laughed, scratching the back of his head.

Brendon laughed too. "I don't mean like that, Dallon. I mean... Come here." Brendon took Dallon's hand and pulled him.

Dallon spun with Brendon's tugging, feeling his cheeks heat up as Brendon pulled him. That strong grip always seemed to render Dallon silent. He was lead to the hanging sheet before Brendon released his hand.

"Would you collaborate with me?" Brendon asked as he spun on his heels to face a paint can. He grabbed one with a deep crimson color inside and turned to hold it out to Dallon.

"C-collaborate?" Dallon sputtered as he took the paint can from Brendon's hands. He could feel wet paint making his fingertips slip slightly.

He received a nod in response from Brendon. Brendon was picking up a paint can with a brownish red color inside.

"I want to shake it up." Brendon shot Dallon an excited grin, "The splatter method is the most fun-"

The sudden ringing of Dallon's cell phone cut Brendon off. Dallon sheepishly laughed, excusing himself and answering the call. It only turned out to be a scheduling error for a doctor's appointment but, by the time he was finished, Brendon had set his paint can down.

Brendon was sitting at the desk near the door, staring intently at a laptop screen. When he noticed Dallon coming over, his expression softened into that of a smooth, apologetic nature.

"I hate to cut things short again, but an error in paperwork has come up and it would be so much more manageable in person to take care of." Brendon said, standing up and offering his hand to Dallon. "I do hope I can make it up to you."

Dallon reached out for Brendon's hand, getting lost in the strong grip for a minute. He nodded at Brendon's words, registering them slowly.

"Just, say you'll see me again?" Dallon asked, feeling his cheeks reheat.

Brendon looked at the ground with an airy chuckle. "Sooner than you could possibly imagine." Brendon replied, looking up to lock eyes with Dallon. He smiled at the taller man, "I feel I can show you far too many incredible things to simply let you walk away..."