Brushstrokes (Reddie AU)

(Spray) Paint

"And that's the thing. I would've explained to her why I was out so late, but she had just been talking about how straight I was! I couldn't come out to her then, it would be like betrayal. Besides, coming out can be chaotic. Homosexuality surprisingly isn't like smoking, being around someone won't hurt you. But tough guys are more scared of being gay than my boyfriend is of losing my inhaler. I swear they think they'll die."

He finishes reading his little commentary bit of the comedy set he had written. He looks upset, but I thought it was hilarious. I start clapping loudly and cheer for him.

"She gave you an F," he mutters.

My eyes widen in shock. It's not right. Sure, he wasn't perfect, but he was funny! And it touched on the themes! It was artistic in the medium of choice. "How?" I ask and step closer. "I know she hates me, but you wrote it good! I laughed!" I watch him. "She didn't mark it wrong because we...you and I are..." I look up to him and then back down. "Ignore me." I had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. Great.

"I didn't mean to throw in so much gay stuff," he mumbles and looks at the paper. "I was just trying to mimic the things you talk about, you know?"

"I talk about more than my homosexuality!" I announce.

He can't help but giggle slightly. He nods and looks over the paper. "She can do whatever she wants and it's awful. She could fail it just because I said you and I are gay. And we couldn't do a thing, because we could never prove it. She could get away with this, and it's like, unfair!" He crumples the paper up and groans uncomfortably. "And I thought it would be an easy class to pass. Just painting every now and then, nothing special..."

I pull him close. "It's one grade. What do you think is going to happen? Your mom will get mad?"

He chuckles and it lets me know that I have won. After all, I got him to smile. I grin widely and kiss him on the lips. "I love you."

"You're lucky I can say it back truthfully," he giggles. "Sometimes I don't understand how I possibly can, but I do. I love you. Rich." He puts his hand in my hair. I don't know why, it's probably a romantic gesture but I don't mind. It's honestly kind of sweet. I kiss him gently and stand up.

"I have an idea. We are going to do something wild. And it might get us in trouble. We are going to have our revenge on that bitch of an art teacher for failing you. I'll need your help, though."

I can tell the idea has scared him a bit, but he smiles widely at the idea of getting revenge. I think he is starting to change how he prioritises things, which is wonderful. I'm starting to rub off on the poor kid.

Not literally (yet)

"I'm in. What does it entail?" He asks.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Even though I had explained what we were doing, he is still really scared when we actually get to the school. It wasn't that hard for me to get my hands on some spray paint, my neighbour has a secret stash under his desk. And I only knew about it because he once vandalised the mailboxes on our street with dicks. And maybe I might've helped out with it. But whatever.

It's easy to break in. The school doesn't have a huge security system, but obviously walking through the front door would be impossible. That's when he comes up with the perfect idea of sneaking around back. There are these green bulkhead doors that lead to the basement. They aren't locked.

"What if we get caught?" He whispers with eyes full of worry. I place a hand to his cheek.

"I'll go in through the basement and unlock the door through the art wing. Meet me there." And then I head inside. The basement isn't as creepy as I was inspecting. In fact, it's pretty average when it comes to basements. Just a few storage areas and then a staircase leading to the main building. I head up and connect to the janitor's closet. I steal a set of keys and leave, heading to the door I had told him about. I don't like walking around this late in the school. It's so dark. It's creepy as shit and I just sort of try and ignore it. And then I finally get to the door.

He looks terrified and I can't help but chuckle. I open the door and let him inside. He looks at me fearfully. "The basement...is it haunted?" He asks suddenly.

I burst out laughing.

Haunted? Seriously? He never fails to surprise me, that's for certain. And I kind of like that about him. It's cute.

We walk through the darkened halls of the high school. It feels weird, seeing such a gross place without anyone inside. It's surreal, and I can tell he's feeling the same way that I am. I smile as we reach the beloved art teacher's room. I take out each of the colors. I shake them up carefully, and then spray. One color after the other. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. A rainbow. Permanently marking our existence in the school and on her wall. It looks good. It's definitely messy, but that adds to the message of it.

"We're going to get caught!" Eddie explains frantically to me as he watches me. "This is a weird idea. How is this going to help anything?"

I turn and I kiss him suddenly, deep on the lips. "It's a tease. Telling her we aren't okay with what she's done. She'll raise the grade, or I'll spray a trans flag on the other wall," I smirk proudly.

It's funny.

Just a few months ago I was terrified.

And now one boy with dark curls has changed everything. "Just kiss me, Eds!"