Wild and young

[dreamkid]

WHO: Any and all members of camp raven
WHERE: The Meadows
WHEN: July 6th
WHAT: A belated birthday party!!
WARNINGS: Alcohol, spray paint, and teenagers. Ronan's mouth.

[ Everyone in the raven household has been invited to the party today. There's a table near the barn stacked with all kinds of spray paint, including glow-in-the-dark and glitter varieties, in every color of the rainbow. Another table further away holds a cake and an ice chest full of drinks, and has a big sign taped to it which reads: Happy Birthday Noah!

(Matthew wanted to add "And Adam!" underneath but Ronan told him not to blab about Adam's birthday, so just imagine that part is there.)

Although Ronan is of course welcome to add whatever he wishes, none of this is dream stuff except the tables and the ice chest, which Matthew and Blue dragged out here from the house. (The ice chest was stuffed in an unused room and seems normal enough, except that Matthew definitely filled it with water and sodas yet somehow a beer or three or seven seem to have slipped in.)

Also parked nearby--and badly--is Matthew's yellow Mini Cooper, with its top rolled down and the doors thrown wide open. This may seem odd but it has a magic radio that plays songs the listeners are thinking of, so it's there for the music. Of course this doesn't work quite as well when there are so many people and they're not actually inside the car; the music might often go staticky like there's a bad connection or switch mid-song, but it's still fun, right?

Anyone is free to pick up a can and paint whatever they want on this side of the barn, to take a break in the shade with a cool drink, to come and go as they please. Henrietta the giant monster bird might show up to observe what's being added to the side of her barn though so don't paint anything rude, please? ]

Comments

[dreamkid]

I. CLOSED TO NOAH

[ Matthew is unable to stop grinning as he drags Noah out into the yard and towards the little road that leads to the barn; he hasn't told the other boy where they're going because he wanted this party to be a surprise, but well. His thoughts are pretty loud, in his excitement, and while he doesn't totally understand when Noah can hear thoughts and when he can't, he does realize that he might be giving himself away. ]

Okay, okay, so-- [ There's laughter in his voice. ] When we get there you have to pretend like you're surprised even if you're not.

II. PAINTING

[ Matthew is not much of an artist but he's having fun, filling empty spaces with airy little swirls and circles in a rainbow of colors. There's something charming about them, like a child's drawing.

He's got paint all over the tips of his fingers from not holding the cans properly, and a little smudge on his forehead, from pushing the curls away from his eyes, but he doesn't care. ]

III. CAKE

[ Pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Matthew's taking a break to flop down under a tree and stuff his face with cake. ]

i.

[admemoriam]

[Noah knows what's happening as soon as Matthew grabs his hand - his excitement is palpable, but contagious - and it's a struggle to keep his face blank of both joy and gratitude. He doesn't even know what to say. All the trouble he's caused, and they still want to throw him a birthday party? His first one in seven years?

He squeezes Matthew's hand.]

I will, I swear.

[dreamkid]

[ Oh Noah, Matthew's been planning this for a whole week now. (Well. He and Blue together. If it weren't for her, not much would've actually gotten done.)

He keeps pulling Noah onward, managing to avoid running into trees or stepping into holes by sheer luck because he keeps turning back to grin at the other boy and not paying attention to where he's going. But eventually they make it in one piece, and when they do Matthew drops his hand and takes a step back so Noah can take it all in. The tables, the sign, the cake. Matthew's almost bouncing on his toes, he's so eager to hear and see what Noah thinks. ]

[admemoriam]

[When everything comes into sight, Noah's face spreads into a wide grin - however, his eyes look a bit more pensive, trying to actually process what he's seeing.

A birthday party. For him, for the dead boy, who's actually getting older, because he has a body now, and suddenly everything just seems like magic.]

Matthew... ["Thank you" doesn't even start to cover it.] You did all this?

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew's just watching him, full of anticipation, and it bubbles up out of him in the form of an utterly delighted laugh. ]

Yeah! I mean, no-- me and Blue did. It wasn't just me, [ he amends quickly, not wanting to accidentally lie and take all the credit. ]

She's getting everybody else right now.

[ Another little laugh, this time at himself. ]

I was probably supposed to wait for them to get here before I brought you.

[ He just got carried away in his excitement! ]

[admemoriam]

[Noah reaches over and gives him a gentle, joyful shove. His face is full of laughter and wonder, and he can barely keep it inside.]

Dude- [He could give any number of expressions of excitement or gratitude next, but his mouth can't seem to form any of them. Instead, he just settles his hand on Matthew's arms and smiles.] Thank you.

ii.

[oceiteres]

[ Blue wanders over with hands on hips, a can of paint held loosely in one. ] How's it going? [ She cocks her head, observing the artwork Matthew's created. ] I like it.

[ After all, she is a pretty big fan of Artistic Expression. Let your swirls and circles run wild and free, Matthew Lynch. ]

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew turns to look at her when she addresses him, and the result is an unintentional six inch line of paint across one of his silly doodles. Oops. (Actually, it doesn't look any less like whatever it was to begin with.)

He laughs, drops the can of paint down into the grass, and takes a step back to observe the progress so far. ]

It's great! This was a good idea.

[ He's congratulating both of them. We did good, Blue. We did good. ]

[oceiteres]

[ Oh, oops. Sorry, Matthew! She didn't mean to hinder the creative process. Though who knows, if you do a few more of those, it might start to look like something. A bird? A plane?

Superman? ]

I think you're right. [ Blue actually looks remarkably content, which is a general rarity, but especially strange lately. ] Noah seems like he's having fun, don't you think?

[dreamkid]

[ Yeah Matthew's probably just gonna leave the "painting things that actually look like things" to other people, and stick to his colorful doodles.

He beams when she mentions Noah, and tosses the curls out of his face. ]

Yeah! I think he is.

[ That is the most important thing. That's all Matthew wanted out of this this. ]

He said he wanted to grafitti something.

[ Blue already knows this. Matthew has mentioned it more than once since they started planning. But he says it again now, again as a sort of pat on their own backs. He may be stupidly proud and stupidly happy that they pulled this off. ]

[oceiteres]

[ Don't let anyone limit you creatively, Matthew. You do you. Did we already say that? ]

Because of his list? [ She did see the list. Actually, she saw it almost as soon as she arrived, during her first conversation with Noah. That's clearly how highly prioritized the list is. ]

Thanks for letting me help out with this.

[ Here is an encouraging sort of smile for you, Matt. You did good, golden-haired child. You did very good. ]

iii.

[unguibusetrostro]

[He watches this for a moment, before he saunters over and sits next to Matthew, and waits a moment.

And then steals a piece of cake.]

[dreamkid]

Ronan!

[ ... is what he tries to say, but he just took a huge bite, so what he says instead is whatever Ronan's name would sound like if one were also simultaneously laughing through a mouthful of cake. ]

[unguibusetrostro]

Don't bitch, that piece was big enough for three people.

[He eats. It's not bad cake. It's kind of good cake, actually.]

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew chews for another second or two and then forces a swallow so he can stick his tongue out at Ronan. He's playful, carefree, and not at all actually fussed about having part of his cake stolen. ]

There's still enough for everybody.

[unguibusetrostro]

You sure?

[He takes another bite of Matthew's piece.]

What did you get him?

[admemoriam]

a.

[Art was always Noah's best subject in school. It was the only class where he didn't have to sit still and quiet. He could fling paint, spin in his chair, listen to music - and even if he never won any contests, or painted any school murals, he could create things that matched the inside of his head.

There's a smattering of color already on the barn wall, the beginnings of some abstract, swirling design. He looks deeply focused, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth a bit, but his fingers are drumming against one knee along with the music - a staticky Fall Out Boy song released only a month before he died.]

Do you think telekinesis works on paint?

[Uh oh.]

b.

[Some time later, after he's painted to his heart's content and consumed at least three beers, Noah drops into a shaded patch of grass. He has a bottle in one hand, a plate piled with cake in the other, and several colors of glittery spray paint splashed across his T-shirt.

He's happy. And also buzzed, but mostly just so happy. Turning to the closest person, he gives a lackadaisical grin.]

Hey, thanks for all this. Like, a lot.

b.

[oceiteres]

[ Having added her Blue-flavored flair to the barn's exterior -- all her art is no more than five feet off the ground, so it's kinda easy to spot the cut-off point, not that it wouldn't be evident given her choice of subject matter, which is all-natural -- the pygmy tyrant has deposited herself on the ground. There she lies, with a plate of mostly-untouched cake sitting on one side and a giant bottle of water that definitely didn't come from the cooler on the other. ]

You don't have to thank us, you know. [ Why she even says this aloud is a mystery, but there you go. Also, she's making some assumptions, but they're probably valid ones, right? Right.

She turns her head, blinking at him in the half-light of partial shade. ] Happy birthday, Noah.

[admemoriam]

Well, I'm going to anyway.

[He takes in a deep, exaggerated breath.]

Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!

[oceiteres]

[ There's a moment of silence, then: ] Oh, are you stopping at six?

[admemoriam]

One for each of you.

[Actually he's just lazy and sun-tired, but he could go on all day if he really applied himself.]

also b for reasons

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew is lying in the grass, a bit light-headed from all the paint. He turns his head to Noah and beams. Shadows stretch longer and longer across the grass; the first fireflies of the evening are starting to appear. ]

You liked it?

[ He's asked similar questions throughout the day. "Are you having fun?" and "this'll count for your list, right?" and if he weren't Matthew, so childlike and earnest, then maybe it'd be getting annoying by now.

It's just that it's very important to him that Noah had a good time today. ]

[admemoriam]

[Noah looks over at him, beaming, and wrinkles his nose from the tickle of the grass.]

Duh. [He'd give a longer answer, but the sun and the laughing and the beer have lulled him into a happy trance.] The best eighteenth birthday party I've ever had.

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew gives another laugh, loud and genuine, like Noah made some incredibly clever joke. ]

How many other eighteenth birthday parties have you had? [ he asks him, pretty sure he knows the answer. He tucks an arm under his head, content to settle in here in the grass and be lazy and teasing with his friend. ]

[admemoriam]

Just one. But maybe I'll make a habit of it. Maybe I'll just turn eighteen every year.