artist, you say?

Duncan ran a hand through his mohawk, trying to separate the drooping green parts from the rather shaggy looking black it was supposed to be hovering over. As his hand began pulling up strands and clumps of hair, trying to get them to stay upright, he took a few steps back and let his eyes scan the graffiti he had just decorated the back of his high school with. The large red brick wall had always been completely free of any type of markings—the pride of the school Courtney had told him, who had stopped him a few times from defacing it.

Their school was in a particularly odd spot, which caused the back of the school to face the closest neighbourhood, rather than the front; and now, as he would say, they would finally have something to nice to look at, rather than just boring old brick.

As he stood there, continuing to admire his work and focusing less and less on the area surrounding him, he failed to hear the footsteps that were echoing throughout the parking lot.

"Wow," a female voice said, causing Duncan to jump just the slightest bit. "Only six hours until graduation, and you decide to take advantage of that mouldy brick wall."

Duncan turned around as soon as he recognised the voice and gave one of his signature smirks. "Hey, better late than never, eh Gwen?"

Gwen gave him a smirk as infamous as his own as she walked closer to him, being sure to keep her arms crossed, trying to use the oversized leather jacket she was wearing to block out the small breeze that was sweeping leaves across the tops of her black boots. "So, you really think it was a good idea to put your full name up there?" she asked, looking up at the huge letters that now littered the space.

Duncan let his smirk go lopsided as he spun on his heel to where he was facing what she was. "Ah, maybe it wasn't the smartest plan. But"—he spun back to face her—"at least they'll know it was me, right?"

Gwen let out a breath and let a smile dance across her lips as she nodded. "Yeah, 'cause it would have been such a mystery."

Duncan leaned forward and poked her side. "Someone could have thought you finally went badass and marked your territory," he teased.

Gwen reached out with one hand gave him a small push as a barely audible giggle escaped her lips. "Sorry, but graffiti isn't really my thing."

"Right," Duncan said as he crossed his arms, "you'd rather draw Elvis wannabes as you moon over them."

Gwen gave him a look and raised her eyebrows. "When will you let the Trent thing go? Yes, I fell for a musician. He was cute, played mad guitar, and sang lyrics that made my heart melt. Shoot me for letting my hormones take over for a few seconds."

Duncan raised half of his eyebrow. "A few seconds? I think you mean—what was it?—about two years," he countered, leaning towards her.

Gwen took a step back and pulled her head back. "You know I hate when you do that."

"Do what?" Duncan asked, pushing his face towards her again.

Gwen uncrossed her arms and used both hands to push his face away. "How many cans did it take?" she asked, trying to distract him.

Duncan's gaze left her and went towards the large letters that spelled out his name. "Ah, I don't really know—some were half-full, some only had a spray or two left, and only a few actually had a good amount of paint left."

Gwen cocked her head to the side and let her eyes travel towards the black grocery back that had can spray paint cans spilling out and was even surrounded by a few crushed in ones. "Any of those full or useable?" she asked, gesturing towards the bag.

Duncan looked at the bag and shrugged. "I don't know. Why? You wanna add your name?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrow.

Gwen rolled her eyes as she walked over to the overfilled bag. "No, I told you"—she picked up a can of turquoise paint—"it's not my thing."

Duncan walked over to her and slung an arm around her shoulders. "C'mon, you really wanna leave this school with nothing but Trent Doberman's name written on the third stall wall in the girls' bathroom as your mark?" he whispered in her ear, unable to hide the smirk that was resurfacing.

Gwen jumped a few inches from him as she gasped. "How do you know about that?" she whispered in shock, acting as if there were actually people around who could hear their conversation.

"Oh, I have my ways," Duncan said with a chuckle as he grasped the paint can in her hand. "C'mon, you should make sure no one will forget you when we leave."

"I don't care if they remember me," Gwen said as she let go of the can and pressed it into his palm. "I mean, it's not as if this high school has the best memories for me."

"Well," Duncan said as he tossed the paint can into the air a few times, "you had an overly dramatic relationship with a gay Elvis impersonator, socked Heather in the face, got into a bitch fight with Courtney that lasted a whole six months, got stalked by Cody, which in turn got you stalked by Sierra because she was stalking Cody, and got to date, not to mention sleep with, the sexiest badass ever"—he used the can to point towards his chest—"so, I think it's only fair that you top it all off with marking that wall," he finished, holding the can out for her.

Gwen shook her head as she snatched the paint can from his hand. "But, I'm telling you, graffiti isn't my thing."

"Waitering isn't my thing, and I managed to get through four years of it," Duncan quipped as he bent down a snatched up a can of black paint. "Just hold your breath, close your eyes"—he pick up her empty hand and pressed the metal container into it—"and live a little."

Gwen bit her lip as she looked up at the small bit of empty space Duncan had left on the wall. "I guess it would be kinda funny if Courtney saw her name up here when she woke up."

Duncan let a smile take over his features. "Now, that's the spirit!" he encouraged as he gave her a slap on the back. "Go forth;" he said in an overly dramatic Yoda accent, "I believe the force is strong with you."

Gwen shook her head as she raised the container of black paint. "Just shut up and let me fail in silence," she said as she began outlining a large "C".

After an hour and a half of work, Gwen wiped the small amount of sweat that had accumulated on her brow away with her forearm. She quickly shed her leather jacket and let out a breath as she dropped a spray can onto the ground, causing it to clang with the eight others that had been piled at her feet.

Duncan jerked a bit as he heard the noise. While Gwen had been painting, he had leaned against the brick wall and somewhere along the line had fallen asleep. He blinked a few times before rubbing the sleep from his eyes and stepping forward. "Whoa," he said as he looked up at his friend creation. "That looks"—he busted into laughter—"so fucking amateur."

"I told you it wasn't my thing!" Gwen snapped as she followed his gaze. "Just because it's really crooked and the lines are all kinda wobbled doesn't mean it's that bad."

"Yeah, not that bad for anyone who isn't in art class all day," Duncan said as he ran his hand over the dried paint. "I mean, aren't you supposed to be good at art?"

Gwen gave Duncan an annoyed look as she crossed her arms. "I am good at art, just not this kind. I can draw and paint real people, but making big fancy letters with a spray can isn't exactly my niche."

"Niche? What kind of word is that?" Duncan questioned as he raised one side of his eyebrow. "It sounds like you're in some shitty Disney film."

Gwen let out a laugh and playfully punched Duncan in the arm. "We better grab a picture in case the school actually decides to get rid of it at some point."

"Good idea," Duncan agreed as he jogged over to her and slug an arm around her shoulders. "We better get in the photo, too."—he snatched her phone and turned the both of them so they had their back to the school—"Say, 'Illegal'!" he exclaimed as he pointed the back of the phone towards them.

Gwen quickly complied and let a smile take over her features. After the flash went off she grabbed her phone and turned it around to look at the screen.

"Did it turn out okay?" Duncan asked as he peaked over at her phone. "I wanna make sure I look badass."

Gwen let out a soft laugh as she nodded. "You look as sexy as ever," she said jokingly as she handed him the phone.

Duncan looked at the photo closely and gave his approval. "Not to be rude, but you really aren't good at graffiti, sweetheart."

Gwen rolled her eyes and playfully snatched her phone back. "At least I spelled Courtney's name spelled right," she argued, giving him a smug smile.

"Just because I spelled her name with a 'K' in fifth grade doesn't mean you can bring it up every time I make fun of your art," Duncan said as he crossed his arms.

"Ah, don't forget the time you spelled her middle name: M-U-H-R-E-E," Gwen pointed out before letting a quiet laugh.

Duncan kicked a few cans into his bag. "Har, har, har; you just keep laughing it up. Just remember"—he grabbed a handful of metal containers from the ground and shoved the in his bag before swinging it onto his shoulder—"I'm the one with the artistic talent here."

Gwen snatched up the few remaining cans. "I'll be sure to remember that," she commented as she rolled her eyes and followed him towards the student parking lot, excited to see Courtney's reaction the next morning.

I wrote this over the span of two years. just kept stumbling upon it and adding to it.

~MMC.