Chapter Three: Cafeteria
Jack's POV
"Well done." I turn to see Ianto behind me - again an example of his being a freaking shadow.
"You saw." It's not a question. Of course he saw. He sees everything. It's scary as all heck. "You weren't in class, though."
"English, right?" I nod. "Okay, so Dr. Smith tried to flirt with Miss Piper, the way he does every day, and Miss Piper, for the first time in recorded history turned him down at the door. Impressive. Chris or perhaps Amy began clapping, and Gwen joined in. You were sitting next to her - lucky you - and you shared a book with her. Oh, and you managed to impress her, too. Noticed something about her studies? Her book? Her annotations. That'll do it; she's studious and she likes it when people say so. The rest I saw."
"I'm going to kill you one day," I mutter. "Anyway. I've got art next, and then lunch."
"As do I," he replies. "I think you'll really like it."
"Silvia, this is Jack. He's new."
"Right, yes, I heard we'd have a new student. Nice to meet you, Jack."
"Pleasure." I look around the studio to see the other people in the class. Let's see, how many of them can I remember? A couple of the kids from the genius table… The blond girl, I think her name is Jennifer, and then the girl with the cool dyed hair. Kristen or Kirsten; I forget, and the black guy… Derek? Both of the redheads from the clown table, Amy and Catherine, although I forget which one's which. And then I turn to my left to see a girl with dark hair and glasses. Suzie Costello.
"Uh-oh," I whisper to Ianto.
"She's not that bad without the others," he mutters. "You'll be alright."
"Alright, class, today we're just going to have a free block. You have until the end of the block to draw whatever you want for your portfolio, but know that we're not going to be working on this particular piece again. Get out whatever you want and start going."
"Cool," I grin. I know exactly what I want to do - the thing I'm best at.
I grab a big piece of drawing paper, a smaller piece and a couple of drawing pencils and an eraser. Now… what to draw? I look over at Ianto, and he's rolling his eyes, of course having guessed my first thought. "Like I'd ever do that," I mutter. Even though I would.
"Wouldn't put it past you," he teases.
"Shut up." Okay, that's out… Think, Jack… And then I have an idea.
I close my eyes and remember an image of the cafeteria yesterday. I can remember almost any picture in perfect detail. The trouble is, I can only remember them in grayscale. It's sort of weird, but whatever. Okay, awesome; I've got an image. Time to get started… no, wait. Gotta change the focal point; I was staring at Gwen. Zoom out a bit… okay, now the focal point is her table. Innocuous. Well, unless you're Ianto. Then it's a recipe for teasing… but do I really want to change the focal point? He'll tease me regardless, I decide.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ianto asks. I ignore him, sketching out the general layout on the little piece of paper. As soon as it's done, I get started.
I draw our table first, well, a bit of a table and a blurry Ianto, in the foreground, and then go around clockwise as I draw each table. First Suzie's, to the left and a bit back. I only was able to see them in my peripheral vision at that point; I didn't even know who they were yet. Next the clown table, also peripheral but significantly less so. The geniuses are next, directly in front, and only slightly less blurry than Ianto. And then, last but not least, Gwen's table, which as the focal point is crystal clear. Okay, tables done. Now for the other details. The floor was tiled. Tiles are easy; I like tiles. And the ones in this particular cafeteria are particularly easy. The kitchen was behind us; I draw a peripheral bit of kitchen in the back right. Dumb posters about healthy eating on the right-hand wall. The door to go outside next to the clown table. Now for shadows. Can't ever forget shadows. And, seeing as the shadows of the tables are more or less identical, they're pretty easy as well. I close my eyes, pulling back the image. Perfect. I sign my name in the bottom right-hand corner just as the bell rings.
"Jesus mother of weevils," Ianto murmurs from behind me. "You drew that in forty-five minutes?"
"Apparently," I reply. "Like it?"
"It's freaking incredible," he laughs. "Mind if I take a picture?"
"Yeah, sure. Why?"
He shoots me that goddamn conspiratorial grin. "Well, someone has to show it off at lunch, and it probably shouldn't be you."
"Can't argue with that," I sigh. "Well, let's go."
Ianto's POV
I watch in amusement as Jack tries (and fails) to hold in his excitement. I just hope he doesn't blow his cover today. That would be pretty awkward. Albeit funny.
"Jack! Ianto!" Gwen waves to us from her table. Jack's practically shaking.
"Hey," he grins. I wave.
"Rhys, move over a bit," Gwen says, nudging her boyfriend.
He scoffs. "I thought you said he was a stuck-up douche."
"I did, but he's not, now move over."
"Hey," Jack laughs, "I admit, I did look pretty ridiculous yesterday."
"It's fine," Gwen says emphatically. "Rhys. Move. Over."
"Why'd you tell him to come sit with us anyway?" Rhys asks, glaring at Gwen.
"Rhys, can't you just be nice for once? Please?"
"Maybe it's best if we don't sit here," Jack decides. "Ianto, come on. Don't want to cause problems, do we?" I smile and nod, knowing exactly what Jack's thinking.
"No, don't go!" Gwen shakes her head. "Rhys, stop being a jerk and move over."
"Gwen. It's fine. I'll see you later, okay?" He grins, and then he turns and walks back to the table where we sat yesterday. I follow him.
"Nice," I whisper as we sit down. "I have a feeling she's starting to catch on."
"The food here's good." Jack grins. "My last school's food was awful."
"Way to change the topic," I chuckle. Just then, Gwen walks over to our table with her food and sits down across from Jack.
"I'm really sorry," she says softly. "I don't even know why he's acting like that. Don't mind him, though. I want to be friends. Besides, I don't want my only source of knowledge about the mysterious Ianto Jones from his very biased sister." We all laugh. "And you could use friends, too." She looks right at Jack with a smile that I'd bet my life is making him melt. "I have a feeling you haven't had many. Wonder why."
"Hey!" He glares at her.
"No, seriously, I wonder why. You're not half-bad."
"Really?"
"I might be in the minority with that notion-" she points at Rhys, who's positively fuming at the fact that Gwen just up and went "-but I mean it."
"That's really nice of you…" Jack trails off for a moment. "Anyway. I know Ianto's got a sister; what about you? Any siblings?"
"Four little sisters," Gwen grins. "Yes really."
"How old are they?" Jack asks.
"Jubilee and Anwen are fourteen, Lucy is ten, and Ellie's seven."
"Jubilee and Anwen," Jack says. "I've never heard either of those before."
"I have no idea where my parents got them," Gwen laughed. "Really, I don't. Lucy and Ellie are two of my mum's best friends. The twins got the weird names. What about you, Jack? Any siblings?"
"No, just me. Me and my mom."
"What about your dad?" I ask. Something I don't know, actually.
Jack's face falls. "He… he ran off when I was five. Younger, prettier girl. Typical."
"Oh, Jack…" And all of a sudden Gwen's hugging Jack and he's hugging her right back and I know for a fact Jack's brain is doing a happy dance. And I'm guessing something else is, too. Get your head out of the gutter, Ianto.
"It's fine, though," he says as they pull apart. "I mean, obviously he didn't care about me and my mom enough to stay, so why bother with him?"
"But doesn't it hurt?" she asks. "That your dad didn't care about you?"
"It used to, but… anyway."
"Anyway what?"
"Anyway nothing," he says quickly. "You should probably go back to your table before…"
"What the hell are you doing?!" Rhys grabs Gwen's arm.
"… before that happens." He sighs.
"I'm making friends!" Gwen exclaims. "Can't you just get that? Please?"
"No, I really can't!" he half-shouts. "One day you're going on to us all about how stuck-up and annoying he is-" he jerks a finger at Jack, who clenches his teeth "-and now you're sitting with him? What the fuck's that about?"
"Language," Jack mutters under his breath, just loud enough for Rhys to hear him.
Rhys turns and is all of a sudden practically on top of him. I have the good sense to move Jack's lunch before he falls into it and makes a fool of himself. "What the hell did you just say?"
Jack gives him a look that Chris Noble, master of sass, would be jealous of. "You heard me. I said 'language.' I'm sure you've heard that before."
"How the hell-"
"Turn around," Jack and I say at the same time. He turns to see Gwen laughing. "Gwen, I'd make a run for it…" Jack suggests.
"Um… yeah, good thinking…" and she takes off. Rhys stands there confused for a minute, not sure whether to go after her or us.
"Oh, leave her alone," Jack rolls his eyes. "I've had plenty of girlfriends, and they all made fun of me plenty. It's practically in the job description."
"Wonder why," he mutters, and he storms off.
"And she clues in more and more," I laugh once he's out of earshot. "You're good at this."
"I'm sure you know this, but I've never had a girlfriend. Not once."
"Course I know; I know everything."
"We never got to show Gwen that drawing," Jack sighs.
"She'll see it," I grin. I pull out my phone and text the picture to Martha. "Martha's been trying to get her away from Rhys for ages. Tosh, too. None of her friends like him. I sometimes wonder whether Gwen stays with him just to prove a point."
Jack sighs. "Do you think she'll leave him?"
"After this, there's a chance. If we keep bringing out his inner asshole, I think she'll wise up soon." I grin. "Hey. I won't give up until she's kissing you so hard you asphyxiate."
"I appreciate your enthusiasm," Jack laughs. "But I think asphyxiation during facial consumption might defeat the purpose." And with that, the bell rings.
Hey y'alls! Here's chapter three! I happened to like writing this one a lot.
Except for Anwen (which is of course a reference to Gwen's canonical daughter), Gwen's sisters are all named after Lone Shippers: Jubilee (JubJubFanFic), Lucy (who sadly doesn't have an account), and Ellie-Mai (LoveInEveryMoment)!
Remember to take the Criminal Minds Challenge!
As always, love and ducks to the Lone Shippers, hugs to supporters, thanks to Eleonora, Noe, Hanul, and Kizzie, and cookies for all.
Love,
Ofelia xxxx
