Once again, I co-wrote this with my writing buddy Jarjarblinx1! And without further adieu...here she is!
Hey everyone, Jarjarblinx1 here with the ever-wonderful Pitch Black! Say hi, Pitch. Hi, Pitch. Sassy, but still awesome. Loving all the great reviews so far! Much love to you! We've got a lot planned for this story, but I'll let you find out for yourselves ;) Keep those reviews coming so we speed demons are sated :)
Pitch looked at the canvas, imagining what he wanted to create. Grabbing his brush, he began, not thinking for fear of second-guessing himself. After two hours, he leaned back and ran a hand through his unruly black hair. For the first time since he had begun, he looked at what he had put on the canvas. There staring back at him was Jack Frost.
On the other side of the house, Sandy jumped when he heard a scream of frustration. He ran as fast as his short legs could carry him to the makeshift studio. He found his friend sitting in front of his canvas, head in his hands. Sandy took a look and saw that Pitch had painted the boy from the art gallery. The blond chuckled. "I think that guy struck something deep inside of you that even you aren't aware of yet." He looked closer at the painting. "It looks exactly like him." Sandy looked up at his friend, a wry grin on his face. "Since when do you have a photographic memory?"
"Since I met Jack Frost. I think I might be in trouble, Sandy. Something about him...haunts me. I see him everywhere, even when I'm not aware of it!" Pitch lifted his hand and roughly wiped a hand across his eyes. Sandy noticed that his friend looked very much sleep-deprived. Interesting...
"Perhaps you shouldn't have been so quick to judge him after all." He put a hand on Pitch's shoulder. "Did you sleep at all last night?"
"Unfortunately, no. I was plagued with nightmares and bright blue eyes." Pitch laid a hand on the one laying on his shoulder, finding comfort in the warmth. "It matters little if I misjudged him. I am fairly certain I will never see him again. He is free, and I am suffering." Pitch turned and chuckled, patting the hand. "For now, at least."
"If five minutes with the guy does this to you, I'm afraid to see what would happen if you meet again."
"Me too, my friend. Me too. Perhaps it is good that I never see Jack Frost again."
You can paint with one emotion because that's what you know... Jack's brush flowed across the canvas, dodging back and forth like his tumultuous thoughts. Have you experienced pain, disappointment, true anger? Have you had heartbreak? "You don't know what I've been through..." he growled under his breath to the silky voice that kept repeating itself in his head.
He stood back to look at his latest piece, frowning. "It's not enough..." He took the canvas and set it over with the others he had finished in the last few days, grabbing a fresh canvas and setting it on the easel.
Jack was too engrossed in his work to hear the doorbell and the following voices. It didn't help that he was blasting his contemporary instrumental music. So when his music was suddenly shut off, his head snapped over to the stereo. "Why'd you turn off my music, Tooth?"
The brunette was standing with her hand on her hip. "Because you have a guest. Maybe if you hadn't been so obsessed with your work for the last week you would have heard me when I told you three days ago." Tooth went over to admire the painting he'd just finished. "It's beautiful. I don't know why you let that man make you think that you aren't good enough, Jack."
They both turned around, when there was a knock on Jack's door. Jack jumped up and smiled, his face bright with happiness. "Jamie!" Standing in the doorway was Jack's cousin. Only two years older than Jack, the twenty-seven year old was now a secretary in New York for some rich guy. He was tall with chestnut brown hair that hung down in his face and olive green eyes. His full mouth was set in a smile, as he leaned against the door, his arms crossed.
"Who else? You haven't been answering my texts, man. I got worried, so I drove all the way here to find out how my favorite cousin is."
He went to pull the man in for a hug, but he stopped himself, looking down at his shirtless, paint-covered chest. "I'd give you a hug, but you might turn out looking like one of my canvases." Jack grinned.
"Screw that! I think I deserve a hug, and I'm gonna get one. Take your best shot!" Jamie pushed himself off the door frame and held out his arms to Jack.
The younger of the two men threw his arms around his cousin, clapping his hands on his back. "It's good to see you, man. It's been, what, seven months? You gotta stop letting that stick in the mud drive you into the ground. You need a break to come visit cool people like us!"
"Hey, that 'stick in the mud' pays my bills! But I'm here, aren't I? Using some of my precious vacation days to come see you, you lazy ass." He looked behind Jack's shoulder to see the canvas he had been working on. "Wow man, you going through a phase? That's a lot of blue and black right there."
Jack turned to look too, only just now noticing the change himself. For days he'd been slowly changing to a darker palette of colors, and he hadn't even realized it. "I...maybe?" He shrugged.
Tooth came over to join them. "Well, you have been pretty upset this week. Maybe that's why?"
His expression immediately soured. "Damn rat bastard..." he grumbled. Jack kicked his rolling chair in frustration, watching as it skittered across the floor away from him.
"Jack, what did I tell you? Your work is beautiful just the way it is. You don't need some professional to tell you that."
"Hold on. Jackie, you met a professional? Who? And this is why I hate it when no one texts me. I'm always the last to know."
"A couple days ago, Jack and I met Sanderson Mansnoozie and Pitch Black at an art show," Tooth sighed.
Jamie held a hand to his chest dramatically. "You met the incredible Pitch Black? What a coincidence. I just so happen to know a certain handsome secretary who might possibly work for Black's uncle."
Jack and Tooth looked at the man, a proud smile plastered on his face. Jack quickly turned away again, crossing his arms. "How unlucky for you. The man's a complete ass."
"Why didn't you ever tell us?" Tooth pulled the chair back over, taking a seat in it.
"Yeah. Why didn't you tell me that you work for a relative of my ex-idol." He went over to sit on the corner of his supply table, an unamused expression on his face.
"Ex-idol? Strong words there, Jackie. Wanna tell me what happened so maybe I can be a little caught up?"
Jack looked down. "He said that my art will never have the depth that his does, because I'm an amateur and don't know what true feelings are." His voice lowered to a near whisper. "And that I'm a disappointment as a human being."
His sister gasped, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. "Jack...is that why you were so upset before we left?"
He nodded. "I overheard him telling Sanderson on my way back."
Jamie's mouth was open in shock. "That little shit! If I didn't work for his uncle, I would hunt him down and give him a good black eye. Don't listen to him, Jackie. You're better than he'll ever be."
Jack couldn't help but crack a small smile. "I wouldn't stop you. But you'd probably break your fragile, little secretary hands throwing just one punch," he snickered. The man hopped down from his seat, starting to neaten up his supplies on the table again.
"I think I'd risk it. I love you, Jackie, and I'm not gonna let some snooty prick bring you down!"
The artist in question just smiled. "Well, I appreciate the image of that in my head, so thank you." When he heard a loud rumbling noise, Jack looked down at his stomach. "Well, apparently my tummy wants food. Anybody up for going somewhere?"
Tooth chuckled, but she shook her head. "I just ate not too long ago. You guys go ahead. You two have some catching up to do anyway."
Jamie swung an arm around the smaller shoulders of his cousin. "Awesome. Let me just go grab a shirt, and we can go." Jack ran to his room and pulled on his favorite blue hoodie, not really caring that his entire torso was splattered with dried paint. "Let's go, Jams!" After grabbing his keys, he started pulling his cousin out the door. Oh, did Jack have a lot to tell.