A/N: Hello, everyone. Long time, no talk/no write. I'm sorry it's been forever but as some of you may know, I am back in school again and plus I'm working more so there hasn't been much time to write. I will, however, promise that this fanfic will be finished no matter what. I know this upcoming chapter is going to be a little short, but I will make it up to you. The others will be longer and I will try to update every week to every other week if I can. Thank you so much for still reading, reviewing, and supporting me and this fanfic despite my tardiness. Hope you're all liking the story so far. Can't wait for you guys to see what I have in store for you. Thank you for reading! X
A little while later, John and Tigerlily found themselves on the top of a very high valley, mountainous and covered in the grassiest terrain. They lay on the lime green blades of greenery as they stared up at the night sky, glittering with its stars and enrobed by the clouds. By then, the effect of the pixie dust had faded off, but Tigerlily still had some in her back pocket. "So did you ever stand up to those guys?" she asked him.
John shook his head. "I've kind of always just been afraid," he sighed. "As big pricks as they are, I've always been a pussy. I've never rounded up the courage to tell them to fuck off. Which is unfortunate, because I'm a smart guy," he laughed. "I think I'd be able to come up with witty comebacks if I tried."
"Shame you never stood up to them," Tigerlily sat up as she reached back into John's backpack and flipped through his sketchbook, still loaded with depressing and violent art. "Do you ever doodle anything happy, John?" she joked lightly.
John shook his head. "I love my sister and I love my brother. I love my dad even if he always yells at me and my mom even if she's a pain in the ass. And now that I've got a friend – Nico – I love the fact that I have those too. Sometimes I make nice things, but for them. I made a painting of mermaids for Wendy's eighteenth birthday. She's always loved creatures like that," he smiled.
"Oh yes – mermaids," Tigerlily smiled. "I'm friends with many of those. So you do things for people to make them smile, yet you don't try to make yourself smile at all. Why is that, John?" she asked.
"I'm pathetic," John looked down.
"You're not going to be pathetic if you don't make yourself pathetic," she held his hand. After a moment of silence, Tigerlily nervously asked him a question. "Do you still do things for people like what you did for Wendy? Like artwork?" she asked.
"Yeah, why?" John looked at her as she started building a fire out of some firewood nearby. She turned around as the campfire light brought glow to her features. "Will you make a painting for me? Will you paint me?" she asked.
"Um, sure," John said, adjusting his glasses quickly before digging into his bag to bring out paint. "Let me just find a canvas," he paused before looking up and gasping, Tigerlily interrupting his thoughts.
"Let me be your canvas," Tigerlily smiled as she dropped her attire to the ground and stood before him, bare. She crawled towards him, as the fire that they had set up earlier shaded her skin in hues of orange, taupe, black, and gold. Her hair just covered her chest. She finally sat before him as he stood there with his jaw dropped and a paintbrush in his hand. She took the red paint from his bag and squirted a little bead of the acrylic liquid on her fingertip before drawing a line down from her chest to stomach. "So tell me John, will you paint me?" she asked again, and with that, John leaned in for a kiss. The rest of the night went on with him not painting Tigerlily with colours, but with his own sweat, and she did the same.