Title: Theatric Infliction Summary: Paint wasn't enough. The final part of Broken Paint Brushes and Artistic Revisions.

All I have to say is let the meyhem begin.

Jake laughed quietly to himself as he rolled out of bed and kicked his bag of chips, which he left on the floor from the night before, under the bed. " Alex…" He wined, getting up and stretching a little and yawning before calling his name again louder," Wake up! I think the milk is going bad"

"What makes you say that?" Alex asked, already dressed and leaning against the counter. He held the container in his hand and scowled at him," You said you were going to the store to buy some more last night"

Jake shrugged, smelling his arm pits and looking around for deodorant," I was stuck at another one of this stupid Transmission Parties" He moaned, giving up and sticking a shirt on instead, he would stink for the rest of the day, but he didn't really care," There was some famous playwright there showing off his new protégé, some new two bit actor" He paused, Alex still glaring so his voice softened," I said I was sorry…look, we'll go get some now, okay?"

Alex rolled his eyes as he tossed him a bottle of deodorant," I'll be in the car"

Alex closed his eyes as Jake swerved to the left and then to the right again," Who taught you how to drive?" He snapped, covering his eyes now as Jake swerved past a cop car and through a side walk full of children. " Did you hit the little girl?" Alex asked, panicked.

"No" Jake sighed out," Alex, calm down, I learned from the best, Marco taught me how to drive!"

Alex sank lower into his seat," Jake…" He trailed off, he couldn't really talk at the moment, it was as if some twisted Del Rossi tradition was of shitty drivers.

"I'm sorry," Jake apologized, looking him in the eyes," I mean it…"

"I know" Alex nodded, reaching out slowly to brush the tears out of his eyes when he opted and jerked his hands towards the wheel of the car since Jake had accidentally gotten onto the side walk again. " Do you have insurance?" Alex murmured, sitting down again and looking out the window.

Jake nodded," Um…yeah…"

"Have another party tonight?"

"Yeah…"

"Oh…"

The car fell into silence.

"You wanna come?" Jake asked timidly.

Alex's eyes lit up," Sure…"

"A few things, you have to be dressed…um…different" Jake said, swerving around the corner to the nearest grocery store and almost hit an old lady, who at the point, looked like she was about to just jump in front of a car and get it over with.

"What's wrong with the way I dress?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow as he blinked at the bright sun light that was flooding into the car's windshield.

Jake smiled at him," Nothing…" He blinked at him, a small smile flashing across his memory quickly as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel and looked over sadly at Alex, who shook his head and took his hands and placed them together," You know, maybe you shouldn't be at those parties so much…"

"Those parties are what pay for the rent, I mean, Marco's paying for the tuition, half mind you, and then scholarship pays for the rest…both of ours, we need this rent money" Jake sighed, banging his head against the wheel, accidenly making the horn sound off and scared a woman down the block into cardiac arrest.

"But…" Alex trailed off." Maybe I should pull up a job…"

"No!" Jake shot up quickly, when Alex stared at him he sighed again," No, Alex…I …uh…I uh, owe you this…"

Alex shook his head," No you don't…we don't owe each other anything"

"Yes, yes I do. You're the only one who still believes in me" Jake pouted for a second, his eyes flashing dark colors and then making him remember the time that he had been locked inside of the car by Kyle. To say that he was unstable would be an understatement, but he was working on it, you know? It's pretty hard to have someone new fill that emotional co-dependency void repeatedly over and over again. So he was taking it in strides, he didn't want to string onto Michael anymore.

Besides, it had been three years.

So why start now?

Alex placed a hand to his head and closed his eyes, inhaling the new car scent before snapping them open and getting out of the car," Let's get the milk before we're late for Chem. class" He stopped and watched as Jake sloppily got out the car, his blue tie hitting him in the eye, even though he had dark blue sun glasses on, and his jeans, which he kept wrinkled and dirty, sliding across his skin with every step.

Alex looked uneasily at the floor.

"Are you coming?" Jake asked, turning around.

Alex looked at an old lady as she walked across the street, holding a sign that said," Beware the side walks, that's where he drives" before blinking out of his trance and nodding, "Um…yeah…"

"Move more to the left" He murmured, eyes content on getting the perfect shot and switching the lens on his camera to a thicker frame before snapping pictures in a frantic motion, 12 in all before collapsing into the chair and sighing out loud," Brilliant, everybody take 5, you all were great" As his fellow staff members went off in different directions, on assorted coffee breaks and call homes only to get a busy signal because your wife was getting busy with the plumber, he looked up again, running lanky hands through string like hair and laughed out tiredly," Andrew, you don't have to pose anymore"

Michael's face softened as he hopped off of the bench that he was posing on and, rubbing his sore ass for being stuck on there for 6 hours of photo shoots, grabbed a seat next to him and cracked a smile," Tired?"

"Like hell" He nodded, snapping his fingers as someone ran over and gave him a cup of coffee. After sipping it leisurely in silence and content he looked over at Michael with old eyes and couldn't help but admire him," I'm proud of you, you know" He nodded to himself," Very proud"

Michael blushed and looked to the floor," Sam-"

"I know, I know" He smiled meagerly, trying to place suddenly shaken hands around the coffee cup to get another sip," Damn addictions" He murmured out," First cigarettes, now this" He noticed Michael had a far away look in his eyes, so he tapped him on the shoulder, waking him out of this trance," Does it feel odd to be famous?"

Michael shook his head," I'm an actor, I am not famous, I just have an odd love for the theater" He sighed a little, wishing he could be anywhere but there before poking his mentor slightly and wondering aloud," Have you ever had this…I don't know, feeling, of some sort?" He paused, eyes struggling to focus properly and tried again," Like…something's missing?"

Sam laughed," Something's always missing, Michael. Especially with you. This is why" He adjusted his positioning in the seat as people behind them flickered and fiddled with the soundstage equipment and light fixtures," In life, we must figure out these things"

"It's too complicated to figure out" Michael said erectly, " So much to try and discover"

Sam winked," That's half the fun"

Michael gave him a hurt look as he got up out the chair and gave him a hug, his hair falling around his eyes as usual as he breathed out shakily and ran a hand through his head as well, knotting and threading his fingers through his unkempt curls he couldn't help but notice the weird sparkling in Sam's eyes. " What?" He asked, placing a hand on his jeans, a pale beige at the moment with latches and a wide loop holed belt barely secured around his waist.

Sam shrugged," You remind me of my son"

"Jason?" Michael asked confused.

"Yeah" Sam nodded, completely falling into his own memories and feeling depressed suddenly, because, fuck, he missed his son so much," You know" Sam snorted," You'd think he'd call after he heard his father was in a car accident"

Michael placed a awkward hand on his shoulder as Sam shrugged, wiping the memory away." You're going to head home now?" He asked, getting up as well, because he needed to start moving around before he lost whatever ambition that he had left.

Michael nodded, again his mind wandering off someone else," I have to go home, get dressed and put on another production of the play tonight. Are you coming?" He wrung his hand behind his back, counting off and timing himself. 15 minutes for a shower, 5 minutes to get dressed, should he eat? Did he need to eat? Was he hungry? Did he have all his lines? Did he forget anything?

"Have I ever missed a show?" Sam asked, patting his back as Michael smiled up at him and hugged him again," Okay…I better go, I'll see you later then, Sam" Michael said as he rushed off down the studio's hallway and over to his book bag, which he had thrown into the corner when he had arrived before and rushed off through the double glass doors.

"Let's get to work people!" Sam said clapping his hands," This isn't America here, we don't have loitering and crash service, let's wrap this thing up" He finished up his coffee and threw the plastic cup to the floor," And for god's sake, someone please, make me a cup of coffee that doesn't taste like cardboard!"

Robert's eyes flickered to the dorm room door as it swung open and a clearly frantic Michael stormed into it and straight into the bathroom where he could hear the shower water now running and him yelling in pain, because the water takes time to adjust and first comes out painfully hot, a thing they both know, but then again, when Michael was in a rush, he forget things. Momentarily finding peace in the fact that Michael was there was good enough for him as he returned to the book he was reading, something called "A Battle Of Epic Times" by some shitty author who couldn't write anything near being justifying or being classified as a cliché, which he's sure the author strived to be, but failed miserably.

He tipped his glasses, eyes red from crying a few minutes ago, because he was trying to figure out how the hell to make instant spaghetti and ended up cutting too many onions and next time would remember to get take out instead, and watched as Michael came into the room again, jeans slung on half way around his waist, hair soaking wet and his shirt unbutton and wet as well. "Help" He squeaked out, sounding distressed.

Robert laughed as he got up and walked over to him, his feet sliding over the cool tiles, and adjusted the collar on his shirt with two tugs before buttoning it up, all the while looking at him and smiling knowingly," Robert, can you please not do that today, I'm nervous" Michael said with a sad look.

"You're always nervous" Robert said calmly, pulling his pants up, and then smoothing down his hair, he took his own shirt to towel off Michael hair and then shoved him down on the couch," The play starts at 5, it's 3, Michael, stop worrying, you know that you'll do fine, you always do fine"

"I just don't want to mess this up" Michael said quietly," I finally found something I'm good at" He chewed at his nail, but Robert slapped his hand away, earning a glare but Robert just smiled at him sweetly and leaned his head against his shoulder," Are you ready for the test?"

"No…" Michael groaned out, burying his face into Robert's hair," I can't handle all of this!"

"Yes you can" Robert breathed out, petting Michael's hair as he curled up with him on the couch and looked at the book," The book is shit. But, I can help you out, since I am the smarter one…" He stuck out his tongue playfully at him, making Michael poke him in the chest and yelling out," I hate it when you do that!" Before pushing him off the couch and taking the book," What's it about?"

"Some guy…and some girl…and a million awkward clichés" Robert said, getting up off the floor and sitting down next to him," But we don't have to study now, we could do something else?"

"Like?" Michael asked, trailed off and looked out the window, easily nervous about the time flow.

"Snuggle" Robert said, making puppy dogs eyes which Michael hated because he couldn't help but want to go "Awww…" when he saw it. He covered his eyes," I have to study…you don't want a dumb boyfriend who can't pass a test"

"No…" Robert said, knocking the book out his hand and placing a sound kiss on Michael's temple," I want a boyfriend whose a wonderful actor, slightly paranoid and an all around basket case…" He smirked," Oh lookie, I have him right here" He hugged him tight and fell back against the pillows as Michael sighed and breathed in his scent, curled his fingers into his hair like old times, and closed his eyes.

"Hey dad" Jake said, tossing himself over the couch onto the floor as Alex appeared by him, laughing and sweaty, looking under the bed along side him, because they were hungry and the only source of food that they had was that same bag of chips that Jake had kicked under the bed earlier.

Marco was on speaker phone in the living room, and as Jake turned around and Alex shoved his legs under the bed, stomach's grumbling angrily in unison Marco laughed, a quick laugh before you could hear typing again," I told you, if you need money or whatever, I have it covered-"

"No!" Jake said sitting up, hitting his head on the bed springs and falling back down against the sticky floor and hair getting caught in something that felt like a mix between ice cream and cheetos or a lolly pop and some candy gum. " I mean, no…Marco…shit…oww… me and Alex have everything under control"

"Yep" Alex called, trying to pull Jake back out, but got kicked in the head as Jake almost reached the bag only to find out it was a dead mouse," I think we found Dylan" Jake said with a dirty look on his face. When they had first moved in they had a rat problem inside the apartment dorm room, and they found this mouse, and they named it Dylan, because it's fur with sort of blonde looking, but it had disappeared a few weeks ago.

"You named a mouse Dylan?" Marco laughed, in the background he could hear someone singing horribly and then Marco yelling at him. " Ryan, get off of me, I'm on the phone!" He cried out in laughter," Whoever it is, it can wait" There were several sounds of what seemed to be kissing as Alex and Jake both rolled their eyes.

"Hi Ryan" They said at the same time.

"Hey Jake, hey Alex, hey, doesn't anyone remember when you used to jump into my lap…you were so adorable" Ryan rubbed his head, getting paint into it, and kissing Marco again, who slapped him, because he was getting paint on the keyboard, and waited for someone to say something.

"Anyway" Marco said, dismissing him and going back to typing," Do you have to work tonight?"

"Yeah" Jake sighed out," I love my job, you know, there was nothing I'd do more, I am so perfect at it, I love it, Love it, love it!" Alex shot him a look that screamed 'bullshit' as Marco clapped his hands together," I'm so glad…I just want you to be happy…Ryan…what the hell…what type of champagne is that, that's like 100 dollars! What do you-" Marco stopped, talking in the background," Hold on" He said to Jake and got up from his desk

Alex and Jake shared a look before both sighing out "Damn"

They weren't having dinner tonight.

"We should just steal some shrimp and shit from the Transmission Party" Alex sighed, getting up and wiping himself off before taking Jake's hand and pulling him up as well." Go take a shower, you look horrible" Alex said with a soft sigh," I'll talk to Marco while you're in there, and get some damn sleep for God's sake, you look like you have eyeliner on"

Jake didn't put up a fight as he shifted through the hall and down into the bathroom.

Andy walked up to the side of the car, he had the keys in between his teeth and was barely able to hold the groceries in his arms when someone walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. Jumping high into the air and dropping all his bags he wheeled around and kicked the person square in the knee," Look, I don't know Kung Fu, but I do know crazy" (A/N: I have a shirt that says that, so I think it would be something that Andy would say)

Brian glared at him getting up ands rubbing his knee sorely," So this is how you say hello? I thought we were beyond the whole attacking phase" He put on a charmingly wicked smile as Andy dropped his bags again and ran up and hugged him," I'm so sorry, Bri, wait, what are you doing here?"

"Well, you're the only one in Canada at the current moment" Brian pointed out, picking up the bags and smiling," Marco and Ryan are off in New York, Robert, Pete is off in some fancy arty place, Jake and Michael are in some rural state and you're stuck here, taking care of the children with Mrs. Del Rossi"

"I'm not stuck, I just love the little brats" Andy shrugged, moving back towards the car," I may have given up my life of debauchery and lust, but taking care of Tilly, or Mike, or Mark, or even Sarah is a joy" He opened the car as Brian pointed out," You didn't mention Lizzy"

"She's a bitch" Andy said with a drawled voice." How long are you in town?"

"Long enough for you to fall in love with me again, and then I'm off to New York to breathe some life into Ryan and Marco, who, from what I've heard, haven't kept their hands off each other" Brian got into the car, placed the bags in the back seat and watched as Andy made his way around to the passenger side. Once he was behind the wheel he could tell Andy was looking disappointed," What's the matter?"

Andy pouted," I never got a full shot at Marco…" He laughed as Brian rolled his eyes.