III

Sirius and James walked into the small gallery space, which was packed with people who were milling around. He felt like he had gone to so many art shows over the past few months. He didn't even know this much art could exist. Sirius had this one teacher named Professor McGonagall, teaching Introduction to Photography. Her class was extremely demanding, and she required her students to see a lot of exhibits. The show they were at wasn't for her class, though. This was a requirement for a painting class. They had to attend the art show to write a review of it.

He was finding his classes challenging, but not overwhelming. Sirius wasn't exactly excited to take classes in mediums that didn't interest him. But overall, he was doing well in school. Taking these courses did help him gain an appreciation for different artistic mediums, and what when into making them. Even if they weren't his cup of tea, he was still getting something out of each class. When he was frustrated, he would remind himself how lucky he was to be at RAD.

For this art show, they decided on opening night, so that they could get free food and maybe even a drink.

People packed the small gallery space and the large abstract paintings hung on the white walls. As the two stood there, he saw a woman walk by with a tray of wine glasses. Sirius quickly snatched two glasses of wine off the plater, before the woman could get a good look at him. Grinning, he handed one to James.

They meandered around the room, looking at the art on the wall. Sirius felt lost. He was still new to trying to figure out what other people's art meant. He pulled out his phone and snapped a few photos so that he could refer to them while writing his assignment.

James squinted at the large orange blob. "I don't think I understand painting."

"Me neither," Sirius admitted. "I can't wait to pick my major. Have you thought about what you want to do?"

"Sculpture," he said definitively.

Cocking his head, Sirius said, "I see that for you. Not ceramics though. I see you carving and casting iron or something."

James grinned. "That's exactly what I want to do."

"That's why I'm your best friend," he said, lightly punching his arm.

The two finished their lap of the room, checking out the rest of the paintings. They all incorporated a lot of orange. Sirius idly thought that orange was the ugliest colour. No. Yellow was. Orange was a close second, though.

As Sirius scanned the crowd, his silver eyes landed on hazel ones. A grin pulled across his face as he waved to Remus, who was with Lily. James shook her hand and asked her about her thoughts on the show. Sirius used that as an excuse to talk to Remus. "How are you?" He asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Remus smirked. "I'm good. Do you like the art?"

"I don't get paintings."

Remus pulled on his arm. Standing them in front of the painting. "Abstract impressionism conveys the artist's inner sentiments. It relies on intuition. The style uses action painting and colour field painting to convey emotion."

"English please?"

"It is an art form that uses spontaneity to express personal emotions," Remus said, chuckling. "Think of Rothko. His paintings evoke powerful emotions in the viewer. Sometimes people weep in front of them."

"Aren't they just splatters?" Sirius scoffed.

"You are thinking of Jackson Pollock," Remus corrected him. Sirius watched as Remus attempted to hide how thrilled he was by the conversation. Sirius loved the intensity Remus brought to art. His stories had a spirit, a spark that was ignited by his enthusiasm. "And his work is very important. You need to remember he created a new way of viewing art. He changed what we could consider art. It was ground-breaking."

"I can't believe splatters on a canvas can be that important," Sirius said, sounding troubled.

"His work rejected traditional artistic conventions," Remus told him. "He paved the way for an entire generation of abstract painters, by challenging the conventions of traditional painting."

Sirius loved the earnest way Remus spoke about art. He wanted him to continue talking. "Who is your favourite?"

"Abstract expressionist?"

"Yeah."

"Joan Mitchell," he said, the name coming easily to him. "I got the chance to see some of her paintings. They are beautiful. They have a softness to them, feeling almost musical."

"So this artist felt very… orange?"

"How do you feel when you look at the painting?" Remus encouraged.

Sirius squinted at it. Looking at the orange and red brush strokes. "It makes me feel uncomfortable. It's almost aggressive. Angry."

"I see that too," Remus said, his hand brushing against Sirius's.

He looked down at Remus's hand, his eyes darting back to his face. Small patches of red formed on the bridge of his nose. Sirius grasped his arm, holding it up to examine a tattoo on his wrist. "Is this new?" He asked, running his fingers along a tattoo of the full moon.

"Uh… yeah," Remus said, quivering under Sirius's touch.

"I like it," Sirius grinned. "Moony…"

"What?"

"That's your new nickname," Sirius joked.

"I hate that," Remus said, but the grin on his face said otherwise.

Sirius jumped excitedly. "It's been decided."

He bounded over to James and Lily, telling them about Remus's new nickname. The two stood there blinking at him. "Okay?" James said, shaking his head.

Eventually, people began filtering out of the gallery and the small group took the subway back to their student housing building.

Once James and Sirius were back in their room, Sirius changed into his pyjamas. He tossed his t-shirt onto the floor in his closet, cramming it closed. He and James's room maintained an illusion of cleanliness, but if you opened the drawers and closets, there was a mess of clothing. This was a step up from their high school bedrooms. When they moved into the dorm, they had agreed to keep the floor and counters clear.

Sirius flopped onto James's bed next to him. "Did you get her number?"

"Who's?"

"Don't play dumb. I can tell when you like someone," Sirius laughed.

"And who exactly do I like?" James said, turning a bright shade of red, all the way to the tips of his ears.

"Lily."

James looked up at the ceiling, clearly embarrassed. "Yes, I got her number."

"Text her!"

"Don't you think it's too soon? Maybe tomorrow…"

"No, I would text her now," Sirius encouraged.

"You would not."

"Would too!"

"Remember that girl Elle you like in grade ten?" James said, shooting him a dirty look. "It took you six months to ask her to hang out."

Sirius thought about it for a moment. It couldn't have actually been six months. He reflected, thinking through his memories, realizing that James was right. "Well, look how well that turned out for me."

"It didn't turn out," James laughed. "She started dating someone else."

"Exactly! Which is why you shouldn't follow my lead. Do the opposite of what I would do, text her."

James pulled out his phone. He worried his bottom lip as he typed into it.

"What did you say?" Sirius asked, trying to peek at the screen.

"I told her it was nice to meet her."

"Send a heart emoji or something."

"You are literally the worst," James said, tossing a pillow at him. James's phone buzzed, and he looked down at it, a dopey smile forming on his face. Sirius raised his eyebrows, wanting to know what the text said.

"She said she had a good time, too. Asked me to hang out."

Sirius jumped onto his knees, excitedly shouting, "You can thank me at your wedding."

"Shut up." James shook his head. "Get off my bed. I'm going to sleep."

Once James and Sirius had turned off the light, Sirius felt his phone reverberate from under his pillow, followed by a loud ding. He looked at it, finding a text from Remus.

Remus: I had fun tonight

Sirius: me too

Sirius: you're a great art teacher thanks professor moony

Remus: Don't call me that

Sirius: i'm changing your name in my phone

Moony: UGH

Sirius: it's done

James poked his head up from his pillow. "Who are you texting?"

"No one."

"Can you tell no one I'm trying to sleep?" James huffed.

"No."

"Then at least put your phone on silent."

"Fine," Sirius mumbled. He turned off the notifications on his phone and then looked at his texts again.

Moony: You're the worst

Sirius: naw you love me

Moony: The. Worst.

Sirius: :(

Moony: Stop

Sirius: :(

Moony: No

Sirius: i'm pouting

Moony: I got that

Sirius: heartless

Moony: That's me

Sirius: i see how it is… tell me i'm the most fun person to go to an art opening with

Sirius: then tell me i'm the worst

Sirius: how's a guy supposed to cope with that?

Moony: The most fun ever?

Moony: I'm missing where I said that

Sirius: it was all there. you must be reading the conversation wrong

Sirius: what was that bit you said at the gallery about abstract impressionism?

Sirius: something about intuition and colour field painting

Sirius: i want to use that line in my homework

Moony: Do your own homework

Sirius: but you're my tutor now

Moony: I thought I was your professor

Moony: You can't plagiarize the professor

Sirius: darn

Sirius: i'm going to have to demote you

Moony: :P

Moony: I have to go to bed

Sirius: okay :(

Moony: I had fun

Sirius: me too

Moony: Goodnight

Sirius: night :)

Sirius lay his phone down next to him, smiling into his pillow.