Chapter 13: Artists of Many Shades

It was midway into Saturday morning, and Leo was busy gathering his things to go for a walk in the neighborhood.

Serra was coming along with him to alleviate some boredom, but with their parents gone Leo made sure to lock the house up before they left.

Frame one out the door, Serra turned around, bounced off the front steps and shouted, "C'mon Leo, I'll race you!"

Leo calmly walked past her and remarked, "Take your time for once and enjoy the weather. We won't be seeing this for much longer."

The air was crisp and the sun was wiggling its way out between the clouds. Serra looked up at it and tucked her hands behind her head.

"I hope it rains soon! I've missed the challenge!"

"The rain does carry a certain mood with it," Leo admitted with some fondness, "But remember, you won't be able to play sports at school when it happens this time."

"Awww, that'll be a bummer." Serra said.

Leo could very easily give her the challenge she craves during such lulls, being from the same bloodline and all, but he'd rather not go against his own grain.

While they walked through their streets, the two said hi to their neighbors and Serra broke off briefly to have a playful exchange with the kids.

Leo messed with his phone to get a playlist prepared, and also took a picture of Serra having fun for later.

Eventually they reached the furthest street and climbed the hill to their uncle's house. Though for Serra's part, she ran it, with Leo's permission to record her time.

She cut off a couple milliseconds from her best.

Leo then took back the lead and knocked on the door. It took a few seconds, but Xander answered.

With his childish gasp of joy he swung the door open and ran at the chance to hug his cousins' legs.

Serra and his energy mixed like peaches and cream, with her hoisting him up and hugging him back, "Grrr! How's it going X-Boy?!"

"Fine!" Xander remarked.

Leo pondered, "Is your mom not available?"

After Xander was let go he stated, "Nope, she's at work!"

"Just missed her then. I was going to give her a new recipe to try out." Leo entered the house and Xander ran in front of him with his arms bobbing by his sides.

"My sisters are still home though!"

"Could you get Zelene for me?" Leo asked.

"Sure!" Xander then turned around and announced, "Heeeeey big siiiis! Leo's here!"

This had the unintended result of dragging both Zelene and Lunalei out of their rooms. Zelene was wearing her usual attire, just without the jacket, while Lunalei was wearing a white shirt and denim overalls, with clear signs of oil stains on her skin.

"Yeah?" The two sisters remarked before noticing the other's presence.

"O-Oh, he's here for me, sis…" Zelene murmured, fidgeting her fingers in Leo's direction and then retreating to her room all quick like.

Lunalei then grumbled and stood on her tip-toes to lean over the railing, "You brought HER with? Can't this wait, I'm busy working on something…"

Leo replied, "She's just here to play with Xander to pass the time."

The two forces of abundant youth were already playing tag throughout the household. Lunalei scanned their movements and then sighed, "That's good…Just tell them to-"

Her eyes widened and she started getting into teacher mode, "Hey hey HEY! Watch the desk!"

The two then made their way outside and Lunalei let go of the railing looking like she was ready to faint, "I swear, that girl's going to give me my first wrinkles."

Zelene came back out with her jacket on and an empty shopping bag, stopping at the edge of the stairs and having difficulty reaching towards her sister, "Hey…sis. Do you need anything at the store?"

"Yeah, get me a lime soda. I'm gonna be at this shit for a while and that gets me parched." Lunalei then kept walking back to her room.

Zelene let out an audible sigh and then tensed her fingers up below her chin.

Leo took a deep breath and then reached out to her gently to shift her focus, "The store?"

Zelene flinched and then went down the stairs, avoiding eye contact with Leo, "Y-Yeah, I forgot I need to pick up some art supplies."

From how she was acting, it was clear she was purposefully diverting their plans for the day. But Leo took her messy decision in stride and with a nod, joined her in heading out the door.

She insisted in a haste, "You don't have to come! I-I'll only be gone for a few minutes."

Leo cast a friendly smile her way, "If you want to change our plans for another day, just say so."

Zelene paused to take a few quick breaths and then curled her fingers tightly, shooting out a quiet "Oh fine" and then admitting, "I REALLY do need art supplies though."

The two started walking side-by-side with Leo questioning their route, "Where to then?"

Zelene groaned, "I…don't feel like walking very far. So…Wal-mart?"

Leo then offered, "You pay for your art supplies, I'll get us something at the deli."

Zelene shook her head with uncertainty, "Y-You don't have to-"

Leo looked at her with nothing but his natural expression, and she pulled her head back and groaned, with her lips moving to say "Damn it" silently.

It was a gesture that hovered over Leo's thoughts as they walked to the store. They had some nice conversations about the last week, a lot of it focusing on a documentary they both watched involving the ocean.

Leo recognized this as another weekend where the two of them were getting together, and while it wasn't in his nature to probe too deeply he found the lack of interruptions worrying.

She hasn't tried to reschedule to hang out with other friends, which either means she hasn't found any even now in high school, or she just really enjoys this thing they have.

Zelene looked at him from the corner of her eye and cautiously remarked, "Do you want to say something?"

Leo winced and then said with some guilt, "I don't think you want me to."

"..." Zelene looked straight ahead and seemed to just let something slip out, judging by the drone-like way she talked, "Why would it be any different…"

Leo let the matter lie, and eventually they got back on track to talking about the casual on-goings of their lives.

Zelene was looking forward to the rain, particularly because of the possibility of a thunderstorm. Though it embarrassed her to admit that.

Leo never really had any feelings towards the changing weather one way or another. Rain can be calming or tormenting, snow can be beautiful or deadly, and thunderstorms can be majestic or terrifying.

Letting nature run its course was always fascinating to watch.

By the time the subject of the weather was done, they had reached the parking lot. Not too busy for a weekend, honestly.

Name an item and you could find it here. It's convenient, but not very exciting. Leo preferred visiting specialty stores, as that tended to lead to surprising new finds, like getting produce from foreign lands, or seeing a picture frame created by hand.

The two's trip to the art section was detoured by Zelene deciding to pick up some medicine for back pain. For her sister, she said.

Then on their way over, Zelene remarked, "Say. Leo…Hypothetically, if you could change anything about your body, would you?"

Taking a question of that gravity in stride, Leo looked up and then curled his hair around a finger, "Maybe I'd make my hair less messy."

"T-That's it, huh?" Zelene murmured in disappointment.

Leo flinched and then reached out, but she already shook her head and said with a hint of bluntness, "No, don't change your answer for me."

Leo was going to reverse the question on her, but the answer was standing quite pronounced from her frame.

She looked down and then squeezed the handles of her bag.

"...And here I thought having her big sister back would finally improve her mood. But if anything it's gotten worse."

Leo couldn't hold back any longer and whispered, "Zelene, how much time have you spent with Lunalei lately?"

Zelene stopped and bit her teeth down with the kind of intensity that would damage them. Leo felt a chill go down his spine, and when he blinked she was back to normal.

She tried to smile and remarked, "S-She's busy. You know. Teaching's hard…I imagine…I guess…yeah…"

But try as she might, he heard her say under her breath, "She keeps looking at me that way…"

Leo remained by her side regardless of these moments, until finally they reached the art section.

She browsed the massive variety of paints on display and then used the device to get the cans out. She was interested in a few shades of purple, a couple green, and one red.

She also grabbed some brushes and hovered around the scissors and colored papers, but chose not to grab any.

Once she was done she took a deep breath and relaxed, "Ok…! That…wasn't so bad."

Until she turned back to look at him, Leo felt like he suddenly wasn't on her mind for a bit there. But she welcomed him with a smile and then bobbed her head, "I-I'm sorry I'm not the most cheerful company, Leo."

"No apologies needed, Zelene," He smiled, "I look forward to seeing what you make next."

When she raised her head her gaze was pointed elsewhere, "R-Right…"

The two then left this aisle behind and on their way over to the deli, they ran into Damian shopping in the men's clothing.

As they stopped, their friend put away the socks he was looking at and walked over, "Leo! Zelene! Hey!"

"Hey." Zelene murmured.

Leo remarked, "Clothes shopping?"

"Weeeeell, originally I came here to grab some aspirin for mom, but then I realized I needed new socks cause Serra…and jogging…you know…" Damian stared off into the distance with a blush on his face.

Leo smiled and closed his eyes, "Of course, of course. Well, we're just picking up some art supplies for Zelene, and then some lunch."

Damian immediately flinched out of his embarrassment to say, "Oh! That's great to hear! Hey, Zelene, speaking of, have you tried digital art yet?"

"Ummm, no, not yet."

"Ah. I was going to message you a tutorial I discovered last night."

"Ummm, send it anyway. I…may watch it later."

Leo stepped into the conversation to wonder, "On that note, how are your adventures in the art world going?"

"Poorly, and I can't imagine my motivation getting any better once the rain kicks up again…Bleh." Damian had a particularly venomous scoff to give to that.

Leo pulled out his phone and flipped open the tabs to a certain product, "If you can, try these headphones. They cancel out any outside noise and replace it with an environmental noise of your choosing."

Damian leaned in and rubbed his chin, "Sounds…interesting."

As he pulled back he looked the other way, "I'll…talk to my mom about getting a pair."

He then looked at his phone and gasped, "Ah, sorry guys, gotta run. I'll catch you at school! Tell Serra I said hi!"

He was then off, scrambling back to grab the bundle of socks he was looking at. Leo and Zelene then cut their way through to the deli at long last, with all sorts of options out on display.

"Should I have a sandwich? Or maybe some mac and cheese…" Zelene stood there in front of the counter mumbling to herself and pacing around, "Mmmm, I haven't had a corn dog in a long time…"

Leo had already decided on a club sandwich, so he looked around the area for anything else that might go nice with it, like some Dijon mustard.

During his small adventure, he swore he saw another familiar face wandering through the produce section.

Curious, he ventured out and found that it was indeed his cousin Alex with a hand cart full of vegetables.

"Fancy running into you here." Leo said in a friendly manner.

Alex peeked over his shoulder and then turned around with a reserved expression, "Oh. Hey. What's up?"

"Nothing much, you?" Leo said, eyeing the hand cart again.

Alex looked down at it as well and remarked, "Oh you know. Mom's off doing who knows what, so I gotta handle dinner. Erin demanded stir fry. I just need to go grab some strip beef."

He then looked at Leo directly and said, "Hey, sorry for being so dodgy since we got back. It's been…rough adjusting back to this place."

Leo remarked, "It hasn't changed TOO much."

"Just a little bit is enough to make me feel mopey…" Alex rubbed the back of his head and sighed, "At least you have barely changed."

"Neither have you." Leo said sincerely.

Alex looked the other way and puckered his lips, muttering aloud, "Sure doesn't feel that way."

Leo lowered his voice and got closer, "The voices?"

Alex turned and whispered back, "Nah it's been…quiet, relatively speaking. Except…"

Leo paused, waiting for the follow-up that never happened, as Alex pulled away and closed his eyes with a deep, melancholic sigh, "I don't really feel like getting into it right now."

Leo nodded, then pulled out his phone, "Do you still have my number?"

Alex pulled out his phone in a slacking fashion, "Nah. New phone."

The two exchanged numbers and as Leo pressed his thumb down to register, he looked Alex deep in the eyes and remarked, "Message me anytime."

Alex had, you could call it a smile supposedly, as he told his cousin, "More people should have your morals, Leo."

He then turned and brushed the bangs over his eye away briefly to remark, "Ah, so that WAS Zelene I saw when I came in."

With his gaze narrowing he rubbed the back of his head and shivered, "Is she…doing ok?"

Leo had to take a moment to let out his thoughts, "Sometimes, I wonder if she is."

"...Just be careful, Leo," As Alex left on that note, he made a passing remark of, "I'll see you at school…maybe."

Leo watched him walk away until he was out of sight, then propped his hand on his hip and let his body sag with a sigh, "What are you not telling me, Alex?"

His immediate thought was that it was connected to Erin's sharp change in personality, but speculation could only carry him so far.

His sense of right reminded him that Zelene was waiting for him, so he swiftly and quietly made his return by her side, where she seemed to be tense until then.

She looked at him and remarked, "I…think I'm going to get some mac and cheese. I can put some leftover hamburger on it, and then cover it in ketchup."

She fiddled with her fingers under her chin and muttered, "Or…mustard?"

Leo turned to the deli lady who had been patiently waiting throughout and gave her their order. Finally, they went up to the self check-out and paid for everything, and started their journey back to the house.

The clouds had rolled in a bit more and a slight breeze was picking up. The bridging of summer and fall was well underway, and soon the leaves would turn a lovely shade of red.

Zelene took this opportunity to look at Leo and tell him, "Thanks again for coming with me. I'm sorry I'm…being off today."

Leo nodded to what seemed like a simple apology, but then she opened up a bit more while struggling to make eye contact, "You're still…my only friend."

Leo remarked, "That's not true, you have Damian-"

"He's…ok, I guess. We have similar interests. He talks nicely around me. But he never invites me to do anything. We never talk unless you're around."

"I say the first few points are enough to make him qualify," Leo pointed out, "If anything, he's not uncomfortable to be around."

"It's because he's a bit of a push-over…" When Zelene said that she gasped and then bit the fingernail of her thumb, muttering "Shit…!" under her breath.

Leo chose to ignore that and continue making his point, "You're fine with me, your cousin, being a friend. So the rest of your family are friends as well."

"Yeah but I have to see them everyday right now. Doesn't that sound like…I'm sort of…obligated to call them friends?"

"...Hmm, I never thought of it that way." Leo said, staring off into the sky.

"I-It's not like you to think that way, I just…" Zelene hung her head and groaned, "Uuuugh, never mind. I'm raising a fuss for nothing…"

"Nobody is forcing you to have friends, Zelene."

"But I want friends." She said, showing outright frustration towards him, followed by a laugh and a cry.

She then looked at him while biting her lower lip, "Don't abandon me, Leo."

Leo closed his eyes and admitted, "Who can say what our futures hold? But I swear on my name that I will support you as long as I can, Zelene."

Before she made another comment he reached out and smiled, "Now, how about we make the rest of today fun?"

"Ok." Zelene nodded.

They arrived back home and sure enough, Serra and Xander were still having fun outdoors.

They let them be for the most part, but before heading inside Zelene saw Xander climbing a tree and shouted meekly, "H-Hey! Careful…!"

No point in trying really, which she realized with a sigh.

She quickly trotted into the house and went upstairs first, detouring to her sister's room.

After a short time following the knock, Lunalei answered, somehow even oilier than she was before.

Zelene handed her the soda, "H-Here you go, sis."

Lunalei smiled and took the bottle with excitement, "Wow, they still carry this brand! Awesome! Nothing beats locally owned."

As she closed the door she partway stopped and said, "Sorry for the inconvenience, Zelene."

Zelene's whole body trembled and she even let out a small giggle, turning to face Leo with a fresh blush of warmth in her cheeks.

"L-Lets go." She said, swaying in her walk back to her room.

"O-Oh, give me a moment to change clothes."

Leo understood and stayed behind to check his phone. Alex sent him a message just to assure him that number worked.

Zelene eventually peered around the door and said, "Ok."

Surely her secrecy would imply her room was scandalous. But really, it was just your standard teenager room. A little messy in parts, but nothing too out of place.

Her walls were lined with the color lavender and the plant as well, for a relaxing scent.

She really liked flowers in general, from flower printed bedsheets to nature posters.

There wasn't much else to comment on because, as a boy, he didn't get to poke around much.

She had changed into a black shirt with cherry petals on the sleeves and the word "Believe" marching down a flight of rainbow stairs one letter at a time. She also tied a blue jacket around her waist and put on loose gray pants.

She had pulled out a fresh canvas and the paints she bought. But Leo noticed that there were a few more canvases that seemed clean from a distance.

He went to pull out and the truth was exposed. They had been worked on, but with thick, messy strokes and a clear lack of direction.

When he turned slightly to the right he saw that there were broken brushes hidden under the closet door.

He stood and found Zelene pressing up against his back. He turned to face her and she looked down away from him, "B-Be honest, what do you think of those?"

Leo glanced behind and remarked, "They feel frustrated…lost."

"Yeah…Damian isn't the only one suffering from an art block. But…!" Zelene grit her teeth and muttered, "I need this in my life…So…!"

Leo told her, "Did you know that there's a lot of musicians out there who never achieve more than one top spot in the ratings?"

"But that doesn't stop them from producing music. Because they enjoy what they're doing."

"You should consider that mentality here, Zelene. Focus on making something you like instead of something that will wow everyone."

"...I can do that." She said with a faint spark of confidence. Then, taking a deep breath, she nodded a few times and repeated herself with her voice slightly raised, "I CAN do that…!"

But for the moment, they sat down and enjoyed their lunch while using Leo's phone to watch another nature documentary.

Zelene got a few cheese stains on her shirt from really, really getting into the mac and cheese. She quickly discarded the idea of putting mustard on it though, and switched back to ketchup.

After their lunch and the documentary was over, Zelene reasserted her brief stint of confidence and pulled out the blank canvas.

Leo sat on her computer chair and found some appropriate music to play for this occasion, an instrumental solo guitar piece with some environmental noises.

She only broke her concentration on her work when she needed to go to the bathroom or just wanted to talk for a few minutes.

Leo decided to double-check his homework, still adjusting to the unburdening of needing to do Serra's stuff anymore.

Zelene seemed to be done at some point, pronouncing it with a gasp, but then she opened another can of paint and gently started to apply more small details to her work.

Her hand was shaky and when it seemed like she was ready to lose her grip, Leo gently applied his aura to her hand to remind her that he was there.

She firmly grasped her brush and pushed forward for the rest of the way. She then set the canvas aside to let it dry and the two of them enjoyed laying on the bed and smelling the lavender.

"Thanks again for telling me about Maria's shop. It's really helped me out at night." Zelene whispered.

"She runs a good, fair business. If only my allergies didn't act up." Leo lamented.

After they enjoyed this pleasant break, Zelene got up and propped the dry canvas onto her desk, then slowly stepped back to let Leo look at it.

"Well…?" She said, fidgeting her hands between her legs.

Leo noticed how half the picture was painted in different shades of green with faint traces of red on them, drawing his attention upward to what looked like a sunset, the colors bleeding into the green. The sky was a muted shade of purple and orange.

"Hmmm…It appears to be a…sunset bleeding into a grassy landscape?"

Zelene lit up with a sense of relief rolling off her shoulders, "Ooooh, good. Y-You got it."

"It's a very lovely piece," Leo said without hesitation, "I can't think of anything else it needs."

Zelene turned to the painting and admitted, "Maybe…? Hmmm…"

She shook her head, "I'll stop. I…do feel better now. Really. I do."

"Hmmm…" Leo looked the other way and stared at the picture again, because there was something he didn't quite understand, "Why did it need all this red though?"

"Leo…?" Zelene murmured to draw his attention, "I meant what I said earlier…about you being my only friend. So…when you say you'll be by my side, I can believe it."

Leo replied, "I know you can make more friends, Zelene."

"...Yeah, I just…have to keep trying on my own."

She started to squeeze her hands like it was difficult to admit it. And once again Leo felt that chilling tension in the air around her.

It was hard not to think back to what Alex had said and worry about Zelene's mental state.

But as someone who has been her friend for the longest time, he's done all he can to help her out. He's never been equipped with all the answers to life's problems.

He'll remain by her side as a friend, but for anything to get better…That was up to her family to figure out.

Next Time: The Fires of Vengeance