On the day the class started using paints both Taemin and Kibum were excited. The teacher explained that for this first project they'd be sticking to acrylic paints, and that for the next one they would move onto oils. As they were previously instructed, everyone had brought one of their canvases from home and had it laid out on the table before them. Next to it lay the finished sketches they'd been working on. Thanks to Kibum's help and his own practicing, Taemin's sketching abilities had started to improve from his first attempts. He had learned that a lot more thought went into these things than he had originally guessed.

As per their teacher's instructions the students got up from their seats and began milling about the room, collecting all the supplies they'd be needing for the day. Taemin opted for a handful of paper towels instead of the one or two sheets his peers were taking. He knew he would probably end up spilling some water and making a mess. For a dancer, he was rather clumsy.

Minutes later their teacher called the class to order, and she explained how everyone should prepare their canvases by first painting an undercoat. She suggested they use blue to begin, and Taemin complied, slowly and carefully using the paint roller to cover his canvas with light blue ink. Next to him Kibum had opted for a dark purple. As usual, Kibum never took the safe route. Taemin heard his classmate humming softly to himself as he lifted up his canvas to completely cover all of its edges in paint.

While they waited for the first layer of paints to dry Taemin and Kibum caught up on what the other had been doing. Taemin had been spending most of his free time working on choreography for the dance team. Auditions were coming up, and once rehearsals officially started he would need to have everything prepared. This was something he really enjoyed doing, and something Kibum found very interesting. In his eyes Taemin was more than just an artist putting his own emotions into someone else’s moves. He was a creator, just like Kibum.

Kibum had been starting to plan out his portfolio for college. It was never too early, so he’d been going through all of his old pieces from school and setting some aside. Taemin said he’d like to see them someday, and to his surprise Kibum said maybe. Neither of them had seen each other outside of school since Taemin’s first trip to Kibum’s house. Both had been too busy to think about it.

The next 30 minutes were spent plunging headfirst into painting. There was only so much the teacher could explain, something like this needed to be experienced firsthand. Experimentation, mistakes, and solutions were how one learned and grew as an artist. Both boys took their time, meticulously mixing colors to find the perfect shades for different items on the table. They constantly switched between looking at the still life, their sketch, and their canvas. Their hands picked up and put down brushes, dipping them first into water, next into paints, and finally drawing them with slow precision across their canvases. Every now and then a would go too far or be too thick, causing them to quickly dart for a paper towel and some water in an attempt to dilute or remove the paint before it dried.

They began with the lightest colors and, as the days went on, slowly added layer upon layer of paint. The colors they mixed became darker and darker, until one day part of the lesson was devoted to mixing their own black. Their teacher didn’t believe in using black paint out of the tube and said that all ‘true artists’ mixed their own.

“Guess this makes me a true artist.” Taemin joked in a fake British accent as he dipped his brush in his freshly mixed black paint and moved over to add some to his work.

Next to him Kibum snorted as he rationed more blue paint out onto his mixing palette.

“You know, I think most true artists can differentiate between the table and the canvas.”

Taemin quickly looked down at his work to see that as he had joked with Kibum he had indeed drawn a line of paint off the edge of the canvas and onto the table.

“Oh no, I think that a true artist makes everything around him his canvas.” He said cheekily as he quickly lifted up his still wet brush and painted a small streak of black over Kibum’s left cheek.

“Oh you are so dead.” Kibum responded as he grabbed Taemin’s painting arm to make sure he didn’t attack him again. Next he lifted his own brush and painted an even larger streak of paint straight down the bridge of Taemin’s nose.

Taemin cackled loud enough for their teacher to give him a stern look.

“I would reciprocate, but I think the next step is ruining each other’s clothes and I don’t fancy washing the paint out of this.” Taemin said as he looked down at his own grey polo.

“To be honest this knowledge gives me an unfair advantage, since all my clothes are basically covered in paint anyways.” Kibum retorted.

It was true, most of the clothes Kibum wore had evidence of wear and tear. Some even looked like they had been modified in some way, with studs or patches sewn on. At first glance one would probably say Kibum was very unstylish, but the more Taemin paid attention to his wardrobe the more he realized that his classmate had a style of his own. He wasn’t just throwing on random clothes each morning. Well, perhaps he was, but either way the things he wore were so him that they looked alright. Taemin still kind of wished he’d ditch the baggy clothes, but who was he to judge another’s style?

He looked down at his own canvas to appraise his work. Sure, the chicken was a little crooked, the apple was completely bigger than it was in real life, and he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to master painting fabric, but this didn’t stop him from feeling a sense of pride for his work. This was different from dancing where a finished piece of work was a performance that would soon be forgotten. Painting was a lot more permanent. He’d created something he could touch and feel, could carry around with him and show to important people in his life. In one way this meant his mistakes were permanent, would always glare at him from the canvas, but this also meant that his triumphs and strengths would always be there as well. There was that part of the painted vase where he had mixed the colors just right, and the nail polish bottle was his best work yet.

Of course all of his small achievements melted into nothing when he looked at Kibum’s painting, which, in his eyes, looked almost photorealistic. He knew, he knew, he knew that comparing himself to someone with more experience was completely unfair and would only make him feel worse, but wasn’t this part of human nature?

The class soon finished their first assignment and had their first critique. Taemin was pretty nervous to hear his classmates’ opinions about his work, but to his surprise everyone was polite and helpful. He even got a few compliments about different aspects of his work. Afterwards Taemin decided that he liked critiques. It helped him personally, and it also gave him the opportunity to compliment his peer’s work to give them confidence.

Kibum took criticism quite well. Since he was a level above most people the teacher critiqued his work more harshly, pointing out finer details and giving suggestions for improvement. He took everything in stride, even offering his own suggestions about what he’s done wrong and how he could improve next time.

At the end of the class their teacher had handed out a paper describing their next assignment. They would be painting landscapes, and their homework was to find something to paint. A picture and a rough sketch were due the following Monday. This was difficult, becuase both boys were interested in painting the countryside, but the lived in a city. Kibum insisted that one needed to be at the location for inspiration and couldn't just use a random photo off the internet.

Struck with inspiration, Taemin told Kibum of his grandparents’ lake house that wasn’t too far away, suggesting they go there to complete their homework. After school he also invited Minho and Jonghyun, in exchange for Minho’s car and driving services. He also let Kibum invite Jinki, who promised to help Minho with the driving and to bring plenty of snacks.

*      *      *      *      *

That Friday Kibum was staying late to work on some things for his portfolio. He glanced at the clock and realized with a jolt that he had been there for an additional two hours. He turned his head to look outside and groaned. It was slowly becoming dark, and if he didn’t leave soon walking home was going to be a pain.

He quickly packed up his supplies and stuffed them in his backpack, hoisting it onto his back. He turned the lights off in the classroom and made sure the door was locked before closing it behind him. Then he fast-walked down the hallway to take a shortcut through the school buildings.

As he walked down the last hallway between him and the outdoors Kibum realized he could hear the muffled bass line of a song coming out of a classroom nearby. Convinced it was one of the janitors lip synching and dancing with a broom he peered into the room from which the sound was coming, hoping to see something entertaining.

He was quite surprised to see Taemin covered in sweat and dancing his off to the music.

Kibum was sure he’d seen the dance team perform before, but it was probably at one of the school’s annoying pep rallies that he never paid attention at and tried to block from his mind. What he couldn’t believe was that he’d never noticed Taemin dancing with the group, because based on what he was seeing of the boy’s abilities now this was definitely someone who would stick out. He could tell that this was where Taemin’s true calling was. He didn’t dance like a student, he danced like a professional. Seeing him like this...Kibum thought that anyone would find him beautiful, inside and out.

There was something about the sharpness of his classmate’s movements that drew him closer and closer, until he was leaning against the door to get a better look...and it was creaking open...and he was falling on the floor...

This was not his best moment.

Red faced and spluttering Kibum attempted to pick himself up from the floor, but the weight from his backpack made this no easy task. He heard the music stop as he finally stood up to his full height to face Taemin.

“Sorry, I was just leaving and I heard the music and I...” Kibum found himself struggling to form a coherent sentence. Why  was he so nervous?  But then he noticed that Taemin was just as red faced.

“It’s...ok.” He answered. “I was just working on some choreography for the group."

“You’re really good.”

“Uh, thanks.”

Taemin was at a loss. Why did he suddenly feel so flushed from knowing that Kibum had seen him dancing? He’d danced in front of loads of people before, it wasn’t a big deal. It must have just been cause he’d caught him unawares. Or maybe because Kibum was someone who’s opinion he respected…

“Why are you still at school?” He asked, hoping to steer the topic of conversation away from himself.

“I was working on my portfolio, but then I saw it was late, and I have to walk.” Kibum explained.

Taemin glanced at his watch, “I was thinking of leaving soon too, cause my mom gets out of work in a couple of minutes. Do you want a ride?”

"That would be fantastic." Kibum thanked him, relieved he would no longer have to take the trek back to his house in the dark. "Do you need any help closing up here?"

"No, I just want to cool down and stretch a bit. You can join me if you want."

Kibum snorted as he looked at him. "Me, stretching? Only if you want instant entertaiment from watching me hurt myself."

Taemin jesturted for him to put down his things. "Seriously, it feels good. And I'm not going to do anything crazy."

Since he had nothing better to do, and Taemin was really helping him out by giving him a ride home Kibum went against his better judgement, put down his bag, and stepped out of his shoes. He joined Taemin in the middle of the dance floor and Taemin demonstrated how he should roll his back down to try to touch his toes.

"Don't force anything. You can cradle your head in your arms if you want."

As much as he didn't want to, Kibum had to admit that this felt pretty good for his back. After hours spent hunched over desks he could almost feel the pain slip away off of his shoulders and head.

"Wow, this feels good." Kibum said as he turned his head to the right to see Taemin's face, red from being upside down. He grinned at him.

"Told you so. Now sit down and put your legs like this."

Taemin taught Kibum another stretch to do for his back while he went into his splits and did some more complicated stretches. With something to do the awkward atmosphere from before disappeared. Kibum could not believe how flexible Taemin was, but he realized there was a lot about Taemin he didn't know. 

"If your back hurts a lot you should stretch every now and then." Taemin informed him, knowingly. "Also, massages feel great."

"Stretching would probably help, " Kibum admitted, "But I don't like people I don't know touching me, so the massage thing probably won't help."

"Of course, it's up to you." Taemin agreed as he moved his legs into yet another position Kibum wasn't sure should be humanly possible, "But if you change your mind I don't mind helping. I promise I won't do anything weird."

Once Taemin recieved a text from his mom they stopped stretching and gathered their things, closing up the classroom and leaving the school together. Taemin's mom was nice, but she seemed tired and didn't say much, only asking Kibum for clarification on how to drive to his house. He said goodbye to Taemin as his mom dropped him off, confirming their meeting the next morning to head to the lake house.

"It'll be great, get excited!" His classmate called out the window. "Bye!"

Kibum waved and turned around to face his own dark, empty house. He walked to the front door and used his key to let himself inside. Since he didn't feel like doing anything and he had to get up early the next day he set an alarm on his phone and went straight to bed. 

Author's Note: Thanks for subscribing everyone. ^^ I hope you like where the story's going. I guess this chapter was a bit of a filler, but they learned bits about each other, and I had the obligatory scene of them getting paint on one another. :P A lot should happen in the next chapter. 

Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions. I'm not opposed to criticism. <3 Have a lovely day!