Neal wasn't looking at them anymore, so Justin shook his head sternly at Grace and Alan, who seemed ready to panhandle to Neal for some watercolor paintings. "Makes sense." He said, looking back at Neal. "Besides, I find acrylic paint way easier to handle anyway." He shrugged and went back to his sandwich, closing the sketchbook and sliding it back to Neal. "Really good stuff, though. Looks like it'd be amazin' with some colored pencils makin' some good shadin' effects." He smiled, glancing back in to study the forests. "I love drawin' forests too... So beautiful, don'cha think?"

Carefully, Neal took his sketchbook and set it back in his bag cushioned between two other notebooks. Not that he cared if it got bent. He mouthed a silent thank you to Justin for saving him from the others curiosity. They didn't notice his mood. Justin did though and Neal couldn't help but latch onto that. "Yeah? Natural places are more beautiful than people anyway. Things like forests and sky and mountains..." he trailed off with a sigh. They were all things his mother taught him how to paint when she was feeling well. Such serene paintings suited neither of them. The harsh pen line seemed better as well as the lack of color that Neal preferred.

Justin shrugged, glancing at the others and then back toward Neal. "I guess it depends on the person, really." He offered, and then fell silent. People could be beautiful, if they just allowed that. If they weren't cruel or ugly at heart, a drawing could bring out their beauty. He didn't mention that little philosophy, though, and finished eating quietly, digging in his bag for a bottle of water he carried each day, and his own sketchbook, which he flipped over. A new picture---a person---he'd been working on, something before the rose he'd sketched. It had more of a fantasy element, but was detailed and invoked wind. That, at least, was something beautiful when it came to the human form.

"How long's the sessions gonna be this year?" Greg asked suddenly.

"Oh, maybe an hour and a half?" Carly offered. "We can go up to two hours, what'cha think?"

There was a relative agreement that an hour and a half was plenty of time. Grace and Carly looked toward Justin and Neal. "What about you two?"

Justin shrugged. "I dunno... whatever you guys want. You two run the club!" He looked at Neal for an opinion.

Once Neal finished eating, he zoned out and traced the wood patterns of the table. His nails grew naturally long and he enjoyed the way they curved over the table. He kept his eyes up enough that he looked to be listening. In reality, he didn't listen to a thing that was said until he felt eyes on him. He lifted his head and glanced around, sifting through the half-heard things to make sense of the conversation. "Oh...it doesn't matter to me..." he muttered after a bit with a shrug. He checked his phone for the time and decided it wasn't nearly close enough to lunch's end. Or the day's end for that matter. Would it be bad to start skipping half way through his first day? He turned his head and noticed Justin's drawings. "Pretty."

They accepted that with a grain of salt, going back to discussing how long they should hold the club for. An hour and a half to two house seemed like the most preferred and no one really wanted to give in. Justin just rolled his eyes and studied his drawing, thickening the lines he'd already done and glancing up when Neal spoke. He blinked a time or two to actually understand what was said, then smiled. "Yeah? I guess people can be beautiful too, then, eh?" He laughed, glancing back down so he didn't make a stray line. "I ought to try it with real people..." He could try Neal. If anyone needed to be shown how nice they could look, it was the one that so obviously wanted to hide every inch of himself from even a stray glance.

Neal leaned a little closer to look at Justin's drawing. He smiled a bit and shrugged a shoulder at the comment. "Ah...I guess. Drawings anyway. But it's nothing like the beauty of the natural world," he said. He wouldn't concede that easily. The drawing had a beauty to it, something flowing and natural. Like the figure could belong to the elements. He felt less inclined to say the people he could see with his eyes were the same sort of beauty. He pulled his bag into his lap and looked at his phone again. Of course only a few minutes passed. "Hm? Real people?" He looked away again as his hum fell flat. "It's better without that."

Justin flipped a page and started sketching again. There wasn't anything in his head, so he drew what was in front of him. "Well I guess that depends." He said simply. "Gotta find the things in the world that're better than most. Just depends on your taste. I love nature... but if we ain't there to show it off, it'll fade away, yeah?"

"Yeah!" Grace burst out, then shrank back when Alan startled and gave her a shocked look. She bent back over the book they'd been sharing but it was obvious there was a slight flush on her face. Justin shook his head and went back to his drawing. "You ought'a branch out, Neal. If you want somethin' else besides pens, I got a whole closetful of acrylic, and oil, and pastel, and chalk and pencils. I don't use it much since I like savin' it up."

Neal considered that for a second before shrugging. "Doesn't everything fade away?" Plants, people, even the blue color the sky. You never knew when even that might not come back the next day. An irrational thought perhaps but he knew there were no guarantees that tomorrow would be like the previous day.

He jumped at Grace's outburst, having for a second forgotten the presence of others at the table. He glanced at the others as if to count their heads to make sure they could jump him from behind later. Neal turned back to Justin with a sheepish smile. "Yeah? Watercolor was something taught...special to me. I never tried anything on a canvas. Chalks though maybe..." He never had them around to try. Watercolor used to be enough.

Justin glanced up, then looked around. "Weeeell... What 'bout the Mona Lisa? It should've faded away a looooong time ago, but we kept it safe. We just gotta take care of our world. Our art, too. Gotta make sure it's worth savin'." He nodded, almost knowingly, as if he'd said the words before. But Justin himself couldn't recall if he had ever said the words at all.

He looked up from his drawing, a faint human form coming to life. "Oh yeah? Oughta try it again when you feel like it's time. If you need some canvas, I got a lot. And I'll be honest here, chalk ain't my favorite stuff to work with. I like oil, best, it's dark and easy to handle." He nodded to himself, considering a new oil painting. Human, perhaps. He needed to do more human drawings and paintings. Looking down, this one had short hair and large, dark eyes.

Neal rolled his eyes at Justin. The guy was really determined to convince Neal that some things were worth saving. The Mona Lisa was a bad example though. He saw it once, or as close as a person could get with the massive crowds and the painting being tiny and behind a wall of glass. Of all the rooms in the museum, that one he considered the biggest waste of time. "Fine, no one should throw the Mona Lisa away. The art historians will have a conniption," he added with a snicker. He did concede to Justin's logic though, if only a little.

"Maybe I'll borrow your chalks some time then. It wouldn't be...bad." Neal allowed that much. Maybe he should do watercolors again. It hadn't been that long. He could at least take his finished paintings out of storage and try to be proud of them. Try not to see his mother in them.

Justin copied Neal and rolled his eyes in turn. "Fine, if not the Mona, then David, or Starry Night, or anythin' like that." He waved, sketching a little harder to give his lines more depth. "Anyway, those chalks take special paper. I figured I'd get a lot of the stuff for some reason, so you can have all'a that too. It'll just go wastin' away in my room anyway."

"What will?" Greg suddenly jumped in, and Justin blinked up.

"Huh? Oh, some paper, 'n stuff like that."

Greg blinked and nodded. "Oh yeah... Sorry, I was distracted..." He laughed and glanced sidelong at Carly, and Justin smiled, shaking his head and going back to what he was doing. Dark clothes, a pen in the hand that was visible, and long lashes. He nodded to it and tore the page out of his sketchbook, pausing just to tuck his things in his bag and stand.

"I'm gonna go out the doors to make a call." He said, and got nods from his friends. Tossing his bag over his shoulder, Justin slid the page to Neal and strolled away, fishing for his cell phone which was allowed to be used out of class.

Neal never thought about special paper. It made sense though. For oils or watercolor, there was it's own surface. Still seems a bit like sketchbook paper would be fine. He didn't argue though because as unused to this friendliness as he was, he didn't mind it. At least now that he'd gotten over the initial shock of it. "Okay, thanks. I'll try to actually use them," he said with a small chuckle. When Justin ripped out the sketchbook page and pushed it toward him, Neal looked at it strangely. "Why me...?" he asked softly as he picked up the page.

He swallowed hard when headed away. Staring down at his phone he saw about five minutes still remained for lunch. Don't run away. He clutched his phone a little tighter as he repeated the words in his head. He was already getting friendly with the others so he shouldn't run away just because Justin left. He smiled wanly toward the others. Wracking his brain, he tried to think of something to day. "Ah...so what kinds of art do you guys like?"

At the new question, Grace piped up first. "Oh I love oil painting and acrylic! It's so deep and thick, and the colors stay for so long. Or wait, did you mean artists?"

"If that's the case, I love Thomas Kinkaid." Alan piped up. "He had such a great painting style---"

"All those little cottages and homes and churches, just beautiful!" Grace cooed, batting her eyes at Neal.

Justin made his way out of the cafeteria and leaned against the wall. Finally quiet, he dialed home, and the phone picked up after a ring and a half. It was Maddie. "Hey bro! Why ain't ya home? Mama's been curious, I'll put 'er on."

He waited for a moment, and smiled when he heard his mother pick up. "Hey, Mama. Sorry I'm not home, I just figured I'd stick around'n help one of the new guys. Anyway, you meet the new neighbor yet?"

"Ah, not yet, darlin'. We're about to go on over with some food in case they're needin' a little help. You call us after school'n tell us what you're gonna do! I don't wanna worry 'bout you!"

"Will do, Mama. Love." Justin laughed, hanging up and leaning flatly against the cool wall behind him. Three minutes until the bell.

Neal smiled just a bit easier. He could live his few minutes until the bell rang. If worse came to worse, these people would talk enough to fill the space and he could pretend like he was in the conversation. He didn't feel that bad though, considering he knew the name Kinkade. "Ah really? I like that sort of soft, magical feel too." Though his mom would have frowned and said his paintings were kitsch. The others jumped into an amiable conversation which Neal offered a comment or two to when he felt the need. They talked like that for a few minutes until the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

When the bell rang, Justin waited outside the double doors for Neal to come out. He slipped into the group with him and his friends, who would currently be the only ones in the art club, plus a couple others to begin working on showoff posters for the club itself. "Hey, the day's half over! You're not dead yet." Justin bumped Neal's shoulder gently, falling into step with him.

~~~

Maddie's break was full of dishes, which she didn't mind. She called it a welcome break where other kids around her age would complain and huff through, she enjoyed a break from the studies. Her parents were nearby, at the breakfast bar, working the lid on the last container, and she glanced backward as her mother called to her. "Sure you don't wanna come along? It'll just be the new neighbors and us!"

"I'm fine, Mama." Maddie smiled over her shoulder. "I'll get the next chapter done while you're gone."

"Oh, okay." Her father laughed. "So we'll see you soon." They left the door unlocked and walked, the rain having stopped for the time being. The next street over, they found the correct door and knocked.

Neal made a face at Justin as the group left the cafeteria together. "Normally school doesn't kill people," he said with a roll of his eyes. But things really were looking up. The rain had stopped and Neal decided he wouldn't be skipping on his first day after all.

~~~

Jack had a mess of boxes and things all around him in the large center room of the house. Despite there being only a hand full of boxes, with no furniture to sort things onto, it just made a mess on the floor. As he poked his hand through it all, he was on the phone trying to make plans for moving their furniture and other belongings. He'd need to sell that house too and it all made his head spin.

At first he didn't notice the knock at the door. It melded into his thoughts for a second before it hit him. Ending his call, he hurried to the door and swung it open. "Hello?"

Jenny grinned at her husband, who was holding all the things she'd wanted to bring with them. Kyle shifted slightly under the weight as they waited, and when the door finally opened, he closed his eyes momentarily in relief while Jenny gasped. "Oh hello!" She stepped forward, grasping the new neighbor's hand and shaking it. "My name's Jenny Liddell and this here's Kyle, we're from the street over. It's a little town'n all so we heard about you pretty fast! D'ya mind if we come in? We got'cha some food in case you're runnin' low on time or energy; we know how movin' can be!" She gestured to Kyle, who shrugged with a small grin. He was used to meeting with people on short or no notice, but it wore him out quickly.

Jack's smile was just a bit colored with relief when he say the friendly looking neighbor's on the other side of the door. "Oh hello. Thank you for the welcome. Please, come in!" he exclaimed as he pulled the door open wide and glanced back at the state of the house. "It's really a mess here still. Oh, food! Let's take that to the kitchen." He found himself a little scatter-brained as he let the guests in and lead the way to the kitchen past a pile of blankets which were sitting in the hall for no reason at all. "Anyway, I'm Jack. It's very nice to meet you two."

Jenny smiled even brighter, if that were possible, and she and Kyle entered the house. They passed a mess of things, boxes and bags and unpacked things on the floor, but no furniture. They had possibly moved quickly and were trying to get the rest of their things in order from wherever they came from. Kyle hadn't handled this move, however, since there was another Realtor that was well known to the town and handled half of every new resident. In the kitchen, Kyle set down the bowls and gave his arms a shake. "Glad to finally meet you." He said finally. "You guys must've moved pretty fast to not have any big things."

"Oh, how awful." Jenny sighed, crossing her arms. "Sweetie, you should let us help you unpack! With two extra sets of hands it wouldn't take too long!" She smiled Kyle's way, seeing the incredulous look she was receiving and brushing it off as she did so many times before.

Jack found it easy to smile despite being tired. He glanced once again at the mess and repressed the desire to laugh. "Yes, the move was quite unexpected. There are still things to get sorted out, but it's not so bad." He looked at the food and smiled at it. He didn't realize till now it was already past noon. "I really appreciate the offer for help. At least some if this...I think I really aught not to unpack though. There's nowhere to put it but on the floor!" He chuckled at the sight of his new house with most of the walkways already blocked and things pulled out without rhyme or reason. "Without anywhere to put it away, I'm just making a mess. My son would scold me if he saw this."

Jenny's smile turned into a laugh, and Kyle shook his head knowingly. "So," Kyle said through his wife's laughter, "your son's the same as ours? Hates messes, I swear he's cleaner than we ever raised him to be."

"If we're not careful he'll start rearranging his sister's room." Jenny managed through laughter. "We should get those two to do all the organizing and it'd be done in just a few hours!"

"Jen, c'mon." Kyle shook his head and cast a nearly apologetic glance to Jack. "If you tell us where dishes or boxes go we can organize those into their rooms. Or take this unpacked stuff and figure out a place for it so you don't have to be put in timeout after your son gets home..." Jenny snickered and waved as Kyle spoke.

Jack nodded his head with a smile. "Sounds like our kids would get along. Neal takes after his mom. Always says he hates to clean but does it on his own anyway," he said, as always amused with his son's antics. He really should have waited to start unpacking, but of course had not. Sighing, Jack finally gave in to the others offer to help.

"Alright then. I've mostly got the dishes put away except the things scattered randomly in other boxes. I did most of the packing so...the boxes are pretty random." He wandered over to the boxes he hadn't already half upended. He poked his head into them, humming softly to himself and muttering things like 'bathroom' or 'clothes'. He pushes those boxes with obvious homes aside to be taken there. "Really, thanks for this help. It's nice to be somewhere with neighbors, not just people who live nearby."

Kyle and Jenny nodded, and separated to sort through already-open boxes nearby. Between the two of them, they had moved no less than twenty times in their lives, twice with Justin and Maddie, and they were used to opening boxes and finding something they didn't remember putting in, or losing things they were sure they had put away. Some of the heaviest boxes Jenny seemed to get her hands on, and dragged them to where they were labeled to go. Kyle put a slightly squat box on the kitchen counter and nodded to Jack. "We're glad to help!" He assured. "Around here, the town's small enough most people tend to know each other. We heard we had a new neighbor probably an hour after you got here."

Jenny puffed back into the room, rubbing her arms. "Geez..." She muttered. "That was a heavy one... So Jack, you have furniture coming soon? It sure is bare here." She rubbed her arms again, but this time it looked like she was trying to ward off a cold spell.

It didn't take long for them to make real progress in the house. Certainly more progressed than Jack made all by himself. He chuckled as he remembered how things were he he first moved into the last house with Marissa, his wife. "Last place I was at, I think it took more than a year to learn the names of the people living next door. And after ten, I still have no real idea who they are!" It was funny how different things were in a big city. Once all the big mess had found it's place, he moved to the kitchen and leaned against the counter. Wrapped glasses rested in a box there and he pulled them out. "Would you guys like a drink? I think it's about time to take a rest." he said before answering Jenny's question. "It's not all worked out yet, but I'll be driving back to help move the rest out by the end of the week I should think."