Chapter Text
David stood in the middle of an art gallery, staring at the painting on the wall in front of him. He never really liked art galleries-- too quiet and pretentious and a serious lack of anything emotionally stirring. But it was a Sunday, there wasn’t much to do, and it was a free exhibit.
It was an exhibit of local artists, people David had never heard of. A Gonzalez, a Montgomery, a Kelly. All probably trying to get noticed by some big art guru who paid thousands for high end art. David laughed to himself at the thought of it. The art world never made sense to him, especially when it came to the more abstract works. Sure, paintings like the Mona Lisa or The School of Athens show skill in portrait work. Picasso and Van Gogh’s works were iconic in terms of style. But art by Piet Mondrian? Or Jackson Pollock? David didn’t get it. They were just shapes, or art splattering. What was any of that supposed to mean?
So here David was, frowning as he stared at the painting on the wall. It was entitled “A New Perspective.”
Well, it certainly is , David thought to himself. The painting was of a forest, except the trees of said forest were upside down. Rather, the painting itself was upside down, except for the trees. Instead of the roots being in the ground, they were loose in the sky and the top of the tree with the branches and leaves were on the ground like a bush. It was boring, uninspired, and lacking in any feeling. Art should let you know something about the artist, but David didn’t have clue what the artist was trying to say.
“What do you think?”
David turned his head to see a stranger standing next to him, looking at the painting as well. He wore an open blazer with a light blue dress shirt underneath with slacks and looked far too well dressed for a free art exhibit, but his hair was a curly mess on top of his head which made him stand out like a sore thumb. It was oddly endearing and David got the sense that this man didn’t dress up much.
“What do I think of what?” David replied, not sure why he was engaging with this random man.
“Well, you’ve been staring at it for so long, I just figured you’d formed some sort of attachment to it and I was curious what you thought.” The man turned to smile at David and he felt his heart flutter.
He was not at all unattractive.
A deep voice with a thick accent, a sharp jawline with scruff that made him look particularly handsome, and eyes that seemed to look right into David’s soul.
David turned his attention back to the painting before the blush on his cheeks gave him away.
“Well, I don’t know... I’m not really an art person.” He also didn’t want to bad mouth someone’s art. It took a lot of guts to share art with the world, and he wasn’t going to judge anyone who did it-- at least out loud.
“I’ll let you in on a secret: No one’s really an art person.” The man laughed and held out his hand to David. “I’m Jack.”
“David.” They shook hands.
“So, David. Tell me what you think.” Jack gestured again to the painting. David looked him up and down, trying to figure out why this man was talking to him and why he cared so much about David’s opinion on a random piece of mediocre art.
He let himself wonder for a brief moment if maybe this was Jack’s way of flirting.
“You really want to know what I think?” David asked suspiciously.
Jack only shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I? Isn’t art supposed to make you want to talk about it?”
David narrowed his eyes, still not fully believing this was just about exchanging opinions on a painting for the sake of art.
“For sure?”
Jack laughed at how unsure David sounded. “For sure.”
David stared at the painting again, still unsure whether or not he should say what he really felt. “Well... For one thing, I find it a bit... boring.”
That made Jack frown. “Boring? How do you mean?”
David cocked his head to the side, looking the picture over. “It’s just... boring! There isn’t any imagination to it and I feel like my 13 year old brother could have come up with the same concept.”
“Huh,” was Jack’s only response.
“It’s not that it’s poorly done! The painting itself, as just the painting, is good!” David hurried to compliment the work the best he could without feeling like he was lying. “I just think the premise of the painting is trying to be deep without really being deep at all. I mean, what was the artist trying to say with this, anyway?”
Jack shrugged, staring at the painting alongside David with his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s a commentary about how even when the world turns upside down, nature will find a way.”
David scoffed. “That sounds like reaching to me. And I’m pretty sure you’re just quoting the tagline from Jurassic Park.”
Jack laughed. David felt himself smiling along with him.
“Jeeze, Davey, tell me how you really feel.” Jack grinned.
David rolled his eyes though he was still smiling. “I’m only saying that it feels fake deep and doesn’t do anything for me emotionally. The artist was clearly trying to act like he wanted to say something with this piece, but I don’t think he accomplished it.” David crossed his arms and squinted at the plaque next to the painting that denoted who the artist was. J. Kelly . “This Mr. Kelly sure does leave something to be desired.”
Jack was laughing again, but David got the sense it wasn’t about anything he had said. He felt like he was being laughed at rather than laughed with. He furrowed his brow and looked at Jack again.
“Did I say something?”
Suddenly, Jack was giving him a charming smile that made David’s chest fill with warmth.
“I should have properly introduced myself before. My name is Jack Kelly.”
And the warmth was gone.
David only stared at him, mouth agape.
Jack jerked his head towards the picture for clarification. “As in, J. Kelly . As in, this is my painting.”
David hands flew to his face, covering his mouth. He took an involuntary step backwards and he was sure his face was as red as a tomato.
“Oh my god. I am so--. I never meant any--. I didn’t mean to--.” David couldn’t seem to get a whole sentence of his apology out of his mouth. He cleared his throat and tried to pull what was left of his dignity together. “I am so sorry I said all those things.”
Jack, however, didn’t seem bothered at all. In fact, he looked just as embarrassed as David felt. “It... really isn’t completely your fault. I wanted to know what you’d say without you knowing who I was so it wouldn’t influence you in any way. I should have told you though.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Anyway, I’m glad you were honest at least. Doesn’t do me any good to only hear what I want to hear.”
David was still staring at him in shock. He had just insulted Jack’s painting to his face . How was he supposed to recover from something like that? How was Jack going to feel about him after what he said? How was Jack going to feel about himself as an artist?
“I am so mortified,” David managed to say, his face still flushed red. “This is probably the worst thing to ever happen to me. I am so so so sorry.”
Jack just brushed it off. “Don’t worry about it, Davey. I’ve had people say worse.” He chuckled to himself. “Besides, I could honestly listen to the way you tear apart my art for hours.”
“What!?”
“You just do it so nicely!” Jack laughed again. “I mean, telling me that I was just quoting Jurassic Park with my painting? Best insult I’ve ever gotten.”
David finally allowed himself to loosen up a bit, though he still couldn’t really bring himself to look Jack in the eye. “I’m still really sorry. It’s not like I normally go around bashing people’s art. Like I said before, I’m not even an art person, so you can probably just disregard everything I said.” David gave him a timid smile.
“Tell ya what.” Jack took a step closer to David. “You buy me a coffee, and I’ll forget the whole thing.” He stuck his hand out. “Deal?”
David had never felt so relieved as he shook Jack’s hand. “Absolutely.”