Beautiful Things.

Ronnie rested her feet on the counter within her kitchen, yawning and rolling her shoulders back in an attempt to wake up. She’d completed her submission piece and all she needed to do now was fill out the forms and pay the two hundred dollar entry fee. The wolf had turned out better then she’d expected, its fur looking realistic enough to touch despite the snarl curling the piece’s lips.

Her phone vibrated loudly, and she sighed as she headed off to pick up the small device. Taking the call, she answered once again to her best friend’s gleeful voice; Adele had promised to run out and pick up the girls coffee and bagels to eat at Ronnie’s before they’d go see a film. “I’ve got foood! Buzz me up, please?”

Ronnie laughed, hanging up and calling down to the front desk that Adele was allowed to come up. She thought about stopping by the front desk next time and leaving a note to add Adele to the list of people who were allowed to come up without asking her. Currently, the only people on that list were her therapist and her parents, ‘cause they had to be allowed up.
Allowing her fingers to push her hair back from her face, she signed on the final line and sighed.

Competitions used to be so much easier to enter in, but when the new president had been elected, he absolutely hated the arts. He couldn’t really get rid of all arts, for they were a huge part of American culture, but he sure as hell would oppress them and change them to fit a better view. The UA in Philly was one of the few schools left open, and they could only accept the elite artists, so there was a load of people to be compared to. Still, Ronnie wouldn’t give up on her dreams- there were so many ideas shoved into her mind, and she just couldn’t bear to let them go to waste while she worked some office job.

She let out a satisfied sigh as Adele burst into the apartment, setting her burdens down on a small coffee table and coming to hug her friend. “How are you, Boo?”

Ronnie paused for a second, sipping her coffee before nodding, “I’ve been fine. Thanks for telling me about that competition, by the way. Should look good to UA, right?”

Adele nodded, handing her a bagel and a small container of cream cheese. “S’least I could do; I know I’ve asked you to do a lot for me before, so it’s nice to something nice, right?”

Ronnie just smiled before she kissed her cheek lightly, going to her kitchen counter and taking out a paper plate for each of them before placing the bagels on them and hunting down two clean knives. The pair ate their food quietly, simply enjoying the company of their closest friend before Adele started to talk about her date from the previous night. The artist would be lying if she didn’t say she was jealous of whoever had gone out with her best friend. She wished she was in that situation sometimes, as her boyfriend had broken up with her and pretty much bad mouthed her to anyone who’d been interested in her at any time. But, she just smiled and listened, laughing and smiling at her friend when she recounted a particularly humorous part of the event.

Adele finally turned the conversation on Ronnie, asking her about the wall she’d been working on. Ronnie beamed at the mention of the wall, standing as she popped the last bite into her mouth and motioning for her friend to follow. Adele had planted a seed once in Ronnie’s mind about doing a mural on one of the walls in her apartment, and upon getting it cleared with her landlord and the state, Ronnie had started working Starry Night onto the once stark white wall. She was still only working through the upper half, with the rich swirls and just perfect blends of colors, but she had all plans to finish it before her year’s lease was up. This was why she wanted to get the nicer acrylics, so the colors would be just perfect for her rendition.

The sleepier of the two smiled brightly at Ronnie, reaching out and tracing one of the carefully twisted brushstrokes appreciatively, “Ronnie, this is beautiful. Totally illegal, but awesome.”

“Not illegal, I’ve got a permit!” Ronnie winked before she nodded, thanking her silently for her sentiments. The pair could go without words for the most part, though they’d communicate like a normal pair of friends for the sake of not appearing crazy around others. It was a part of the pair’s relationship, cementing that they simply had to be best friends.

Adele just laughed at Ronnie before turning and giving her friend a quick hug, leading her back into the living room and flicking on her television. Selecting a rerun of the cancelled America’s Next Top Model, Adele lounged on the couch and listened to Ronnie tell her about painting and what piece she was planning on working on next, one where she’d test out her newest, thinner sable brush and create a small mural at a pediatrician’s office of Spongebob. She’d actually been studying pictures of the cartoon character and sketching him often, wanting to get the image just right and attempt not to terrify kids.

Ronnie sat down and leaned her head against Adele’s shoulder, sighing softly and rolling her shoulders back slightly. Adele draped an arm haphazardly over her shoulder, hugging her close for a moment and giving a reassuring kiss to the top of her head. It’d be a lie not to say the pair had been together before, but they hadn’t been as much a romantic fling… it’d mostly been Adele supporting Ronnie when she’d gotten back from rehab.

But, Adele decided for the pair, that was a story for another day; she’d stood and held her hands out to help her friend up, suggesting they head off to see a film. Logging onto her phone, she browsed among the times and noted that a showing of Iron Man 3 would fit perfectly with their timing if they chilled around for half an hour more. Ronnie, now that she had to be up and about, smiled at Adele and told her she’d go off and get out of her sweats and be ready by the time she wanted to leave. Adele smiled at Ronnie’s back before turning on the TV show again with a quiet sigh, shaking her head.

________________________________________-

“C’mon, Ronnie. You know you want to go clubbing hon, and it’ll be a load of fun!” Ronnie had no argument as to why she shouldn’t go clubbing aside from that she was somewhat tired, which wouldn't hold up well against an Adele who was flat out determined to get her friend out and having fun. She’d been cooped up and working on her art for far too long, so it couldn’t hurt for her to go out and have a bit of fun, could it? And it certainly wasn’t like the girl didn’t have any clothes suitable; since the new restrictions had passed, it was halfway illegal to be wearing anything skimpy outside of a private setting.

Finally, after a short argument and a bit of pleading, it was agreed that Ronnie would go out after the art competition and that Adele would simply spend the night. After swinging by her house so Adele could pick up some clothes, the giggling girls darted into a supermarket to pick up snacks for the night’s festivities, along with a couple movies. Ronnie fell asleep that night curled up against Adele, just barely registering the sound of the classic Spirited Away playing in the background.