New York City

Rinn

It was midnight when her eyes at last took shape. Shiny and black with no whites they gazed upward, absorbed in a place above Rinn's head. They were just right those eyes, quizzical, staring in a sort of scared curiosity as if questioning the one they gazed too. She stood back then, to assess her progress. It was all but complete save for her signature, placed with a black tipped brush in the right hand corner, Little Boy Blue. It had been difficult, she thought absently, packing away her now empty paint cans. Different and more exhilarating then the recreational graffiti they allowed in California. And so definitely worth it Rinn smirked, wondering how in the past few hours of painting she had stumbled upon no trouble. She had been so sure when she'd first arrived in New York that she would be defending herself tooth and claw against all kinds of bad. 'Guess not' she mumbled to herself, a not so good habit she had picked up from her mother.

Having finished shoving the last of the cans in her backpack, she turned on a clunky booted heel and flounced down the alley with a few hours to spare.

It was dark, and her eye glowed a smoky light green as she stared at the wall. Click, click, click went her cans of black and white spray paint. This had been a painting she's been planning for a while. She'd did one like it oh so many times before. Long arms, black body, skull-like face. It was her favorite thing to make. She called the creature It. She'd always leave a little poem with It. Today's poem was pulled from a quote.

I'm every nightmare you've ever had. I'm your worst dream come true. I'm everything you ever were afraid of. I'm It.

The little "poem" to go with the painting read. Most of the quote was from Scotty's favorite scary movie. It. Scotty smiled at the sight when Terry ran up and smiled. "Damn, girl. That's creepy as hell!" Scotty just grinned at the sentence. "It's suppose to be, wimp! Let's go before the fuzz shows up or something." Scotty said and signed her signature, Scotty Rox before pulling down her plan white mask and putting her hood up. She stuffed the cans in her backpack and started running with Terry down the ally. She turned back to nod at her painting before running with Terry. They took a quick turn out of the ally, almost running into someone in the process, not wanting to stick around and chat, Scotty with her glow in the dark eyes and mask on sprinted with Terry by her side, who was sporting a glow in the dark green alien mask, down the side walk and made their way back to the hide-out/apartment building that was over run inside and out by graffiti art.

Coree

It was in the afternoon when Coree had woken to the sound of pots and pans clattering together in the kitchen. Damn mother. Her mother was always in a mood for cleaning, so her cleaning mood was at twelve in the afternoon where she could have been getting perfect sleep. How depressing to not be able to sleep until the standardized timing of her two o' clock wake-up session. Coree lifted the cover off of her body, sticky from the summer humidity which was a thin layer over New York City for every day. After a few attempted positions to roll herself out of bed, instead of having to take the time of getting up and stepping upwards to rake her hand through her tousled hair and be a normal girl, she'd find the most comfortable and laziest way to crash to the carpet.

After two minutes of stumbling over her feet, she entered the kitchen to find her mother scraping a small, yellow bar across the china plates, given to her by her grandmother in her early teenage years before her death. Coree had changed into a teal tank and sweats, having her feet in sandals covered by the draping cotton fabric of the grey sweats, yellowed from age. Coree parted the house after saying a soft, minimal goodbye to her mother. The air smelled like rain, and her sandals clomping on the soft, squishy earth as she trudged over the grass, signaled it had rained earlier. Who was she to know, as she'd still been in a deep slumber, snoring away and dreaming of some covert dream about art and graffiti.

Coree arrived at a stationary position where it was a dank, dark space with red words etched across the back-way. Her previous artwork, not finished, but prepared for finishing, past a metal fence, past the garbage cans overflowing with filth. Coree jumped over the scratchy fence, clutching her sleeve over her nose as the smell wavered over her eyes, stinging them with tears from the horrid smell. Coree stood in front of the words, gazing at them, spray-paint held in one hand, her other hand toying with the strings on her sweat pants. Her legs stood apart, facing the wall with a smug expression, before she started to get to work.

Rinn

Having just barely rounded the corner, and with a reflex that surprised even herself, Rinn found herself tucked against the brick-works of the alley as two masked figures passed by. For just a moment Rinn was sure the girls eyes were a fluorescent green, glowing under the white covering of her mask. But she shook it off quickly as she searched her mind for a swear word to call after them. Finally after what seemed like a ridiculous amount of time she came up with a desiccated "Watch it!". Before storming off with a scowl in place, her nose wrinkled in apparent annoyance. It was only gradually, as her irritation began to wither, she allowed her eyes to wander the walls, taking in the scrawls of graffiti written in what was obviously the hands of amateurs. Quickly she began her search for the real sort of art, scanning the walls with the kind of quick efficiency that would have done her etiquette mother proud. It wasn't long before she found one, a long, dark Gothic thing only recently painted, the paint still wet where lathered in generous shades. For a moment she stood there, scrutinizing the creature, fingers out stretched and tracing its lanky arms. Before moving onward again, deciding with a kind of certainty she would spend the next few hours admiring as much art as she could find. It was always best, as her previous PE teacher had said, to know your surroundings. If only art she added quietly, tracing the small paint-brush in her overall pocket. So caught up in her thoughts was she, that Rinn barely noticed when she found herself in a dank, dark alley, almost tripping in her bid to avoid a girl standing in her path. Another one! she thought as she apologized with a degree of irritation, mostly at herself for repeating the very thing she had cursed the masked kids for.

Once inside the overrun graffiti cover building, Scotty and Terry burst into laughter, throwing their masks off in complete amusement. One of the old homeless men that acted as a father for the two friends came out of his room and yelled at them. "You two need to get your priorities straight!" Scotty and Terry stopped laughing and looked up at the man. "This coming from a man who can't even afford to get an actual place to live!" Terry shouted up at the man while Scotty muffled a laugh. "Let's let these folk sleep and let's go wake the rest of the neighborhood!" Terry said loudly just to get on the old man's nerves. Scotty couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, let's go!" She said loudly, doing the same thing as Terry and they walked back out of the door. They put their masks back on and saw a kid walking by. With a loud scream, Terry jumped in front of the kid. Sounding as creepy as he could, he asked the kid "Wanna' play a game?" The kid, stuttering, said "[I]N-no, I do n-not want to p-play n-no game!" And turned around to see Scotty with her glowing smoky light green contacts through dark holes in her mask. The kid let out a girly scream, though he was a boy, and ran away, leaving Terry and Scotty laughing hysterically.

They then went back down the allies and saw two girls. Not wanting to intrude, the two stood an watched the girls through the holes in their masks, Scotty's eyes being the most able to see due to her glow in the dark smoky light green contacts she had in at the moment.

Jamie exited the pantry, holding chips in her left hand as she freely bounded towards her room, substituting a day of work for a day of laziness. Her laptop awaited her, it's glowing screen illuminating the vibrant neon colors of her bed sheet. Jamie had left open two tabs, previous from the night before, where she had stayed up until eleven at night, stuck on deciding what idea she'd plot for her graffiti. It should have been simple. Maybe draw a few horses with glowering green nostrils, or just a nose in particular. It was an effortless attempt for others, but for her it was a challenge that had her brain rattled. Jamie wanted to create new things that would have people astonished by the art work, but she lacked the capability and detail reserved in the city areas of New York. Jamie hugged her waist, the chips suddenly tasting bland and stale, a realization that had come later than expected when lost in thoughts of graffiti and nonchalant arguments with herself. After he debatable experience with browsing images of cracked ice in the midst of an arctic tundra, or a star with a blushing face that could only resemble one of the manga that the stereotypical teen of her generation read. That's all the comic stores had now. Girls with big boobs and skimpy outfits, trotting around with bars that withheld magical powers. Jamie closed her laptop. Ice it would be. Yet it would more-so act like a mural, rather than graffiti. She shrugged, before descending towards the door and slipping on shoes that were too tight on her ever-growing feet. Jamie wiggled her toes in the cushioned front. She licked her dry lips, anxious to start to paint. She took her black, blue, and teal cans with her, placing them into a backpack and rushing towards the sidewalk.

Rinn

The girl glowered at her before loping off, hand clutched dramatically to her rib cage where a stray elbow had been caught. Rinn watched her go, trying somewhat halfheartedly to withhold the miffed feeling niggling away away at her brain. Though she supposed it was she who was at fault for not watching her step to begin with. As Rinn glanced around at the branching alleyways she continued to pick apart her hours' plan. Maybe it was time to head back to the apartment. She was finished her piece anyhow, what more was she waiting for? As she turned in the direction of the apartment complex, she noticed for the first time what appeared to be a group of two against the back drop of brickwork, though in the gloom it was impossible to tell. Muggers, cops, druggies or homeless? A list of possibilities flitted around in panicked, half-formed thoughts as she peered into the shadow. "Hello?" she mumbled, feeling stupid even as she called out. She'd always wondered why the actors in horror movies moved toward the offensive. She realized now they had probably wanted reassurance, a reassurance they were safe and needn't run away. Rinn eased forward, struggling to make something of the shapes in front of her. "Hello?" She repeated once more, managing this time to keep the shake from her voice.

Scotty and Terry stood there in the shadows as they watched a girl. When she turned and looked right at them, Scotty looked down to ensure the glow of her contacts wouldn't be seen. Terry, on the other hand, looked right at the girl. "She's mumbling. She's scared." Terry said quietly in a happy and excited voice. "I'm gonna' do it." He said quietly. "No you're not." Scotty whispered, peering at him through her mask. "Yes, I am." He replied. "No you're not." Scotty repeated more harshly. "I am." Terry repeated and looked at her. The girl said hello again, a bit louder, and that was Terry's cue. "Hello, hello, and welcome!" He said loudly as he stepped out of the shadows. His mask let off a light white glow from the glare of a street light. "Today's show will be held of two wonderful guests including myself, Terry The Masked!" Terry said loudly once again and bowed to the girl then to the left and to the right as if there was an audience. "Now, now. hold your applause, folks, for we have one more to introduce!" He said, talking a lot with his hands then pointing his hand out to Scotty. "I give you, Scotty Rox!" At that, Scotty jumped out of the shadows saying "Thank you! Thank you! I'm here all night!" and bowing. After, Scotty stood up straight, her eyes still with the faint glow of the glow in the dark contacts through the eyes of her mask. After a moment, both Scotty and Terry burst out laughing. They laughed for a good three minutes before Scotty stopped and pulled her mask off revealing a big smile. "Hey, I'm Scotty." She said with a grin to the girl and held her hand out to her.

Rinn

All she could do was stare as a man in a white mask sprung from the shadows, launching into some theater preach complete with a series of wild hand gestures, his voice rising into a crescendo as a second masked figure stepped from behind him. With a jolt Rinn realized they were the masked kids from before, moreover she could now confirm the girls eyes were a neon green, glowing dully under the streetlamps. The girl, apparently Scotty, held out a hand in what Rinn supposed was greeting. Not before having a good laugh at her partners antics, the removal of the mask revealing a huge white-toothed grin. After a degree of hesitation she reached for the girls hand. "Rinn" she said in reply, wondering if it was a good idea to tell two complete strangers her name. Especially ones who ran around in masks acting...how they did.

Scotty smile as the girl reached for her hand and gave her name. Rinn. Scotty nodded at the name. It was different. She liked it. "It's nice to meet you, Rinn." Scotty said as she shook Rinn's hand. Once Scotty let go of her hand after a moment, Terry interjected. "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Rinn." He said, mocking a British accent and removing his mask as well then giving a bow to the girl before looking up at her was a grin and a raised eyebrow. He then stood up and joined in Scotty's little laugher she was doing at him. "So, Rinn, what brings you out this evening?" Terry continued as he walked slightly and looked up at the street light. "You're not a vampire, werewolf, or any other type of ghoul, are you?" He added, turning around with a smirk on his face and a raised eyebrow as he crossed his arms. In all sight, he's the one who looked like a vampire with bleached hair that was slicked back and the long leather coat he was wearing. "Now, Terry, I'm sure she's not a vampire. Werewolf maybe..." Scotty stepped forward slightly and paused, shooting Rinn a small smile and crossing her own arms. "But not a vampire." Scotty continued, looking back at Terry now.

Rinn blinked, unsure on how to continue the weird conversation. `I`m human,` she replied somewhat reassuring, sending a nervous glance at Scotty, `as far as i know anyway`she added, crossing her arms over her chest and hunching her shoulders. Scanning as discreetly as possible Rinn studied the pair with a critical eye, was his hair really white? Her eyes really that green? It had to be dye and contacts she thought, her pupils flicking back and forth between the two. At last she replied with `I`m an artist`, after coming to the conclusion they weren`t cops, not unless they were acting anyway.

Gasp. Scotty and Terry both gasped at the last thing Rinn said. They were absolutely astonished. Both of themselves were fans of art, no matter what kind. "What kind of artist?" Terry said as he stepped back over to the group and eyed Rinn, a small smile creeping up onto his face. Scotty gave him a look that said what-type-of-questions-is-that before he elaborated on what he said. "There's different kinds of artists. You could be a dancer." Terry paused, giving a slight twirl that was clumsily done. "You could be an actor or poet." He continued, putting his hand up in the air like he was reciting Shakespeare. "Or you could be a painter, like the two of us." He ended gesturing to Scotty and himself before looking back at Rinn for an answer. Scotty seeked out her eyes in the darkness as she waited a moment for an answer.

Rinn frowned, her mind skimming between answers. Could she really tell them? Her eyes drifted from her shoes to their faces and she bit her lip. `I do graffiti` she murmured, her voice so small she wondered if they`d heard, `surrealism and drip paintings`. With that she glanced up, gorging their reactions as blood from her lip welled in her mouth. She regretted the words as soon as they were out. It had been a mistake to tell them. Would they call the cops? They already knew what she looked like so it would be easy to file a description. Slowly she took a small step backward, waiting the whole time for either or both to lunge into action.

Grins grew on both Scotty's and Terry's face as they heard Rinn say she did graffiti. They meant and befriended multiple graffiti artists, but they were either punk-ass looking or wanna-be-gangsta looking. Either way, they usually did not look like Rinn. Scotty glanced at Terry, as Terry glanced at her almost in unison. Then, at the same time, they turned back to Rinn, surprised grins covering there faces. They knew what they were going to tell her, something they were proud of. "We do graffiti too!" Terry whispered loudly, almost like he was yelling the wispier. Both Scotty and Terry were thinking the same thing, like they almost always did, and wanted to both see Rinns works and show her their own works.