[ ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ ]

[admemoriam]

[The video comes on, just a bit crooked, to show a scrawny teenager sitting in tall grass. He gives the camera a business-like nod, and then holds up a piece of paper, covered in blocky, red writing, to the lens.]

This is my bucket list.

[Self-explanatory, from the title.]

Who can help me with any of it? [He tilts it back to scan the list again.] Like, I'm pretty sure fireworks will be pretty easy, but I don't really know where to find a red panda. [A little nose wrinkle.] ... Or a volcano.

[That's it. That's the broadcast. He gives the camera a boyish smile and a thumbs up.]

Comments

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew pockets his phone and takes the list, flopping backwards down in the grass as well, his head near Noah's but his feet pointing in the opposite direction. He holds the list over his head, squinting against the sun. ]

Hey, one of the ladies I work with has chinchillas. She's always showing us pictures.

[admemoriam]

Dude. You're a hero! [He sits up, grass sticking out of his hair, and grins.] Are they, like, really fluffy?

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew laughs, drops his arm into the grass over his head so he can see Noah. ]

They look like it in the pictures. She says they're real soft. I'll ask her if we can see one.

[ She's pretty fond of Matthew. Most people are. ]

[admemoriam]

I always thought they'd feel like Pomeranians. My grandma had one of those.

[dreamkid]

[ This is the first time Noah's mentioned his family. Matthew doesn't find that incredibly strange, though. Adam never talks about his family at all. ]

Pomeranians--those are the fluffy ones that look like they're smiling all the time, right?

[admemoriam]

Yeah. They look like cotton balls, but they sound like squeaky toys.

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew lets out a somehow charming snort of laughter. ]

That sounds funny. Dogs are so weird sometimes.

[ He loves dogs, make no mistake. He tucks one arm behind his head and lifts the other, taking another look at Noah's list. ]

Why do you want to blow something up?

[admemoriam]

[He looks over at Matthew like he's just insulted Noah's mother.]

Because explosions are cool?

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew just 'hmm's pleasantly like maybe Noah has a point. But explosions kind of remind him of being locked in the trunk of a Mitsubishi and fearing he might die, so it's harder for him to see the appeal.

He takes another look at the list, to avoid dwelling on that. ]

Hey, I bet Ronan'd let us grafitti the barn.

[admemoriam]

[His eyes light up even more at that, and he rolls over to look in the direction of the barn.]

Dude, that would be awesome. You should ask him!

[dreamkid]

I'll ask him! [ Matthew promises eagerly. ]

Henrietta shouldn't mind, either.

[ The barn is mainly hers, since Ronan moved out. Well. It's doubling as newspaper storage, but as far as Matthew is concerned, mainly it's Henrietta's. ]

Maybe she'll like it.

[admemoriam]

We can paint some ravens on part of it, just for her.

[He imagines there will be a lot of ravens on it by the end, either way. They kind of have a theme, after all.]

[dreamkid]

Yeah! [ He laughs, clearly pleased with that idea. ]

And maybe some cheeseburgers; she likes those too.

[ He hefts himself up into a sitting position, holding Noah's list in his lap. ]

Do you know how to draw a raven?

[ Matthew does not. Matthew does not know how to draw a lot of things. This is not going to discourage him in the least. ]

[admemoriam]

[His grin broadens.]

Dude, I used to take art. I can definitely draw a raven.

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew leans in, all eager curiosity. ]

I didn't know that. Show me how?

[ He turns the list over and hands it back, assuming Noah still has the pen he used to write it. ]

[admemoriam]

[Noah pulls back out his pen and slowly rolls over, adjusting so that he can use Matthew's leg as a surface. Twisting his nose up in concentration, he starts to draw the outline of a raven.]

I could never pay attention in class, so I used to just draw my daydreams all over my notes.

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew laughs, both at the comment and because the drawing feels funny on his leg, but he tries to keep still. ]

I do that sometimes, [ he confesses. ] But I don't draw very well.

[ He leans in a little again, tipping his curly head so he can better see the picture as it progresses. ]

[admemoriam]

It's not about being good at it. [He starts in on the feathers, making sharp little gestures between lazy, soft ones.] It's just about expressing what you're thinking.

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew's usually not thinking about a whole lot. But he nods as though it makes sense, and watches as Noah flicks the details onto the paper, like it's just that easy. ]

You still have to get the shapes right though, don't you? And the-- mm, what's it called. Like, the shading.

[admemoriam]

Yeah. Which is a lot easier to do when you have a pencil.

[He sticks his tongue out a little in concentration.]

I made a big banner, once, for Raven Day. They hung it in front of the office.

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew leans back on his palms, still careful not to move his leg and disturb Noah's drawing. He doesn't have a pencil, or he'd offer it, but the other boy seems to be doing just fine with the pen, to him. ]

You did? That's so cool!

[ He doesn't remember that. Then again... He 'hmm's pleasantly. ]

I don't see you at school.

[ Which is strange, he thinks, because Noah is both Ronan's friend and an Aglionby boy. But it could be just coincidence that Matthew has never run into him, as far as he remembers. ]

[admemoriam]

[Noah doesn't look up - he keeps working on the drawing, thinking through his next words carefully.]

I skip a lot.

[Maybe not a current truth, but a past one.]

[dreamkid]

Oh.

[ Matthew accepts this easily, and without judgement. It slips past his power on a technicality. ]

Ronan does that a lot, too.

[admemoriam]

[Pleased by his lie's success, Noah continues a little more boldly.]

Who do you think he skips with? [A rhetorical question, not a lie!] I'm just better at hiding things from Gansey. [Also not a lie.]

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew 'hm's again, thoughtfully. He's not getting any straight up pings from his power but, well. Noah's treading a very thin line. ]

Why don't you like going? It's not so bad.