The day progressed slowly, but finally the last bell rang and released the students. Most headed home, but a small group made their way to the old storage room that would be transformed and given a new purpose. It had been emptied from stuff earlier. The barren walls and floor made the room look sad.

Melanie arrived among the first few, and she was delighted to notice Stella wasn’t there yet. She took the opportunity to launch into a conversation with Justin.

Jamie arrived with Quinn who still wasn’t excited about the whole thing. The first year students came too, but they seemed shy in the presence of older students.

Stella arrived last, carrying a shopping bag in one hand. School would’ve ended an hour ago for her, so she had taken the opportunity to do some preparations and bought snacks from the nearby store. They couldn’t work on empty stomachs after all.

“Looks like everyone is here”, Stella started. “Thank you all for coming. The janitors have kindly emptied the room so we don’t need to do any heavy lifting, even though there clearly is plenty of raw masculine energy present.”

Jamie let out a laugh. If they combined the strength of all the guys, they might have been equal to one regular man.

“Let’s start with covering the floor and windows with newspaper. We don’t want paint on the windows. After that we can take a small break before painting. It’s also okay  to take breaks during the painting, and it’s definitely recommended to get some fresh air every now and then,” Justin instructed after the few chuckles had quieted down.

They shuffled to the empty room. Quinn tried to take advantage of the situation and slip away, but Jamie grabbed his sleeve before he could take two steps.

“Really?” Quinn muttered but followed his brother in the barren room.

They started to carefully spread newspaper pages on the floor. There had been talks about getting new flooring, but it wasn’t confirmed yet. So, in case it wouldn’t happen, they wanted to make sure the floor wasn’t covered in paint splatters. Justin covered the windows. He didn’t trust anyone else to do it well enough.

Quinn would’ve rather been anywhere else. He sighed deeply every time he placed paper on the floor. Jamie shot a glance at him, and it kept him quiet for a while. But soon he started sighing again. This was the worst. His back would hurt soon from all this grouching. He could’ve been playing games right now. He wanted to know if his friend was online on Argent Night.

Quinn’s sighing started to get on Stella’s nerves after two minutes. She tried to hold back her annoyance and took calming breaths, but when Quinn once again sighed more dramatically than necessary, Stella spun on her heels to face the boy.

“If it’s so damn hard to be here and help, then go home.”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and heavy silence fell to the room. Quinn stared at Stella, mouth slightly open from shock. His cheeks flushed from embarrassment and quickly he lowered his head.

“I– I didn’t mean–” he muttered and stared at the floor. Then he continued spreading the papers without uttering a single word or sigh.

Guilt hit Stella immediately. She shouldn’t have snapped like that. But instead of apologizing, she continued the work. They needed to get started soon if they wanted to go home before midnight.

Ten minutes later Justin was happy with the covering. They sat down to take a break, careful to not shuffle the newspapers around. Quinn sat against the far wall, focused on his phone. He was like a kicked puppy. Jamie walked over to him, they exchanged a few words, Quinn shook his head and Jamie walked away. Stella bit her lip. Had she hurt his feelings?

Stella poured juice into two plastic cups and walked to Quinn.

“Hey, have something to drink,” she said and offered one cup to him.

“I’m not thirsty,” Quinn said quietly, without raising his eyes from the phone.

“I’m sorry I shouted at you. I shouldn’t have. Of course I can’t force you to be here, but it’d be nice if you stayed,” Stella said, “we appreciate your help.”

She put one cup on the floor next to Quinn and walked away. Quinn glanced after her. He sighed, picked up the cup and took a sip.

After everyone was rested, nourished and prepared to work again, they started painting. Justin instructed everyone carefully about what to do and how to do it, and watched everyone work for a bit before starting his own section of the wall.

Stella dragged in two stepladders which they could use for painting the top sections on the walls. She was pouring paint onto a roller tray when a voice came from behind her.

“Do you need help?”

Stella turned around to face a slightly awkward Quinn. A smile spread on Stella’s face.

“Sure. Thanks.”

She climbed on the ladder while Quinn started painting the lower part of the wall. They quickly found a good rhythm and technique for painting, even Quinn, who didn’t consider himself to have any kind of calling for this sort of job. They worked in silence apart from letting each other know if they needed paint or something else. Melanie put music to play from their phone. Stella hummed along to some of the songs and quietly sang parts of the lyrics. Quinn listened to her with a small smile on his face.

About two and half hours later they were nearly finished. They had taken a few quick breathers outside. The smell of paint caused a headache fast if given the chance. They had made progress much faster than Stella or Justin had expected, but all the better this way.

Stella only had a tiny sliver of wall to paint in the corner of the room. She measured the distance between her ladder and the spot with an appraising eye. She didn’t want to come down from the ladder and move it again. She could reach if she stretched her arm out enough.

“Quinn, could you hold the ladder in case it tries to fall?”

Having to ask that should’ve been a red flag.

Quinn pocketed his phone and took a sturdy hold of the ladder. Stella stretched herself towards the corner to paint it. The ladder tried to tip to the side under her weight. Quinn leaned against it with a grunt. The hard metal pressed against his arms. Stella brushed and poked the wall with the pain roller. She was so close.

“Hey Quinn?” Jamie called from the other side of the room, “can you throw me the paint brush?”

Jamie pointed at the brush near his brother’s feet.

Without thinking, Quinn stepped towards it and took the brush, tossing it to Jamie.

The second Quinn took his hand off the ladder, Stella felt it disappear under her. She screamed and flailed her arms. Quinn spun around, a horrified look on his face. He dove towards Stella in an attempt to catch her before she fell down. It did work, somewhat.

Quinn caught Stella, but the momentum took him down as well. They both crashed on the floor with Quinn softening Stella’s fall. The ladder fell down with a loud clatter barely missing them but hitting the edge of the roller tray. Paint splashed all over Stella and Quinn.

Stella opened her eyes when Quinn groaned. She was lying on top of him, and Quinn’s arms were wrapped around her. Her hand was under Quinn’s body and pain started to bloom in her wrist. Before she could say anything, Justin, Jamie and the rest ran to them.

“Oh my god, Stella, are you alright?”

“Quinn, can you hear me?”

“Do we need to call an ambulance?”

“I’m fine,” Stella said.

“I’m fine too, I think.”

Quinn realized he was holding onto Stella and quickly let go of her. His head throbbed, but luckily he hadn’t hit it too hard. Stella’s arm under him had somehow cushioned his upper body a bit. 

Stella untangled herself from Quinn, and Justin pulled her on her feet. He grabbed the hand that hurt and a grimace of pain flashed on Stella’s face.

“What were you thinking? You were supposed to hold the ladder up,” Justin growled at Quinn, who slowly sat up as well.

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t think. It was a reflex.”

“If anything, it’s my fault. I didn’t pay attention and asked him to throw the brush,” Jamie said. His brows were knit in concern.

“It’s fine. Don’t be mad at Quinn, Justin. And you don’t need to worry either, Jamie.”

“You could’ve been seriously hurt! You are already hurt!”

“So could’ve he. Quinn tried to catch me. You are alright, aren’t you? You didn’t hit your head too bad?” 

Stella’s attention shifted from Justin to Quinn and her voice filled with concern. Quinn shook his head softly.

“I’ll live.”

“You both sit down and rest. I’ll finish the painting. The rest of you start packing things up, so we can go home,” Justin ordered.

Justin straightened the ladder and climbed up to cover the last spot white wall in the dark green paint. Luckily none of the paint had splashed on the other walls. Stella offered to wash the paint brushes and paint rollers. They would cover the walls in a second layer of paint the next day, but it would be easier if the brushes weren’t covered in dried paint. Speaking of which, her clothes were soaked in paint, and when she brushed her hair with her hands, there were blotches of paint in there too. It stuck to her fingers, and Stella grimaced. She glanced towards Quinn on her way to the hallway. Jamie hovered around him, asking him questions in a hushed voice.

It didn’t take too long to clean up, since everyone was eager to get home. Once they finished, Justin and Stella headed home together. The rest of the group had dispersed already, but they had stayed behind a few minutes longer to make sure everything was in good condition and that doors were locked properly.

“You can go first. I’ll come in a bit,” Stella said when she noticed Jamie and Quinn still in the school yard.

Justin glanced at their direction before heading towards the gate. He wouldn’t go far. There was no way he’d let Stella walk home alone.

Stella directed her steps towards the twins who quickly noticed her.

“Hi,” Stella said when she got closer.

Jamie said something to his brother and walked away, giving a quick nod to Stella.

“Thanks for trying to catch me. I forgot to say that earlier,” Stella said.

“No problem. It was basically my fault anyway so it was the least I could do.”

“You didn’t get hurt, right? You didn’t hit your head or anything?”

“I did bump my head a bit, but I don’t think it’s anything bad. How about you? Does your arm still hurt?”

“A little. But I don’t think it’s anything bad either.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah. And thanks again. And make sure to tell Jamie that I don’t blame him or anything. And I don’t blame you either. It was an accident.”

“I will.”

A silence stretched between them. Quinn squirmed. Should he say something more?

“Oh, by the way, you have a bit of paint on your face,” Stella said then and pointed at her forehead to show the spot.

“Oh.” 

Quinn rubbed his forehead with his hand. Stella smiled and took his hand, moving it to the right spot.

“There.”

“Th-thanks.”

Quinn feared his cheeks were blazing red.

“But I won’t keep you any longer. Thanks again. Good night.”

“Night....”

Quinn stared after Stella, a hand still on his forehead. The back of her clothes were covered in a thick layer of paint.

Justin waited for Stella right outside the gate. Jamie leaned on the wall on the other side of the gate, waiting for Quinn. There had been an uncomfortable silence between them.

“Did you talk?” Justin asked when they started walking hom.

“Yeah. I didn’t have much to say. I thanked him and made sure he didn’t get hurt too badly.”

“I don’t understand what’s wrong with him. He was supposed to hold the ladder.”

“Well, I decided to try the stunt. So I don’t blame him. You shouldn’t either.”

Justin grumbled quietly before looking at Stella again.

“I just got scared. You could’ve been hurt really badly.”

“I know. But I’m alright.”

“And you’re banned from climbing ladders from now on.”

“What?”

“Sorry, I don’t make the rules.”

“You literally just did!”

Justin laughed and they continued to bicker the whole walk.

After getting home and convincing Justin she’d be alright, Stella headed straight to the bathroom. She soaked her clothes in the sink to wash off the extra paint and tossed them in the washing machine after the most had come off. She hoped they could be salvaged since she really liked the jeans. Then she stepped under the shower herself. Her sore muscles sighed in relief in the warm water, but her wrist continued to throb with annoying pain. It took a while before she managed to rub all the paint from her hair and it irritated her wrist more. 

She grabbed a bag of vegetables from the freezer and rested it on her wrist while watching TV. Her mother was out and probably wouldn’t be back until after Stella had gone to bed. Stella was happy about it because her mother would’ve panicked without a doubt. Stella was sure ice and a painkiller would fix everything. She’d be as good as new the next morning.