fandomtownies | The York Gallery; Wednesday [ 09/17 ] -- Exhibit Opening! 8pm onward.

The past few weeks of work were finally coming to a head, and Charlotte was both nervous and excited and getting herself worked up into a frenzy with making sure everything was perfect. She couldn't help feeling an overwhelming sense of satisfaction with the exhibit, though. The turnout wasn't huge, but nicely manageable and thankfully not small by any measure. Some of the work was a bit amateurish, but she had to admit to being pretty blown away by a few of the others.

By the time eight o'clock rolled around and the doors were open, the gallery was set up in a display of the pieces by artist, and the usual spread of treats and drinks were available in another area of the room. Charlotte, dressed in a vibrant red, milled around the gallery to make sure everything was in order and all the guests were enjoying the exhibit. She was also keeping an eye out for the artists of certain pieces, since she was very eager to potentially meet them.

The Community Showcase Exhibit was open!

[[ ~~or will be, once I get the very extensive OCD up!~~ It's up! Enjoy! ]]

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And this was about as far down the line of exhibits as Francine got, before she did a double-take at first the picture, and then the title-card, and then the picture again. And stared.

And this would be Katchoo, hiding like whoa against the wall in the corner, trying to pretend like she hadn't sort of not mentioned the whole art exhibit thing to her best friend.

Francine stepped closer to the picture, reaching out one hand as if to touch the woman's face, though she didn't, because hi, remember that week she spent stuck on an easel?

When Francine didn't actually touch the sketch, Katchoo breathed out a silent sigh of relief that was actually not so silent.

Crap.

Maybe Francine wouldn't notice?

Francine, Queen of the Oblivious? Of course she didn--- Yeah, actually, she did. It just took her a second for the sound to break the spell she seemed to be under, and Francine to finally turn around and notice Katchoo.

Wide-eyed, she pointed to the picture. "That's yours?"

Crap crap crap crap . . .

"Unless you know another Katchoo, maybe," said the bearer of that name, eyeing the written form of said name in the corner of the picture and what had she been thinking, signing it that way?

Sometimes she had to wonder how well she knew this one. "You've got a picture in an art gallery! How come you didn't tell me about this?"

Crap to the power of fifty gazillion.

"I didn't tell anyone? I didn't want to make a big deal out of it! I mean, c'mon, it's just one stupid sketch . . ."

"Just a stupid sketch? It's beautiful!" Francine half-turned to wave her arm at it, then froze there, and said more quietly, because she'd always been a little slow on the uptake, "....It's you."

"You --" That last bit hadn't been lost on Katchoo, whose voice had gone almost tremulous. "You think it's beautiful?"

Of course it was beautiful. Anybody could see that. And yet looking at it made Francine feel dumber than the weird painting of the eye with a stick on top of it had. Or just weirder, in some not exactly pleasant way she couldn't define.

"It's gorgeous. I don't know why you wouldn't want to tell me people you were showing it at a gallery."

Katchoo shook her head, then raised her gaze to look at Francine steadily. "It's just one dumb picture . . . wasn't anything to make a big deal about, you know? Not like I'm trying to show off or anything. I just saw the sign and figured what the hell."

"It is a big deal," Francine insisted. "That's what an art gallery's for right? To show off what you made."

"Display it, maybe," said Katchoo, who was being unusually patient; must've yelled it out with Murdock, earlier. "Doesn't mean show off. You know me, Francie, I'm not a showoff. Not like this whole event is some big orgy celebrating my life and kinda crappy times or something."

"No, you're not," Francine agreed in a softer tone, sensing that this was unusually patient for Katchoo. "It's just... this is great, you know? I'm proud of you."

Few things ever made Katchoo feel anything remotely approaching shy, but apparently those few things were in Francine's possession, and she ducked her head. "I -- thanks."

Guilt about not telling Francine earlier? Setting in big time now.

Still inexplicably uncomfortable, but desperately trying to make that go away, Francine added, "I like yours much better than the furry eye on a stick."

"Furry eye on a --" Katchoo'd had just enough wine to not think twice about letting out a giggle. Followed by a snort, that she had to cover up with another giggle.

Blithely misunderstanding the amusement, Francine trundled on. "It is pretty funny-looking."

Katchoo proceeded to double over in a full-on gigglefit, for entirely different reasons than Francine thought.

The York Gallery; Wednesday [ 09/17 ] -- Exhibit Opening! 8pm onward.

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