⚘ Synesthesia ⚘

Chapter 3 ⚘

"Avery!"

Avery snapped his head up to see his mother looking at him expectantly. Avery looked around, showing clear signs of confusion.

"I asked how your day was." Mrs. Taylor said.

"Fine." Avery mumbled.

"And how did your visit with Dr. Hughes go?" Avery swallowed.

"Good." He lied. He didn't feel like recounting the story of how he just up and left. His mind was a little preoccupied at the moment anyway, so he probably wouldn't have even been able to tell the story very well.

A slight creaking noise from the stairs, grabbed everyone's attention. Avery watched as Ryder slowly made his way down the stairs, wincing ever so slightly when he would get to another step. Once at the bottom of the stairs, Ryder made his way over to the table and took a seat.

Avery could tell that his best friend was clearly in pain, and it killed him that he couldn't really do anything at the moment. He started to feel a reddish grey color, that tasted like rust. Avery shook his head, trying to rid himself of the taste.

Mrs. Taylor offered Ryder some food, but he politely declined. It hurt for him to move anywhere in his upper body and eating seemed as if it would be a difficult task.

"We're going to go upstairs." Avery announced, getting up from the table. Ryder slowly pushed his seat back and followed Avery's actions, a strained look on his face. Mrs. Taylor was about to protest when Avery shot her a pleading glance. Avery's mom sighed in defeat and gave a small nod.

The two boys made their way up the stairs, Avery going much faster than Ryder. Seeing Ryder hobble up the steps made Avery feel a lot of things.

It was a huge mixture of colors; orange, red, purple, and grey that all blended together to make a very dark brown. Avery felt angry, sad, and useless all at once.

Avery led the way to his room, even though Ryder could probably find it blindfolded. Ryder gently closed the door behind them and sat on the bed, with Avery taking a seat directly in front of him.

Upon seeing Ryder this close Avery felt a different color. This was more of a golden-yellow hue, with a specific sweetness. There was no longer any rust or metallic taste in Avery's mouth.

"What happened?" Avery asked, his voice soft. If he spoke any louder he was afraid that somehow the boy in front of him would break.

"He had a bad day." Ryder said, wringing his hands. "He said I didn't get home on time." Avery suddenly felt very grey again, and the rust-like taste was back in his mouth.

"Was that my fault?" Avery asked. Ryder shook his head.

"No, he's just a prick." The two boys fell into a silence, neither quite sure what to say. The quiet was making the metallic taste intensify in Avery's mouth, and it was causing the grey to become even darker. Now it felt almost black.

"He counts, you know." Ryder said. Avery looked up from his hands.

"He counts?"

"Yeah, when he hits me. He wants me to know how many times I've been beaten."

"How many was it?" Avery asked before he could stop himself. He wanted to punch himself for being so inconsiderate. What an idiotic thing to say. My god, he was such a yellow. Ryder remained emotionless.

"25 for today." Ryder said, his voice cracking.

"What about those?" Avery asked, pointing to Ryder's wrists. "Do they count?" Ryder shook his head. Ryder had decided to build up a wall, so that Avery wouldn't see him sad- he felt so vulnerable the last time they had a heart to heart.

"No, that wasn't my dad." Ryder said. Avery sighed.

"I know."

Ryder lowered his head, but stayed silent. With all of this talking, his wall that he had built up was slowly starting to deteriorate.

"Maybe I deserved it." Ryder finally said. Avery turned to look at his best friend.

"What?" Avery asked.

"Maybe I-" Ryder was cut off by Avery.

"Don't say that." Avery said, his voice sounding weaker than he intended. It sounded strained, and silver. Avery now was feeling a mixture of blue and purple- a January morning with no snow on the ground. "You're a good person. You don't deserve this- nobody does." Avery said.

"You think?" Ryder asked. Avery nodded.

"I know." He said quietly.

"Name one thing you like about me." Ryder challenged.

"Your hair looks nice." Avery attempted. Ryder gave a slightly confused look.

"I mean, it's all messy and blue and stuff and it looks good." Avery tried to save himself. Ryder only shook his head before breaking into a smile.

"You should be a professional at compliment giving." Ryder joked. Avery rolled his eyes.

"Shut up." He said. Avery started to feel a lot more golden-yellow again. He was happy that he could make Ryder smile even in times like this. Ryder laughed, before wincing in pain.

Avery wasn't sure why, but he found his best friend's laugh incredibly attractive. He also really liked how he looked right now. Slightly tousled hair, and a huge dorky grin on his face. But Avery wasn't attracted to his best friend.

Right?

Once Ryder's grin had subsided, Avery noticed how close they actually were. In fact if he were to lean forwards just a tad he could-- wait, what? He couldn't kiss his best friend. What the hell was he even thinking?

Avery pulled away quickly, and scooted himself backwards. Now he was feeling blue. Not necessarily sad, but like he wanted to distance himself. He wanted to be alone. Ryder gave a confused glance towards his best friend, but made no comment.

Avery felt compelled to just kick Ryder out of the house, but upon considering further, he realized that was probably a really bad idea. Instead, Avery tried to direct conversation elsewhere by suggesting to play a video game.

"Mario Kart?" Avery asked. Ryder grinned.

"Yeah. Are you ready to lose?" He asked. Avery shook his head.

"Um, are you?"He asked. Ryder just rolled his eyes. Avery smiled, not because of the banter, but because he had successfully avoided another awkward situation.

Hopefully nothing like that would ever happen again.