Colors Always Bleed Together [DUFN]

Chapter One: Darker

I hug my little brother. His tiny arms wrap around my neck and his little head rests on my shoulder. I never thought I'd have a brother, but my parents decided to adopt him when his mother died of a rare illness. At first, I was skeptical. I wondered if they were still able to take care of a young child, granted they were forty and forty-three - but they loved little Aiden from the second they laid eyes on him. "Besides" they said at one point, "how hard could it be?"

So far, he's been an angel. He hasn't learned to talk yet. At two years of age, and knowing exactly nothing about small children, I don't know if that's a normal or a bad thing. But then again, who ever said normal was a good thing?

Aiden looks more like my parents than I do, with my mother's bright blue eyes and father's light brown hair. I received some traits from both, and some mysterious ones that all three of us wonder about, but that kid is a spitting image of Dad with Mom's eyes and nose.

I hand him back to Mom. He gladly lets go. From what I can tell, he doesn't like me very well.

"How's your job going?" Dad asks causally. He leans against the kitchen counter. He seems genuinely concerned; something he only does half the time when talking to a human being, and every single time he watches the news or college football.

I stiffen a little. I told my dad I was living my dream because he was so proud of me, when in reality - I work at Pizza Hut. I did get a raise last week though. I got raised up to minimum wage. Yay.

"I got a raise." I tell him truthfully with an awkward smile. No lies, no guilt.

"Honey, that's great!" Mom shouts, apparently believing my fake smile. She's one of those people that sometimes gets excited over the littlest things, and my paycheck is indeed such a little thing.

"Yeah." I say with the smallest amount of excitement I could. Trying to escape the unwanted conversation about my fake job, I make up an excuse to leave. "Um, I gotta go or I'll be late for work."

Dad takes Aiden from Mom and sits him down on the kitchen table. "Darling, you realize you don't have to be there for another hour?"

"It's easier to get there earlier so I can preheat - I mean arrange everything." I try to brush off my mistake, which technically wasn't a lie either. "I don't know why preheat popped into my head. And I'm hoping to get off an hour early to go to that OneRepublic concert tonight."

"You and that band, Nicki. Sometimes I wonder if this Ronald guy is the only thing you ever think about!" Mom says with equal parts irritation and playfulness.

"Mom. . . it's Ryan." I correct and put my head in my hands.

"Oh, are you sure it's not Ronald? I remember you saying Ronald."

"Damn it, Mom! I never said that, it's Ryan! R-Y-A-N! Ryan!"

"Don't curse around your brother!" My father shouts.

"Well make Mom stop calling him Ronald!" I complain and grab my phone. "I'm going to work. Bye, Dad. Bye, Britney Spears." Two can play at that game.

But as I walk out the door, I hear Mom whisper to Dad, "Who's Britney Spears?"

"Seriously?" I whisper to myself as I close the door behind myself and walk briskly to my car. I climb inside and I speed way over the limit to Pizza Hut once I touch my foot to the gas pedal. I am determined to get to that concert tonight, and I will do anything to get there. Especially since that ticket cost me what I make in a month. If I missed that concert because of a pizza, I would probably suffocate myself with it.

My boss is standing outside when I pull into my parking space. He has his arms crossed. I sigh deeply, wondering what I did this time. I step out of the car and lock it quickly My boss stops me before I walk through the door. My mind automatically assumes the worse, "Make sure we have enough sauce, please." He says. "And tell me if Mason walks in the back door, because I need to have a few words with him."

Feeling no remorse at all, I repeat in my head, "Please, please Dear God in Heaven let him fire Mason!" Mason can't even make a pizza without making something explode. Not exaggerating in the slightest. Yesterday, he tried to fry an egg and caught his hat on fire. He tried to put it out in hot grease. While I enjoy watching him almost kill himself on a daily basis, it's not so fun when he almost kills me in the process.

I change into my uniform in the bathroom and come out to start the first pizza. Mason is in front of the oven. He waves, getting too close and catching his shirt on fire. He screams and smacks it repeatedly with a towel, making it worse. I roll my eyes and walk back outside, "Mister Brooks, he's on fire again."

"I swear if he burns something off his body, I'm not paying for his hospital bill." He mumbles under his breath.

I get to work as soon as I walk through the door. Cleaning the counter, the oven, the chairs in the waiting room. And then taking orders. There was this one man who was so rude that I had to resist the urge to spit in his cheese sauce or give him a free pie to the face.

When eight o'clock rolls around, I ask my boss if I can have an hour off. He agrees, surprisingly, but only because I helped him find Mason and put out the flames he made today. . . twice.

I hurry and change back. Afterwords, I hury home - speeding again - to change one last time, into my band merchandise. I force on a slightly too small "Dreaming Out Loud" shirt and an oversized "Oh My My" hoodie. I let my hair loose of the braid I had it tied up in for work. It falls in blond waves over my shoulders. Other than that, I put on a pair of jeans and black tennis shoes to match.

And finally, I'm ready.

I put my phone in my pocket and return, once again, to my car.

The drive to the concert was the worst in my life. But by the time I park, I'm ready to scream until I run out of air. And I haven't even seen Ryan yet. I can't imagine what I'll do then. We'll, I guess I'm about to find out.

* * *

Before the concert started, Ryan looked out to the crowd. I find myself wishing he'd look my way, but not at the same time.

But then he does. I debate for a split second whether I should hide my face.

We lock eyes. My heart skips a beat. Something in his eyes brighten.

He smiled, before taking a metal ring off his finger. "Who wants this?" He screamed, and everyone else screamed along with him. And there there was me, holding up my hand and trying to contain my wildness so he won't find me weird.

He throws it in my direction. And to my surprise, being as horrible at athletic activities as I am, I actually catch it! I caught and get to keep Ryan Tedder's ring!

For the rest of the concert, I'm mesmerized by his voice. I must be paranoid in some sense, because I could swear he caught glances at me whenever he could. But that's just crazy. . . right?

Hours later, I sit in my car; slipping the ring on and off my finger. I think of the hundreds of people there, and I am the one he threw it too. I mentally panic and decide to calm down before I start to drive again.

I sit there the length of time it takes to listen to "Oh My My ". I close my eyes and imagine Ryan singing the songs again. Before I know it, the album's over and I start the engine.

It's darker than I remember outside. And colder too.

I turn on the heater and get out on the road. A minute passes as I just cruise. I try to enjoy the ride, knowing I'll be right back at Pizza Hut tomorrow. But for now, I want to enjoy life.

And I might have, if a car wouldn't have ran a stop sign and crashed right into the side of mine.

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I felt like this chapter was a little rushed and probably a horrible begining. I'm sorry if you felt the same.

Book One of The Shaded Series is now out and I'm excited to write this for you all! I really really hope you all like it!

Special thanks to 1Republicislife184 for the support! Love you, Awkward Bean!