A Few Cans of Gray- JeffMads

Chapter 1

"Breathe, James. Breathe." James whispered to himself, hands running down the strap on his shoulder. "What did you do? I bought a house. For myself. With my savings. For me. To live alone... in" He chuckled sadly and stepped forward, "I'm a sad, sad man." he mumbled as he walked along the stone path to the door. That was a nice touch to the house, he had to admit. He stepped up to the door, hand reaching out to wrap around the copper handle. He looked at the wooden door, smiling, "It's all yours-" He slowly opened it, greeted with a fine inside; wooden floors, evenly painted walls in bright colors that didn't quite suit him; James was a man who went along with grays, soft golds, and black. These colors were red, green, and blue. He carried the bag into the empty house even further, footsteps echoing from the lack of furniture. "I should have bought a smaller house" he mumbled to himself. He set down his single bag and looked around, spinning on his heel to get a look around. He sighed happily, retaking the tour on his own before deciding he needed to repaint a bit. Thus he grabbed his phone and wallet, walking out of the house and locking it behind him. Sighing for it felt good to have something this major to own for himself. Yes, his dad had a lot of dough, but his dad also believed in the importance of hard work, and earning everything for yourself. He only got a little bit of savings, which he spent on the house. "I should have bought a car" he said to himself, sighing as he began walking down the street. There were a few puddles from the sprinklers in the yards around him. He tried to avoid them before shaking his head and stepping in them, splashing his leg with a laugh. After a long walk, he was finally at the local hardware store. Walking to the paint section, he looked around, eyes scanning the different samples. James looked to the side, eyeing a man also looking at the samples. He was tall, long legs and firm, strong torso; his hair was wild, little fuzz of a curl sprouting off in every direction; and his nose was pointed and went perfectly along with his chiseled jaw, which was covered with a scruff of a small beard. He felt compelled to talk to this man, he looked friendly and he definitely needed a friend. "So you're painting something?" James asked to the much taller man, who had looked down with a nice, handsome smile "No.. I just like to buy paint for the heck of it" He laughed. James forced a chuckle, looking at his feet, definitely embarrassed. The tall man shook his head "I'm kidding, I'm kidding- I got a new addition to the house to paint." he said with a nod. James nodded and smiled "Oh well.. I'm repainting this house I just bought" The handsome man just nodded "Oh congratulations!" he said, smiling. "I'm Thomas" The other held out his hand. James quickly accepted it "I'm James" he responded, grinning up at his new friend. Thomas smiled "So tell me about yourself" James perked up a bit, before responding "Oh yeah I used all my savings to buy this house over on Elm street, it's just west of here" Thomas nodded "Oh I live relatively close to that" James smiled "Oh how wonderful-" Both men nodded, looking off to the ground. James took this time to admire Thomas's clothes, which were elegant and obviously worth a lot more than James could ever afford. Thomas shifted insecurely, hands moving to pick up a gray sample of paint. He looked down at it before flipping it over, to the white side. He gently took out a pen and wrote down his phone number. He handed it to James, "I'm not sure what color the rest of your house is or if it'll match but... it goes with your eyes" he said gently, stepping back and strolling to the cashier to check out for some things he picked up. James stared forward, mouth gaping as his cheeks heated up, looking at the color. He ran over to the paint counter, slamming the sample on the counter, "Sir can I have a few cans of this color?" he asked, chest rising and falling. The man behind it nodded and next thing James knew, he was rushing out of the store, arms full of cans of gray paint. He waddled down the street, struggling; he was just a dainty little guy, not even strong enough for these cans of paint. He was soon rushing up to his front door, struggling with the load of things he had in his hands. But he finally managed to unlock the door, practically falling through the door. He stumbled to the empty living room, where he set down the items. He had also purchased tape and other painting necessities. He poured the paint, the dull, but bitter smell rushing through the air, hitting his nose. He sighed, placing tape around the places he didn't want to get paint on. He slid on a t-shirt he didn't really need, though with his bank account, he needed this shirt; he still put it on, digging his brush in the paint, beginning to paint over the walls. He stuck out his tongue, biting the tip as he put sincere concentration into his work. The brush strokes gave him satisfaction, something about the way the bristles ran over the wall, spreading color and making a new horizon. This single new color gave the entire house a new atmosphere. There was something about the color gray, the way it was gentle and soft, but really set the mood. It could be either peaceful, dull, bright, fun, or whatever you wanted it to be; it was all about personal interpretation.  James stepped back, wiping his forehead as his eyes proudly looked over the walls. He had done the entire house in such a short amount of time. It would be weird if he wasn't proud of it. He cleaned up his mess and pulled off the tape once the paint was dry. He sighed, remembering how little furniture there was. Even though he barely had anything, he had some bedroom items from his old, small apartment. He was going to get some sleep tonight, no matter what that meant. Changing into his pajamas, he slipped off to his bedroom, where he was soon dreaming of the fuzzy haired man in the paint department.