[ ✓ ] 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄 , taewin .

ONE

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ONE.

❝ the truth runs wild,
like rain to the sea. ❞
— HEAVEN ; TROYE SIVAN.

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This first day of school cliche begins on my front doorstep, before the day has even truly begun. What they don't tell you in books or movies is that the first day of school truly isn't special. It's the same for everyone. There genuinely is nothing utterly important about a student's day back at school. It doesn't matter who it is, where they're from.

I would say this applies to myself. Except this was the first time I've been back at public school since eighth grade. In a way, today's my first day of high school. And it's my last first day.

Why Jinhyuck thought it was a good idea to put me back into school my senior year, I don't know. Maybe, he wants to forget that the past four years never happened. Maybe, he thinks it will put a huge bandage over all that we've been through. Maybe, he just wants to see me happy again.

Cars stroll by back and forth while I watch. They blur past, almost as if they just leave with the calm breeze that blows through every so often. I look out at the sky, and there isn't a bright, blue sky covered with small tufts of white clouds. I can't even seem to find the sun anywhere up there. All I see is a giant pool of gray. The sight is a lot like how my mind has seemed to feel like for the past several years. Nothing really keeping it bright and alive, no beautiful canvas to paint upon. Just, nothing.

I turn around as the door opens behind me, Jinhyuck walking out as he puts on his jacket.

"Ready, kid?" he asks me as I begin to stand. He pats my back, gesturing to start walking and get into the car. I look at him, and something about the look on his face today looks like it's finally come to life. His eyes are bright, he's smiling—genuinely smiling.

"I guess." We enter the car, which feels like I haven't sat in since forever. Just seeing natural light today felt so different. Everything about today is just different.

"You'll be okay. Yuta and Taeil will have your back," he explains as he pulls out of the driveway. Yuta. Taeil. It feels like I haven't heard or said those names in a lifetime.

"Hopefully."

Every building we drive by passes by in a blur like the cars I watch on the porch. I try to remember the last time I stepped in them, or even stood in front of them. Something about the universe today feels so brand new, I can't seem to remember how things were before everything happened.

I look for the school after we pass each traffic light. However, this car ride seems to drag on and on, never seeming to end. The strong pounding in my chest and uneasy feeling in my stomach only makes the experience worse.