Langa was stumped. For months now, a brown amber tone had been the only color he had been able to see. It was glorious being able to see color. His whole life he had waited and waited for the day he turned 18. When he was younger, the whole thought of a soulmate had made him want to barf, all he had cared about was knowing what color was. Now he finally did, yet all he wanted to do now was find his soulmate.
Yet he was stumped. Because now he was eighteen. He had been for a while now. For months the only color he had been able to see was amber. That was until he had raced with Adam. He had seen color, he had seen all the colors of the rainbow. Never had he known what a rainbow was until the moment during that race. He had been in the zone, and reality had seemed to fade away from him. Then there it was, not just brown, rainbow.
Langa was typing away in google, researching the strange phenomenon. He had been to jittery to mention to it to any of his friends after the race, and scared of what they would think. He felt anxiety building in him as he searched for the answer. What if he was the only that had that happen to him? What if he was messed up?
Langa let out a deep breath. It was perfectly normal. He was scrolling through article after article. Apparently it only happened to extreme athletes, but it did happen. It was called chroma syndrome. Chroma syndrome was when one who couldn't see all the colors concentrated so hard, and left their reality so much they could see all colors vibrantly. It was only when they were in the zone of extreme adrenaline. Once they left the zone, the color they saw would return to black and white. Langa smiled.
He was so happy. He couldn't believe he had seen all the colors of the rainbow, he was sure his eyes had turned rainbow he had been so concentrated. It was beautiful, breathtaking. He desperately wanted to see it all again. Yet, the next time he wanted to be able to share it all was with his soulmate. Langa sighed again. He was such a hopeless romantic.
He felt like all he could think of 24/7 was his soulmate, and how they had the most beautiful eye color. Reki's eye color. Langa blushed. Why did he always have to do that? Every time he started thinking about his soulmate, as much as he enjoyed it, he always ended up looping it back to Reki.
It wasn't that Langa didn't want his soulmate to be Reki. Actually it was the other way around. He wanted his soulmate to be Reki so much that there was an ache in his chest if he thought about it too long. Gosh, he wanted Reki. He wanted Reki so so bad. Langa had never been in love with anyone other than Reki.
It had all happened the first day Langa had met him. The moment Reki leaped over Langa with his skateboard, and all Langa could do was watch in wonder. As they had become friends, Langa had desperately tried to ignore his feelings. He was pretty sure Reki only had eyes for girls, and Langa didn't want to get hurt.
So he had settled as friends, and grown extremely close to Reki. As a matter of fact, Langa was closer to Reki than anyone else in the world. Langa loved Reki so much.
Everything had been going normal between the two of them. And then one day, right before they had gotten into their big fight, it had been Langa's birthday. Langa had blown out his candles. Joe, Cherry, Miya, his mom, and Reki all gathered around him. The clock had ticked down, and in the blink of an eye he was eighteen. Langa hadn't felt any different, and so he quickly looked to his friends smiling faces, searching for color.
Miya had been completely colorless, same for Cherry, and then Langa locked eyes with Reki. There it was...color, for the first time. Langa had gasped, and everyone had gazed at him more intensely.
"Reki, your eyes," he had stammered. Reki had blushed and leaned in, intrigued.
"What?! What?!l" everyone had excitedly whispered.
"They're amber. I guess I can see brownish tones," Langa cheered. Reki gasped, and bear hugged Langa, ruffling his hair.
"That's so freakin cool! Not fair you got to have your birthday months before mine! I want to see color too!" Reki had teased. Langa had felt his face heat up. And since that day, everything had changed. Because Langa had hope. He had been so scared that when he would turn 18 the only color he would be able to see would be any other color than Reki's eyes, so Langa had been strict with himself about developing feelings. Not that it had helped.
But since that day Langa had been more lenient with himself. It wasn't that he thought Reki was his soulmate, and Reki clearly didn't think Langa was his. It was just that spark of hope. It was the fact that, even thought Langa saw countless people with amber eyes each day, only Reki's seemed to line up perfectly with the color. It was the fact that Reki always seemed up close and personal with Langa, always finding excuses to touch him.
Of course, Langa would never tell anyone this. His friends had been suspicious the day of his birthday. Miya had had rolled his eyes, like he already knew it would happen. Joe had quirked an eyebrow. Cherry had a spark in his eye. Shadow had given a confused look. The only person who hadn't been suspicious had been Reki.
As for Langa's mom. Well of course she knew. She knew everything. Langa loved his mom so much. She had been so accepting when he had come out to her around twelve. She had helped him through his Dad's death, and his stage of depression. She had always supported and loved him no matter what. She would tell him beautiful stories.
"Langa did you know your Dad's eyes were blue. Just like yours," she had told him once, right after his Dad had passed away.
"My eyes are blue?" Langa had asked.
"The prettiest shade of it, yes," his mother had told him.
"What about yours Mom?" Langa had asked.
"Oh mine are just plain brown," his mother had sighed.
"I bet they're beautiful," he had told her. And they were beautiful. They weren't exactly the same shade of amber Langa vividly saw, but they had the same tone so Langa could see there color. At least a little.
Langa's mom had known it. Right when Langa had seen Reki's eyes brighten with color. It wasn't that she thought Reki was the one for him. Well actually she did, at least that's what she said. Although Langa was pretty sure she was just being nice. But that moment, Langa's mom had seen Langa's eyes lit up with love. And she knew.
Langa shut his laptop, and grabbed his skateboard. After his victory with Adam, all he felt like doing was skating. He quickly raced down the gravel roads until he spotted a familiar figure in a familiar skating park.
"Reki!" Langa called, skating towards his one and only. Reki tuned excitedly towards the blue haired boy. Not that Reki would know that.
"Langa! About time! I was wondering when you would show up!" Reki yelled back, skating towards Langa. Langa laughed, as he and Reki high fived and started to do tricks. Langa felt the wind in his hair, and felt his whole body pumping with adrenaline every time Reki got near him. Finally, they took a break and sat on their bench.
"Hey Reki, there was something I was wanting to tell you," Langa confessed looking out into the park, scarred if he tuned to Reki, he would start stuttering.
"Yeah?" Reki asked, and Langa could feel Reki's amber/brown eyes on him. Langa blushed and gave in, turning to look at the eyes he always got lost in. At least he had an excuse. Reki would always laugh about how much Langa stared at his eyes, but then chalk it up to- "I guess it makes sense, they're the only color you can see."
"Well, it's something actually pretty cool, but I don't want everyone knowing," Langa continued.
"Oh just tell me already!" Reki demanded, playfully pushing Langa's shoulder. Langa sheepishly smiled.
"Sorry, sorry. Okay, so well...during my race with Adam...I saw rainbow," Langa confessed. Reki jumped up, shocked.
"What?! You figured out who your soulmate was?!" Reki asked alarmed. Langa panicked when he saw Reki's face. Langa didn't want to know what Reki was thinking.
"NO!!! No! Gross! GROSS! Never!!! Adam is NOT my soulmate!!!" Langa cried. Reki sighed in relief.
"Just checking, besides it's cool, I know your only into dainty girls. Not old men," Reki laughed. Langa made a face he hoped Reki didn't see. Why did Reki think he was so into "dainty girls?" Langa had never so much as mentioned a girl in his life. For Pete's sake he was gay! Why couldn't Reki just figure that out without Langa actually coming out to him! After all, everyone else in their friend group was gay except Shadow! Heck, Joe and Cherry were married!
"So who's the lucky girl?" questioned Reki, grinning like a middle school boy before they hit puberty. Langa sighed.
"No! I don't know who my soulmate is! That's what I had thought too, but actually it's this thing called chroma syndrome, where if an athlete is really in the zone they can see rainbow," Langa explained. Reki's eyes widened and he stated to squeal.
"Langa I've heard of that! Only the best athletes have that happen to them! Do you know how freakin awesome that is!!!??? Dude, your amazing!!! You better not forget me when you become famous and have millions of fan girls wanting an autograph!" Reki cheered, snuggling up to Langa, and leaning his head on Langa's shoulder. Langa's heart sped up. Why did Reki have to be so physical? It got Langa's hopes up way too much.
"I could never forget you Reki, and I'll never have the chance to because I never want to leave your side," Langa confessed looking into the distance. Reki plopped his head back up, and grinned.
"Good, now come on, let's see who can come up with a new trick the fastest," Reki cheered, skating back out into the park.
"Oh you're on!" Langa yelled, following the boy he was in love with out into the night.