It was the same thing the next day.
Get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, catch the bus, go to school. Exactly the same as it had been every single day for the past ten or so years. How long had I been going to school for again? Who knows. It's too early for this.
Except today was different.
Very different.
I was on time, for one thing. I sat on the bus, watching the world pass outside the window and sighing softly. I hadn't slept too well the night before, so the flash of red in my peripheral vision wasn't enough to get my attention at first.
However when I got to school and saw it again, I was confused. There's nothing red around here. Ever. It's just not natural. So obviously the small red movement stuck to my mind, lodging in until it was all I could think about.
I walked along the usual path to the school and bit my lip hard, watching out for the colour again. I was going to be late to class, but I didn't really care. I needed to find out where it was coming from. I turned left quickly before I walked into the school and walked past a few bushes. I was on high alert, so the second I heard a shuffle, I was looking over and into them. That was when my eyes landed on a boy's face.
He was short and slim, but no younger than myself. I opened my mouth to say something but he beat me to it.
"Go to class. Don't tell anyone that you saw me." He said quietly. I don't know what it was about his voice, but I wanted to hear it again. Before I could even take a breath let alone respond, the bell rang and I knew I had to leave or else explain why I was late.
So I did what he said. I went to class. And didn't tell anyone. Not even Alex.
I got lost on my way to class, which made me late anyway. I knew my way around the school like I knew the back of my hand so I don't know why it was suddenly so difficult to focus on something so easy. Oh wait, I do. I got a glare from the teacher sitting at the front desk as I stumbled into the classroom. I was late, but not late enough to actually get in trouble. Of course we had English first, the only class where my teacher hated me. She was in her late thirties and was definitely one of those teachers to have favourites. That was fine by me, as long as I was one of them. The woman's name was Miss Cliff and she had light brown hair always pulled back into a ponytail that didn't suit her face shape. She always picked on me in class, but especially today when I was not able to pay attention. It was just the icing on the cake. "Mister Hoying! Please pay attention, how many times do I have to ask you?" I looked up as she snapped at me again. She was right, and there was no way I could get around that.
"Sorry Miss. Won't happen again." I mumbled. I didn't even need to look at Alex to know that he was giving me a 'what's gotten into you' kind of look. I didn't want to deal with that right now.
I couldn't get that one particular boy out of my head.
His smile, his eyes, his... Redness. I'd never seen anyone who wasn't blue until now, at least not in the flesh and not that close. My mind kept wandering toward the way his eyes practically glowed and then to how he got into blue. More importantly, how he hadn't been caught. It's not like he was blending in or anything.
I had to distract myself. So I actually did the class work. I usually attempted it but often ended up getting lost in listening to the conversations around the classroom, however today I managed to do it all. The bell rang for the next class and I packed up my things, starting to walk through the school towards the classroom.
"Hey, Scott?" I heard my best friend and felt Alex place his hand on my shoulder gently as I walked out of the room and I smiled at him, turning to walk toward art class. We had the same classes, and though I really didn't enjoy art, Alex did. He taught me and made it worth it. Also, it was one of those subjects where the teacher would help each student a ridiculous amount just in order to maintain the overall GPA.
"Hey Allie. What's up?" I smiled softly as I beat him to the question and ran a hand through my hair, pushing it back in place.
"Nothing much, I was just coming to ask what's up with you? You seem a little spaced out today..." That was one thing I loved about Alex, he always knew when I was upset and he made sure to sincerely check on me. It would've been nice if he didn't this time.
"Oh, yeah. Fine, Just tired." I briefly contemplated telling him, but decided against it. It wasn't like I'd be seeing that boy again or anything... Though I wasn't sure whether that was good or bad.
He nodded, though seemingly unconvinced. We walked to class and found our desks but while I painted blue, all I could see was red.
When the bell finally rang for the end of the day, I said goodbye to Alex and went straight to the hill that I'd been at every day for as long as I could remember. I sat in silence and looked down into yellow for a while before curiously turning my head toward the few high-rise buildings that I could usually make out to be red.
He almost gave me a heart attack.
He was sitting there with this stupid grin on his face, watching me as if he'd never seen someone like me before.
Which, I must admit, was probably how I was looking at him.
"Hi...." I broke the silence first, realising that he wasn't going to speak until I did. Only then did I make eye contact with him. His eyes were a deep red, so dark that they were only slightly reddened by the colour of his skin. The usual whites of his eyes were slightly red though, the bright veins almost making them look bloodshot. I dismissed it though, assuming it was just something that everyone in the red community had.
"Hey. You didn't tell anyone." He said softly. The same voice that had sent chills through my body earlier was there and it made me smile slightly before I realised what he had said, and the surprised tone he used. There was a hidden accusing tone to it though, and I was caught a little off-guard by that.
"What? Oh, about you? No, I didn't. Was I supposed to?" I chuckled slightly and ran a hand through my hair as I saw his features soften with relief, something which was understandable due to the consequences of being caught.
"Thanks. I knew I could trust you." He said with a small smile which put my nerves a little on edge. I wasn't sure what to make of it, so I shifted back a little to keep a safe distance between us.
"Well, um yeah. Why are you over here?" I changed the subject, voicing a question that had been clawing at the inside of my skull and begging for escape since seeing him that morning.
"Why not? This place is cool, and there's no one stopping me." He shrugged.
"Have you been to any of the other colours? Haven't you been caught?" I found myself asking before I could stop myself, too curious for my own good. I remember my parents telling me that a lot when I was a kid, because I was always asking about the other places around us. Of course as I grew up, I learned that I had to hide my curiosity or else I'd get into a lot of trouble. But there wasn't really an issue with asking now, it wasn't like I could get myself into any more trouble.
"I haven't been caught yet, but I've been to green, which was boring, and yellow..." He counted off on his fingers as he tried to remember what yellow was like and I watched him, slightly mesmerised by the way he moved and held himself. And his accent. I couldn't pick out what was different, but there was something. He just seemed like he was from another world.
I guess that's because he was.
I went to say something else and he shook his head, checking the time on his watch. "Look, I've got to go, my mom will be getting home soon, not that she'd care too much, but I should still probably go before it gets dark or anything." He stood up from the grass and brushed off his pants.
"Can I see you again?" I asked, barely a whisper, and he turned around with a smile.
"Tomorrow, same time?" He bit his lip slightly and I nodded, smiling at him widely before he left, disappearing into the colours of the sunset and I was left to walk home alone.
I watched the sunset as my feet padded along the sidewalk toward my house, the sound of my footsteps harmonising with the rhythm of cars in the distance and the wind, creating a soundtrack that was all too familiar. But tonight was different. Those sounds were just the background music to my thoughts of that boy. I still didn't know his name, and for some reason I knew that I hadn't asked because I didn't want to ruin the mystery. Besides, you can't tell anyone about a person when you don't know their name, right? The logic made sense in my head.
When I opened the gate that led to my backyard, I smiled as I saw Alex laying in the grass and looking up at me.
"Glad to see you decided to come home, blue eyes." He teased and I moved to lay beside him, chuckling a little and looking into his crystal blue eyes but I couldn't help thinking of the dark red eyes I'd seen only an hour beforehand.
"Sorry, I was at the hill... I lost track of time." Which was true, after he'd left I stayed behind for a while before walking the fastest way home. I don't really know why, maybe to think about everything that had happened? I'd never thought about leaving blue before, but now that it was a possibility, I just wanted to pack up and disappear. I wouldn't though, would I?
"It's alright, I get you. Rough day?" He asked and rested his head on my chest with a goofy grin. And that was the reason I needed to stay. My best friend, I wouldn't lose him for the world.
"Yeah, I've just been feeling really on edge recently, but I'm not really sure why..." I let out a sigh and ran my fingers through his hair. We continued to talk like this for a few hours, I complained about my teachers and Alex complained about cute boys at school. Nothing new, but maybe the normalcy was just as nice.
When my parents called me in for dinner, I smiled and hugged Alex, watching him jump the fence to his house and smiling as I went in for dinner.
"Hey Scooter! Have a good day at school?" My dad is the first to greet me with that overly cheery voice as I walk in the door and I give a half-hearted smile toward him before going into the kitchen to help my mother.
"Yeah, it was alright. Same as usual." I shrugged and started to set the table, pouring myself a glass of water and drinking it once I'd finished.
"Done all your homework?"
"Yes."
"Got a job?"
"I applied for five yesterday, just waiting for them to get back to me."
"Have a girlfriend yet?"
This was always the question that hurt the most. They didn't know I was gay. I couldn't tell them. I don't think they'd respond the way I'd want them to and I couldn't take that risk.
And anyway, Alex was right. It'll never be accepted so there's no point telling anyone. Just ignore it and do what your parents tell you.
"Still working on that one." I hummed, though the real words I wanted to say were caught in the back of my throat. I helped mom to serve dinner before running up the stairs to tell my little sister that she had to come have dinner. She was one of those "good at everything" type kids, and while I loved her, it would be nice to get some of the spotlight sometimes.
"Hey Laur, come on down. Mom's made meatloaf." I smiled as I saw her look up from her homework and sigh happily, getting up and walking under the gap I'd made standing in the doorway when my arm was outstretched and holding onto the frame. I turned and followed her, messing up her hair playfully and rushing down to sit at the table innocently.
"That's no fair! Just because I can't reach your hundred feet tall hair doesn't mean you can mess up mine." She whined and sat down, though we were both smiling.
After that, dinner was silent. It always was. We just didn't have anything to talk about, the only thing that was heard was the soft scraping of cutlery on the plates.
In that moment, I could have easily made a scene. Turned around to my parents and just said: 'hey mom, hey dad, did you know that I'm super gay? Oh, and I saw a boy with red skin today and I'm seeing him tomorrow.'
That would never happen, but the thought of their reaction did make me smile a little.
Lauren and I washed the dishes and I went to bed, falling asleep and thinking of that red boy.