I wake up to the same,monotone bedroom. It's cold and unfamiliar,despite it being my bedroom for years. The shades of black and white are unwelcoming to me as I slip out of bed,and I reach instinctively for the porcelain mask resting on my bedside table. The monochrome scenery outside makes nothing better,providing that cold reassurance,Yes,you're still a freak. I would often fantasise about how the world would look if a few splashes of colour as added to my dreary surroundings. I slip on the mask,and make sure the string that holds it on my head is tight,ensuring that the expressionless mask won't slip off as I go about my day. It fits snugly,as it always has,with the help of yearly altercations.
I started wearing it in the 7th grade,after getting the daily snips from your everyday bullies,
"Your eyes are so weird."
"Freak,what's with your eyes?"
It just escalated,so I resulted to this. I fixed it as I grew older,and as I went through high school. Now here I am,some dude with a mask working in the local coffeeshop.
I,myself,hated my eyes. They were a dull grey,horribly dreary when compared to everyone else's lively,lighter toned eyes. My parents had said,"You're only special,it's nothing to despise" while hiding their confused and disappointd looks with poorly masking,empty comforts. But no matter what,I couldn't change the lifeless,cloudy grey orbs in the slightest.
I glance at my clock before leaving my bedroom,smiling faintly as I saw the time. It was early,so I might just try to choke something down before leaving for work. I've been dealing with some anorexia lately,but the insomnia hasn't kicked in like my doctor thought. Yet.
Five minutes of messing around in the kitchen finds me making my way to the kitchen table,a piece of toast clenched between my teeth and a lukewarm cup of coffee in my hand. I sit down after pulling a chair out,setting my mug down to try and eat whatever wasn't burned on my toast. I nibbled on the corners and sipped my coffee lamely as I watched the white sunlight play across the grey wood floor. Perhaps I could skip work today....
Nah,I would probably get fired. I sighed,and threw my scorched toast in the trash,downing the remaining coffee in one swig. I put the mug in the sink before jogging back to my bedroom. I avoided looking at the stormy,dark grey walls and the black carpet that should actually be a pleasant shade of brown. I hummed softly as I changed my clothes swiftly,a neat green-- or rather,dark grey shirt replaced my haggard looking white one,and a pair of black jeans replaced my grey sweatpants.
Glancing at the clock,I quickened my process,trying to comb through my hair with my fingers in an attempt to calm it. The dark locks refused to lie flat,however,and stuck up in odd directions. Sighing,I relented,and pulled on some socks,grabbing my phone off of my desk,which held a notebook,sketchbook,and a computer set on its surface. Slipping the device into my pocket,I half ran to my front door,pulling on some black Vans. I made sure to lock the door behind me before setting off down the sidewalk.
Due to my lack of colour sight,I was extremely wary of driving,and I would walk to work every morning. It was nice out this particular morning,and I whistled cheerfully,hands in my pockets as I quickened my pace. Cars of the usual monotone shade rushed by,and trees of darker tones were scattered here and there between buildings,their slender limbs waving in the light breeze.
Three minutes later,I was approaching the coffeeshop when I saw Russ,one of my co-workers and a long time friend.
"Hey Russ,"
I greeted,waving a bit. He looked up,smiling eagerly,
"Hey Crryyy,what's up?"
"Nothing much,"
I responded,
"You?"
"Same. Hey,you have the keys,right? I forgot mine."
I did a quick pocket check before coming up with the small,grey key.
"Yeah,I'll let us in. I don't want to be late,or Snake's gonna kill us again,"
I laughed,unlocking the coffeeshop's door,holding it open for Russ,who walked in,smirking to himself. I closed the door,locking it again,since we needed to make sure everything was in order.
"What has you all happy today?"
I questioned him,curious.
"I could ask you the same,Mr.Expressionless."
I rolled my eyes behind my safety mask,and he chuckled.
"I'm just happy because I hear that a friend of mine is coming down to stay for a bit."
"Oh,really? Who?"
But Russ only smiled mischeviously,walking behind the counter to set the things up. I shrugged to myself,and set off to help him get everything in order.
Timey Whimey Time Skip
I groaned in frustration,the day was going so slow! There were only a few customers,and I had a massive migraine. The few customers that had come in were from out of the country,so I had a hard time trying to get their orders. Not to mention that,because it was so slow,Russ had taken to pranking me by loosening the string that held my mask on. Which,saying politely,was infuriating.
The mask had fallen off two times earlier,thankfully not around any customers. But it was when a particular customer walked in,was when Russ decided to really screw me over. The man who walked in was taller than me,which wasn't exactly saying much,sadly. He had dirty blonde hair from what I could tell from the extremely light shade of grey it was,along with being slightly mottled. He had blue eyes,such a light tone that if I looked at them at the corner of my eyes,they almost glowed white. Needless to say,I was...embarrassingly breathtaken.
He approached the counter,wearing a rather plain,light grey shirt and dark jeans that fit a little...snugly. He glanced up at the menu that was above the counter on the wall behind it,his eyes sliding over my mask without a second glance. My heart fluttered slightly,normally,people would do the all-too-familiar scan of the white mask,but he..he was different.
"H-Hi,sir,"
I stammered,before regaining my ability to speak,
"What would you like?"
"Hello,I think I would like the um...(insert random coffee here),please.
Good Lord,that accent is amazing. He's Swedish.
I nodded,before bustling off to make his order before I embarrassed myself any further. God,he's adorable, I hissed in my mind,fumbling with the coffee machine slightly. Something pricked up in my mind and I instantly swiped my arm back,catching Russ in the chest. He gave a muffled squeak followed by a disgruntled huff as he loped away,muttering a profanity. I smirked,feeling somewhat of satisfaction knowing I could catch the male before he loosened my mask.
I strode back to the counter,the Swede's coffee in hand. I set it down,and told him the price. He fumbled woth his leather wallet for a moment,before pulling out the correct amount and handing it over. I took the slightly crumpled bill on put it in the register. Just then,I heard Russ's voice in my ear,whispering.
"Awww,little Cry has a crush,"
He mocked,pretending to go through the register,keeping his voice low. I blushed darkly,and hissed,
"Shut up!"
But Russ smirked,and straightened,looking at the Swede with a smile. With one swift tug on the string,Russ made my mask slip down off my face,leaving me startled. Yelping,I scrambled for the mask,but he snatched it up just before it hit the ground. Smirking,he tossed it over the counter at the Swede,who instinctivey caught the white,disk-shaped mask.
"There ya go,"
Russ chimed,before bolting into the storage room,no doubt wanting to escape my inevitable wrath. Fuming and flustered,I managed to squeak out,
"S-Sorry about this,he's never like that."
I avoided his gaze,not wanting to hear the scathing remark about my eyes. But he said nothing,and merely gazed at me. I hesiantly looked at him,and was surprised to see the genuine smile on his face. He handed my mask back wordlessly,and I took it back gratefully,but didn't put it back on.
"Why do you wear it?"
He questioned,and I shivered slightly.
"My-My eyes,"
I manage softly. He tilted his head to the side in confusion,
"Why would you? I think they're beautiful."
I blushed crimson,and stared up at him.
"How? They're just such an ugly grey..."
He leaned closer over the counter,smiling,
"They're rare,and they have that special shine to them,that's what makes them gorgeous."
Breathe,dammit,breathe!
I took a deep,shaky breath,staring into the mesmerising pools of light grey. Wait,is that? I could've sworn I saw something brighter than the normal shades of white,grey,and black. No,it couldn't have been. My breath hitched,as I suddenly felt lips press gently against my own. Warmth seemed to seep into my mind as I kissed back,and a strange,tingly feeling sparked up my spine,making my fingers twitch slightly. We parted,and I gave a startled yelp. The world looked as if it had been doused in paint,vibrant colours jumping out at me as I stared around. New life seemed to thrum in the air,the grey and black tones of the bland coffeeshop turned to bright green and soft brown tones. The Swede was just how I thought,beautiful,dirty blonde hair,and breathtaking blue eyes.
He smiled at me,blinking slowly,before saying,
"You okay? You seem shocked."
I nodded mutely,still staring around in amazement. The world outside the windows was no longer dreary as it always had been. Blue hues lit the sky,fluffy white clouds drifting by. The building had an array of colours,and the cars that drove by where an assortment of indigo,red,green,and silver.
I managed to find my lost voice,and whispered,
"Did you...?"
"What?"
He asked,head tilting to the side again.
"Never mind,"
I said hastily,making him smile.
"My name's Felix by the way,"
The Swede grinned,sticking out his hand. I took it,blushing,
"My name's er..just call me Cry."
"Alright Cry,will I see you again?"
"Most definitely,"
I smile,
"I work here every weekday."
His grin widens,
"I'll see you tomorrow then."
He leaned forward,kissing my cheek before striding to the door. I called after him,
"Hey,you forgot your coffee!"
He flashed me what could only be described as a flirtatious wink,
"It's for you!"
I blushed,and waved to him as he passed the window. I took the warming cup of steaming coffee,smiling down at it.
"Are you two done mind fucking each other?"
I hear Russ's voice call from the storage room,so I teasingly return the jest,
"Are you done masturbating then?"
"Yep,"
Was the response I got,as Russ sidled out of the room,smirking to himself.
"See? I knew you had a crush on him."
I rolled my eyes,taking a sip of the coffee. I decided not to tell him about how Felix had opened my eyes up to the colourful world. Besides,he wouldn't understand,no one ever has. I smile to myself,knowing that I would see the Swede tomorrow,and the day after that. Who knew what would happen over time?