You never forget the first time you meet someone.

That line sounds repetitive. But since it whispers so frequently in his mind, it must be important.

Evan liked refrains, or famous quotes, or the choruses of a song. They always repeated themselves. If you didn’t know a song –and felt off around your lyrical friends—all you needed to do was hear the chorus once and repeat it again. Just fake it ‘till you make it, since the more that someone believes something is true, the more truth it becomes.

The bus made a hard break, forcing him to jolt forward and break out of his quiet contemplation. Annoyed, he turned to glare at the back to the driver’s head.

The door rolled open. A student attempted to rise the stairs, but instead tripped and fell flat on his face. Some students giggled, but a good portion of them barely noticed or cared for the clumsy soul.

Evan moved over in his seat to catch a sight of the victim. The only features that caught his eyes was a huge head of black hair, a weirdly colorful shirt, and a clueless set of blue eyes that seemed to never focus on anything for too long. He wondered if the kid could even see at all.

Curly hair looked around, dazed and reddened slightly when he realized people were watching him. To the disappointment of the spectators, the kid picked himself off the ground without another fault and continued down the rows, looking for a seat. Many smiled, fanglike, as he passed. He felt the edge of every row with his hands, as if being guided.

He stopped on row six. Evan was even more perplexed with the kid’s decision to try to match a neon green and orange shirt with pink jeans.

“Are you blind?” Evan blurted out.

The kid seemed bewildered, opening his mouth for only a half a second before turning to him. “Dude, I’m not blind. Well, I am blind-“

“The conditions of my question vary on whether you need glasses or not.” He glanced up and down. “Or whether you can pick out clothes that match.”

The kid took a moment, glancing at the driver and the previous rows of students, before decidedly squishing next to Evan to avoid further embarrassment.

“I do have glasses!” He quickly whispered. “I left them at home, which is why I’m fumbling around. And my clothing style is none of your business.”

Evan let an awkward silence roam between them.

“I’m nearsighted, y’know? Can’t see far…” Even as he said that, his curly hair fell into his face, blinding him further.

Evan huffed, stiffy turning to look out the window. Looking at the boy was an eyesore. “Have you ever thought of cutting your hair?”

“Hell no. Nothing to stick my pens in.”

“You could always stick them in a pencil pouch. Or a backpack, which you do not appear to possess.”

Curly huffed. “I liked you better when you were quieter.”

To Evan’s memory, he always spoke when talked to. This comment rubbed him the wrong way, but he decided to be positive and make nice, since this was the first day of school.

“I am Evan. Pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m Matt. Not Matthew, that’s my dad’s name.”

Interesting. “I’ll name you Blind.”

Matt chuckled, raising an eyebrow. “Whatever you want, man.”