As I climbed up the steps of the bus, slowly pushing my sunglasses up to adjust to the darker lighting, I flashed my pass at the driver before heading on to find a seat. Most spots were taken, so I ventured towards the back, receiving scowls from some of the 'cool' kids for dampening their style.
Normally I got on early enough that I could snag a seat at the front. But, unfortunately, my teacher decided to hold me back for a few minutes to discuss whether their teaching methods were catering to my needs.
Ignoring their glares, I took the first free seat, shimmying over to the window and pulling my sunglasses back over my face to hide my eyes.
Elbow resting against the window sill, I kept my gaze out at the carpark, waiting for the bus to take off from the school.
Though I only had a few minutes of peace before someone suddenly sat down next to me. Pressing my lips together, I tried to hide my displeasure as best as I could in case the person was looking at me.
But then a familiar voice softly uttered, "Hey, new girl. Want any of your pens back yet?"
Head whipping around, my gaze met my seat buddy's. And, as expected, there he was. Long dark hair caressed his high cheekbones, one side of his mouth had turned up, only accentuating his strong jawline.
And still... he was in colour.
"You... you can keep them," I mumbled before turning my head back around to face the window, hoping that would be the end of the conversation. All the while, I took deep breaths, trying to calm my suddenly thudding heart.
I mean, really... this was an absurd reaction. Was I really this susceptible to the opposite sex? Or is it just the colour overwhelming me?
Leaning close to me, he replied, tone low and rumbly, "Thanks, new girl."
That same sharp shooting sensation spread through my chest, causing my heart to race once more thanks to his proximity.
And he seemed to realise the effect he was having on me, letting out a chuckle.
Biting at my cheek to avoid having any further reaction that would amuse him, I turned my face out the window and tried to pay attention to the houses that were now passing by as the bus started its drop-off route.
"So, are you ever going to correct me with your name so that I don't have to keep calling you 'new girl'?" he then asked when I thought the interaction was finally over.
A million witty responses came to mind, but, in the end, all my mouth managed to coax out was, "Indigo."
"Indigo, hey? Do you have siblings called Blue and Purple then?"
The flames that had been licking my face out of bashfulness quickly turned to rage. Head whipping around, I yanked off my glasses to ensure he saw my glare as I snapped my retort.
But the words got lost in my throat as my eyes glanced over his face.
Because the colour had gone.
Just like everyone else on this bus, the grayscale had taken him, making the strange phenomenon officially over.
"What?" he asked. "You look like you want to say something."
I shook my head, shoved my sunglasses back on, and turned back out the window. "Just leave me alone."
"Sorry, was just trying to make a joke... Why do you wear those sunglasses all the time?"
"Have you not heard they are good at protecting your eyes?" My tone, for once, was even in his presence. The magic surrounding him now gone as he became just like everyone else, I was able to talk to him like he was a normal human being. Actually... more like he was a piece of gum on the bottom of my shoe.
"Of course. But no one wears them at school... It's not... normal."
"Well, I guess I'm not normal then." Did he hear the bitterness in my tone?
A silence overcame us, and I thought, for sure, that was the end of the conversation. I was glad Carys's worries were for nothing. I was relieved that he wasn't standing out from the crowd for me anymore. But a small part of me was disappointed... whether it was because I couldn't see colour anymore or because he was far from charming figure my mind had been painting him as, I wasn't sure.
Five whole minutes had passed without us talking, others nearby instead striking up casual chit chat with him.
But then suddenly he said again, "I'm Harley, by the way." A hand filled my peripherals, suspended in the air like he expected me to take it. "Harley Brooks."
Lips pursed, I stared at his large palm and slender fingers like it was a trap.
"You're supposed to shake it, by the way. That's the normal thing here."
Tilting my glasses down so that I could meet his dark grey eyes, I said, "I thought we established I'm not normal."
That familiar one-sided grin pulled at his face, causing a sharp spark in my heart again at the sight of it. And, for a brief moment, I blinked and saw vibrancy to him again.
But it disappeared as quickly as it came.
"Come on. Don't leave me hanging, Indigo."
With a sigh, I shook his hand. "Happy?"
"Never," he said, grin growing wider, though eyes twinkled with a depth of sadness that I didn't think I was meant to see.
His hand slipped out of mine as he turned to face forward again.
Some more moments passed without us talking... and perhaps that really was supposed to be it.
Though he didn't chat with the others around him this time. He just sat there, eyes ahead, watching the passengers slowly dwindle off with each stop as the bus thinned out.
Starting to feel a sense of growing discomfort, I searched for anything to say to him. "Didn't our English teacher say last week you don't catch the bus?"
His eyes briefly glanced my way before he looked forward again. "You were listening closely then."
I shrugged, feigning disinterest... but my heart stuttered as I hid my blush towards the window. This jerk will be the death of me, I swear...
"I don't normally catch the bus, but... I'm kind of living out here for the meantime."
"Kind of?" I pressed, turning to face him again.
His gaze had fallen to his lap, fingers fiddling together. "I'm in foster care right now."
"Oh..." I said, unsure what else to add.
"Yeah... though it's not for long. Dad said he was falsely accused and will get out soon after the court case, so..."
I wanted to pry, but I knew it wasn't my place.
"Hey, um..." His eyes, almost shyly flickered my way, "Can you like, not tell anyone that though? It's not exactly common knowledge."
"Your friends don't know?"
"My closest ones do. But... Not many."
"I see... then why are you telling me?"
The smirk came back. "Because who are you going to tell, new girl? You don't know anyone yet."
With a roll of my eyes, I faced towards the window again. "I have one friend now, thank you very much."
"I suppose we can be friends," he said, nudging me with his elbow.
"I wasn't talking about you," I mumbled, but my heart foolishly fluttered again. Don't do this... the guy is a jerk, remember.
Is he? My heart whispered back. It was one badly timed joke that he didn't even know would offend you...
Fine... then he's dangerous.
Carys only has rumours to go off though...
"Ouch, hit me where it hurts, Go-go."
"Go-go?" I asked, shooting him a wary stare.
But he was grinning at me. "Oh, I'm going to have so much fun with nicknames for you."
"Are you making fun of me?"
"More... teasing you."
I pressed my lips together, brows furrowing as I became unsure how to react to him. Should I distance myself now before this turned into a bullying situation, or... was he genuinely trying to be friendly in his roundabout way?
"Ugh," he then groaned. "I can't read your expression with those on."
Next I knew, his hands reached up, fingers brushing my cheekbones as he pried my glasses off my face.
I felt exposed as our eyes met again. But I was locked in place, frozen at the sudden contact, at the proximity.
His eyes bore into mine, saturation slowly increasing into that deep colour I didn't know. And then the heat returned to my face.
Ever so slowly, his head began to tilt to the side as he leaned in.
My breath caught in my throat as his face neared.
What is he... Is he trying to...
But then he paused a few breaths from me, his gaze still staring intently into mine. "Your eyes look red. Like... not the bloodshot red way, but, like, your irises."
"That's," my voice squeaked. I cleared my throat before I spoke again. "That's because they are."
He shifted back, corners of his lips turning up while his brows furrowed in confusion. "Naturally?"
"They're contacts."
"Oh... Why would you want red eyes? Normally that means you're really tired... or stoned... or have pink eye."
"I don't want..." I turned my face forward, eyes starting to squint as the harsh sun from outside met my pupils. "Can I have my sunglasses back?"
He made no move though to hand them to me.
"Please? It's starting to hurt."
Seemingly reluctantly, he handed the glasses back to me.
I quickly placed them back on my face, blinking the stinging sensation that had formed away. "I'm colourblind, okay?" I admitted to the second person in the past week, feeling somewhat free to have my truth slowly making its way out there.
Though a nervous knot formed in my stomach as I began to wonder how he'd react to this. The seconds ticked on as we pulled up at a bus stop and more kids shuffled off.
But it wasn't until we had crept to a crawl again that he said, "Which colours can't you see?"
"All."
"All?"
I nodded. "I have light sensitivity because of it..." I sighed and repeated the whole story I had told Carys about my condition, about the symptoms, about the contacts, about the homeschooling... leaving out the part where I thought I was seeing him in colour somehow. He didn't need to add that part to his ego... especially when I hadn't figured out what was causing this.
When I finished my spiel, we were approaching my stop. Harley was still sitting in silence, not talking to me.
So I got to my feet. "I have to get off," I mumbled, convinced he must be thinking I was weird now.
He stood up, moving into the aisle as I slid off the seat in front of him. But, as I propped my bag onto my back and began to stumble down towards the front of the bus, I quickly noticed a figure was approaching behind me.
I held back every desire in me to check if it was him though... too scared it was someone else and he'd see me looking back at him. I didn't want to propel the crush theory any further. Even if sometimes it felt like that was the case.
The bus finally lurched to a stop, and I forwarded off onto the gravel. Turning to face home, I began to walk, but the crunch of footsteps behind me alerted me that I wasn't alone.
Coming to a stop, I finally allowed myself to glance over my shoulder to see who had also gotten off.
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