Rain drizzled against the clear window panel as Max stared out listlessly. It was all gray. It was beginning to slow down, and one last droplet trickled off a leaf to form a small abandoned puddle on the ground.

The sun rays reflected off the puddle, panning back to the drying leaf, swaying once in the wind as a handful of children zoomed past it. They were on the empty road near the curb of the sidewalk, in a part of town with poor, broken houses and a small, simple population.

It was their hometown. Among the kids that ran around with a soccer ball, there was one kid with dark, dirty brown, wavy hair who looked over his shoulder, away from his friends. His gaze fixed on one of the new kids in the neighborhood who always sat by himself at the curb. The kid had a unique shade of lavender-gray straight hair and down-casted turquoise eyes that never looked at anyone directly. He was holding a book and flipping through the pages leisurely.

“Hey Max! What are you spaced out for?!" One of the neighborhood kids shouted, throwing the ball at him.

“Uh, sorry,” Max turned back to them in time to kick the ball back, but his mind was still elsewhere. ‘Why did that kid not want to play with them?’ He tried in the past to call out to him and invite him over but he never received any response or reaction. He didn’t know his name either.

Max heard that the lavender-haired kid moved after his father lost his job and they were evicted from the apartment they used to live in. They were a family of three, and both parents had to move to the poorer side of the city to make ends meet.

The brunette found a purple flower on the way home from school and almost instantly plucked it out. The purple shade was the exact shade as the new kid’s hair, and he thought it’d be a perfect little welcoming gift.

That afternoon, without fail, as the kids gathered outside to play, Max noticed the lavender-haired  dressed nicely and sitting at his usual curb. Max glanced down at his dusty white T-shirt and green shorts. He even had one of his side teeth missing—well, what more could you expect from an almost six-year-old. Then again, the lavender-haired never seemed to fit in with this atmosphere. Regardless of his standing, Max boldly ventured over and sat far away from the kid. When he heard no rejection or reaction, he scooted closer. It was getting awkward and intimidating at the same time, so he impulsively stuck his hand out with the flower as a peace treaty.

“Hi! My name is Max.” The brunette introduced but was left hanging there as the other didn’t even budge. Max forced a smile. “What’s your name?” No response. “…How old are you…?” Silence. “Check it out, I picked this ‘cause it reminded me of your hair, isn’t it pretty?”

The brunette sighed. Could he not hear him? Either way, he unwillingly gave up and left the flower beside the other before quietly leaving. Once he was gone, the lavender-haired stared down at the unique flower.

“Jason…” The kid murmured to himself.

“Are you out of your mind, woman?!” Jason’s father yelled. He definitely had a drink; it was apparent in his tone.

“Are you saying this is my fault?!” Jason’s mother, who also had lavender hair, long and curly, shouted back. “How am I the only one to blame?! You’re the one who wasted our money on this! Nothing but alcohol! You don’t need more! That’s why I returned them.”

“How else do you expect me to live in this dump!?”

Jason was right there, in the living room as well, watching this screaming match go down so casually. Their argument got heated, and his dad smacked her shoulder. Jason didn’t care; this was common, but at the same time, it did annoy him. He threw the book he was holding straight at his dad. Fearlessly, the kid looked him in the eye and simply turned away, like his job was done. What the kid didn’t expect was an abrupt, unexpected blow to the back of his head, slamming him straight to the floor, forehead first.

The next time Jason opened his eyes, he was mapping an unfamiliar, bleak white hospital ceiling. He had bandages wrapped around his head, a broken nose, and an oxygen mask fogging over his mouth.

And that was that. Something definitely broke in him that day.

One day after school, Max was coming home from his middle school when he noticed Jason dealing with an older man. The guy looked rough and hideous, but he grabbed the preteen by the collar. They were about twelve years old.

“I need ya to tell that old man of yours to pay up already. Ya hear me, pipsqueak.”

Jason glared back at the man, not yielding at all. His eyes grew dark as he stared past his straight bangs. Before he or the man could act, a huge rock came flying his way and hit the man in the face. Next, he was tackled by another preteen. This forced the man to release Jason from his hold.

“Run!” Seeing Max cling on to the man certainly left him speechless and stunned for a brief moment. The lavender-haired jogged away until he surprised them when he returned with an abandoned brick and struck the man mercilessly once. The man stopped struggling, and Max stared at the other wide-eyed.

“What are you waiting for?” A new voice was delivered, and it took the brunette a second to match it to Jason. That was the first time Max had heard him speak. Ever. Nonetheless, they ran from there until they were yards away. “I didn’t need your help.” Jason quietly said. Max only stared at him, hazel eyes glistening with hope. “What?”

“Whoa, you can actually talk!”

“…Idiot.” Jason deadpanned.

“You’re welcome.” Max smiled warmly. “But wasn’t that a bit too much back there…?”

“Leave me alone.” Was all Jason said coldly before he went his separate way.  

They didn’t talk much after that incident, mainly because Jason was so hard to approach.

Jason came home one day to hear his mother shouting. Well, that was commonplace, and he sure as hell didn’t care to know what the topic was this time.

“Aaahgghhh! I can’t believe you! I can't believe this! Are you serious?!” His mother cried louder than her lungs could handle to his father as Jason passed the hallway to go upstairs to his room. “You sold our baby?!” The lavender-haired paused at the stairway.

“We couldn’t take care of it anyway, and the guy was paying me good money! He’s too young to even know anyway.” Was his dad’s lousy excuse.

‘No way. His sorry excuse of a father, dare he say, actually sold his new-born brother. Wow, could this family go any lower?’ He shook his head. He wished he could say it was nice knowing him, but he hardly even spent any time with him.

His mother sobbed. “You’ve lost your mind. All that alcohol has rotted your brain... call them… Call them! Right now! I want him back!”

“I can’t do that! He’s long gone now! Get over it!” His dad marched away, leaving his mom to spew a chain of curses.

Jason resorted to his room, his expression blank and eyes as cold as death itself.

8^th grade. Jason’s father passed away; he would even say finally. They all stood outside at the grave site. The crowd wasn’t big, only the family and a couple neighbors attended. Jason was standing at the fore-front inches away from the empty grave, while the rest observed from behind.

“Hello dear, our condolences.” One of the moms passed him by, tapping his shoulder consolingly. Jason gave a partial smile back. The women walked away, muttering. “Oh my God, poor thing, he has to force himself to smile.”

The lavender-haired rolled his eyes. ‘Why are these defaults pitying me? A father like that was nothing but useless, of course I smile.’ The thought alone made the teen smile wider. A sniffle from behind him interrupted his pleasant moment. The teen looked back to find Max, a certain brunette he couldn’t shake off, hiding behind a tree. When the other teen was discovered, he immediately hid himself again.

‘This kid…’ “I know you’re there. What’s the point in hiding?” Jason paused. “Come out. Im not going to bit or throw you in.”

The brunette timidly walked out and towards him until he was standing beside him. “I’m sorry…”

Jason didn’t say anything in return, as they soon watched the casket descend, and prayers were voiced. The lavender-haired was taken aback when he felt his hand being gripped. He glanced to his side to find Max squeezing his hand and crying silently. Jason continued to stare at the odd, unexpected gesture as tears streamed down the other's cheeks.