Yellow (boyxboy)

Beginnings

(*Alex P.O.V)

It all started at a group home called "Children of Hope," which is extremely ironic since most of the kids there sulked as if hope were just a myth. Sadly, for some it was...

I came to that terribly named establishment when I was nine years old, just after "it" happened. "It" being the reason I was later placed into foster care but we won't go into that now. The home reminded me of a thunderstorm . This was mostly due to the fact that almost every aspect of the building was similar to the stormy color, including the floors, walls, and even the bed sheets which left me feeling skeptical of the word hope in the depressing building's title.

I stayed there for almost five months and when you stay in a single, loud, crowded, and dreary place for a while you pick up some things. For example, never leave your belongings unattended in public, silence is the best defense, and friendships are a waste of time. Friendships never last... it's just a fact of life. Friends are humans; ignorant beings that at some point will leave and die despite their vigorous efforts to stay and live forever.

I once had an ignorant being I was close to. Her name was Cassie and she was my first friend. I met her about a week after I had initially arrived at the home. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I remember being in my shared bedroom looking out the window, too anxious to go outside myself. All twenty inhabitants of the children's home were outside and some were playing, especially the younger ones. Others sat in groups talking to one another, and a few outcasts, like myself, sat alone. I didn't like talking to the other kids. They asked too many questions about everything. My scars, my thinness, my past... I wanted to avoid all that.

Suddenly the floorboard creaked, and I quickly turned my head only to see a young girl. She looked about my age, with fairly ordinary features but there was something about her caught my attention. It was something in her eyes. They weren't dull like mine, not lifeless or empty either. Instead her deep brown eyes sparkled with life. Life that was seemingly unaffected by the fact that she was most likely similar to me, alone and confused.

I took a deep breath, nervously about to ask the girl her reason for being in the room but she put her finger to her lips and motioned me forward. Out of curiosity I slowly walked towards her until I was close enough to hear her whisper, "Do you wanna see something secret?"

Her voice was gentle and sweet, but her eyes at that moment suggested that she shouldn't be trusted around sharp objects. That worried me, since only a few seconds before she asked me if I wanted to see something secret. I guess I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to answer the question when I felt the young girl grab my arm and practically drag me out of my room.

The abrupt feeling of being forcefully pulled against my will was all too familiar and all too soon, and I felt myself unable to catch my breath while also being powerless to the memories that flooded my mind.

"Hey?," I heard a distant voice as gently and felt a hand release its grip on mine, "are you okay?"

I was only able to whimper in response as my breaths became shorter and my body felt weaker. "Okay, calm down. Breathe in and out...breathe in and out. Focus on my voice, okay? You'll be okay. Everything will be okay," the girl told me. Although her voice was foggy and hard to understand I followed her instructions and eventually calmed down although I didn't believe her words.

Once I was completely relaxed, or as relaxed as a scared nine year old next to a total stranger could be, I opened my tightly shut eyes and realized that I was sitting down with my thin arms wrapped around my knees. I breathed deeply, grateful for the air entering my lungs once again.

"Has something like that ever happened to you before?"

I slowly raised my head, my eyes frantically searching for the source of the voice when I noticed the girl crouched a few feet in front in front of me.