colours

Chapter 1

Childhood.

That was when everything was yellow. Everything was like one big, fluffy cloud of sunshine and happiness. It was the sort of yellow when it just was. It was just yellow; simple and bright.

It was not yellow anymore.

Everything was blue. Sometimes it'd be bright like an ocean, other times it would be darker. It was blue. It was all blue. The worst times are when it was grey. She couldn't stand grey, it was just so... so dull. And she did not want to be the 'dull' one. She did not want to be the 'dull' colour. She knew she was grey.

Blue and grey – it hardly made for the arty picture she hoped for. It wasn't the shades that had made up her 11:11 wishes.

And she never went to Neverland.

...

Blue, it was like the rain that splashed down on a Wednesday after you finished such a long, long, long day.

Except, she wished it was over, as she still had a long, long, long day to go – a day of faded colours and empty vacant looks. Rain, roads, school. How grey. Her worn shoes splashed from puddle to puddle and her hair hanging limply, in her eyes. She liked to imagine her eyes were her best feature, they probably were. Deep brown encircled with a deep yellow. Did she repeat deep? Oops.

"You'll be fine!" A gentle shoulder bump, a small smile and a simple pass of a shared can of monster energy, diet of course. "I'm sure they don't hate you too much."

"Well that made me feel better." May lifted her head slightly, enjoying for a brief moment the sensation of water trickling with determination down her forehead before splashing off from her nose like a skier making their daring first jump.

"Glad to be of use." Jessica gave the girl a joking smile.

"At least you're useful for one thing then." May smiled, it didn't quite reach those deep, deep eyes but it was good enough for Jess.

"Anyways, it would be a relief if they didn't like you."

"I know you don't like the but can you not? They are my friends after all."

"Great 'friends' you've got." Jess' sarcastic remark hit home.

"Just leave it, ok?"

"I'm sorry! It's just, I don't know, you aren't really like them." Noticing May looking down at the ground, fidgeting with her torn jumper, Jess quickly continued "But that's a good thing."

"No, it's not! They are amazing you see! They are so pretty and fun, and funny too! All the boys like them."

"That is false."

May made as if to speak again but Jess held her hands up placatingly.

"It's ok, I get it – they are your friends."

"Yeah, shut up and let me be an angsty teen."

Two girls passed by, both wearing the same dull navy trousers that clung tightly to their soft, defined figures. The jumpers were hugged tightly to their top half, maximise your assets.

"Hey!" They smiled, tossing their hair – though soaked, still soft and silken – in synchronisation. The turned, knowing how rosy – gold they were, wiggling their hips and smiling.

In comparison, May's jumper hung like a bin bag, what assets did she have to maximise?

Before she raised her hand, her pale arm sparkling with the drip drop, they were gone. She didn't even get a chance to wave.

Tug. She adjusted her bag, brushed the rain out of her face and shrugged at Jess.

"Come on child, school's starting and I really can't be asked to be late especially with Mr Foss."

"Ok mother." May tugged her headphone out, cutting out the stream of rainbow into her ear. Music filled her with colours and gave her a pretence of being someone she was not – being more than just a pencil drawing on slightly torn paper.

They entered the fading building, worn by generations upon generations of children, each alike and different to such an infinite extent that no words could sum it up. The school was faded – it was made up of many colours but each had faded to a mere grey of what it used to be.

Still, the faded walls around her were a whole universe more comforting that five figures waiting by the cracked lockers. Each figure shone like a fluorescent light at some kind of club with loud music and serious looking bouncer, each clearly wanting nothing more to be a part of the rave too.

The figures turned towards her – they looked like they should all belong on some sort of magazine. Perfect hair, manicured nails, probably a closet of the latest but fakest brands and makeup more expensive than the amount of money that some families had to survive on for a whole year. Boredom and a slight annoyance coated their faces, almost as if her very presence had ruined their overly loud, laughing competition to see who could find the most fault in the person that they had decided to be their worst enemy for the day – this person probably the girl at the locker who hadn't moved the instance she had seen one of them walking towards her.

A whispered, "Good luck." and with a small shove, May stood at the opening of the group of figures.

"H-hey?" She didn't know why she asked it as a question. Though for her, it was almost like she was asking permission to be able to speak to them. It didn't matter that she was supposed to be one of 'them' and had been for over a year and half. It didn't matter that they had seen her at her worst and last night had proved that her worst clearly hadn't affected them that much either.

A silence began – an awkward, awkward silence.

May toed the ground. She wished that the floor wasn't so real. It would be easier if she could just fall through – or just not be there at all.

"Hey May." Charlotte was the first to speak, smiling slightly despite the barely concealed raised eyebrow of Emma. "How are you... last night was bad."

Last night had been black – the sort of darkness that could only be found in an eclipse. It had been the dark of everyone she loved turning against her and all joining in a united hatred of her.

No surprise, she was grey after all.

"Let's just forget last night." Caitlin spoke out and tossed her hair. Yep – let's just forget whenever anything goes even slightly wrong as it's only May, so it's just irrelevant.

A series of nods – that was it. Everything cleared up. It was like an incredibly messy bedroom had been tidied in the space of a minute. Still, all May's dirty laundry had been hidden away in the closet.

Then they all began to talk again, joking and flicking back their hair. Back to the same old. Bell ringing, everyone trapping off to their own respective faded lessons.

....