Pride.

Ch. 6~ Azul

Azul.
Blue.
Loved.

Azul De Pena, the most beloved person in his household of 7. Always smiling through the cracked, stained windows. Wearing the rags on his back like it was the finest Italian silk ever created. In his house, he was the beloved Prince.

In the outside world, he was an overlooked serf.

Girls would agree that he was cute, but come on, who would date a poor boy who probably wouldn't be able to support you in the future. Guys shied away from him, supporting the mentality that his skinny, bony body would break with even the slightest noogie.

So Azul would hide in the far back of the gym, make himself a hovel with the rusty old gym equipment, and draw.

Azul De Pena's sketch pad was something no living being had ever looked in. Not even his moms. Both would rag on him to see, but he just gave his shy smile, and went into the garden to sketch. But the question did remain, what did he sketch?

His neighbors.
It was as simple as that.

The neighbor down the street, that always walked out of the house with a limp, and maybe a black eye.
The neighbor, who was always hiding in the tree behind her house, her parents never checking on her.
The neighbor with the loud voice, who endured 7 hours of her mother yelling profanities at her acting attempts.
The beautiful boy with gorgeous raven locks, that liked to look at the tailored dresses in that shop on the corner.
The scantly dressed neighbor, that was still on the corner before he went to bed at 11:30.

And it was these neighbors,
That kept him sane.
And kept him from seeing the reality of his situation.
They kept him,
Happy.