INDIGO

PART TWELVE

"Easton, wake up!!" Indigo shook me furiously. "Ughh, don't call me that," I groaned, trying to shove him away. He started to shake me even harder, nearly sending me flying off the top of our bunk bed. "What?! What is it?" I shouted, finally opening my eyes to see him dressed up and with his hair in a ponytail. He grimaced at me, almost sarcastically, until I finally realized... "Oh shit, does school start today?!" I jumped up immediately, climbing down the side of the bed to start fumbling stuff into my backpack. "Uh duh!" Indigo called back, "And quit cursing!"

I was a few months into being a teenager, which meant I had picked up a few bad tendencies from the 'cool kids' of my generation. Honestly, I'm still embarrassed by how quickly I started my rebellious phase. "Why are you awake though? You always sleep in," I made conversation from the closet where I was digging through the mounds of clothes on the floor. "Easto-," he paused to correct himself, "E, did you forget?" "Forget what??" I questioned, still not having put two and two together.

"It's my first day, ya meathead," he peeked his head into the closet, excitement radiating from him. "WHAT?!" I exclaimed, stumbling backwards into my small dresser. "Oh my god, that's right!" I grinned, pulling him in so I could actually judge his first-day outfit. He'd always been a bit of a fashionista, and prided himself on it. "You look awesome! Ah jeez, are you ready??" I honestly didn't know what to say, or think, I was just beaming thinking about finally getting to go to school with him.

"I... I dunno! It's like, I'm so scared I can't stop shaking, but I'm so happy I can't stop shaking!" I listened while getting dressed, putting on a black long-sleeved undershirt and then layering over my old concert shirt... which finally fit me. "It'll go great!" I nudged his shoulder, before he pulled me into a suffocating hug. "Alright, alright, I need to go check on Cam," I smiled warmly, rubbing his shoulder like my mom used to with us. "Oh true, what grade is she in now?" Indie let me go, following me as I stepped out of the closet to grab my backpack and head downstairs. "Er, fifth, I think?" "Awww, she's so old," Indigo cooed.

I knocked on her door which was decorated with butterfly stickers and her name in big, colored letters, before it swung open and she was standing there with the most horrified look ever. "I'm not going," she stated in a monotone voice, before slamming her door shut. Indigo brushed past me, "I'll talk to her, you go make us some cereal," ahhh, my savior. I walked to the kitchen and prepared three bowls of the finest gourmet grain, Cheerios, already starting to eat while I waited for them.

After around ten minutes, the two came out and were chatting away like nothing. I don't know how he got along with her so well, not that she and I really had issues, it's just we never had much in common. They sat down and we all finished up, moving to the living room to wait for my dad who would drive us to school. It was crazy that Indigo was sitting there with us, after three years of anticipating it. "You should give Indie a good-luck smooch~," my younger sister teased, pushing me towards him. "Wh—what??" I blushed, glancing around to make sure our parents weren't nearby.

"She's onto something," Indigo shrugged, a cheeky smile on his face, while he put an arm over me. "Oh, shut up," I unsuccessfully tried to shove him away from me. I was way too easily flustered by stuff like that. "You're sleeping at Rome's tonight!" Technically, Indigo 'held residency' at his older brother's apartment, but he usually just stayed with us since we were always hanging out anyway and Romeo could hardly even afford to feed himself sometimes. Suddenly I heard footsteps approaching, and sprung up from the couch.

"Ain't somebody pumped! Alrighty, let's go, musketeers," my dad put on his shoes before grabbing his keys. I was still a bit red, but rushed outside with him, pulling out my phone after I sat in the back of his truck. Indie and Camilla got in and buckled their seatbelts. "Dad, how long until I can drive myself?" I called out suddenly "Pfft! You're a ways away from that!" he chuckled back, starting the engine without answering. I just huffed and kept typing away at my phone, when from my peripheral vision I saw Indigo scoot closer to me. "Aw come on, aren't you older than me? Why are you still scared??" It'd been a while since Indie last latched onto me during a car ride.

"For one, I'm, like, barely older than you, and two-," he nodded his head toward my ear before whispering, "I'm not scared." Then he scooted even closer. I wanted to push him away, but I didn't not want him close... It was a confusing period for my feelings, because all of the guys around me were getting girlfriends, and I learned liking the same gender wasn't socially 'normal'. At the time, I was really trying to pass it off as being good friends, even though I'd, no, we'd both known for a long time that it was more than that.

"Kay," I responded, looking back down at my screen to ignore him. I wasn't very empathetic at the age of 13; I'd hardly ever think about what Indigo might have felt. "Is 'Indigo' a weird name?" He suddenly let out. "I think it's a great conversation starter!" My dad cheerily responded, and Indigo beamed once again. "Yeah! Much better than 'E'," he flicked my forehead. "Hey! You know, at least I didn't get a name picked by an eight year old-," I snickered, deciding not to be too bratty.

We joked and talked for the rest of the car ride, as I tried to describe the layout of our school so Indie wouldn't get lost immediately. We were all hyping him up when we were nearby, and it seemed like his nerves calmed a lot from that. Then we got out, and said goodbye to dad and Cam, as they drove off to the elementary. He held onto my arm lightly as we walked towards the entrance, and when we started to engulf in the crowds funneling in, I could see Indigo's face turn to horror. I pulled him down a hall and led us towards the library, where most people wouldn't be.

"Hey, hey, calm down, In," I rubbed his shoulders as his breath quickened. "That's- that's a lot of people," his voice shook, "Too many people," his eyes were darting around the room, "I- I... I don't w- wanna be crushed." "Crushed? Indigo, that doesn't happen. Worst case scenario, you'll just be pushed a bit," I tried to comfort him, but I didn't really get what he was so scared of. "No... no, they'll crush me," he lifted his arms and gripped onto his wrist. He was trembling like crazy, his teeth almost chattering as if he were cold.

"Are you two alright?" The librarian approached us, her Spanish accent as thick as ever. "Oh, Mrs. Tristan, yeah, we're good, it's just, it's his first day here," I turned to her, my arms still on Indie's shoulders. She glanced at him and quickly went to speak, "Poracito, what's wrong?" He flinched when she reached for him, so she retreated back. "Sorry, uhm, I think he's scared right now," I spoke softly, looking back at Indigo who was shaking and backed up into a wall.

"What's your name?" she leaned down to his height, just slightly, as she wasn't much taller. "I... I- Indigo," he whispered, his eyes now locked on the floor. "Ahh, that's a beautiful name. What school do you come from, Indigo?" She was only taken aback by his response for a second. "Nowhere," His voice was starting to pick up a little. "Uh, he's been homeschooled up 'till now," I explained before she could ask. "Estaaa, no wonder he's panicking," she placed a hand on my shoulder, "What are your full names?" "He's Indigo Swint, S-W-I-N-T, and I'm, uhm, Easton Kennedy."