dear diary (larvis)

dear diary - hair

larry
travis' constant unexpected comments about my hair and my bangs that i always hid away made me want to bring them back, since most people didn't even know i had them. i was thinking about changing my hair too, as it looks rather flat and dull. i used to have very big layers in my hair, which made my hair look very thick. the only way it looks thick now is if i brush it out, which i don't like doing as it's hard to maintain.

travis had been staying at my house for a few days now and i don't think he cared about going back home anymore. every time he pulled something out of his bag, i learnt more about him. sometimes he would just tell me things about himself and other times i would just learn them. travis wears glasses, has epilepsy, has a sister, has natural brown hair, etc. i could tell he missed the brown hair he had from how he spoke about it.

"you know, i can take the bleach out of your hair if you want, maybe i could change your hair a little too if you like."
as i spoke i played with his hair, looking at all the layers and how his hair had clearly grown out since it was last bleached.
"really? please do, i hate having hair like my dad."
i nodded and sat up.
"does your dad have natural blonde hair? i don't mean to be ignorant or anything but i've never seen a black person with natural blonde hair."
he yawned and nodded, staring hopelessly at his hair.
"yeah. it's hard to explain really. basically, my dad is mixed but he's more white than he is black, and my mom is also mixed but she's more black than she is white. do you get what i mean? i'm just an equal balance."

i pulled a pair of scissors out of my drawer, walking to my bathroom and holding the scissors to the ends of my hair.
"are you actually going to do it?"
before i could reply to travis, i clipped atleast and inch off the end of my hair. i grabbed two pieces by my face, cutting them to my chin. lastly, i grabbed the bangs infront of my forehead, cutting them so they fell in the centre of my eyebrows.
"i mean.. it's different."
i nodded quickly and pushed my comb into his hair unexpectedly parting his hair in the middle instead of the side. he had a cowlick so his hair didn't lay flat on his forehead , it instead sprung up a little, so his parting was never straight. he turned to the mirror, slightly adjusting his hair and pushing a few strands out of his eyes and playing with the back of his hair.
"the back of my head has grown so much."

i had sat travis on the floor infront of my bed, as i squirted the hair dye into a plastic bowl.
he was wearing his glasses at that point so i had to remove them myself when he wasn't listening.
"sorry i can't get your hair back naturally, but this will work."
i brushed the dye onto his hair, massaging it into his head.
"this feels weird."
he bit his lip and i continued to brush it onto his hair. his hair slowly started to shift from blonde to a darker brown, which was almost identical to his moms shade.

when i washed it out, he almost looked like a completely different person. when i washed it, he seemed to be slightly scared of putting his head under the water which confused me, but i continued to gently wash it out with warm water, with a bit of convincing and affirmation obviously. i had to dry it before he would look completely different. surprisingly, he wouldn't let me since it was "gay".
"just leave it to air dry then. do whatever. it's only a bit of hot air."
"you're full of hot air."
he snatched the comb out of his hair and continued to brush through it, despite me doing it for him before.
"jeez, feisty."
he angrily dragged the comb through his hair, pulling half of it out in the process.
"don't be so rough, you'll pull your hair out."
i took the comb from his hand and brushed the ends, gently snipping a few millimetres off without travis noticing. after it was dry, he really did look so different.

"do you like it?"
he played with a few strands, twirling them around his finger.
"i love it. thank you."
as he spoke he adjusted his parting, struggling to make it perfectly straight.
"it looks amazing honestly. no offence to past you but you look so much better. you look a lot happier too."
"because i am happier."
smiling, he leaned against the sink beside me and he looked down at my feet.
"you know you really have made me a lot happier than i used to be. i prefer this life. one where you're in it."