Colours

Colors

Everything is grey.
His hair, his smokes, his dreams-
And now he's so devoid of colour he don't know what it means.
And he's blue.

It had started raining while Farlan roamed down the back roads, the dirt was slowly becoming soaked with the small droplets that plummeted from the sky. His silver hair was dampening too, but he kept his hands in his pockets over his lighter and blunts.
The gravel crunched under his feet while he made his way into the gap between two old buildings, sliding into the brick solitude and out of sight from the eyes that didn't care enough to watch him anyways. At the end of the tunnel was an unfamiliar figure. Who was it? It didn't matter to Farlan, they were both here to hide, obviously. The figure, now revealed to be a young boy with dark hair, glared at him piercingly. A cigarette was between his pale fingers, held up to his lips and glowing.
Farlan came out of the narrow space and into the small opening. The ground was dirt, but it wouldn't become muddy since it was shielded from the rain. It was surrounded by brick walls of empty buildings that would hide their presence from the rest of the world. Farlan looked at the boy's smoke as it poured from his lips and dug into his pocket, pulling out a paper roll. "I'll trade you one." He said, offering the unexpected companion a joint.
The dark haired boy pulled out his cigarette box and opened it, tipping it upside down. "Last one." He told Farlan, putting it back in his pocket and continuing his only smoke.
"Too bad." Farlan brought the drug and his lighter up to his lips, cupping the fire as it sprung out and letting it ignite the paper. He took a breath of it and leaned back against the wall. "What's your name?"
Blowing out another cloud of smoke, the boy slowly answered him. "Levi."
"Nice to meet ya'. I'm Farlan." He nodded at Levi and brought the joint back up to his lips. "Maybe if we meet here again we can trade up?"
"Why don't you get your own tobacco?" Levi scoffed, coming to the end of his cigarette.
"Can't. I only get weed because my mom is sick." He said, slowly loosening up from the marijuana. He stood up straight from the wall and leaned on his hip, getting a good look at Levi.
"Who says I want your dope anyways?" Levi scowled at him, finishing his smoke and dropping it to the ground. He stomped it out with his foot and stepped towards the gap in the wall.
"How about a drink then? I can get that." Farlan took a step towards him, persisting and perhaps pushing his point too far.
"What the hell do you want?" Levi whipped around irritatedly and glared up at Farlan, a threatening look in his eyes. The taller boy ignored the dangerous glint that flickered in his pupils.
"Just want a smoking buddy." Farlan crinkled his nose and mocked Levi with a face, widening his eyes before quickly returning back to his regular expression. "Come on. You got somewhere to be?"

That was the only time Levi ever got high, but it wasn't the last time he smoked with Farlan.

Your little brother never tells you but he loves you so,

The two of them were each other's best friends. Farlan hadn't had a friend in a long time, so he felt successful with this. Even if Levi didn't say it, Farlan knew he was supported by his shorter accomplice when he needed it.

You said your mother only smiled on her TV show.

All this time Farlan's mother got more sick. She couldn't walk anymore, and was completely bedridden. Farlan took care of her as much he could, and wouldn't let anyone other than Levi know that she was slowly dying. He didn't want to be taken away.

You're only happy when your sorry head is filled with dope,

I hope you make it to the day you're 28 years old.

A few months later, Levi and Farlan were doing the usual. Smoking behind the buildings, socializing with one another exclusively. It wasn't a lively conversation, and the air was cold now, which made Levi even more irritable than usual. Farlan didn't care, he'd sit with Levi any time, any day.
Both of their voices stopped immediately at the sound of fast footsteps on gravel. They quickly put out their smokes and crept down the narrow brick tunnel to find where they were coming from. The running only got closer to them as they peered out, watching as a girl ran down the alley with another girl and a boy chasing after her.
When she tripped and skidded on the ground, Farlan jumped out and hurried over to her. "Hey, hey!" He called over to her as she tried to scramble to her feet. She stopped, holding her legs to her chest and her breath in her lungs, keeping her tears behind her eyes and watching the blood trickle down her knees. Farlan looked at them worryingly, frowning a little as he kneeled in front of her.
"Do me a favour right now and fuck off." Farlan turned around to see the other girl and the boy standing behind them. The standing girl had a death stare on the littler one with beaten knees, and the boy was glaring angrily at Levi, who had stepped in front of Farlan and the injured girl protectively.
"You're the scum that's come into my territory." Levi growled back, becoming darker by the second. Farlan could feel Levi's chilling tone run through his blood and leave goosebumps on his forearms. Or maybe it was just the wind. Whichever, it left an unsettling feeling.
"Get the fuck out of my way." The boy reached out his hand to shove Levi, but it fell short of his chest when Levi threw his fist into the pursuers throat. He stumbled backwards as he gasped for air, and Levi kicked his stomach to shove him onto the gravel.
"Don't touch me with your filthy fucking hands." Levi spat aggressively, looking up to the unknown girl whose attention had been drawn away from her victim in the dirt. "I never want to see your fucked up face again, either." He growled as the boy got up, walking away as fast as he could. The girl quickly followed him with an expression of horror, and Levi turned back to Farlan and the girl who still held her bloody knees while she looked up at him with shining eyes. "What's your name?" He grumbled at her.
"U-Uh," she blinked, looking down at her beaten limbs. "Isabel."

You're dripping like a saturated sunrise,

From that day on, Isabel stayed with Farlan and Levi.

You're spilling like an overflowing sink.

She was the final and most ecstatic member of the trio. It was always just the three of them. A pothead, an orphan, and a loser. Maybe she wasn't such a loser. In the end, Isabel was the reason that Farlan and Levi quit their smoking almost a year later. She made Levi feel like he had a real little sister, a real family. She made Farlan feel okay about not being able to save his mother.

You're ripped at every edge but you're a masterpiece,

They were common delinquents. Smoking, drinking, sneaking out at night. Levi was their level-headed leader, and Farlan felt confident under his right wing. He kept them out of more trouble than they bargained for, and knocked some sense into them when they needed it. Isabel had parents, but she felt more protected by her boys. Levi had a foster home, but he lived along these two. Farlan had a mother, but this was his family.

And now I'm tearing through the pages and the ink.

Once Farlan turned 18, he and Levi got a place on their own. Next year Isabel graduated and moved out of her home and in with them. They all lived in a city for the first time in their lives, sharing an apartment together. It was like a whole new world for them, and a little bit scary, but they were happy with one another. That was what mattered the most.

You were a vision on the morning when the light came through,

It was the best feeling in the world for them to wake up and be in the same home. Under the same roof, every day and night. Coming home to the family they didn't have to live without anymore.

I know I've only felt religion when I'm lying with you.

It felt right. It felt like they were born to be in this place. Like this was all they could ever need or want out of life, was to just be together. It was all meant to be, right there, right then. If that was all there was to life, they would die happy.

You said you'll never be forgiven till your boys are, too.

But...

And I'm still waking every morning but it's not with you.

Life is more than that.

Everything is blue.
His pills, his hands, his jeans.
And now I'm covered in the colours pulled apart at the seams.

At last, Farlan's mother died. He wasn't too sad, he'd been prepared for it for years now. Levi didn't want to come for the ride, Farlan was only picking up his mother's ashes after having her cremated. She had no other family around, so it was of no use to hold a funeral. Isabel decided she wanted to go on the road with Farlan, and so they went together.

And it's blue.

Farlan and Isabel left on a chill January morning to pick up the ashes.

And it's blue.

Farlan Church and Isabel Magnolia were killed in a highway car accident on January, 14.

Everything is grey.

Levi lost his family.

His hair, his smoke, his dreams.

He couldn't look at smokes or scrapes for fear of being reminded of everything.

And now he's so devoid of colour he don't know what I means.

If he'd gone with them, would things be different?

And he's blue.

What was left without them?

And he's blue.

He had his job, that Isabel told him to apply for. That girl, that Farlan would've pushed him to ask out. His home, that he had only because of them. Still, as many picture as he could see, they had no colour.

Everything is blue.