Colors

Eight

         

I didn't see Mitch for a week after that. Every day I'd go to the hill and wait for three hours, he wouldn't turn up, and I'd go home and talk to Alex. I didn't really tell Alex about what was going on between Mitch and I. That was mostly because I didn't want to worry him, especially since I knew what his reaction would be. He would look at me and say:

"Scott, get out of there. He's clearly not right for you"

I loved him to death but that boy always thought with his head. I needed someone who thought with their heart. Someone like Mitch. Oh, wait.

It was a week and three days before I finally saw him, and for once I could tell in the clear light that his eyes were focused and there was no sign of them being red and bloodshot. So I guess I didn't have to worry when he grabbed my hand and started to lead me through the streets. He'd duck into the bushes, behind a car, or hide himself some other way whenever anyone walked past. A lot of the time he was hidden before I even saw the potential threat, making me wonder how often he did this. Who am I kidding, I was always wondering that.

I assumed that he was walking to the border, but about two blocks before we even got there, he pulled me down another street and we started running parallel to the border. I was getting out of breath fast and I made a mental note to myself that I needed to go to the gym with Alex more often.

I followed Mitch as he turned back to go toward the wall, although the area was more deserted in this area. We were amongst a few of the abandoned buildings that ended up along the boundaries, and it was quite creepy. It was soothing, though. The stillness of the air and the calm breeze through the gaps in the building made me feel at ease. I continued to follow the red boy until we reached the boundary, completely trusting him for some reason that I'll never really understand.

"Mitch, we need to talk..." I reached out a hand to touch his shoulder but he moved away quickly.

"Come see this." He said and suddenly he'd disappeared through a gap in the wall. It had been covered by a large plank of wood to purposely hide. I had no choice but to follow him through if I wanted answers but as soon as I saw the other side, all of the questions left my mind.

There Mitch stood in a small rainforest, with some trees that reached to the top of the boundary and others that stood just a little above my head. All of the leaves were beautiful shades of red, creating a view that I'd never seen before. I walked through the branches and allowed my eyes to take in as much as I could, looking around and searching for any fantastic things I might miss if I moved to fast. I stopped eventually, looking to my left as I felt the ground start to solidify more beneath my feet.

I followed the hardening ground until it turned into a rock pool at the bottom of a beautiful waterfall. If I'd had any breath it would have been knocked out of me. The place was perfect. I looked up to see Mitch standing beside me, smiling sheepishly.

"This is my form of an apology for the other night. I didn't mean to get so... Smashed. I'm sorry. Ashley said you seemed pretty happy but I wanted to make sure you were okay." He said softly and I nodded.

I slid my shoes off and then rolled up my jeans so that I could dip my feet into the pool of rose gold coloured water. Although I much preferred the blue tinge that our own water took on, the red colouring to the water was a beautiful change.

"It's okay Mitch, really. You were perfectly fine. I just have a few questions. Would you mind...?" I gestured to the spot beside me and he sat down, not making a move to touch the water but I didn't mind. "You said you didn't want to go home. Why not?" I hardly finished my sentence when I saw Mitch jump up quickly and start walking off along the trail that led away from the waterfall. I quickly got up and put my socks and shoes on, not caring that they were still wet from the pool. I followed the mysterious boy and clasped his hand in my own before he was able to move away so that he couldn't avoid my question. "Mitch?"

"Scott, I can't tell you that. I'm sorry but it's just not something that I want to share with anyone. I hardly even know you." He said softly and although I knew it wasn't supposed to, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

"Well that makes two of us." I spoke, suddenly getting angry. Mitch's head shot up as he looked at me, his brown eyes daring me to continue. Clearly, I wasn't thinking properly because I did. "I barely know what you're like when you aren't high." I wasn't sure what made me say it, whether it was frustration or the fact I knew Mitch wouldn't let the topic go until I explained what I meant.

I expected him to be mad at me, to yell and hit me and get angry, but he didn't. He hung his head and nodded slowly, putting his hands in his pockets. I realised in that moment that he wasn't the person I'd made him out to be in my mind through all the hours of talking to him. I don't mean that because he was using drugs and acting like someone other than himself, but because I'd made assumptions. We were always taught that red meant anger, passion, violence. I'd never have expected someone so red to look so... blue. He was blue.

"I'm sorry Scott. I should have told you. I just... I didn't think about it." He said softly. "I forgot that drugs and alcohol aren't a common thing over there..." He looked hurt and I just wanted to pull him into my arms and tell him it'll be okay but I needed to let him finish speaking. "That was something I didn't think about, and it was a mistake on my part. But my family is something I don't want to talk about, and I'd appreciate if you'd stop asking."

I nodded, finally understanding that he wasn't keeping me out to hurt me and opened my arms to him "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have pushed you and I shouldn't have brought up all of that stuff about your drug use. It's kind of new to me and I was scared. I won't push with those questions anymore but I can't promise that I won't be curious. I only ask because I care about you Mitch, and I don't want you to lose yourself because of how doped up you are..."

"It's not that. I don't do it to forget who I am. I do it to forget who I'm supposed to be." He cut in and I could suddenly see it in his eyes. They were always slightly sad, but they had never been as tired and lost as I saw them now. It was the only way that he thought he could be happy. I nodded slowly and he moved to lean against my body, my arms wrapping around his small frame as his hands came to rest in the centre of my back.

I was going to prove him wrong. I was going to show him joy that didn't include drugs. That was how I was going to find the real Mitch Grassi.

Mitch looked up at me and I looked down into his eyes, my breath suddenly getting caught in my throat. I'd never seen his eyes look so curious and scared. I was about to ask what he was thinking but I felt two hands on either side of my head and red lips pressed to my own blue ones.

I felt the same tingling that I had the night before, and the moment I placed my hand on Mitch's waist he pulled away from me. My eyes fluttered open and I noticed panic written into his features.

"Does that answer your question about whether I'm gay or not?" Mitch asked with a hint of sass which made me smile slightly before his expression dropped. "I've got to go..." He said softly. I opened my mouth to speak but he shook his head and ran off deeper into the trees that surrounded us, leaving me to walk back on my own.

I was undisturbed as I placed the wood back over the gap in the boundary before wandering amongst the buildings. Their decay was almost beautiful, the way they could be so damaged and yet manage to hold themselves up. It reminded me of something, of someone.

But I couldn't put my finger on who.