iridescent (Mavin)

colourless

  

   Gavin stood in front of his locker, staring blankly at his binder. As he did so, he toyed with his necklace, as he always did when he was lost in thought. Should he start that English essay after school, or go to the theatre? Jack would be disappointed if he cancelled on him again, but as an exchange student, grades were very important. If Gavin did poorly, they could send him back home to England.

   The second bell rang clearly through the nearly empty halls, sounding the beginning of class. Gavin cursed under his breath as he gathered up his binder and textbook, and jogged lightly. His pre-calculus teacher had warned him several times about being late but Gavin had a myriad of bad habits.

Not looking where he was going was one of them.

   As he turned the corner, his arm clipped what felt like cardboard and plasticine. A diorama fell to the floor with a horrible smack, followed by silence. Tiny wooden homes flew in every direction, breaking into small pieces. Gavin stopped in his tracks. Only then did he notice the boy who stood beside him, eyes wide.

"Look... I'm-" Gavin started, in a panic. He just destroyed someone's project.

"Do you know how long that took me to make?!" The boy yelled. "Like 3 days! It was due today! And you fucking ruined it!"

   Gavin shrunk back, scared of the other boys anger. He looked at the mess he created, far too embarrassed to look him in the eyes.

"I didn't see you," he tried again. "I really am sorry."

"Oi, I re'lay am sorr-ay," the boy mocked him in frustration, running his fingers through his hair. "Whatever. You're gonna have to explain this to my teacher."

   Beet red, Gavin crouched next to the destroyed diorama. It looked as if it was well done... The other probably would have gotten a good mark had Gavin not gotten in the way. He began picking up the snapped wood and deformed plasticine. "All right..." He said quietly.

   Once the mess had been cleaned, the still-livid boy lead Gavin to the science wing. Gavin took this time to observe the boy.

   On top of his head was a curly mop that was obviously in need of a trim. He was not much shorter than Gavin and was dressed similarly. You could tell he had dimples, even though he was scowling. He was attractive, but that wouldn't get him far if he remained full of piss and vinegar.

   A few moments later, they reached the door. "No talking. I'll explain." The boy demanded. Gavin nodded.

   The two entered the room, and everyone's heads turned. Gavin grit his teeth. He had issues with large numbers of people focusing on him. Too much attention made him panic.

   An older woman sat in front of the class also lifted her head. "Michael. You're late. And who is that?" She gestured to Gavin.

The boy, apparently named Michael, looked at Gavin expectantly.

"I thought I'm not supposed to talk." He muttered, mostly to himself, before answering the teacher. "I'm Gavin."

"And what are you doing here?" The teacher got up from her seat.

"He broke my diorama. I made it, I swear. But it just fell apart and I had to throw it away-" Michael gushed, sounding desperate. "I need more time to work on it. Again." He glared daggers at Gavin.

Gavin felt a lump form in his throat. God, did he feel guilty.

The teacher sighed. "All right. I'll give you one extra day. Just be careful from now on."

Michael, too, sighed, but with relief not exasperation. "Thank you."

   Michael turned to Gavin and smacked him in the arm. "Be glad that she said yes. I'd have to beat you up otherwise. Fucking asshole." Although his words were threatening, his tone was jokey.

That's when his chest grew warm, and his vision and hearing faltered. Gavin blinked furiously, desperately trying to regain his sight. He put a hand out, grasping for anything and everything. He clutched onto Michaels shirt. "Help," came out as a whisper as he collapsed.

After a moment, his sight and hearing returned, and he finally understood what had happened. It happened to just about everyone once in their lifetime. He made contact with his soul mate.

Gavin blinked up at the ceiling. The light that shone in his eyes was still white, but just about everything else was different. There was colour. The walls of the room were blue now. They had always been blue, of course, they just had always looked different.

Gavin looked Michael in the eyes, scared. They were a deep brown and they made Gavins heart skip a beat. He was always told that brown was a dull colour but there was nothing dull about them.

Everyone was staring at Gavin.

Everyone knew what had just happened.

The Brit couldn't take it. He got to his feet and rushed out of the room. His face was far too hot for him to handle, and he needed out immediately. 

   He stood outside for a moment, toying with his necklace absent-mindedly. His heart beat against his chest like a bird trapped in a cage. He willed it to stop. It had to stop eventually. Eventually. 

   Calmly, Michael followed him. He stood next to Gavin, causing his heart to pick right back up. Was this boy the one he was really supposed to be with? How were they to start their relationship? They knew nothing about each other. They had only met a few moments before, after all. What if they ended up hating each other?

"Gavin..." Michael said quietly. His voice was much softer, as if he were talking to a child.

"Yeah, Michael?"

"I... I don't know if you noticed... but I didn't have a reaction. Nothing happened to me."

This confused Gavin greatly. "What? What do you mean?" A reaction? But that is how it worked, how it always worked.

   The door behind Michael cracked open, and a girl around their age stepped out. Her hair shone brightly under the hallway lights, mesmerising Gavin. What was that, red? She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but she closed it quickly. She appeared... guilty? 

"I'll... Uh. See you around." Michael gave a weak smile. "All right Gavin? I need to go back to class..."

   And with that he head back into class. The redheaded girl whispered something to him, seeming concerned. Michael shook his head, and kissed her lightly on the lips.

Then everything clicked in Gavins brain.

   Michael and the redheaded girl were a couple. That could only mean that they were one another's soul mates. 

Michael was Gavins soul mate.

But he wasn't Michaels.

   In a world now filled with colour, Gavin didn't know it was possibly for everything to seem so grey.