It Burns For a Moment, but Then it Molds You

Chapter two: Purple and Yellow Crayons.

Layla... Was different, you'd say. She had bright pastel green hair, skin so porcelain that it confused you how she wasn't made from glass. Her hair was dry and breaking, but that's due to the bleach and dyes she uses in her hair. She wore dark colors, separating the contrast between her hair and the rest of her. She almost always had an ear bud in, mumbling the words to whatever song she's listening to or just flat out bellowing them, most of the time in Jason's ear or your own.

Maja, pronounced Maya, had short blonde hair with tints of coppery red in them. She usually wore a grey T shirt over black leggings and a pair of sneakers, a purple hoodie that went just a little bit past her waist. She was sorta known around the school for skipping almost all her periods and still managing to pass with grades above a B+, somehow. She was usually seen in the band room. Or with Layla and yourself and sometimes Jason.

"I'll shed a tear with your family, open a bottle up. Pour a little out in your memory,"

She bounced her knees as she mumbled the words just above her usual talking volume, you and Jason and Maja were carrying a normal conversation as Layla swung a free earbud around in circles, hitting Jason in the elbow. As of right now, Jason was walking you home when the two of you spotted the girls across the street.

The four of you just had to be the most problematic group of people, there's so much wreckage in your families it's not even a train wreck anymore, a jet wreck. A plane wreck? A submarine wreck? The point has been made, right.

Maja's dad was dead, all she had was a strict mom and an even more strict step father. Doesn't like to talk to her family very much, or about it. Maja's a happy girl, though. Her friends are her family.

Layla? Won't get started on that right now. You're still recovering from when she put pink glitter in her mother's urn.

Jason, well his dad was a drug addict. Willis had some issues, with meth. He also does work, questionable work, to get money. One time you were over hanging out with Jason and playing video games a couple years back with him. Willis came in and bragged about a batarang shaped bruise he got on the job. Cathy? To put it lightly, you don't know how Jason will cope the day she goes too far on an overdose.

Last, but least. Your parents. With a mother locked up in Arkham Asylum, and a scientist for a father that works in Wayne Enterprises, people would assume you're the kid with the most money to burn in the group of delinquent brats. But it turns out keeping a family member in the Asylum and not a jail cell is a lot more expensive than you think. So he sells what isn't used in Wayne labs on the street.

Your blue and white flannel moved around under your worn denim jacket, since the four of you went to a crappy public school there were no awkward school uniforms to worry about. Jason didn't seem to care, though. He usually just wears that same old red hoodie everyday anyways. If there was a dress code against it? He'd probably break it a million times over.

"Listening to Melanie Martinez?" You asked Layla, she nodded and kept mumbling the words. It was her way of coping, honestly. She'd listen to her music so loud she couldn't even think sometimes.

It had stopped raining by now, but you and Jason didn't really care as he still kept the umbrella up over your head. He probably didn't even really notice it hadn't stopped raining. He just like being with you like this even if it was pointless along with his actions. Pointless actions with no real meanings of them just to stand closer to you, sounds a bit like more of a bestfriend thing, right?

And everyone knew it. Well, everyone but you and Jason, of course.

Maja would sometimes smirk at Jason, and Layla would sometimes shove the two of you closer. Neither of you saw or understood why, and while you were being dense about it he would be blushing and trying to get out of the situation the two girls would randomly put you two in.

You were smart, taking after your father. But sometimes you were just so...dense.

"(Y/n), where 'ya off to?" Maja asked, going through her backpack to try and find her homework. Jason smirked a bit, he loves how you always mention that he's walking you home. He knew you would say it, no matter how often you talk about it. It's just something the two of you have been doing since third grade, he would always walk you home. Sometimes when he doesn't even show up at school he'll come afterwards to walk you home.

"Hmm, oh Jason's walking me home today-"

"Like he does everyday?"

"Shush," you cut her off, smiling and placing an index finger over your lips. "I get to see my mom afterwards when I get home. My dad said he got a dress for me to wear when I see her." You said, the dress most likely came from Bruce Wayne himself. You've only met the man a small handful of times, but it was on business trips and your father couldn't leave you alone in the house by yourself. So whenever you were able to come with him, or had too, and the occasional time you'd see Bruce Wayne himself. you'd usually sit by his desk and draw. Only sitting by his desk because he had really sweet candies in a crystal bowl.

The first time you ever met Bruce Wayne, was when you were six. You drew all over his desk in bright yellow and purple crayon. You'd see him about twice a year, he was a really polite adult and he had a sort of fatherly aura to him. It felt weird, to say the least. As an example, every year on your birthday after you met him you'd get a gift from him signed by a couple other people at your father's work. Bruce would buy it, and your father's friends would also sign it. You were a pretty well liked kid. But you also felt kinda guilty whenever you had to see the man, knowing what your dad does for a living to support your family outside of paying for your mother to stay in the Asylum.

You didn't really tell many people about your mom's state right now, but Jason, Layla, and Maja knew the truth. They know it's a pretty sensitive topic, so everyone, especially Layla, leaves it be. Layla can say some pretty blunt things without knowing what she's saying, she'll mean them but it'll come out wrong. Make it sound more harsh than it truly was. She a funny person, sometimes she just makes jokes that really shouldn't even be thought about unless you're the Joker. And believe me, with the green hair she's got she's heard all the jokes and jabs at her. It's just the color her hair turned after she bleached it from the teal it was beforehand. she's planning on dying it purple, so no more green hair for her pretty soon. And no more Joker jokes directed towards her. They kinda unsettle everybody.

the four of you took a shortcut through some apartments, Layla didn't have her skateboard today or else she'd already be down the hill, probably wrecking herself over the new speed bump put in. She doesn't usually wreck herself, but she...had her moments. Sometimes when Jason steals her skateboard he'll get kinda caught up in going down a big hill so he won't see a rock he's about to run over, which six times out of ten sends him flying into the street.

Once the four of you split, Maja and Layla going off in the direction to Layla's home so Maja could stay the night there, it was a school night but Layla's legal guardians didn't really mind as long as they went to bed before midnight and got on the bus together in the morning.

Jason walked with you in silence, the way back to your home. He noticed your hand was shaking a bit, fingertips just barely visible from the blue and black and white flannel you wore. You usually wore flannels buttoned up over over a plain one colored T-shirt. But over the buttoned flannel was one of JAson's old jackets he actually gave to you because it was too small for him.

He noticed the way your fingers curled around the edge of the dark denim, your fingernails would probably rip the fabric if it were any more dull and partially ripping. He frowned, biting down on his bottom lip before reaching for your hand. The warmness of his own clasping over the freezing cold touch to your palm, interlocking his fingers with yours and giving a slight squeeze. You smiled at the ground, squeezing back slightly. He noticed this and felt a little lighter in his chest. In such a dark place, it's always nice to find the light at the end of the tunnel. sometimes that light was a person.

He didn't like seeing you worried, and sometimes holding your hand helped that.