Better in Color✖️Egobang

Eleven

The lights danced across Dan's sleeping face that Arin absolutely adored. He couldn't help but stare while touching his boyfriend's hand to see the flashing colors and billboards galore in the heart of New York City.

Barry and Ross were equally amazed at the sight, but all lights were boring shades of gray and white, an uncommon color to see after driving through the Pensilvania countryside.

It was already mid-July, so the streets of NYC were packed. They could have taken the subway, but they basically slept in their car now that the hotels were filling up.

Arin was memorized by the flashing lights and glowing billboards. Some colors he had never seen before: Hot pink, pastel blue, royal purple, and vomit green.

The people were barging through the crowds, even though most were just being unpleasant and not at all in a hurry. There were people yelling profanities, cars beeping, rain about to pour, but Arin got lost in color.

Dan woke up when there was a particularly loud beep in front of them. He jolted awake and immediately looked out to the colorful streets, still having Arin touching his arm. Dan didn't mind.

The ride through wasn't as nice for Barry and Ross, since they too were beeping, cursing, and arguing with each other after the traffic got into their heads. The lights seemed to fade for the boys, but now the two men in the backseat with their child-like wonder.

They finally snapped out of it when a man came up to Barry's car window and tapped since they were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

"Sir, there is a lane next to you that is open if you want to turn. There's a backroad away from this chaos." The man says, his piercing blue eyes stabbing into Barry. He just nodded and thanked the man for directions. The man scratched his gray beard after his goodbye.

"Wow, that was nice." Barry remarked as he turned to the left and got the hell out of the unbearable traffic.

The man didn't lie. There was a road that led right out of NYC and onto a freeway leading to New Hampshire. Everything was looking up for them.

Until they hit a bump. Or, atleast, what they thought was a bump. They thought things were fine until they spotted a puddle of blood over the spot they just rode over.