Rainbow Heart

Chapter 3

Red went to the bank that day to get a his financial situation sorted out. His parents had been people of great importance. They had left him with a large amount of money. But Red didn't know anything about money or how to use it or even how to get it out of his bank account. Several stressful hours later, a lot of embarrassment, many questions he didn't know the answers to, and stacks of paperwork, Red left the bank with a credit card. He wasn't sure how it worked exactly, but he knew that he had it and he had a pocket in his onesie to keep it in.

People still stared when he walked down the street. A red haired man in a dinosaur onesie wasn't exactly your everyday pedestrian. He was also clearly different from everyone else. Red's stomach writhed nervously as he walked down the sidewalk. Looking from shop to shop. Maybe there was something he should bring to this date? Something that Barney would like?

He came across something called "A Connivence Store" and ended up walking in out of curiosity.

"Hello, sir." A voice called to Red from his right side. He turned to see a bright faced woman standing behind a counter with a blue apron on and her dark hair pulled back in a pony tail. She was quite pretty, her face was round and cheerful. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Red's stomach jumped nervously. He didn't know how to interact with humans! Oh, how he wished he was Orange right now.

"Um, no. Thank you." He said quickly.

The woman smiled kindly. "Alright! Well, I'm here if you need me."

Red smiled at her quickly and hurried away in a panic. What was he doing?! He was so confused and flustered. There were all kinds of things. He picked up a few things that looked pretty. A package of something wrapped in pink, a trinket of some sort, and a bar of chocolate. With that he hurried to the register. The kind lady took his items and card.

"Well, are you picking these up for your girlfriend?" The woman asked, looking at the package.

"Uuuuumm...." Red murmured. He was too embarrassed to admit that he didn't know what he was buying. Much less what a girlfriend was. "Sure."

The woman smiled kindly. "How kind of you." She said. "Not many men are willing to buy things like this for their girlfriends. I have no idea why."

Red smiled nervously and just nodded. "Mhm. Right? Oh boy."

The woman placed his items in a crinkly plastic bag and handed it to him. "Have a lovely day!" She said. Red thanked her and took his bag, walking off to go meet his date.

===========================

He waited for what seemed like a long while there on the street corner. Red was just starting to wonder if Barney was going to come when he jogged up to him.

"Hey!" Barney greeted.

"Oh! H-hello!" Red stuttered.

Help.

"I, um, I brought you something." Red mumbled, reaching into his bag and pulling out the items. He handed them to Barney without a second thought.

"Oh thank you! Chocolate, nail clippers, and..."

Barney paused. His face went bright red, almost as red as Red was himself. "Is there something wrong?" Red asked, trying not to panic.

"...And panty liners." Barney finished.

OH MY GOD RED YOU FUCKING KLUTZ! Everyone screamed. Red winced, knowing that they were right.
I cannot fucking believe you. Green said.

Red actually knew what panty liners were. It was one of the only gender related things his mother had taught him. He can't believe he had fucked up so spontaneously.

"I am so sorry!" Red shouted, blushing furiously and trying to grab them away from Barney.

"No, it's fine." Barney said, laughing a little. "It's actually kind of funny."

Red felt like dying.

"You're kind of an odd guy." Barney observed.

Oh if only he knew how "odd" I really am. Red thought disdainfully.

"Where did you come from?" He asked, starting to walk off. Red was confused, but decided to follow.

Red was stumped for a moment. He actually didn't know. Somewhere in Washington. But he didn't actually know. "Oh, you know. Around." He answered casually.

Barney smiled. "Yeah. I get it. You don't want to tell everything to a stranger."

Red didn't know what he was talking about, but he went along with it. "Yeah."

"That's cool." He said. "Is there anything you can tell me about yourself?"

I'm a freaky weirdo who knows nothing about the world he was unexpectedly thrust into just a day ago and also happens to change color and personality depending on his mood. Green offered bitterly.
Shh!! Orange hissed. They're having a moment here!

Red wished he could hit them. "Um, I like ice cream." He offered.

Barney laughed. "Alright! Something we can relate on. What's your favorite kind?"

"Rocky road." Red said. He wasn't lying. His dad seemed to have a weakness for the treat. They always had a container of it in the house. When his parents were out he'd sneak a bite sometimes... But now he was free. And he had a bank account full of money. He could buy all the ice cream he wanted. What a strange new world this was.

"Alright!" Barney exclaimed. "Let's go get you some!"

"What?" Red asked.

"Come on!" Barney shouted excitedly, grabbing onto Red's hand and pulling him forward as he ran down the sidewalk. Dragging Red with him to an unknown place in the light of the setting sun.

After running long enough to make Red feel like his lungs were going to pop, Barney finally slowed down to a walk.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Red wheezed.

"No! Jeez, how much exercise do you get?"

None.

"But I can tell you something that might make you feel better." Barney said, squeezing his hand.

"And what's that? Red gasped, clutching at his chest.

"We're here!"

They stood in front of a brightly lit building. Red looked up and saw a strange building, but anyone who knew anything about architecture knew it was an old fashioned place. The 60s aesthetic chrome, vinyl, and everything. It was mostly schemed in shades of red and white. A man stood at the counter in a white uniform waiting to take their order. Red simply stood an inhaled the delicious scent on the cool air. The smell of sweets.

Barney approached the counter, pulling Red along with him, as they were still holding hands. "Two rocky roads, please!" Barney asked cheerfully. The man smiled before going off to scoop their ice creams. Red stood beside him awkwardly. Within moments their ice creams came. The man handed them their treats.

"That'll be $12.35, please." The man said. Red reached into his pocket to fish out his wallet, but Barney stopped him. He had already given the man his money.

"No!" Red exclaimed. "I'm supposed to be paying you back for breaking your bike."

"Don't worry." Barney insisted. "You'll be paying me back for the bike and the ice cream soon."

Red felt a spike of uneasiness in his stomach rise. "What does that mean?"

Barney didn't answer. Instead he leaned in close and mashed their lips together.

In an instant Red's eyes blew wide out of proportion. A million thoughts ran through his head all at once and his emotions went out of control. His skin flickered through every color of the rainbow before finally settling on a bright sunshiny gold.

"YEEEEAAAAAAH!!" Yellow screamed.

"WHAT?!" Barney shouted, jumping back.

"Oh..."