Colour Me Red

Chapter 2

"Hi." I whispered, my shy nature taking over.

"She's really shy.." Will smiled sympathetically at the four other boys. "But anyway, Colour-" I looked up at him "This is Zaire, then you have Alfie, then Xavier and Jake." he looked over at his friends then quickly added "As you can probably tell, Xavier and Jake are twins."

"I'm never going to be able to tell you two apart.." I sighed looking at the identical boys. They both had dark cerulean eyes with freckles on the bridge of their noses. The two of them were towering over me, one a bit taller than the other. Their skin was slightly tanned and they both wore an identical smile with dimples littering their cheeks. When they talked they did so in unison,

"you'll get used to it" the two boys looked at each other and laughed, causing me to smile meekly. I then looked over at Zaire and sucked in my breath, the smile playing at my lips falling away as if it never existed. His eyes were a deep forest green and looking into them made me feel as though time stood still. They were warm and inviting but also somehow dark and cold. His hair was a dark brown, almost black and it was styled to flow across his face but it also had a curl to it. He had deep dimples when he smiled that were still lingering on his cheeks when he wasn't. His lips were bowed and red, contrasting against his pale skin that was littered with freckles. I stared at him for a second and for some reason he had this powerful air about him, making me want to back down even though I had done nothing in the first place. He stared at me for a few moments taking me in and then he was the first one to open his mouth,

"Nice piercings." He winked, a smile playing at his lips. He looked at me for another second as if he was trying to figure something out and then he whispered something under his breath that I couldn't quite hear.

"Th-thanks" I stammered, a blush creeping up my neck. I moved my focus to a piece of dust sparkling in the sunlight beaming in through the window, trying to block out what Alfie was saying, but he wouldn't stop talking.

"Wow. You're really pale." He said causing me to look at him with surprised eyes. Alfie was the one who called me a ghost just minutes before and I also noticed he was judging me and I hated it. He seemed to be sinking lower and lower on my list and I wanted to turn around and run back upstairs, but I constrained myself, clenching my teeth together. I began pulling at my sleeves and tugging at the hem of my shirt

"Alfie." Zaire's voice growled, seemingly 10 times more powerful than before. I felt myself back up slightly pressing against the counter. Zaire looked concerned for my well being for a second but quickly snapped out of it, glaring at Alfie. "Leave her alone."

"Yes, al-" he cast a glance over to me and corrected himself "sir." I looked at him confused but ignored it, I had no right to speak up. I sent a silent thanks to Zaire and then took a step looking at Will.

"You guys should probably go.." I said staring straight at my cousin, "I mean, I'm sure you guys want to hang out with each other." I started to walk away when I felt someone grab my wrist. I immediately tensed up, my heart racing. I bit my lip to keep from screaming and I was pushed back into the past. The last place I wanted to be.

--I heard a knock on my door. When I didn't answer he knocked harder, causing me to sink down into my bed.

"Colour. Open the fucking door or i'll break it." His harsh voice echoed through my head. I shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep, waiting for him to break down but wishing he would just walk away. I sucked in my breath as I heard the wood begin to splinter.

My heart began to race as if it was trying to jump straight out of my chest so it didn't have to deal with the pain.

"If you open it now, then i'll go easy on you" I could hear the smile in his voice, but I could also hear the lies weaving through his words, tainting them. I stayed put with my nails digging into my palms using the pain to subdue the fear.

"please leave me alone" I whimpered, my voice tightening my throat. With one last bang the door flew open and smashed against the wall with a loud thud.

"Surprise" my father said, his voice straight. He stalked over to my, ripping the blankets from my bed and grabbing my wrist. "Now, you could have avoided this if you just answered me the first time." He then pulled me off the bed and onto the floor with one quick tug. I landed with a loud thud, my head smashing onto the hardwood. Black spots filled my vision and then I was back in the present sitting on the floor with multiple voices saying things to me.

"Colour" Zaire shook me slightly, looking me straight in the eyes. His touch made me shrink down and he immediately took his hands off my shoulders. "Hey" he said looking straight into my eyes "I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to come with us. I didn't mean to make you freak out, I'm sorry. The last thing I want is to hurt you." His voice was filled with sincerity but I still couldn't bring myself to say anything. He looked at me for a second and got up, offering to help me up. I looked at his hand for a second but quickly stood up. I frowned into his eyes and apologized with my own before pushing past him and running up the stairs. I walked into the library and climbed up the ladder leading to the small reading loft.

J.R.R Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' was sitting atop a pile of neatly folded blankets, so I picked the book up, created myself a little nest and began reading, getting lost in Bilbo's adventure.