Question Everything

Why?

Throughout the rest of my Latosh, people just stared at me, rarely approaching me. But the whole time, no matter what people said or what kind of scarf or disgusted stares I got, Greson was always there, holding my hand and talking to me.

I saw Gia a couple times, but she had always been afraid of the things she didn't understand. For a long time, I had actually wondered why she wasn't already afraid of me; it's not like she understood me then, either. She avoided me for most of the time.

I knew I shouldn't, I knew it was stupid, but I started pitying myself. Everyone was afraid of me, of my unpredictability. My best friend had abandoned me. The only person that hadn't cast me aside like I was a freak was a stranger I had fallen in love with. The only person I could trust was him. I had put all my faith in a stranger.

When my Latosh was over, I walked into the bus, still holding Greson's hand. Somehow, holding his hand held me down, it felt like it kept him from leaving me, too; so, naturally, I had been holding his hand for so long that my palm was sweating, but he didn't seem to care.

On the bus, Gia approached Greson and I. "I need to talk to you guys. Can you come to my house for a while?"

I looked at Greson, and he shrugged. We both told our parents what we'd be doing, and once we got to Gia's stop, all three of us got off.

We walked down her driveway and into the large brick house at the end of it. We said hi to Gia's mom, and went into the living room, Gia closing door behind us.

"Ok, first off, you guys are adorable together," she said as we sat down on the couch. I blushed and rolled my eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Greson smile a little.

"Second, I can tell you're not happy, April, don't try to hide it." I looked at the floor. "Why?"

"I just don't understand!" I blurted. "I mean, what weird person or thing or whatever forces people to show everyone everything about them, have to have everyone they come across know who they are?" I was going too far, but I couldn't stop myself. "I mean, everyone has different aspects to their personality, but they only show it for two people, and they're treated like monsters. It's like, 'hmm, who shall I declare a total freak? Oh, how about that one? That'll be entertaining.' What the heck?!"

Greson and Gia stared at me. I was doing exactly what every child was warned not to do.

Greson sighed. "You're right, it's unfair. With green, you're declared a nerdy goody-two-shoes, and there are plenty of people who will take advantage of that."

"Yeah, with pink, people know you're sensitive, which makes it super hard to avoid bullies." Gia wiped a sad tear from her eyes. I guessed she had probably gotten bullied already.

"I just don't get," I said again.

"Me either," Gia said.

"Yeah, it really doesn't make sense." Greson shook his head.

For a while there was an awkward silence, then Gia spoke. "You don't think we'll die tonight, do you?"

"Oh, please," I said. "The whole disappearing thing is just a trick to get kids to shut up and do what they're told."

"Good." Gia sighed. "You guys wanna watch some TV?"

"Sure," Greson said.

"Yes, please," I said, relieved I wasn't the only one who was confused.

We watched a few comedies, but it got really late, so Greson and I said goodbye to Gia and her mom and walked to the bus stop.

"Thank you," I said.

"For what?" Greson looked at me.

"Understanding. I thought you guys would hate me for saying that stuff."

"Are you kidding? I would never hate you. Unless you killed someone or cheated on me or something."

These words startled me. "Cheat on you? Does that imply that we're...."

"Officially together? That depends."

"On what?"

"If you want to."

I thought about this, then thought about how stupid I was for having to think about it. "You know what?" I Said finally. "I do." I grabbed his hand and smiled at him. He smiled back, and kissed me.

We got on the bus when it arrived at the stop, and I said bye to Greson as he left, then got off and went inside my house. I got into my PJs and fell asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow.