The Kids Aren't Alright

-6-

"Why can't you paint it purple?" Nora asked, throwing the rock in her hand at the unpainted part of the wall.

"Because it has to be white." Dallon sighed, using the roller to drag the paint right to the top of the surface.

"But why?" Nora repeats, looking unimpressed by his answer.

"I don't know." Dallon muttered, more then a little bit tired of standing in the hot sun and painting over someone elses graffiti on a Saturday morning. He could be sleeping in, or maybe getting a start on his mountain of biology homework, or even pretending to have a conversation with his father. "Why are you even here?"

"To make sure you paint the wall the right colour!" Nora threw the next rock at her brothers head. "And you're doing a really bad job Dallon!"

Dallon turned around sharply, rubbing his head where the rock hit it. "Nora, I swear to god. If you throw one more rock-"

"That's a bad word!" Nora remarked, a wide grin appearing on her face. "Can I say it?"

Dallon sighed, thinking over the best answer he could possibly give. "On two conditions." Nora moved closer, eager to hear what he had to say. "Only if you stop throwing rocks at me, and not around mum and dad."

Nora grinned eagerly, and began chanting the word 'god' over and over again, believing it to be one of the worst words imaginable. Dallon ignored her to the best of his ability and continued to cover up the scrawled words on the side of the building.

"You'd think they'd at least take some care." He muttered bitterly, hating Gerard Way and that stupid kid, Frank. They pressured him into taking the fall, and now here he was, hating his saturday morning when he could be in bed sleeping the day away.

Dallon was so busy resenting things that he didn't notice Nora wander off. He was bought back to reality when he noticed the lack of noise, save for a few quiet voices around the corner. He whipped his head around, quickly laying the paint roller in the tray and jogging to find his little sister talking to a boy.

He was sitting against the wall, listening to Nora babble on about whatever it is she talks about, nodding and replying in the right places. He seemed almost shy, his legs tucked up to his chest and a grey beanie hiding most of his hair. Glasses were perched on his nose, stopping Dallon from getting a good look at the kid, but he strode over quickly anyway, putting his hand on his baby sisters shoulder. "Nora, who are you talking to?" He asked firmly, wary of any threats the boy might pose. Nobody was going to hurt his little sister.

The boy scrambled to his feet, looking intimidated by Dallon's arrival. "I'm Mikey."

Dallon eyed him up and down. "What are you doing here, Mikey? You're too young for this shit, aren't you?"

Nora's eyes went wide at the new word. Dallon put his hand over her mouth quickly.

"I, uh, my brother's inside. I'm waiting for him.." Mikey mumbled. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry for being so protective of Nora. You're not gonna hurt her." He groans, running a hand through his hair and regretting getting up in the morning. First he had to paint a wall, and now human interaction?

Nora pried Dallon's hand off her mouth. "Dall, can Mikey come sit with me while you paint the wall?"

Dallon shrugged half-heatedly. "If he wants to, I guess." He headed back around the corner and picked up the paint roller again, trusting that Nora would be okay with Mikey.

Soon enough, Mikey was also sitting in full sun, watching Dallon paint the wall and listening to Nora talk on and on about the most random things as he waited for his brother to re-emerge from the conversion clinic.

"And I'm only here because Dallon said he was going to paint the wall, and he's painting it the wrong colour!" Nora exclaimed.

"Wow Dallon, how could you?" Mikey asks, giving Nora a look of understanding.

hey guys, its been a while. sorry about that.

in the break i had a birthday though, which was nice. and finished exams, too. i'm sorry if this one's not that great, but i hope its enough for the meantime.

blah.

-Saffron