The bed is warm but Colin isn't there. Or maybe he never was in the first place. The girl had found herself dreaming about him more than she cared to admit with situations that are less than appropriate.
But she woke up feeling calm, like everything is but a dream.
Maybe if she blink enough times the room filled with toys will disappear. Maybe she'll wake up.
But she didn't.
Panic made it's way instantaneously to her system as she pulled the cover with the weird patterns from her body and hurriedly stood up. Her shoes weren't there. There were weird patterned socks on her feet. Should she run for it?
Who brought her here?
Is it really Colin?
Her mind is fighting against her want to just straight up call his name. She has no wand. The last thing she can remember is Astoria saying some very bad things to her. She can't remember exactly what they are but they left muddy prints on her. Astoria. Hannah's Astoria.
Who'll be her friend now? Surely, Hannah will be fair.
But you can't be too sure. Hannah's in love with her and she's only known you for a month.
The girl bit her lip and risked opening the door of the bedroom. It was all too domestic. Nothing like the dungeons and rooms that they held her captive in. No spells, no chains. No nothing, just the smell of eggs and bacon being fried.
She didn't want to hear the own rumble of her stomach so she quickly made her way to the best possible exit, it was barely bright enough to take in her surroundings. It was barely dawn.
The wooden door made a haunting creak and she was out. There were plants all around. Who owns this place? A herbalist? No time to think, just escape.
She must find the nearest concrete road, maybe she will find a sign just to get a clue as to where she is.
A click and a flash.
And another.
The girl chanced to look up.
Colin's leg was hanging by the branch of a tree, the toes on his feet wriggling as the cold morning breeze passed it, the other leg was folded casually over his lap like he doesn't know the laws of gravity or he simply doesn't care. The girl watched as he put down his camera with a satisfied smile and sighed.
She sighed as well.
"You should have woken me," she started angrily but she wasn't angry. Not even a little bit. She was relieved, too relieved, too happy to see him that the only emotion that she could show was fake anger. She's never been a good actress.
He looked her way, brown eyes sparkling. "You have to see this. Look!"
With a finger he pointed to the horizon. The girl saw no point in staring off into the distance, what else is there beside the rising of the sun? The rising of the sun meant that there will be work to do. Work that has to be done before the end of the day.
"Can you see it? That's one of my favorite colors. That blend right there. There's purple but there's blue and red and orange and yellow. Colors are yet to mix and before they mix they are the strongest, the brightest but when they do mix it's so pretty and soft and calming. Can you see the sun?"
The girl answered with a nod.
"It's very rare for the sun to actually rise from the center of two mountains. I always get to see the sunrise in the Astronomy Tower and it's very different. There's no theatrics there, just plain old duty. Here she has the mountains to cover her as she makes her way up, she kind of looks like an actress before she goes on stage. A golden actress. Can you picture it?"
Another sigh and another click.
The girl didn't answer because she can picture it. The images are coming as he said them and she wished that he would never stop talking because they vanish once he stops and all she sees is the sun again. Just a source of light.
"I love mornings. I think the start is the best. I don't hate sunsets because they pretty much look the same, but this time the colors separate. Then it's dark. Do you know that white is all the colors mixed together? And black-- black as in night means that there is no color left? "
The girl felt his eyes on her. It was warm against her skin. Or was it sunshine? Is there a difference?
She looked up at him. The rays of the sun was golden against his bronze colored hair, moving with the morning breeze. Eyes the color of burnt sugar. He was smiling. The sky is a pure yellow and it is true, the colors are changing so sudden. It's all so fast.
All so fast that it made her want to cry.
"Huh? I don't get it."
She wished that she could just stay here and watch the same sunrise again and again. She wished that sun won't rise but promise to rise so they'd have to wait together forever.
"That's alright. Maybe I'd give you a picture one of these days. It's pretty amusing, you see. Sometimes white doesn't really mean purity, Vi. White is a mixture of all the colors. Black is purer. There's nothing in it, nothing more to hide."
The girl has a thousand things to say but no way to say it. No way to make it sound as sincere as he did. So instead she watched as Colin climbed down from the tree. The light of the sun hit his tanned skin, he's only been sunkissed for maybe a little while but the freckles on his arms have become more prominent.
He looked delicious. Warm. Brown. Fresh.
She knows she shouldn't think of someone as good and kind and pure as he with such words that are that closely related to food, as nothing but food, but what can she do really?
"Are you okay?"
Both hands were laid on her shoulder as he looked into her eyes. His brown eyes looked lighter and a shade close to red as the sun hit it. She has always thought that brown is a dull color, that it's trying to be as interesting as black but it falls short, or as intense as red but isn't nearly as interesting. Not bright enough or cool enough. That brown is the least interesting of colors. But as she looked into his eyes. She realized that brown might just be the warmest and brightest of all the colors.
"I'm really sorry, Colin," she wanted to cry and hold him as soon as she said the words. The sob that she held back was practically choking her.
He let out another sigh and embraced her. Arms around her, holding her tightly, pulling her to the closest place to his heart. Doesn't he know how vulnerable he is right now? Or he probably doesn't care. All the hints of the scents that she grew to love were there. Clementine. Chamomile. Slight musk overpowered by sunshine.
It overpowered the nightmare fuel that she had. Of all the bad things that might have happened that she was forced to shove it all back to the back of her mind just so she can wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweat screaming all about it.
"I should give you a handkerchief but I haven't even had a change of clothes yet, you see. I'm sorry if I kind of smell bad."
She just answered by holding him tighter.
"Don't let me go."
"I won't."
She doesn't care if he's just being polite or if he's lying or if he's just saying it so she'll help him make Hermione Granger fall in love with him. She doesn't care as long as she has his warmth. Just now. Just this second. Surely the world will be kind enough to give her that.
YOU ARE READING
Dear Bright Eyes| Colin Creevey
Fanfiction"All he wanted was a picture. All she wanted was a bite."
