The Colors of Love

01

As he stared at the grey sky and grass out in front of him, Jackson longed to see colors. He longed to see the colors of the world around him. Like most people nowadays, his dull and somber life was waiting for someone to make it vibrant again.

"Hey man. Still hoping for color?" Jackson's best friend Luke asked as he sat down on the rusted playground swing next to him.

"I just want to see more. What's it like, the world with color?" Luke sighed and looked over at the other.

"Once you find your soulmate, you'll understand. There's no way for me to explain it, it's just something to wait for." Jackson grumbled, completely dissatisfied with the other's answer. For 19 years, Jackson has waited, day and night, for his soul mate to come and find him- waiting for his life to light up with vibrant colors.

He watched as his fellow classmates' eyes lit up when they found the one. The way that it looked like they were suddenly in a much happier place. He sat through so many lectures about how some people don't find their soulmate until later in life, and thinking about that made the young man cringe at the repulsive thought. No. He wasn't going to wait that long. He wanted to find his match right then, but it's nearly impossible to look for someone when you know nothing about them.

"Jackson. Where are you going?" Luke asked as his friend pushed himself onto his feet and walked away.

"I'm gonna find my color."

~~~~

The subway lurched and swayed as it took off  out of the station. Jackson's body moved with the train, almost bumping into other passengers. The clacking of the machine filled the air as no one was talking, just sitting, or standing, and waiting for their stop.

Finally the subway arrived at the last stop and Jackson attempted to get off, not wanting to be stuck there any longer. Just as he was about to though, a group of kids, most of them older than him, pushed him back in as they got on. He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration, turning to address the group.

"Why didn't you let me get off?" His voice and cheeks portrayed all of the nervousness boiling inside of him, redness coating his cheeks and neck. It was almost enough to make the quiet 19 year old vomit. Almost.

"Dude, we were just getting on. It's not our fault you were pushed around." The leader started him down and started sizing him up. The judging gaze caused Jackson to stare at the floor.

'Hey, this guy has some pretty nice shoes,' his thoughts wandered as he refused to make eye contact. Eventually the man turned back to his friends and rolled his eyes.

"Fucking pussy." At this remark, Jackson frowned at the ground harder than he already was.

'Why must he use such vulgar language? It hurts my ears.' Jackson hates when people cuss. It's unnecessary and completely useless, and frankly, just too mean.

'Only ugly people use ugly language, Jackie. And we don't want you to be an ugly person.' His mom's words came floating back to him.

To say that Jackson was a good kid, was a complete understatement. He would do anything his mother asked him, no matter what. Even if she asked him to stop breathing. This, in turn, meant that the young man hadn't done anything rebellious. No drinking, no smoking, no tattoos, no piercings, no sex, no kissing, and absolutely no skipping school. Not that Jackson was worried about these things; he didn't even know what half of those were. He was far too interested in finding his soulmate.

~~~~

Finally, after making two unnecessary stops, Jackson finally made it to his house. He wandered inside and sat down at his kitchen counter. Suddenly his mom burst threw the kitchen door, worry written all over her face.

"Where were you, Jackie? I was so worried about you sweetie! I was just about to call Luke's mom and ask her if she knew where you were!"

"I'm sorry mama. I got held up at the subway. Some kids wouldn't let me get off." Jackson explained the situation in a soft voice, his mother melting before his eyes.

"Jackie, that's the third time you've had trouble with kids on the subway. How about next time, you just call me and I'll come pick you up. How does that sound?" Jackson nodded and hugged his mom tightly.

"Thanks mama. I'm gonna go to bed now." He let go of his mom. Trudging up the stairs and into his room, he flopped onto his bed when he finally got there. He snuggled up to one of his many teddy bears and fell asleep. That night he only dreamed of finding love.

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Hey so this is just a tester chapter. Idk how long I'm gonna keep this story going. Just kinda depends on the reactions I get from it. Let me know if you like it, or if you totally hate it.