Painting our Life - 6 Colors

An apology from Inu:

   I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, it's probably been almost two week since the last chapter. If you were or still are wondering where your once weekly dose of Painting our Life went, the author is now wasting his time playing online mmo's. I am deeply sorry (not really, and I'm sorry for not being sorry) Anyways, I wrote little in between my time spent roleplaying on an online MMO. (Graal) (And yes, it is pony roleplaying) Anyways... Here is the beginning of the end.

~Inu

Chapter 29

   Janet looks up at me with emerald eyes. She smiles sweetly and brushes a few strands of rose-red hair from her eyes. "I guess we're finally done." I look down at the sheets of infomation the two of us had produced, binded perfectly in a lovely pink duotang that Janet had chosen. Our names are neatly printed at the top.

   Janet passes me the duotang. I shake my head and hands it back to her. "I'll lose it. Keep it and bring it to school tomorrow, okay?"

   "Sure, it'd be a shame if our hard work goes to waste because somebody can't be responsible for it." I laugh and throw on my hoodie.

   "Gotta go pick Shay up from Quince's house now," I say. Janet nods and waves good bye. I wasn't very keen on the idea of Mr. Ustura making us go to the houses of our partners to study together during our own time. Either way, Dash was going to be alone with Quince. Janet had offered me to come to her house, making it impossible for a four way study night. I was thinking Quince could come to our house, as well as having Janet over at the same time. Easy. Only problem was, I knew that I would have probaby cracked within the first ten minutes listening to Quince flirt.

   I close the front door behind me when I walk out onto Janet's porch. The frosty February air hits my skin. I let out a breath, watching a cool white mist flow out from my mouth. I reach into the pocket of my hoodie and pull out my car keys. I unlock the car door and climb in. The engine roars to life before I pull the lever into reverse and pull out of Janet's driveway.

   I ring the doorbell. Quince answers. His face slightly twists with disgust when he sees me. I stick my tongue out. "I was gonna drive her back, but fine, you can pick her up." I clench my fists. Who does he think he is? Her boyfriend? I want to punch his face in so badly right now. Quince calls for Dash, she runs over and throws her cyan hoodie on. "Keep the notes Shay." Dash takes the black binder Quince hands her.

   "Thanks," she says before closing the door behind her. She tosses me the binder. "Hold it for me, gotta tie my shoes." It's the winter and the ground is layered with snow, yet, both Dash and I refuse to wear boots instead of sneakers. Boots are heavy, not to mention uncomfortable. She finishes tying her shoes and takes the binder from me. "Let's go." I nod my approval. Just standing on his porch sends waves of nausea to my heart.

I wish that night could've lasted longer. I said before, my last cheerful moments with Dash were drawing close. I hadn't thought highschool would change her this much.

   "Good morning Ky," Dash mumbles. She grabs a hairbrush and smoothens out her rainbow hair, which turned itself into a disaster overnight. Sometimes I wish I have a camera when Dash has those bad hair days. It's always until after it's over I regret not realizing that it was the perfect moment to take a picture. Not this time. "Ky, can you make us some breakfast before we go to school?" I pull out my iPhone.

   "Yeah, one sec." I open the camera app and wait for it to load, aiming the iPhone's camera lens directly at Dash. Her face is on my screen. "Just gotta... text one of my friends..." I touch the take picture button, which conveniently looks like a camera to make it easier for the stupid to understand. Now, I wanted to take this picture without Dash knowing, but obviously that is not going to happen, because I realized my flaws right after touching the camera button. SNAP! And a flash goes off from the lens of my iPhone.

   "I KNEW something was wrong. You don't have many friends!" Her hair looks even messier than before now, sending me into laughter. She lunges for my phone, I grab it and quickly press the sleep button, locking it. She shoots a death stare at me, knowing that she can't unlock my phone without my passcode. I win.

   "This one is going into the scrapbook." I grin. Dash sticks her tongue out.

   "Hope you enjoy no sleep tonight." Shit. Something bad is gonna happen. I know she's gonna do something. Maybe put spiders under my sheets or smear my face with a cow pie while I'm asleep. The possibilities are endless. I gulp.

   "This photo is totally worth it though." I laugh, and run out the room to the kitchen to make breakfast before Dash gets angry.

   I smile as I make scrambled eggs. Dash wouldn't eat meat, but she would eat products that come from animals. I mean, ponies eat eggs, right? If vegeterians don't eat eggs or drink milk, then that's a lot of food products eliminated from their diet right there. All bread and cakes have eggs and milk in them. Taking eggs off the list of ingredients needed to make a cake is like taking the water from juice.

   I can't live without meat though. I try my best not to eat a lot of it though, especially not around Dash. I don't know what goes on in Equestria, but cows certainly do not talk in our world. I've seen Dash try to talk to a cow before. She asked it for its name. There was one episode of My Little Pony where Pinkie Pie talked to a cow before leaving the front steps of the bakery. I had to explain to Dash that humans, with the exception of a few birds that can mimic human speech, are the only animals who can talk.

I want to go back in time right now, to this moment when Dash was still with me. I want to hug her, to tell her she is the only one I'd ever love. And to ask her if she loves me back.

   I watch a few students climb out of their parents' cars before getting out to open the door for Dash. School, isn't it what we all dread? I always try my best to prolong my short time of freedom before I'm thrown into seven hours of nothing but learning at a desk.

   A few kids give me funny as I walk down the hall with Dash. I can feel Dash trying to hide under her skin. Is there a booger on my face or something? I always get funny looks and stares, but the tension today is nearly burning me. It's probably nothing, I've been pretty paranoid the past few days.

   Dash and I grab our things from our lockers. We won't see each other again until history after lunch. I drop Dash off at the gym and watch her slip into the change rooms. Sighing, I leave for my English class. Sometimes I wish Dash is in every class with me. Sometimes? What am I thinking? I ALWAYS wish she has the same schedule as me. She's just that one person I can't get enough of.

   I take my seat in English class behind Jordan. He recognizes my presence and his head whips around to face me. "Dude! I heard, and I'm so, so-"

   "Jordan."

   "Here," Jordan responds.

   Mr. Todd frowns. "I wasn't calling attendance, I'm telling you to stop chatting with your neighbor."

   "Sorry." He turns around and whispers, "Bro, I'll talk to you about it at lunch."

   I stare into space, scratching my head. What just happened? Jordan is so what? Great, thanks, keep me in suspense. He's such a great friend like that. I sink lower into my seat as Mr. Todd hands out a new writing assignment. I take one look at the sheet of paper he passed to me and groan.

   "Class, we all know February is the month of love. Which is why it is the perfect time to begin our unit on poems." The class let out a collective groan, mimicing the one I had let out twenty seconds earlier. "So, as your first assignment in this unit, I want you to write a poem on February. What you love about it, the season, the scents you smell in February, the sights you see, the sounds you hear. You can even write a love poem for the person some of you have gained an interest in." A love poem for Dash? Ha! Definitely not that. I don't have the guts to write one and show it to Mr. Todd, what gives me them to show it to Dash? And just by glancing aroun the room, I could tell some of the other kids aren't very keen on this idea either. Some of them give Mr. Todd that you're-kidding-if-you-think-this-is-what-kids-these-days-do look, of course, their faces immediately straighten into a poker face the minute Mr. Todd turns his gaze their direction.

   I glance at the sheet Mr. Todd distributed earlier. This doesn't look that hard to write. I pick up my pencil and begin to write. Or try to write. I rack my brain. I have no idea where to start. A love poem? No thanks. That catergory is definitely off my list. Maybe a poem about the scenes and scents of February. Perfect. My pencil meets the paper and I scribble down a few words to begin off.

There is no smell, nor a sight,

   What now? I have my main idea written down, at least I think I do. The words smell and sight are in it. They should give the reader an idea what the poem is about. I smirk. As if anybody other than the teacher would read this poem.

that compares with this month's delight.

   I hate this already, but it's all I have. It's everything that comes to mind at the moment. Jordan turns around and shows me his sheet. I take one glance and choke on my laughter.

Mean Retarded Tumour Obnoxious Dumb Dorky

   His word choice isn't the best, but it's enough to make me grin like an idiot. Jordan smiles and nudges the person beside him, holding up his masterpiece. The guy beside him laughs and offers a high five.

   "Jordan!" Mr. Todd snaps.

   "Yes?" Busted.

   "Is something funny?" Mr. Todd smiles real cool, "Would you like to share with the rest of the class, or perhaps me?" Some kids snicker. Mr. Todd just stares, narrowing his eyes, at his panicking student.

   "You know I don't share."

   "Well I like to. Come up and grab your slip." Mr. Todd scratches down a few remarks on a small piece of yellow paper and slides the slip towards the edge of his desk.. Jordan grumbles, gets out of his seat and walks up to the front of the class to take his ticket into detention.

   "Man, this blows!" He plops down in his seat. Jordan shoves the slip in my face. "For disrupting his class? How did I do that?!" He stuffs the yellow slip into his pocket and picks up his pencil to begin his poetry writing.

   I sigh. Nothing is ever going to change around here.

   Math slowly drags on. A new unit has started and I have no idea what to do. I stare blankly at the "warm-up" sheet that was given to me. Warm up? More like hard. I think Mrs. Orpell must've been high or something while writing these questions because we haven't even been hinted on in the past week this is coming up. I stare at the instructions, which at the top is labeled "Review". I furrow my brow. You seperate the unknowns from the variable and then you do math. That's literally what my eyes are showing me. I curse under my breath and pick up my pencil. All I gotta do is look like I'm working and bam, time'll pass and I'll be on my way to science and then finally to my lunch break.

   I raise my hand. "Yes?" Mrs. Orpell looks up from her Reader's Digest.

   "Can I grab my iPhone from my locker?"

   "What for?"

   I shrug. "For the calcualator function and to listen to music?" Mrs. Orpell frowns.

   "Be quick, the period is almost over."

   I lightly jog to my locker. The school doesn't want you run in the halls. We still do it anyways. I sigh and lean against my locker. How I wish for school to be over. I enter my lock combination and pull open the lock. The locker door swings open and I unzip my backpack. I reach in and stir the contents, feeling for my iPhone. A smooth rectangular block falls into my palm and I pull out it out. I reach in again to find my earphones and pull them out. The wire are tangled and a few curse words escape my lips.

   I walk back to math class and take my seat, but not without glancing at the clock first. Only a few more minutes until period three. I scroll through my songs and plug in my earphones.

   Have you ever tried chemistry before? Neither have I, and that's what we're doing today. I bite my lower lip and stare at the screen showing the basics and functions of chemistry. It's complete gibberish to me, then again, so is school. I'm not academically smart. So? I love how parents want their kids to study, then grow up and make lots of money. They think all the strictness is necessary. I've proven that logic wrong. Look at me, I was born an orphan, grew up in an orphanage without the tender care and worry of a family, and now I'm the manager of a five star restaurant. The owner is about to retire soon, and he said I'd be next in line to take ownership of the establishment.

   I just hope that he doesn't retire before Dash and I are reverted.

   The lunch bell rings, dismissing us from science class. I grab my binder and rush out the room, almost giving a little leap before exiting. I toss my binder into my locker and fish my bagged lunch out from my backpack. Then I slam my locker close, relock the door and make my way to the cafeteria.

   I push open the cafeteria door open and walk in. Silence devours the room and every pair of eyes fall on me. Then everyone notices me staring back and immediately snap back to their own little conversations. Weird. I find my seat where I usually sit, beside Jordan and Dash. Only this time, the seat on my right is empty. Jordan puts down his sandwich and gives me a sympathizing look. I twist my face in confusion. "What?"

   "It's hard man, I know. I've been there." He points at the table of "jocks". Who do I find sitting in between Jakob and Quince? Dash! My jaw drops.

   "What the-" I stand up. Jordan pulls me down again.

   "Why are you surprised? The news spread like wildfire! This morning, Quince was bragging about the way his and Shay's lips were pressed against each other last night!"

   My heart lowers into my stomach. I bite my lip. I'm beyond angry right now. I clench my fist. I stand up and push my chair in.

   "Dude, where are you-"

   "None of your business!"

   I walk over to the table Dash is sitting at. My feet stamp against the floor. I don't know if I'm either walking or stomping. Jakob notices me and looks up, smirking. "Well, well! It's the man of the hour! Or should I say minute?"

   "I don't give a crap about you kids," I growl, "But what's she doing here?!" I point at Dash, who sinks down into her seat. Quince stands up and shakes his fist.

   "Get out son. She's not bound to you or any shit."

   "I'm gonna-"

   "Stop. Ky, enough." A whimper gets itself stuck in my throat. It was Dash herself. "He's right. I'm not bound to you. I can be with others."

   "But-"

   "Kyle, it's not you. I swear to Satan it's not you. It's me. I just... you know. I can't even say. But I want to be with Quince."

   I frown. This isn't Dash. No, it's not her at all. Is she telling me I'm not good enough for her? My fingers curl into a fist. My eyes plead her to tell me she's kidding. To just take her back to where we sit normally. To continue our lunch break normally. That's not gonna happen.

   Dash smirks and her tone suddenly changes. "I'm much happier here. You think I wanna stay a nobody? Geez Ky, I'm the best girl here. I deserve the best partner." Her eyes flicker. They turn from their regular purple pinkish shade to an ugly brown color. I bite my lip. Too hard, it begins to bleed. Jakob notices and laughs. The whole table begins to laugh.

   Jakob pipes up. "If the message still isn't clear to you yet, I'll make it easier for the stupid to understand. She's dumping you." I growl and point at Dash.

   "Ungrateful snob. I don't need you." But I do. I hold in my silent screams. I'm burning inside, screaming, ready to rip off the heads of every jerk in sight. I turn around and walk away. Jordan jogs up to me.

   "How'd it g-"

   "Leave me alone!" I snap. Jordan sighs and returns to his table. But not without telling me it'll be alright. It won't be. I just lost the most important person in my life to some jerk. The reason isn't even defined either. She basically walked out for another guy and popularity.

   I leave the cafeteria and walk to my locker with my head hanging. She's happy right? Good then. I never knew a day like this would come. I never knew I'd lose her like this. I grab my bag from my locker and throw it over my shoulder. Then I exit the building and into the parking lot. I unlock my car and get in.

   The entire car ride home is nothing but silence. No Dash to chat with. No Dash to tell I love her to.

   My house is filled with silence. I lie down on the couch. Why aren't I crying? The anger of Dash leaving me after all I've done for her has replaced every single tear in my body. I clench my teeth and let out a scream. I don't have neighbors, I live a few kilometers out of town. It was originally to give Dash space to fly around in. I might as well as move now that she's gone. Maybe I won't even go to school anymore.

   Why aren't I out there trying to get my Dash back? She told me herself she didn't want me. That's all it takes. I'm miserable, it's amazing how fast my life goes downhill.

   The only question going through my mind right now is "Why me?" I've done so much for her. Tried to make her the happiest person alive. Why did I suddenly disgust her? A tear slides down my face. What did I do wrong? Is there something wrong with me? It's not my fault I'm naturally unpopular...

Nothing will ever change for you. Tim's words from the orphanage ring in my head. I thought I had escaped what he said, I had proven him wrong with the arrival of Dash in my life. I had escaped, but now these words come back to haunt me. Am I not a good kisser? Is that what Dash wanted?If it is, I should be the one disgusted.

   Maybe it is me. Maybe it's the what I turned her into. She had chosen to be human to come live with me. Human. It almost causes me to smirk despite my situation. I must be going mad without my Dash. Human heart have changed her. It's my only theory. She no longer acts like the kind pony I met so many years ago.

"I've come to help you." The first lie she told me. She just wanted a home. It was foolish of me to think we could've ever been together and be normal. Maybe being seperated will change us and make us normal. I know too much about her. She's a pony. Or was at least. I sigh. I don't know how I'm going to manager without her. Suddenly I begin to wish I hadn't dumped out all that beer during New Years. I could go for a bottle right now.

   I smirk. It's like celebrating Dash leaving my life. Jakob wants me to grieve, I'm not going to. Never again. I'm sick of crying. I push away my feelings for Dash. If she's gonna do this shit to me, then so be it. It's actually me who deserves someone better.

   Then I remember the Valentine Hearts Dance is only days away, and Dash leaving my life has ruled out my only partner for the dance. Wait... Janet doesn't have a date to the dance, I don't think she does. She's sweet and really cute. Her eyes sparkle when she looks at me. Does she? Nah, she couldn't possibly like me. But right now I'm so desperate to not go to the dance alone I pick up the phone and dial her number. I'm not worried about her being at school. She didn't show up today, so she must be home sick. I just hope she can recover in time for the dance. She had given me it two days earlier so I could phone her before going to her house to do our report. I press call and press the phone against my ear. Ring. It doesn't have a chance to ring a second chance. The phone clicks and someone answers. "Hello?" It's Janet. I recognize her voice anywhere. It cracks a bit, but it's definitely her.

  "Oh, hey. It's Kyle."

  "Kyle? Aren't you in school right now? I got a small cold and my overprotective parents wouldn't let me leave the house."

   I laugh. "That's not important why I'm home right now. You got a date to the Valentine dance?"

   "Not yet."

   My hopes rise. "Well, I was wondering... Would you like to go to the dance with me?"

   "You're asking me out??" Her voice rises with joy, then quickly returns to cracking. "Wait... What about Shay?" I wince.

   "Something happened between us. We aren't together anymore."

   "Oh, I'd absolutely love to go to the dance with you."

   I grin. Success! "Great, I'll pick you up at six on the day of the dance?"

   Janet giggles. "Well, I'll have to cancel my car ride with daddy then. But see you then if not at school tommorow."

   "How are you feeling now?"

   "Suddenly, I feel like a thousand free butterflies flying in a flower field. Thanks for asking."

   "Alright, see you." I hang up and plop back down on the couch. What am I doing? Dash should be the one with me... What did she see in him? I realize it's too late now, and she had spilled everything earlier. I close my eyes. We've finally gone too far. A few tears drip down my face. I had only asked Janet out to rid the reminder of Dash. It didn't work. I clench my teeth. There's no going back now.

   I said something about mining a diamond earlier. I described our relation as a diamond. No diamond can be mined out without a few scratches and chips... Now there is no diamond. No Dash either. She's probably gone to live with Quince now. I pull the nearby couch pillow over my face.

   Silence fills my head and my thoughts empty. It's relaxing and peaceful, letting the tears stream down my steaming face, cooling it. I close my eyes and succumb myself to dreamless sleep.

My life is a mess.