Only Colours

Sometimes Mikey talked and Jude didn't really listen. Okay, a lot of the time Mikey talked and Jude didn't really listen. But that didn't really matter because most of what Mikey said wasn't important. He just enjoyed having someone to talk at. Today's topic was whales.

Mikey was sprawled on his back on one of the steps leading up to the amphitheatre in the park, staring up at the stars as he rambled away to himself. "The biggest whales are blue whales so they're my favourites. They're the hugest animal anywhere. I like narwhals too, even though they're tiny in comparison. I like all the whales. I like orcas less, though, because they kill seals. I know that's just nature but when I see documentaries I'm always on the penguin's side. Isn't it weird that the biggest kinds of whales just eat tiny things and the smaller ones eat big things?"

Suddenly something jabbed Mikey in the ribs, hard enough to hurt but only a little. Mikey squeaked and reflexively rolled away. Of course, that resulted in him rolling off his step and onto the next one down which hurt much more than the jab had. Ow.

Mikey sat up and looked up the stairs, his eyes quickly falling on the floating swirl of colours that indicated another person. Not taking his eyes off of the colours, Mikey quickly scooted across the step towards where Jude was sitting on one of the seats.

"Do that again and I'll break your foot," Jude growled at the colours. He could still get angry if he needed to, but he didn't really lash out like he used to. These days he only got violent when he absolutely had to, but most of the people who spent their evenings in the park remembered him when his temper had been more hair trigger. They knew what he was capable of.

"What did I do?" Mikey asked in response. They both knew this routine was bullshit but, well, had to keep up appearances.

Jude rolled his eyes. "Nothing, you idiot."

Jude yanked Mikey away from the stairs, and Mikey decided since Jude's lap was right there he might as well be sprawled across it. He draped himself face down. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was nice to be close.

"Well you shouldn't say you're going to break my foot," Mikey said, and then said “Ow,” when Jude pulled his hair in retaliation.

Mikey's face was pressed against Jude's thigh, muffling his speech, but since he was mostly talking to himself it didn't really matter. "I like elephants too. They're kind of big but not really that big. They're smart, though, and they have trunks. Trunks are pretty interesting. Prehensile."

It wasn't just colours that Mikey was good at noticing. He'd known Jude long enough now that things like facial expression, posture, and the tensing and relaxing of his muscles could tell Mikey a lot too. It was the slight firming of Jude's thighs that told Mikey he'd tensed up. Subtle, but one of them was pressed against Mikey's crotch so he noticed it.

Mikey rolled over so that he could see Jude's colours and his face. Disgust, sadness, pity. "Jude?"

Jude shook his head, dismissing Mikey's curiosity, and Mikey sighed. They were both really bad at communication. Mikey began to roll back over onto his stomach but paused halfway. There was something moving at the edge of the light from the lamp posts. Something Mikey quickly realised was a boy. A boy with colours.

Mikey saw people sometimes, good people, people with colours. Those people were usually adults, though, people going about their everyday lives and Mikey couldn't just go up to them and say hi, to introduce himself, to try and make friends.

This boy, though, he wasn't going about his everyday life, not unless his everyday life involved washing his shirt under a tap in a park. It was hard to make out all of his colours without getting closer, but what Mikey could see was all fear and shame and guilt.

The boy stood up and contemplated his shirt before deciding to leave it off, and Mikey realised he was leaving. Mikey chewed on the inside of his cheek viciously. Stranger danger, but... The boy glanced around, hunched his shoulders, and started to walk away. No.

There was no time to think about this or assess the boy or... or anything. Mikey loved his two friends, but two wasn't very many. He wanted another. He leapt off Jude’s lap and jogged down the stairs of the amphitheatre towards the boy.

The boy turned around before Mikey reached him, eyeing Mikey suspiciously. Mikey grinned in an attempt to disarm the boy's fear, but his own heart was thudding painfully in his chest.

"What's your name?" Mikey asked. He pulled a crumpled paper bag full of candy out of his pocket and offered it to the boy. "Want some candy?"

"Um, I'm not really..." the boy started, but Mikey shook the bag before he could get out the rest of his refusal. He was more timid than Mikey had expected, and he took a piece of candy without further complaint. "Thanks."

He didn't eat it, though, and Mikey frowned. Even Jude usually ate things he was given. Then Mikey noticed Jude had joined them and he grinned, candy concerns vanishing from his mind. "Jude Jude Juuude I found us a new friend!"

Jude didn't seem to find that nearly as exciting as Mikey did, but Mikey didn't care. He was a ball of jitters and he wanted to do everything at once but he didn't even know what everything was. He pulled one of the rubber bracelets from his wrist and handed it to the boy. “Here, new friend, have a friendship bracelet! It even matches your eyes!”

Except that it didn't, not at all, not even remotely. The boy's eyes were dark green, and what the lime bracelet was a far closer match for was the anxiety the boy was feeling. He could hardly say that, though.

Jude still didn't look particularly enthused. He raised an eyebrow at Mikey. "Mikey, not everyone wants to be your friend."

Apparently the look of horror on Mikey's face at that was enough to discourage Jude from further resistance, because he turned to the boy next. "What's your name?"

"Um," the boy said, and Mikey noticed a flash of attraction flow through his colours when he looked at Jude. It was subtle, buried under all his other overbearing emotions, but it was undeniably there. "Zion."

Zion would probably be disappointed if he was interested in Jude. Jude was... well, Mikey didn't know what Jude was, but he'd never seen Jude show any real attraction to anybody. Sometimes people were attracted to Jude, but Mikey had never seen the reverse.

"Like... the religious thing? Mount Zion?" Jude asked.

Zion shrugged and nodded.

"I like it!" Mikey said, and then took hold of Zion's hand and started dragging him back towards the amphitheatre before he could start entertaining any more thoughts of leaving. "Come on!"

Instead of coming to sit with Mikey and Zion in the seats Mikey had selected, Jude walked a few rows up to join Finn. Mikey hid a wince when he saw the jealousy that had flooded Finn's colours. He felt guilty because it wasn't fair, he knew that, it wasn't fair for any of them. He would worry about Finn later, though, he decided. For now he had a new person to befriend.

The only problem was Mikey wasn't quite sure how to make friends. If they'd gone to school together it would have been easy. He could have just worn the boy down through stubborn persistence like he had Jude.

Zion had put on the bracelet, though, and that was a good start. It gave Mikey a burst of confidence. "I like your hair. It looks fun to play with, like lots of springs on your head. You didn't eat your candy. Do you want a different one?"

"No, um, this one is fine," Zion said when Mikey finally paused for breath. He put the gummy frog in his mouth, chewed, swallowed, didn't enjoy it one bit. Mikey frowned, but decided against offering him another. Maybe Zion didn't like candy, and if that was the case it was mean to pressure him into taking more.

Zion's colours hadn't calmed down at all. Something had happened to him and he was scared.

"Jude's really tough, you know," Mikey told Zion. "He's my friend, and he could be your friend too. If you're scared of something maybe he could protect you. He would, I bet. If you asked. He pretends to be all aloof and I guess he kind of is but he's also a really good person so he would. Even if I didn't make him."

That got some new emotions and a smile. Amusement and appreciation, but not the relief Mikey had been hoping for. "Thanks."

Mikey wanted to stay out all night, just talking to Zion and trying to attach himself to him like some kind of friend parasite. By the time Jude insisted on taking Mikey home Mikey was fairly sure Zion actually liked him, at least. He hoped that would be enough. All he could do was make sure Zion knew they went to the park often in the evenings, and that they hoped to see him again.

Jude wasn't at school the next day and that just wasn't acceptable. How was he supposed to ramble on and on about Zion if Jude wasn't even there? He made sure to huff lots and put on his grumpy face so that at least Finn would understand his feelings on the matter.

All was forgiven, though, when after school Jude was waiting outside for Mikey with Zion at his side. Yes, he had done well. He had done very well.

The colours Zion had had the night before, anxiety, fear, guilt, they were all still there, but they were muted now. Whether Jude had done something or Zion had just needed time Mikey didn't know, but he did know that Zion was now more receptive to friendship.

Mikey asked Zion questions while they sat in the amphitheatre and worked out safe areas around his responses. Any mention of family was completely off limits, Mikey soon found out, as was any discussion of what had happened to upset him so much or why he was still wearing the same clothes he had been yesterday.

Movies and games and music and funny things on the internet were all safe topics, though, and Mikey was glad to have someone who was interested in talking about those kinds of things. Jude was allergic to fun or something because he never showed much interest in most of the things people used for entertainment. Occasionally they talked about books they'd both read, but that was about it.

Once Finn stopped stewing in his jealousy, he started talking to Zion too. It was good thing Finn was getting included for once.

Jude didn't contribute much besides the odd comment, but whenever he did hot pink burst into Zion's colours. Mikey couldn't quite be sure of the meaning of that colour, but it was one Finn got when Mikey took 'accidental' pictures of him or looked where Finn's eyes probably were or brushed against Finn in an actual accidental way.

"We should all go to my house for dinner," Mikey declared when it started to get dark.

Jude didn't respond, instead turning to Zion and raising his eyebrows in question. If Zion declined so would Jude so that he could stay with Zion. Yes, good boy, hook your claws in.

"Your mum won't mind?" Zion asked.

"No, she likes it when my friends come over but Jude doesn't like to much. I bet she'd want to meet you, though."

"Well, okay..." Zion said uncertainly. Finn must have said something, because Zion turned to him and frowned. "No way, if I'm going so are you." He paused and then made a face at Finn before turning to Jude. "Finn would be welcome, wouldn't he? I know Mikey can't... and, I mean, I don't know you guys that well but I get the feeling Mikey's okay with Finn? Would Mikey's mum mind?"

Jude sighed and shook his head. "No, he's completely welcome. Finn, man up. You're the only one who actually cares."

I care, Mikey wanted to say. He wanted Finn to come over and Finn almost never did. Especially not when Mikey's mum was there which was silly because Mikey's mum liked him.

So that was how Mikey ended up bringing a whole group of friends back to his home for dinner for the first time ever. Zion was already proving to be a great addition to his friend collection.