A Lack Of Color
Based on the song 'A Lack of Color' by Death Cab for Cutie

Disclaimer: I do not own RFR, I do own...uh...no wait, my mom owns my bed...uh, I own that one CD I bought. And that notebook with the sparkles. Yeah. That's it. Oh and that bag of candy under my bed!

Travis Strong. Age 25. No girlfriend, fiancee, wife. Zip, Zada, Nada, Noodle, whatever. He got nothing. He got no one, that is. No one to love, no one that loves him. He's a loner, who paints. He started to paint in his senior year and got more serious about it. He's a professional painter now. And it seems like everyone loves him artistic ability. Everyone except him, of course.

Why? I don't really know. I mean, I knew he used to have a girlfriend though. He was in the dumps when they broke up. What was her name? Louisa? Lena? Lulu? Lucy? Larry? Ugh...I hope not Larry. He was such a nerd...oh wait! Lily. That was her name. Lily...Randall. Lily. Yes, yes, now I remember. They got together in their junior year, and stayed together until they were 22....

But wait...why did they break up? Hm..no, the girl didn't get pregant. Wait! Of course! I remember like it was yesterday! Of course, I can't believe I forgot. Oh well, toodles everyone! Just wanted to tell you that Mr. Strong's a loser.

What?

You want to hear the story?

Jesus. The things people make you do these days. Okay, that'll be 5 bucks. What's that? Don't have it? Okay, so you expect me to tell you the most least interesting story in the whoel entire world for free? What do you think I am, a narrator for some cheap fanfiction made by some psycho girl?

You do?

Well, I guess I am, but, it's my fault. I mean, my day job doesn't pay the rent. What? What did you say? Ohmigosh! I can't believe you said that to me! FINE! God, don't have to get feisty. I'll do it! I'll tell you the freakin' story...

Okay, well, it goes back a long time ago. 3 years ago. They were madly in love, about to get married in fact. Actually..Lily was madly in love with Travis. Travis, on the other hand was too preoccupied with his painting and getting noticed. That really made Ms. Randell mad. She felt like was worthless, with no talent. Which wasn't true. Lily was a great guitar player and a good singer too.

Then, that day. December 24. Christimas Eve. Lily got a phone call. A record company discovered her and wanted to get her a contract. She was jumping for joy. She was delirous with happiness. Then, she called Travis and told him to meet her in the park at 5 o'clock.

Lily got there a few minutes early, and was a little chilly but her warm smile warmed herself up. She saw couples passing her by as the minutes ticked and tocked. 5 minutes. 10 minutes. 20 minutes.

'I'll stay here for 10 more minutes and then I'm leaving.' she thought, shivering. She was wearing a long black skirt and a blouse with a jacket covering her up, but then it started to snow. Snowflakes fell gently on her head, making it wet. Biting her lip, she thought of where he could be. 'He didn't forget, did he?'

40 minutes. 50 minutes. 1 hour. Finally, she got up, tears rolling down her cheeks. Lily didn't even bother wiping them off. 'Let them freeze there,' she thought with a grim look on her face. She felt so worthless. Not even her boyfriend wanted her.

"Strong, how's your girlfriend?" Lily's ears perked up at a gruff male voice. She looked to her left, and only a few yards away, there was Travis and a male walking together. A friend, probably. Travis looked dizzy, wobbling from side to side.

Then the sentence he said, made Lily cry a thousand tears, be hotter than the sun in anger and made her feel so alone, and so unwanted. "What girlfriend?" he said, in a totally calm way, but it seemed slurred.

Ms. Randall just stood there, shocked. It was a punch in the stomach. 'What girlfriend?!' she thought, another tear came down her cheek. Then she was suddenly furious. Marching right toward him, she pushed him down.

"Travis Strong! We are THROUGH!" Travis looked at her and nodded, waving his hand as if to say 'Goodbye'. That angered her more, that he was DRUNK when he was supposed to be meeting her. Then she turned to leave.

The male friend looked confused. "Who are you?"

There was a pause and then Lily turned her head around and then looked at Strong. "The girlfriend that no one cares about." she spat out and then ran away, as Travis let his head fall on the cement. He fell right to sleep and his male friend thought he was such a cad, he just left him there.

Next day, Lily packed up and left town. Travis ran to the train station to make her stop, that it was wrong of him to do that...but she shook her head and then said to him quietly. "Travis Strong, most people have feelings, color inside them. You don't have color or feelings for that matter. You've turned cold as ice and I don't even was to talk to you!"

Lily didn't want to have a boyfriend that never even remembered her! As the train started to move, Travis ran after her, screaming her name, and fell to the ground, hands scrapped. It stinged, but the pain of his heart hurt even more.

She was gone.

She left him, left him with nothing.

Except a broken heart.

But it was his fault. He treated her like dirt, and he expects her to stick around? But, on the other hand, he was too into his work, his art, his whatever. But he never realized that SHE was his work, his art, his whatever. And he still regrets it to this day, that he let her, the girl of his dreams, get away. He had dreamed of leaving sometimes, but it was fiction, a fantasy, in his mind. But it turned to reality in a snap.

Let's go and see Mr. Strong's apartement, shall we? I am quite curious of what happened to him...okay, well, then, this is 3 years later. Christmas Eve.

Groaning, Travis rolled off his mattress and fell plop to the floor. It was Christmas Eve, the worst holiday of the year. 3 years old, he got drunk with a friend by accident and then forgot all about meeting Lily, who had the most important new of her life, but what did he do? Snub her, like she wasn't even important!

His apartement was never neat or clean anymore; he didn't care about it. He looked at his clothes spread on the floor, the dresser that was almost falling over, the kitchen was a disator and there were paintings everywhere. He looked at the one right by his bed, the one he drew of Lily.

Lily.

Just the thought of her name made him sad. Her lips were curved up into a smile, her blonde hair was up in a fancy bun and looked happy. Happy. 'There was never one day when she was happy with me,' he thought with sorrow. He stared at her picture for a few minutes before putting it down. Travis pushed play on his radio and an old song by Death Cab for Cutie started playing. 'A Lack of Color' he thought with a nod.

"And when I see you
I really see you upside down
But my brain knows better
It picks you up and turns you around
Turns you around, turns you around..."

But he shut it off quickly, because the rest of the song made him sad, but it still played in his mind as he ambled into the bathroom. Glancing at one of his paintings on his wall, he scowled. If only he didn't get so into his painting, if only.

Throwing on some jeans and a t-shirt that said Rock On, he got his keys and then walked out of the door. It was Christmas Eve, and he needed to do something that would take his mind off of Lily.

It snowed gently as he walked carefully into the park, where he noticed something was going on. He saw a flier setting on the ground, so he walked over and picked it up. "Self-Portrait Today for the Drawing Club" it read. "Come and draw yourself, win a prize." And it stated other things, but it interested him and it would get his mind off of some hard things to get over.

He walked further and saw a crowd, laughing and talking. He walked up to a plump old woman, who said. "Name?"

"Uh," he said, sort of confused. "Travis Strong."

"Travis? Strong?" she questioned. He nodded. "Ohmigosh! This is an honor! Everyone, this is Travis Strong, a famous artist. You may have heard of him in the newspaper or TV." People murmered, glancing at him now and then. He gave a little bow and a half smile.

'Look Strong,' he thought 'You're famous. You're everything you wanted to be.' The half-smile fell as he sat down and looked at the black peice of parchment in front of him. 'This is what you wanted.'

After some people got autographs, everyone went back to working and laughing, as Travis started to draw and shade and do what he does best. A little boy walked up to him and just stared at him. Travis felt kind of awkward but said, "Um, yes? What do you want?"

"If you're famous," the little boy said so only he could hear, "Why do you look so sad?"

Travis just looked at him, with a blank look on his face. "I...did something wrong. I lost someone very dear to me." He looked away, at the ground, but the little boy persisted with the questions.

"Who?"

"A..woman, that I loved. I didn't...respect her."

"Well, my mom tells me to always respect woman or they will hit you with a purse!"

He laughed. "Listen to your mom, kid. Anything else you want?"

The little boy, with shaggy brown hair and tacky clothes said, "Can I draw you? I don't like drawing myself. And I'll let the picture be your Christmas present!"

A little startled, Travis answered, "Sure. Why not?" No one had ever drawn him. Everyone asked him to draw them, but this little kid seemed different that most people. He was different, odd, whatever, yes, but in a good way.

The boy got his pencil out and started to draw some things, as Strong sat their quietly. He remembered the day after he left, he called her but he knew it was no use. She didn't need him. If only he gave him a reason to stay. If only...

Five minutes later, the little boy smiled and then handed him the paper. "Done!" he announced, with a toothy grin. Travis gave him a light smile and then looked at it.

It was him, alright. There was arms and legs and a face and all. It looked like a scribble from a 7 year old. Travis glanced at the little boy. Which it was. But when he looked at it, pangs of pain hit him hard. It was black and white.

With no color.

Just like Lily said that day she left.

"Travis Strong, most people have feelings, color inside them. You don't have color or feelings for that matter. You've turned cold as ice and I don't even was to talk to you!"

Holding his hand up to his face, trying to stop some tears from coming, he just stared at the picture. It was true. Travis was colorless. He was cold. He was nothing. He had no love inside him. That's why Lily left, and that's why she's never coming back.

"Mr. Strong sir, don't you like it?" the boy asked in a sad tone.

"No..." he smiled at the boy, a sad little smile. "It's me alright That's me. One thing's missing though. May I borrow your pencil kid?" The boy gave it to him, with a confused look overtaking him. He scribbled something down and then gave it back to him.

It read 'Man With a Lack Of Color'.

"Now, that's a self portrait." Travis whispered to the boy, as snow fell.

"I'm reaching for the phone
To call at 7:03 and on your machine
I slur a plea for you to come home
But i know it's too late
I should have given you a reason to stay
Given you a reason to stay
Given you a reason to stay
Given you a reason to stay

This is fact not fiction
For the first time in years."
I've written another one-shot, that should be a chapter story! But I wanted to make this story sad and make you cry cry cry. I LOVE this song, even though it's not their best. Death Cab for Cutie: a great band. Get all their CDs man!

So, yeah, that's it. I make Travis sad. And that's it. I bet you're angry huh huh huh? But maybe I'll add on to it when I'm in a sad mood. Oh yeah: this is the epiloge the narrator came up with:

"When Travis went home...he felt the most alone he's ever felt. He tried to call Lily again, but the number was disconnected. So was his heart."

Yeah, so, I'm in a really gloomy mood so if you would give me replies anytime soon...? I really hoped you liked this, it took about an hour to write. Not my best work BUT I made it so, yeah.

[Allie]