/Author's Note: This is our first fanfiction, so please give helpful feedback. We've written plenty of stories before, but have never published them. With that being said, enjoy our tale./

Shimmer of Color in the Grey

The streets were deserted, apart from the occasional rat scurrying about and into the sewers, and the stray dogs in the alleys whom have reverted back to their primal, undomesticated ways. These mongrels growled behind dumpsters and ruined boxes as they devoured the eatable trash, consisting of food already molding over and invaded by maggots.

The only thing out of place in this abandoned alley-way would be a girl in faded, worn out grey clothes, quietly sneaking down the ladder of a fire escape. Leaping down, she easily landed on her feet, almost like a reflexive feline, and quickly made her way into the empty street.

There, she hid her mask in the shadow of her hood and slipped her chilled hands into the sweater pockets, casually strolling down the grey pavement. She kept looking down at her feet as she walked, not once looking up as she was absorbed by thought.

It felt as though she could still hear the sounds of violence that always echoed in her home. Voices yelling, things thrown and shattering upon impact, cries that pleaded for the other to calm down, and the whimpering of a child as they curled in on themself within their dank and tiny closet, waiting for the sounds to stop.

These noises wouldn't leave her, instead choosing to replay like a broken record that followed its victim wherever they went. She attempted to ignore it, instead focusing on the sound of her shoes hitting the cracked and crumbling concrete, letting the rhythm rock her into a state of numbness. The very place she desperately longed to stay in, for as long as possible.

Drip. Drip. Drop.

Finally looking up, the girl was met with a dreary ashen sky looming above, crying its tears upon her mask and clothing. The rain blurred her vision, melting the grey sky into the grey concrete. Her world was a stone, cold and unfeeling.

Pulling a single piece of paper she had stashed in her pocket, she numbly un-crumbled it and reread the words that were merging together in her blurred vision. These same words she repeated to herself every single day of her life, to get herself through the hard times. Remembering a better time of love and happiness that now seemed foreign to her worn heart.

"Don't worry about it, Cry. We'll see each other again soon, I promise. So, stay strong and live for me, or I won't forgive you."

~Love, Felicia.

Visibly shaking, the girl in grey crunched the paper back into a crumpled ball, shoving it into the pocket of her jumper again. It had been nearly a year since that day, but to her it felt more like a decade ago. Nearly 12 long, dreadful months since her long time best friend moved away. A piece of her always died whenever she read that same note.

Walking much faster now, the girl's feet guided her through the well-known streets and down the flight of stairs to the subway station. Slowing down, she sat down on the bench with a heavy sigh, concentrating on not hyperventilating as she waited.

After what had seemed to her like hours, the first subway of the day pulled into the station, screeching to a halt. By then there were more people around, but not exclusively a lot compared to the rush hour at noon. With fierce determination, she climbed aboard the underground train and took a seat at random, leaning her head back against the metal wall.

Her mind was running a mile a minute, racing with thoughts of fear and hesitation, but she quickly quenched them to keep herself from panicking. As the last people trickled in, she clenched her hand onto the note in her pocket, reminding her as to why she was there in the first place. When the doors finally slid closed and the train began steadily moving, the only feeling left inside her was determination.

"No turning back now." She told herself, pulling out her ear buds and putting them in, turning on her music as she shut out the grey world around her.

Looking at the door before her, she quickly glanced down to double check she had the right address. Confirming the exact match, she placed the scribbled on paper into her pocket and walked up to the apartment door, hesitant to knock as thoughts of rejection and disgust for her showing up out of nowhere ran through her fearful mind. Shaking her head, she rang the doorbell and took a deep breath in and out to calm her nerves.

A moment later, a familiar blue-eyed face she had seen in her dreams every night opened the door, staring at the grey girl in confusion before her eyes widened in recognition, breathing out in wonder, "Rachel... i-is that really you?"

Heart throbbing painfully, constricting her chest and squeezing her throat, the girl in grey could only nod slightly in response. In answer, Felicia threw her arms around her, clutching Rachel tightly to her chest as she cried out, "Please tell me you're real, t-that I'm not dreaming again!"

Wrapping her arms around the blonde's waist, the grey girl nuzzled close into her friend's chest, taking in her warmth as she murmured, "I'm really here, Feli. You aren't dreaming, but I think I might be, because your chest is bigger than I remember."

Laughing tearfully at that, the blue eyed blonde pulled away slightly to take in her friend, smiling fondly as she gently removed the mask, dropping it to the ground to cup her cheek, catching a tear as it fell. "Silly Cry, my chest has always been this fabulous, didn't you know?"

Joining in the laughter, her voice choked slightly as she joked back, "Of course, how could I forget your luscious melons?" Leaning forward, she nuzzled into them for emphasis, sighing contentedly as they both fell silent, holding each other close.

Just like that, all the nightmares of the past year fell away like dominos, the noises of violence and voices of doubt washing away along with it. 'This is my home.' She thought happily, her heart soaring in joyous wonder. The world was no longer grey, cold and unfeeling. The clouds have dispersed, leaving light and vivid color in its wake.

It was just a shimmer, but right now, it was enough.

Finn