Introduction:
The boy walked slowly, trying to concentrate on the sky above him, watching its evening colors take form and letting them amaze him with their beauty. He didn't really pay attention to where he was going at all, just letting his feet drive him where ever they liked, not really wanting to think about it either. Not really wanting to think about anything. Anything but the bright colors above him getting redder by the minute. He heard a small, metal noise bellow him, and felt something hit his foot. He stopped, blinking a couple of times, noticing he had kicked a small indigo colored race car. He noticed there were more cars around it, and a boy in front of them, standing up slowly.
-Sorry…- He mumbled, finding the little boy´s face, noticing he was around his age. The other boy looked back at him, holding his eyes, blushing a bit at the embarrassment of talking to a stranger.
-It´s, uh… okay. - He said quietly, looking away with a smile. – It didn´t break, or anything. - He hid his hands in his pockets, daring to take a peek at the boy in front of him again. He was tall, and very skinny, and his eyes were a shade of blue he had never seen before. His hair was a real mess, long and tangled black locks falling over his eyes. He giggled at the sight of him having to push it a little backwards to be able to look at him back. The other gave him a toothy grin, and held a hand to him to shake his.
-My name is Gamzee. - He said merrily, suddenly forgetting why he had been walking, where he was standing, and what he had been trying to forget so badly. The other looked at the pale hand in front of him, noticing how long his fingers were compared to his own. Slowly, he dared to grab the boy´s hand, and shook it carefully.
-I´m Tavros... Nice to, uh, meet you. - He mumbled, smiling shyly. –I´ve never, seen you before… Are you, uh, new here? - He wondered if he was a new neighbor he wasn't informed of. Even though no one really cared about their neighbors in these suburbs, and practically ignored each other´s existence completely. But having a little boy as a neighbor was a rare privilege, and everyone with a kid knew that. It was an easy way to push your kids into someone else´s house for a couple of hours.
-No…- He laughed, wondering too why he had never seen him as well. He would have remembered such an adorable looking shy face, no matter how stoned he was. Tavros looked down at his forgotten toys, blushing before asking the important question.
–Do you, uh, maybe, want to play with me?- Gamzee smiled as wide as he could, sitting himself rapidly on the curb, looking up at his newly found friend eagerly.
-Sure motherfucker! - The boy got flustered at the sound of a bad word, and bit his lip anxiously, looking around to see if any grown-ups had heard him, feeling a wave of relief to see that the streets were empty. He sat down next to Gamzee, shrugging it off. Maybe it had been an accident. Gamzee grabbed the car he had kicked, and didn´t let go of it the whole time, admiring it´s pretty indigo color, telling Tavros he dreamed to have one of those cars when he grew up. Tavros just giggled at how he just ignored the rest of the toys, and at how he tried to convince him it had special powers, like being able to fly and do other "miraculous" things. He had never met a boy with such imagination.
They played for as long as they could, talking little about themselves when they were curious enough to ask certain things. Tavros pointed at the big house in front of them and told him he lived there. Gamzee agreed it was the nicest house in the street, adding that he lived just around the corner. They laughed amazed at how close they lived, making mental notes to play the whole summer, glad to have a kid to play with during the long and lonely vacations. Gamzee told him he went to the public middle school a few blocks away, and Tavros said he didn´t know where it was. That his school was pretty far and he had to be driven by his dad every morning to get there, and that the uniform was funny and he hated it. Gamzee wasn´t sure what he meant by uniform. He told him he was 13 years old, but was going to turn 14 shortly, and Tavros told him he was 12 and that his birthday was in April. They discovered excited that they both loved rap music, and promised each other to have at least one rap-off to show their skills.
-Tavros! - A female voice screamed annoyingly, startling the boys. –Come here.- She hissed, looking angrily at the two boys while she came a bit closer, motioning with her hand to "move it quick, or you´ll get it". The boy gave Gamzee an apologetic look before walking fast towards his mother, trying to think of what he had done wrong to deserve such a displeased look. –Why are you playing with that boy? -She asked, trying to talk quietly, failing horribly. –Look at him! He looks so dirty, why can´t you find friends that don´t look like homeless, white-trash bastards? - She looked at Gamzee with a sneer, taking in all the details. The messy, tangled hair. The dirty, pale skin. The worn out, dirty clothes he used that were too big for his proportions. And the look on his face. Oh, the everlasting, disgusting stare of someone who can only hope to find pain in his life. She didn´t want to see it. Tavros frowned deeply, blushing at the horrible words his mother had spitted at his new, kind friend. He looked back at him. –Go get your toys and come inside! It´s getting dark anyways. - He wondered why he couldn´t see what his mother saw on the skinny boy sitting on the pavement. Tavros walked back to Gamzee, bending down to take his toys and stuff them in his pockets.
-Can we play again?- He whispered, fearing the scary looking lady standing behind Tavros, hands on her hips, staying close to the house door. Tavros nodded, a carefree smile on his full lips. He noticed Gamzee holding on to the indigo car.
-You can keep that. -He whispered quietly, and then stood up rapidly to run to his mother, while Gamzee hid the car in his pants´ pocket. He saw the boy disappear behind the house´s front door, and the lady gave him a sour look before closing the door behind her. He stood up shortly after, trying to clean the dirt from his pants by hitting them, watching the dust fall from the cloth. He looked at the house again, thinking over the harsh words the kid´s mother had said. He knew damn well what they meant, and wondered if he really looked that filthy. He didn´t have running water or electricity in his house at the moment, but it had only been like that for a couple of hours, so… He frowned. His head was starting to hurt as the problems began to pile up on top of his shoulders. He sighed while taking a last, long look at the big house before him. He suddenly noticed one of the windows in the second floor opening, and saw the kid´s face pop out and give him a huge smile. He waved goodbye, giggling mischievously. Gamzee blinked a couple of times before waving back, moving his whole arm in the air, laughing quietly. He then began to walk to his own house, watching as the boy looked at him leave from the window, until he couldn´t see him anymore. Gamzee noticed he was still smiling to himself when he got home a few minutes later.