True Colours

"I see your true colours, shining through, I see your true colours, and that's why I love you." Alternate universe LU. No powers. Bullying is a harsh reality; luckily Ace and Lexi are there to help each other out. Set in high school.

He doesn't know exactly on it happened. It was his first day of school of grade eleven, and it was another new school. He was trying to get to his fourth period class, and he, understandably because of the size of the building, got lost. It got to the point where he'd look in the little windows of classroom doors to see if it was where he was supposed to be, when he looked into one, and saw a strange sight. A bunny girl was inside, crying.

He didn't know exactly what made him do it -he was a complete stranger, he could easily go on his way and pretend he hadn't seen anything. But he opened the door and slipped inside. "Hey," he said quietly. "You okay?" He walked over and sat beside the female bunny. She shook her head. "Never mind, stupid question to ask." He tried to make eye contact with her, but failed. "What's wrong?"

The female bunny tried to speak, but her voice wouldn't work. Sensing that what was distressing her was something she couldn't say in words, he took a note pad and a pen out of his backpack and handed them to her. She took them and wrote, tears splashing down and smudging her carefully crafted words. Once she was done she handed it to him.

He could make it out, only with a little difficulty. It was a single sentence.

My mom's been diagnosed with cancer, and I didn't want to cry in front of other people.

Acting on instinct, he wrapped an arm around her. "I'm sure your mom's going to be okay," he reassured her. "It's the twenty-seventh century, and they have really good ways of defeating cancer now." He didn't know how long she cried, but eventually she composed herself.

"Sorry," she said in a hollow sort of voice. "A-and thanks."

"Anytime." They stood up together. "Feeling better?"

"Y-yeah," she sniffed. She looked at him with red, puffy eyes. "I'm Lexi, by the way." She stuck out her hand.

He smiled at bit at her, and shook it. "Ace."

"Shut up you ugly loser!"

Ace spun around to see a teenager bullying a very special doe, who in only a few weeks, had become his best friend. "Leave her alone!" he growled.

The bully chuckled. "What are you going to do about it huh? Worried about your little girlfriend are we- hey!"

Ace had grabbed the front of the boy's shirt and had him pinned against the wall faster than you could say 'bully'. "Don't ever say that to her again!" He dropped the boy and stalked away, Lexi walking beside him.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Anytime." A pause. "You're not ugly, you know that right? You're beautiful."

She blushed. "Thanks Ace."

He smiled a little. "Don't thank me for telling the truth."

She smiled. "Someone should."

It had happened. Oh God it had happened. Lexi's mom...dead...dead...

When Lexi saw Ace, she broke down in his arms in the middle of the hallway. He supported her until her legs could do the job. And then one teenager walked up and said:

"Get over it."

Ace got detention for the next month.

He had never punched somebody so hard.

Of course, sometimes, Ace had his struggles too. If Lexi spotted him surrounded by a group -often five or more on one- she would run and get the teacher as soon as possible, and often he wouldn't get more than a black eye and a bruised lip. But most of the time, it was worse.

"This paste'll help," she promised, dabbing a cloth with the special healing paste on his black eye. He winced, but let her do it. He didn't want the people who ran the orphanage he lived at to know and worry. Then Lexi moved on to his other injuries, a cut lip, bruises over his torso and arms.

"Thanks Lex," he said gratefully.

"Someone has to take care of you," she said, smiling.

"I'm glad it's you," he said, and grinned at her. She turned pink.

"Thanks."

There was a talent show, and Ace wouldn't take no for an answer. Because Lexi could sing, by God could she sing. But she was nervous. The hallways, even when they were together, were a war zone of cruel names and jeers; how could she sing in front of everyone else? But finally she relented, and he hugged her.

"You'll do great Lex!" He released her. "So, any ideas about what song you want to sing?"

"I have some," she admitted, finally smiling. A song to reflect hope, a song to encourage the rejected, a song that would help people like her and Ace.

So she sang True Colours. She sang her heart out. She poured her soul into the song, and she looked into Ace's eyes, and he was grinning like a maniac, the whole time.

And when the applause came, she felt wonderful. On top of the world. And she was so, so thankful...for Ace. Her first real friend, and the one who convinced her to do this. The one who had stuck by her side when they were both at the bottom of the world.

After the talent show, when almost everyone else had gone home, she ran to Ace who had been waiting for her, hugged him and kissed him. Because she knew that finally, someone loved and cared for her, and it was all she had ever wanted.

And all they had ever needed.

Life was colourful, afterwards. They graduated. They had a long distanced relationship since they went to different universities, but they still kept their relationship. The scars of bullying stayed. But they helped each other heal, and forget about the scars most of the time. They were bright, they were colourful, and life was okay.

Life was as beautiful and as wonderful as a rainbow.

.::.

But I see your true colours
Shining through
I see your true colours
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colours
True colors are beautiful,
Like a rainbow

art/Anti-bullying-210138038: A link to the comic that inspired this. The song is "True Colours", originally by Cyndi Lauper. In support of everyone who has ever been bullied, I know it seems hopeless, and I have only been mildly teased (only twice, and it was a long time ago, and I can actually laugh about it) so I can't possibly know what you're going through, but it get's better, I promise. One day, the bullies will leave, and your wounds will heal enough so you can have a happy life. :) It get's better.

{Please review.}