Ryann strode into the journalism room, flipping her hair out of her eyes as she went.  Nobody turned to look at her, something that she had gotten used to at Roman High School.  It was rare that anyone noticed her even when she looked like she did.  She wasn’t popular so she was invisible.  Invisible was normal, and after a lot of thinking, Ryann decided that she was okay with it.

Ryann didn’t even notice the boy who was walking toward her as she dropped into her seat.  It was only when the boy placed a hand on her shoulder that she noticed him.  She looked up quickly, green meeting hazel as their gazes met.  The boy had messy blond hair that fell over his right eye and was in disarray everywhere else.  She almost didn’t hear what the boy said, too caught up in what she liked to call ‘people watching’.

“Excuse me, what color is your hair?”  The question was unexpected, odd.  Nobody in the school looked at anyone who wasn’t Riker Thomas or Penny Rogers.  Ryann didn’t respond, shocked out of her mind.  “Hello?”  Ryann brushed brightly, chuckling.

“It’s… actually, don’t you know?  Can’t you tell?”  The boy shook his head, smiling at Ryann as he lifted his hand to her hair, playing with a strand.  Ryann found it odd, but not unwanted.  She had always liked the feeling of somebody playing with her hair.

“I’m color blind, babe.  Have been since I was a little boy.  Got hit in the head and nearly lost my sight.  I had a few surgeries, but not everything came back to me.  I only see in black and white,” the boy said, shaking his head at her attempt to apologize.  “My name is Ryland Thomas, hotshot’s brother.  It’s nice to meet you.  Now, about your hair…”

“I dyed it neon green and black,” Ryann said, eyes wide.  Ryland had the biggest smile on his face as he continued to play with a few strands of her hair.  The teacher had yet to come in and silently, Ryann hoped that he wouldn’t for a while.

“I like it, and I like you.  Nobody has ever answered me, too busy with Ryker and his girl to see anyone but them.”  Ryland’s voice was light and sweet, his smile mirroring it as he slid into the seat next to her.  “Do you mind if I sit here…”

“Ryann, and of course not.  Oh, and I’d happily tell you the color of everything in the world if you wanted.  You are the first person to ever notice me, Ryland.  You must be a gem in this school of coal.”  Ryann blushed at her stupid analogy and sank down in her seat as Mr. Harper, the journalism teacher trotted in and began his lecture.

_____________________________

“Were you joking when you said you would tell me the color of everything?”  Ryland had caught up to her after class on her way to the cafeteria.  Ryann glanced up, nodding silently as she went back to focusing on weaving around the gossiping groupies. 

“Well, can we start now?”

“Yeah,” Ryann mumbled, dodging a group of giggling cheerleaders as they watched Ryker talk to one of his friends.  “What do you want me to tell you?  The lockers are red, the floors are… tan I guess.”

“What color are your eyes?”  Ryann stopped dead, almost immediately being knocked to the ground by some of the football team.  “Ryann!  Are you okay?  What happened?”

“M-my eyes?  Why do you want to know the color of my eyes?”  She knew she should have just answered, no questions asked, but she assumed he would want to know something like Penny’s hair color, or just something about Penny.  Ryann wasn’t special, so why would Ryland even want to know?  They hardly even knew each other, and even so, nobody had ever cared to much about her.

“Because it’s you, and I want to know more about my friend,” Ryland had said, as if he hadn’t just basically forced her to be his friend.  Ryann didn’t mind though, she had never had a friend before.  She was willing to try it.  Once again, she forgot to answer.  “So, is this zoning out thing common or… You know what, let’s just stick to answering about you eye color.”

“Green, like neon green,” Ryann said absently, still a bit dazed.  A friend.  A real, physical, not imaginary friend.  “And if you’ve ever wondered, yours are hazel.  Your hair is blond.”  Ryland chuckled and slung his arm around her shoulder as she righted herself.

“Good to know.  Now, we both have lunch.  Let’s learn some of the colors in there.”

_________________________

Ryann and Ryland had been friends now for two months, enjoying each others’ company and talking about colors.  Ryland had now learned that Ryker’s hair was black, Penny’s dresses tended to be pink or purple with flowers in different shades of blues, reds, yellows, and oranges, and learned that Ryann’s favorite color was azure.  He also decided that his new favorite color was the color of her eyes, well in his case, the shade.

They were currently at the park, staring at some kids and parents playing in the fields and on the jungle gym.  Ryland had been asking her about the colors of… everything, occasionally talking about other things or sitting in a comfortable silence.

“What’s the color of that woman’s sweater?”

“Blush.  It’s like a shade of pink.”

“What’s the color of that boy’s ball?”

“Green.”

“What about that car over there.”

“Purple, man that’s an odd color choice.”

“What’s the color of love?”

Ryann paused, surprised by the question.  Why would Ryland want to know?  Had Ryland met somebody and not told her about it?  The thought made her feel odd, not jealous, but not okay either.  Realizing that she had zoned out after finding Ryland glaring at her, she thought for a quick moment, preparing her answer.

“It isn’t one color really.  Love is the pink blush on somebody’s cheeks.  Love is the color of their eyes.  Love is the color of jealousy in some cases.  Love is blue, like sadness.  Love is green like a meadow on a sunny day.  Overall, I think that if there was one color that described love, it would be… gray.  Love isn’t black and white, and I know you see shades of gray, but this is different.  If you saw color, you would understand.  It’s just, in between everything.”  Ryann noticed that they were staring into each others’ eyes and quickly looked away.

“Oh…”  Ryland didn’t speak again after that, not even when they got back into the car, or when Ryann dropped him off.  They didn’t call each other or text for two weeks after that and school had been on break.  Ryann went back to believing she was once again invisible, and in a way it broke her heart.  She actually wanted to be seen.  At least by Ryland.

____________________________

“What ever happened to that Ryland boy you used to talk about,” Ryann’s mom asked after about a month of her daughter not mentioning the boy she had been so happy with.  She watched as her daughter looked away.  “Ryann?”

“I don’t know, mom.  I miss him,” Ryann whispered, eyes burning as she turned and walked into her room.

_________________________________

“Did you see Ryland Thomas’s shirt?  Do you know what it means?”  The buzz was making Ryann’s ears buzz and the reminder of Rylan made her eyes sting with tears.  She had come to terms with the fact that Ryland didn’t want to see her again, but it didn’t make her any less upset.

She kept her head down, not looking at anyone or anything as she walked through the halls to the room she met Ryland in.  The thought made her want to hide away from anything and everything that could remind her of him.  When she finally walked into the room, she bumped straight into someone, more like a wall.

“R-ryann?”  Ryann’s head snapped up, green meeting with hazel.  “Thank God!  Um, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“I get it Ryland.  It’s okay, I get that you don’t want to hang around me anymore, just don’t make it any worse right now,” Ryann said, trying to get around Ryland as he stared at her intensely.   Just as she thought she had succeeded, Ryland grabbed her arm and turned her around.

“No, the opposite actually.  Look at the shirt!”  Ryann did, staring at the soft gray t-shirt with the words My Favorite Color is Gray Because of R on it.  She looked back up at Ryland, face twisted in confusion.  Ryland sighed, hugging her to him.  “Ryann, you said love is gray.  And I love you.  You are my favorite color.  You are my perfect gray, Ryann Donte.”

The words were confusing, but after knowing Ryland for so long, Ryann easily deciphered the words.  He loved her.  Ryland loved Ryann.  Ryann stared at the boy she had met months ago in shock, mind racing with thoughts.  He loved her?

“I know you don’t like me back, but you are the only person who ever accepted me in every way.  I just wanted you to know.”  Ryland let go of Ryann and turned to walk to his seat in the back of the classroom, only to be stopped by Ryann pulling him back to her.

“You’re my perfect gray too, Ryland Thomas.”  Ryland let out a sigh that was a mix between relief and content before hugging her back.  “I missed you Ryland.  You have no idea how much I missed you.”

“I think I do because I missed you more.  Ryker kicked me out of our room because I couldn’t stop talking about you.”  They hugged for a few moments more, a comfortable silence settling between them before Ryland once again interrupted.  “You know what the best moment of my life was, Ryann?”

“When you learned what color everything was?”

“No, when I became color blind, actually.  If I had never gotten hit in the head and never lost my ability to see colors, I would have never met you and I would have never thought much of the color gray.  I gray you, Ryann.”  Ryann stuffed her face into the crook of Ryland’s neck and sighed.

“I gray you too, Ryland.”

“For once, I’m so glad I’m color blind.”