As the days roll by

Like droplets of rain trickling down a car window

I can't help but wish

That I was outside

That I was living my life

That everything was okay again

That the white and blue would be replaced by brighter reds

Neon greens

Even fluorescent yellows

Anything would be better than this IV drip-induced torture

I wish I could see him one last time.

I sighed, looking up from the notebook I'd been writing in. Blue on white. I closed the book. A blue cover, embellished with a white cross. White on blue. What difference was there?

It had been two months since I'd woken up. My thoughts were a mess. A motorcycle, a boy, a coma. A body of water. A blonde girl, laughing. Images flashed before my eyes every time I shut them, and yet, I couldn't piece them together. It was driving me insane.

"It's time for your meal, William." Father appeared at the door, smiling and carrying a bowl of rice. White. I nodded, accepting the bowl. "Thank you, Father." Father smiled a small smile before turning and leaving the room, locking the door behind him. Sighing, I opened my mouth, raising a spoonful of rice to my lips. It looked white. It tasted white.

It was disgusting.

I swallowed it anyway.

Sighing, I flopped onto my bed, the sheets a sickening cobalt blue, drifting off into a bored sleep...

A face. Black hair, blue eyes, a smirk on his face.

An arm around my shoulder. A hug. A smile.

A hospital. A girl sobbing.

The same girl, looking too perfect to be real, with a tall, broad-shouldered boy, smiling.

A smile across a fire pit, hands intertwined as we lay under the stars.

Every time you smile, I feel like the world is a perfect place. Every time I hear your voice, all the colours, the flavours, the smells intensify. Every time I see your face, a thousand butterflies wake up in the pit of my stomach.

That same girl, kissing him. With her arms around him. The girl who was everything to him, and the girl who I was nothing to.

A motorcycle.

A freeway.

A drop.

A name fading away into the darkness.

This time, I wasn't going to let it slip-

.....

"He's waking up! The boy's waking up!"

I opened my eyes, greeted by another hospital room, this one green and white.

A change of colour.

A woman, rosy cheeked and kind-looking, held out a bowl of soup. "Here, son. What's your name?"

"Um.. William."

"William.. what?"

"I..."

Chang.

"Chang. William Chang."

"Okay, William. Do you know your parents' numbers?"

"My father... where is my father?"

"I'm sorry, your father's not here. Maybe if you tell us his name and number."

"WHERE IS MY FATHER?!"

"Please, Mr. Chang, his name-"

"FATHER!"

The nurse's eyes widened as she stepped away from me, muttering to herself as she went to find the doctor. I let my thoughts drift to a conversation furhter down the hallway. "Okay, Mr. Costa, you're looking good to me.."

"See, Scorpio? I told you, we had nothing to worry, about..."

Black hair, blue eyes, an unmistakable grin.

Scorpio Costa.

I sprung from my bed, ripping the IV drip from my forearm. The pain I felt upon standing was nothing compared to the hysteric state I was in. I had found him. I had finally found him. "SCORPIO!" He emerged from his ward, dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans, looking around to see who had called his name. "SCORPIO!" He turned toward me, his electric blue eyes wide. "Who-"

Scorpio fell silent upon catching sight of my face, simply staring. "Scorpio, what's-"

Tumbling curls and doe eyes for ages.

Libra Cole.

"He looks almost exactly like him..." she whispered, looking terrified. Scorpio took a reluctant step toward me, trembling. "What's-what's your name?"

"W-William. William Chang."

Scorpio frowned, turning back toward Libra. "No, how do you know Scorpio?" Libra asked, seeming to have regained her composure.

It was then that I realised that these people-Scorpio and Libra-had thought I was gone. Maybe they knew someone who looked like me. A twin, perhaps. I stared at Libra blankly, when she added, "You look exactly like Cancer."

"Right, because I'm his cousin. I'm Cancer's cousin. He's told me about-about Scorpio." Libra didn't look convinced. Scorpio did.

"Hey, dude, I am so sorry about your cousin, we really miss him too-"

"What? What happened to Cancer?" I asked, which led to Libra furrowing her brows even deeper, if that was even possible.

"He's dead," Libra replied. "Oh... oh, I never- we're second cousins, you see..."

"Well, how do you look so alike?" Libra inquired. "Apart from your eyes, you look the same."

My left hand flew to my face.

What do I look like?

"I... I don't know. He was my real-life doppelganger."

"Well, what are you doing here?" Scorpio asked. His voice was just as I remembered from my dreams. "I got into an accident. I was- I was driving up here to visit Cancer and, um, yeah."

Libra's frown returned. "So where are your parents?"

"They- they're dead."

I winced, realising that that was a dark lie to tell.

"I'm so sorry," Libra replied, her doubts suddenly gone. "How about you come with us?"

.....

"So what year are you in?" Libra asked. "Um... I'm a junior." We were Libra's house, The Cole mansion, looking imposing as always.

"Really? Us too." Junior year-that meant they were 17 or 18. I thought back to when the schooling ages had changed, making the graduating age 18-20 years of age. "Where did you come from?"

"Texas."

"Right. So how are you getting home?"

"No, I-I'm starting school here."

"I thought you just came to visit?"

"Well, yeah. I was meant to be moving my stuff next week from my foster home."

"Right. Well, where were you going to stay?" Scorpio asked.

My tummy practically flipped over as I struggled to come up with yet another lie.

"With Cancer's family, actually, but I guess that's going to be an unwelcome change..."

Surprisingly, Libra was the first person to console me. "That sucks, Will, but I'm sure we can figure something out. You can crash here tonight-I'm sure Mum and Dad won't mind."

I nodded, turning toward Scorpio. "Where are you staying now? You know, since the incident..."

I'd given myself away. At that moment, I wanted to bite my tongue off.

"I guess Cancer told you before..."

"Yeah." I thanked Scorpio for his ignorance in that moment.

"Well, I'm actually staying with Libra's family. They agreed to be my foster family after Libra insisted."

"You guys live together? Are you... dating?"

Scorpio grinned, taking Libra's hand in his. "Yeah, we are."

I looked away, my heart shattering as Libra smiled at Scorpio. They were together. Even after everything, after how upset Libra had been with Scorpio, they were together. "T-that's great, man," I replied, trying for a smile.

"Well, you'll want to rest, won't you Will?" Libra smiled, leading me upstairs, Scorpio next to her. "Yeah..."

"Well, you can't sleep in this hospital gown, so you can borrow some of my clothes," Scorpio added. "Here's the guest bedroom-right across the hall from me, in case you need anything." I nodded, entering the nicest room I had ever seen. A bed lined with gorgeous rustic silver sheets was placed against a grey wall featuring an antique mirror. The curtains matched the rustic silver of the sheets, with a floor length window behind them. "It's not much, but I hope it'll do..." Libra trailed off.

(The Cole guest bedroom)

"This is great. Thanks for letting me crash here."

"Anytime."

Scorpio hurried back with a fresh change of clothes-a grey shirt and black shorts. "I think these should fit you," Scorpio said, handing me the clothes. "The bathroom's just through there," Libra added. "We'll leave you get some sleep now. Have a good night."

Libra and Scorpio left the room, their whispers inaudible seconds later. I turned toward the mirror, catching sight of my features in the mirror. Brown hair. Blue eyes.

I let out a bloodcurdling scream, my head in my hands.

Wherever you go, the blue and white will follow.