All The Colors

All The Perspectives

“See, exactly 0.4 miles away from school.” The car came to a halt with a long screech. Their Honda was almost ancient, belonged to their father when he was in college, but not ‘old enough to sell’ according to their father. Savannah swung the car door open and grabbed her dark blue Jansport bag which she slung over her shoulder.

Savannah knew Wesley Roberts had a reputation to keep and dropping his twin sister off to school was not something it could withhold. In fact, no one at Weatherings Peak High knew that Savannah Roberts and Wesley Roberts were even related besides for Savannah’s two friends- Adam Park and Ivy Green.

“Wait, Savannah!” Wesley called out and Savannah turned back, hoping that Wesley would at least give her a goodbye wave. The hope was dimmed the moment she saw Wesley holding out her lunch bag.

She remembered those days, over seven years ago, when Wesley used to call her by his special nickname for her, Savie, and give her long hugs before bedtime. He used to tell her that they would be a team no matter what and would fight side by side. He would get her presents and fight every guy that looked her way. Savannah used to get annoyed at this. She would roll her eyes and tell him that he was being too ‘overprotective’ before shoving him. But now, she would do anything to get those moments back. To get her brother back. 

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t see her friend, Adam, come crashing into her. “Sav, Sav, Sav!” She held her hand out to stop him and caught her balance just in time. Adam crushed her into a hug, not at all bothered her outstretched arm. 

Adam Park was the school’s class clown. Without doubt, he would be invited with open arms to join the popular group but he stuck with his oldest friends, Savannah and Ivy. 

“Did Wes leave again?” One look at Savannah’s sour face gave Adam his answer. He squeezed his best friend’s hand, knowing how much this affected her. Once upon a time, they were all best friends- Wesley included along with their two other friends, Lucas and Adelyn. They were inseparable and made memories that were never lost. They planned out their entire life:  how they would go to the same college and get houses right near each other. Until one day, everything changed. All their memories together were buried, like the time capsule they had, and they weren’t coming back. Except for in their hearts. 

“Where’s Ivy?” Savannah changed the subject almost immediately, linking arms with Adam. 

“Some math meeting thingamabob. I zoned out when she told me. But, she should be done by now.” Adam shrugged while Savannah rolled her eyes. It was always the same thing with those two. 

Ivy Green was the smart one of the group. She was essentially the president of every club on campus and was destined to go to Stanford University. The top ranking student in their entire grade with a high of a 4.9 GPA. The girl that cried the moment she got a B+ on her chemistry test. She never lived down the teasing by her two friends. ‘Ivy’ league was practically in her name. 

“Speak of the devil and she appears,” Savannah muttered, ignoring Adam’s chuckle. Their blonde haired best friend rushed into the middle connection of their arms and put both her hands on their shoulders, halting them. 

“Thank God you guys are here. I need help. Big time help. Like I’m so dead if you guys don’t help me right now.” And she was also the director of the drama club. 

“What? You got an A- on your test. Oh wait, or it must be worse. God forbid you got a B+ again?” Now it was Savannah’s turn to chuckle as she elbowed her friend in the ribs. Adam groaned in pain and clutched his ribs. 

Adam’s teasing tone and their battering went unnoticed by Ivy. “No, it’s way more tragic than that. I completely forgot that we have our history test today. What am I going to do?” She buried her hands in her palms while Adam and Savannah traded looks of amusement.

“You mean the World History test that you studied for two weeks ago?” Savannah vividly remembered her teasing Ivy about it.

“Yes, that one. But I forgot to review my flashcards and then do a second annotation and then- mmmhmm.” Adam effectively placed his hand over her mouth, muffling her complaining. Savannah ran her hand over her face. Ivy had gotten the test covered and she was going to ace it but Savannah? Not so much. Savannah needed to get a 96 atleast to have an A in the class, and if she got any less than an A, her mother was going to murder her. 

Savannah’s mother was what some people would call a ‘tiger parent.’ Her dreams for Savannah were for her to go to UC Berkeley, like her father did, and become an optometrist. But that wasn’t what Savannah wanted by a long-shot. Savannah wanted to be a social worker and help orphans find homes. Ivy was an orphan- the oldest girl at a foster family- and growing up with Ivy her entire life, Savannah’s passion for helping these children grew. Savannah’s mom had given up on Wesley a long time ago. The moment he gave in to the ‘bad-boy’ life, his mom barely considered him part of the family. Only Savannah still craved her brother’s hugs.

As if sensing their friend’s distress, Ivy and Adam both put their arms over Savannah’s shoulder, swiftly distracting her from her thoughts. “Come on, let’s all study for that history test together so we can go kick the test’s butt.”

...

Wesley Roberts did not want to abandon his sister in the middle of a walkway. He knew that there were dangerous people in this town and prying eyes out for his beautiful sister. So, he did what any normal brother would do and followed behind her slowly in the car, until she reached school campus. When Adam showed up in front of his sister, he instantly drove off before he was caught. He trusted that his former best friend, Adam, would take care of his sister. 

Parking was hard to find at Weatherings Peak High’s parking lot, especially if you arrived this late. But this was not a concern to Wesley as he snagged the last spot in the front row. The front row parking lots were unofficially reserved for the popular group. Also known as, Wesley’s… acquaintances. Wesley didn’t consider the people he sat with at lunch and hung out with at school ‘friends.’ They were merely people he tolerated on a regular basis in order to not be alone. 

He opened his car door just to be bombarded by one of his acquaintances. Jackson Miller was one of the most popular students at Weathers Peak. He was the school’s star quarterback and had everyone surrounding him like bees to their queen. He was also meant to be Wesley’s best acquaintance.

“Wes man, how’s it going dude?” Jackson bent his elbow and stuck out his hand, going in for the famous handshake known as the ‘bro-hug.’ 

Wesley’s killer grin dropped immediately. “Don’t call me Wes,” he growled, a scowl clear on his face. The only people allowed to call Wesley ‘Wes’ was his sister and his… former best friends. Even if it had been six years since he talked to them, besides for the usual awkward ‘hi’s’, it would always be reserved for them.

Jackson dropped his hand that Wesley had left hanging. “Jeez man. Don’t know what got your panties in a twist but, o-kay.”

Wesley shrugged him off, pushing past him and into the school building. The first sight he saw, standing near the staircase were his sister and ex-friends. They were huddled up around each other, laughing and shoving one another. His words caught in his throat and a lump unknowingly formed. Wesley missed them, he really did. 

But he couldn’t bother being in a group that brought back too many memories. Too many memories of the people that left him, Lucas and Adelyn. Lucas was and would always be, from wherever he was, Wesley’s best friend. The whole group had been by his side when his father left, ten years ago, but Lucas had helped more than the rest. Lucas was the one he confided in and he thought of him as his closest brother.  Adelyn- Adelyn was something very different to Wesley. Adelyn had a special place in his heart. When both of them left, without any trace or a goodbye, Wesley couldn’t do the pretending that his friends were doing.  He couldn't pretend that nothing was wrong, that two of pieces of their puzzle were not missing.

There was an unfillable hole in their friend group that suffocated Wesley to no extent. So he left. Wesley hated seeing the hurt on her sister’s face every time he brushed her off or the longing ones on his friends faces when he walked by. He wanted nothing more than to hug his sister and joke with his friends. But he couldn’t and to make-do with what he did have, he changed. For the worse.

He snuck out after curfew, starting skipping classes, and smoking. When his family and friends first started noticing this change, they thought it was just a phase of coping. But it never did end. He ignored his friends completely and by the time they reached highschool, everyone knew him as the bad-boy, Wesley Roberts. What they didn’t know was that his sister was Savie and that he was friends’ with the girl everyone teased for being smart.

“Wesley bro, how’s it going?” Wesley buried all his thoughts down, knowing it was near impossible to go back now. He turned his attention to the boy leaning on the locker next to his. A girl was latched on his arm, her face caked with make-up. He remembered what Savannah used to say “I will never ever in my entire life use that stuff.” 

“Hey man, good. You?” Wesley stuffed his black bag into his locker and pulled out his first book. World history. History was the one class he had with everyone in the group: Savannah, Ivy, and Adam. The class period was awkward but it most frequently consisted of the avoiding game. 

“Good, good. I’m gonna skip. You in?” Wesley took the books in his hands, holding them by the curve of his elbows. He would normally jump at an opportunity like this but not today. There was this boy eying Savannah in history and he had to make sure that he didn’t make a move. It didn’t matter of his reputation when it came to Savannah’s safety. The amount of boy’s he had threatened behind Savannah’s back was more than he could count. They never suspected anything about siblings though. 

“No, thank you.”

But that was the one thing Wesley didn’t feel bad about doing. He would do anything to protect his sister, even if Savannah had no idea about it.