I hated escalators.

Whenever I tried to step forward, I'd feel like falling down. What if I missed my step? I would probably fall down and hurt myself. Maybe my clothes would be stuck in the escalator. Who knows?

No one knew. At least, they didn't care. They would step into the escalator, without skipping a beat, extremely confident- as if they were normal stairs.

However; they were not.

"Come on, there are people waiting behind you!"

James was already on the escalator. He was slowly going down, down and down... His bright blue eyes were becoming colder as the light was changing.

He was facing towards me, meanwhile my hands were clenched on the bars of the escalator. I looked down.

The gigantic, metallic thing was swallowing the stairs with a great delight, waiting for the next ones. I didn't want to be the next one.

I bit my lip. My lips were already scratchy, I would either peel my lips because of stress or bite them. Therefore, they looked all red, uneven and miserable.

"Aaron- come on!"

James was almost dissapearing from sight. One of his feet was on the other stair, as if he was ready to climb backwards.

I felt the whole world hurling around me, with a scratchy melody poking my ears. I could sense the pressure physically, with a great weight on my shoulders.

My friend was waiting for me, so were ten people behind me. I had to be quick. It was no good to make people wait.

I lifted my right leg, trying to step on the right time. My foot became closer to the stair and then-

I felt an arrow hitting me from my head. I stumbled, everything went a cold purple. Everything was happening so fast, as if someone was rapidly pressing random buttons on a remote controller.

Panicking, I fell backwards, hitting a few people. I wasn't able to think at that moment. All I was looking for was safety.

I sat down, curling into a ball.

I could see a confused James staring at me, and then quickly turning around. He got off the escalator, got on the other one and ran towards me.

I knew that everyone was staring at me. I let them stare. Observation was not a shame.

James looked at the crowd, then scratched his head. "I apologize, he's just-"

Without completing his sentence, he sat on one knee, patting me from my back.

"Hey- you alright?"

And with those words, I felt tears rushing into my eyes, becoming heavier and heavier, with an urge to fall down... Aaron freed them and let them stream down his cheeks.

James sighed, stood up. He held me by my arms, helping me stand up. I felt like my legs were noodles, wobbling fiercely even though I wasn't moving. I could not stay still.

"Come on- lean on me."

I was surprised with the way that James was so calm and patient. I could not say the same thing for the crowd.

" We've become rotten until you could get out of the way! Move, we have things to do!" a mascular guy was yelling. I looked into his eyes.

James stepped forwards still holding me. "Excuse me, my friend just didn't feel well, it's alright now. Sorry for making you wait." he politely said. The guy was definitely not as polite as he was.

"Don't bring him in here if he's stupid enough to not be able to get on that goddamn escalator, teach him how to be a real man!" he yelled back.

He was not going to say that.

Some people argued him while -thankfully- most of them disagreed. There was an odd combination of different reactions.

Too many colors... I thought. They're all so different...

James stared at him for a moment, then walked towards him. I leaned on the wall, my fists clenched.

"You have no idea ab-" James' words were cut by the fist of the man. James fell backwards, almost falling off the balcony. I shrieked, covering my face.

I didn't want any fights. I just didn't. Why was he so cruel? Why was he being so rude towards James' politeness? What was wrong with him? The world was an awful place.

Some people held the man by his arms, some joined the fight. Nothing made sense. Nothing.

The deep and cold purple started to become redder and even darker... I could see squares and triangles everywhere, they wouldn't go away...

My friend was getting hurt, my only friend... This was all because of me, only me...

Slowly, I slided down. I did not want to see the cruelty of the world, I did not want to hear or sense it...

The security? They were too slow. They didn't actually care, all they cared about was the score they got on Candy Crush while sitting in that tiny cabin and hiding in a shell.

A red hand slapped me, and then a purple one. Nobody could see them but me, I did not know how or why.

I wanted to be that flower again; crawling into my own feelings, with a strong shield.

Was that shield good or bad?

Was protection always the best thing?

***

"Hey, you okay?" James asked, after an odd silence. Our feet were lazily splashing the water on the pavement. The heavy, metallic scent of the rainy day was still stuck on the grey streets of London, with a deep sorrow.

I looked into his bright blue eyes. They were extremely bright unlike the sky.

"Y-Yes. A-Are you ok-k-kay?" I asked. My question was asked in a lower voice, I didn't know why.

"Yeah." he replied, puuting his hands into his pockets. "What happened today?"

I looked down, watching my feet kicking the London air. Then I shrugged. "I... I-I don't l-like
esc-calators.

A bit more silence. Then James spoke: "I'm sorry, I didn't know... You know, we're newly friends and I... I'm still trying to decode you, you know. I'm still trying to explore your brain."

What was he talking about? Was he going to open his skull and then observe his brain? Was he going to do a surgery? I thought that my brain was pretty normal... Even though I really liked James, I didn't want him to look inside my brain. That would be a little awkward, wouldn't it?

I frowned. James mirrored me. "You alright?"

I shrugged. " Y-Y-Yeah." I was still trying to imagine James looking inside my brain, while holding it with blue surgery gloves, with a sticky liquid streaming down to his elbows. How was he going to "explore" his brain?

"Okay, we're both tired I guess... Want some coffee?" he asked, scratching his chin. His lips were dry and pale, so he kept licking them. They were not as dry as my lips though, mine were all bruised and chappy.

I nodded, then looked at my hands. I didn't know why, but I liked to look at them. Paler than the snow itself, with a few moles on, slightly covered with freckles... Tall and skinny fingers, always shaking.

Observing my bone structure was really fun. I knew that I was quite skinny, with sharp facial features. Except my lips, they were soft and curvy.

However, my cheekbones and jawline were outstanding. Sharp and determined lines, showing the shape of my skull perfectly. Still, they were hidden behind my long and messy hair.

I could not define my hair colour. I've had always seen it as red, but my friends always told me that it was blonde. Maybe it was strawberry blonde? No, it was a lot lighter... It's dirty red, probably. It's hard to tell.

We found a tiny café by the street, with just a few customers inside. It was so warm, welcoming, friendly... The light was a buttery yellow, almost as soft as a lullaby.

I sat on the tiny chair. James was sitting opposite me. I opened the menu, my eyes widening with the diversity of food.

" I would like an Americano, please." James ordered quickly. I panicked- I didn't know what to pick. I had to be quick but wise; what to choose, what to choose..."

"U-Uhm- Latte." I quickly said. The waiter raised a brow, nodded and then walked away, taking the menu away.

"So," James started, looking directly into my eyes. "did you like this street?"

I looked around. Even though the day was extremely dark and depressive, it was a quite cute street with its narrow paths and tiny shops... People were nice, the architecture was breath taking...

"Y-Yes." I said. "S-S-So beautiful." James smiled warmly, his golden curls falling on his eyes. "Glad to hear that." he said with a voice as soft as the café's atmosphere. "I grew up in this place."

I raised my brows. "N-N-Nice." The street I lived in was filthier and busier, not my type.

I really liked James, he was a good friend. He was the one who was actually seeing me as a real friend. He wasn't avoiding me like the others. He didn't see me as a "different" organic life form.

"Ah- I better get some ice." James said, gesturing the bruises on his face. I remembered about the incident.

Another slap on my face.

I lowered my head. "Sorry." I said, without stuttering. James had realised the same thing. He looked up, surprised but proud.

"No no no- please don't apologize! I am sorry, for forcing you to use the escalators... I didn't know about it, so sorry!" he quickly spat, his fair skin going red.

"I-I-It was s-scary." I said, still looking down. Then an odd grin invaded my lips. I looked up.

"I-I liked it."