I'll be giving Y/N they/them pronouns because I've experienced time and time again the frustration of writers assuming everyone is straight. Also I'm non-binary so I can get a bit of gender euphoria just by writing :D

I overuse some words on purpose.

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~ Y/N's PoV ~

"Need any help, Mrs. D?" I called through the curtain to the back room of the little costume shop.

"Thanks for your help, honey, but I think I'll be alright," she responded. She suddenly swept through the fabric to face me.

"You're not even old enough to be gettin' paid, Y/N. Why don'tcha ditch that silly polo shirt and go explore? I can't have the new kid in town go unnoticed!" she scoffed, but I saw the caring look she sent my way as she made her way through racks of outfits toward the counter.

"Yeah, but you'll be out any day now on maternity leave. Someone's gotta hold down the fort!" I laughed. She placed a hand on her gradually expanding stomach and rubbed it affectionately.

"I'll be okay, hon. Go! Get! You need fresh air!" she said, jokingly shooing me toward the door.

I rolled my eyes and waved on my way out. I glanced up at the large sign above the door.

'Detroit Family Costume Emporium' read the large, gold-painted letters. My favorite place in the world. Nothing was more gratifying than browsing the masks, putting on a different person with each one.

Which is why I was very skeptical about the rest of this town. I'd seen a total of three bright colors here so far, not including the contents of the costume shop.

There had been a red car passing through on its way to another town, the icy eyes of a black cat, and the glittery silver of a forgotten tree ornament on a sad little pine.

I looked up from the drab, grey streets when I ran into someone.

"Ow..." I whispered, pulling a drab, brown leaf from my sweater.

"Watch where you're going!" the person I bumped into grumbled.

She was so... bright. Bright yellow boots and raincoat, bright orange shirt beneath it, and the best part was her bright blue hair.

"Yeah, I'm good, thanks for asking. You?"

She nodded and stood up. She held out a hand and helped me to my feet, giving me a kind smile as she continued on her way...

... is what happened in my head. Instead, we sat in awkward silence on the drab, cold sidewalk, both too irritated with the other and the world to say anything.

"Look where you're putting your feet next time," she mumbled. I rolled my eyes.

"Certainly, your highness," I said. I hopped to a standing position and bowed dramatically. There were some perks to spending all one's time in a costume shop with an ex-actor. One of them was a dramatic flare.

We parted with a tired glare on her part and a smug grin on mine. She trudged along until she turned and entered the drab gardening supplies store.

"Lovely first impression."

~ Time skip ~

"Oi! Wybie!" I yelled.

My cousin half-ran half-fell down the stairs with a look of surprised delight.

"Y/N! I thought you were in New York!" he exclaimed, nearly suffocating me with a hug.

"I was, until Mrs. D got a little bit preggers. She says her husband wanted to be somewhere less chaotic to raise the kid, so they moved here on a whim and I just kinda came with 'em. So here I am!" I explained with what little air I had left.

"Wyborn! Stop that!" a croaky voice commanded. He sheepishly let go and wrung his hands together.

"Hi grandma," I said with what was almost kindness.

"Hello, Y/N. Are you still hanging around those Detroits?"

I sighed. I loved this woman, but she was awfully strict at the best of times. At worst, well... Wybie and I didn't think about that.

"Yes, grandma. They're great people!" I said for what felt like the millionth time. This was not an uncommon conversation.

"One is a gambler, and do you know what the other used to do? What kind of establishment she was onstage in? I don't want you exposed to that, Y/N!" she insisted.

"Hey, let's go walk around," Wybie suggested quietly, grabbing my hand. I relaxed and pulled him out the door without a backward glance.

"Love you too, grandma! Oh, yeah, it's been forever! Yes, I'd love some chocolate chip cookies!" I said with the sappiest fake smile I could muster. Wybie laughed.

"She does love us, you know," he sighed.

"She has an interesting way of showing it."

We wandered the drab town in silence for a while. Suddenly, he lit up and turned to a worn dirt path.

"Come on, there's someone I want you to meet," he grinned. "I think you'll like her."

As we walked, a familiar black cat with very blue eyes fell into step next to us. Wybie bent down to pick it up.

"Hey, bud! I think I saw this one downtown, Wy," I smiled, reaching out to stroke the cat.

"I'm not surprised," he replied. "He wanders everywhere. I'm dissapointed you didn't spot him in New York, to be honest."

He passed the cat to me, and I was too busy petting it to notice the intimidating pink building we were approaching. He rang the bell and rocked on his feet in the Wybie-like way he did everything.

"Hey, Wybie! You would not believe, there was this person earlier who-"

You've got to be kidding me.

The blue-haired girl's face fell when she noticed me. I returned her dead stare. Wybie looked between us, confused.

"Oh. Hello," I said with the most drab voice I could.

"Ditto," she mirrored.

"Do, uh... do you guys know each other?" Wybie asked, completely oblivious as per usual.

"Nope. Never met." I switched to the kind of grin a waiter gives you when they're hungover but has to smile because it's a part of their job.

A man and a woman came up behind blue hair and each put a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, Coraline, is this a new friend?" the woman asked with the tired glee only a parent can execute correctly.

"Y/N, this is the Jones family," Wybie said, thankful that the tension had been broken, or at least interrupted. "Mr. and Mrs. Jones, Coraline, this is my cousin, Y/N."

The Jones parents, I noticed as I shook their hands, had weathered but clean skin; most likely veterans of the computer and steering wheel but not much else. They left after the greeting. Just going through the motions, I suppose.

Only I would analyze a person during a handshake... as my older brother used to remind me of relentlessly.

As Coraline grumpily reached out, I noticed the red spots on her palm.

"Is that poison oak?" I deadpanned.

She scoffed and stuffed her hands in her pockets. Wybie gave her a sad look.

"Again?" he sighed.

"What do you mean, again?"

The two exchanged a glance in lieu of having a conversation and Wybie looked back to me as Coraline huffed.

"She got poison oak on her first day here, and she still can't tell it apart from the rest of the plants," he explained.

I snorted, causing her to wrinkle her nose at me.

"It's not funny! It's just poison oak, it's not like I'll die from it!" she growled.

I put up my hands in surrender.

"If you say so, little miss wood nymph. Everyone has a hobby."

I stroked the cat one last time, then turned and meandered down the drab path into the drab road back to the drab town.

"Poison oak has a red tint around the stems and young leaves, by the way!" I called over my shoulder.

~ Coraline's PoV ~

"THAT'S the awesome, charismatic cousin you were telling me about!?" I exclaimed once I was sure we were out of earshot.

"W-well, I mean, Y/N's probably just, I don't know, getting used to the new place! You hated me when you first moved," Wybie reasoned.

"I didn't hate you, you just talked a lot," I grumbled.

"And do you hate Y/N?" he asked.

I stopped for a moment.

I had been the one who snapped first, I was the one who couldn't take a joke, and I was the one who held a grudge...

"I'll get back to you on that."

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Whoo! First chapter done!

This is quite experimental. I don't have a real plan, so let's just hope it doesn't crash and burn.

This won't be updated nearly as often as my Shakespeare one shots due to the fact that I have to consider storyline and shit.

See y'all next time.