Silence Speaks Louder

I still am on hiatus, but I felt SO bad for making you guys wait so long for an update that I decided the moment I finished this, it was getting posted. It wouldn't be finished if not for Rebecca's constant nagging, so thank her for that. This was indeed written by Hannah. Banner by Christine, as always:]



Needless to say, that hour sitting in silence, as always, was not productive. Emilee slouched in her seat, doing her best to pay attention to Pattyn's sexual struggle in Burned by Ellen Hopkins, but couldn't for the chills occasionally running up and down her spine. Most people can't feel other people's eyes on them, but Emilee noticed it automatically. It was just something that bothered her. And Nick's occasional glances her way were no exception.

So though the feeling she kept getting from Nick's ever-watching eyes was bothering her, Emilee's own eyes stayed firmly on the poem printed on the page before her. That was, until a folded piece of notebook paper landed on her page. Surprised, she looked around the room. Everyone was reading as they were supposed to. Everyone, that was, besides Nick, who was doing his best to stuff a pen into his hoodie's pocket without anyone noticing.

Rolling her eyes, Emilee turned back around, using the book to hide the note she was unfolding. She did her best to decode the boyish scrawl, and what she made of the note was:

Can we talk after school?

Confused, she wrote her reply quickly before peeking up at Mrs. Hammond, who was typing away at her computer's keyboard. Not the type to pass notes, Emilee practically chucked it over her shoulder back at him, desperate to avoid being caught. It wasn't like she could hear when trouble was coming her way.

Within minutes, the note was back on the page of her book. Beneath Emilee's reply consisting of I can't. Work, was a new message from Nick.

I'll walk you?

What was with him? He had held no interest in her before. What made her so special now? Why did he suddenly want to know everything about her? And the answer was so clear that it drove Emilee nuts wishing she hadn't bothered telling Nick in the first place. She was deaf, and therein lay Nick's sudden intrest. Still, she surprised herself when she quickly wrote a, sure, down on the piece of paper before passing it back to him.

She had questions of her own.

[&silence]

Emilee walked with a deliberate slow pace after the final bell had rung. She knew Nick would be waiting for her at her locker and the walk from the orchestra room to there was short anyway. He could wait. Turning the corner, Emilee tried her best to hide a smile that was threatening to make its way to her lips. He was there, just as she predicted he would be.

"Hey," he greeted as she met him. She looked up to meet his eyes. "Hey," she replied before pulling open her locker to grab her bag. Closing it shut, she looked up to watch him shaking his head, a slight smile on his lips.

"What?" she asked, slinging the bag over her shoulder. "Nothing," he replied before turning on his heel to lead the way out the front doors. Walking very fast for someone who was walking with someone else, Emilee noticed.

"What, am I bad for your rep?" she asked, noticing more than a few heads turn as she hurried to keep up with him. He stopped in his tracks and Emilee had to stop and turn back to look at him at the pace she had been going. Oddly, he looked hurt. "Why would you think that?"

"I'm not exactly the object of affection here, am I?" she asked. He furrowed his eyebrows, obviously having not thought in that direction at all. At first, his expression revealed that he didn't understand why, then finally, realization hit, and he composed himself.

"Idiot people," she could have sworn that she saw him mumble, but the words were fast and she wasn't sure. "If anything," he finally replied after a moment, "I'm worried about you." Emilee cocked her head to one side, but Nick didn't catch it because he was moving again.

"Worried about me?" she asked, hurrying to catch up again. He confirmed with a nod of his head. "Why?"

"You know how many people will try to buddy up to you because we're seen together? Not that I care, but I know you probably wouldn't enjoy it much."

Luckily, Emilee had caught up by this time and was able to read his lips clearer than she would have if she were still behind. This had never occurred to her. Anytime she was with him she forgot that he used to be That Kid Nick, The Rockstar. He was so different than what she had expected. He was actually the exact opposite of what she expected.

Maybe that was the reason why he found interest in her? Maybe it was because she didn't know. She hadn't heard his music or his voice. She had no idea. And maybe that gave him comfort. Just maybe.

Was it possible that they could bond over one small similarity? Could the fact that they would never fit in with normal society bring them together?

"What are you thinking about?"

Emilee had unthinkingly been keeping her eyes on him as she thought, and the sudden movement of her lips broke through thoughts. She realized they were exiting the school's parking lot. She almost told him what she had been thinking, but then thought about it. "How did you know I was thinking about something?" she asked.

He half-smiled. "You think about things alot."

"And how would you know that?" she questioned. He looked at her this time as he replied. "I'm observant," he shrugged. Emilee looked away in the other direction, processing that. They were on the sidewalk, on their way down the street from the school. A tap on Emilee's shoulder brought her back to reality and she turned back to Nick. "Do you want me to get that?" he asked, gesturing to her backpack. She was only carrying her geography and chemistry book, though those weighed alot. Still, she shook her head.

Nick, however, ignored her before reaching down and pulling the bag off her shoulder. In one swift movement, it was on his shoulder. Emilee rolled her eyes before mumbling a thanks. "So... can I start with my questions now?" he asked.

Inhaling deeply, she simply nodded. Nick smiled again. "Am I annoying you?"

Emilee shook her head. "No... I'm just not used to this kind of thing," she replied after a moment of thought. It seemed anytime she was around Nick her replies required thought. She was so used to being quiet, so used to keeping things inside. Now that someone actually wanted to hear it, she couldn't easily determine what to tell and what to keep inside.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Emilee realized Nick wasn't about to drop the subject and found no way around it. "I haven't had anyone who actually wanted to hear what I have to say since I lost my hearing," she explained.

"I wonder why."

Emilee paused. They had been saying that alot. The expression on Nick's face read that he was serious. She could hardly fathom why. He moved on, however, and Emilee hoped he was finally going to get to the point of all this nonsense. Her eyes moved back down to his lips as he began to speak.

"You haven't heard me. Therefore, you're not throwing yourself at me, and it's not something I'm used to. It's kind of nice to have someone who doesn't like me just because I'm a rockstar. Actually, I had the feeling you kind of hated me there for those first few days..."

He trailed off, looking to Emilee to see her reaction. She blushed. "There were a few days that could have gone better," she admitted. He half-smiled in response. "I was hoping it was something along those lines."

"And why would you hope that I would hate you?" she asked.

"Because I'm used to people hating me because they don't like my music or my voice or my appearance in general. But to have someone hate me for no apparent reason is new to me. I like it," he shrugged simply. Emilee bit her lip. That was possibly the weirdest confession she had ever heard.

"So what you're saying is, you're hanging around because you have nothing better to do?" she asked. His smile disappeared, and he shook his head, his curls bouncing as he did so. Emilee was aware they were probably less than a block away from the center by this time, but knew their conversation was far from over. He'd have to get to the point sooner.

"You're interesting," he finally concluded. Emilee rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her long brunette hair. "I'm interesting because I'm different? Because suddenly I've presented something totally new. I'm interesting because I'm deaf."

She couldn't hear, of course, but she was pretty sure he had sighed in annoyance before glaring at her. "Emilee. You're absurd."

"I'm absurd because I'm right?"

"No, you're absurd because you're wrong. You expect the worst in people because that's all you've ever seen. You've seen people treat you as a pariah because you're deaf. Anytime I'm with you, I can't even tell you're deaf. It makes absolutely no difference to me. So I guess I'm offering a common ground."

Even though Emilee could feel it would be close to surrender, she couldn't stand it. She had to ask. "And what common ground is that?"

"You treat me like a normal person. And in return, so will I," Nick said simply. Emilee paused. It was really that simple? It must have been, Nick hadn't even paused to catch her reaction. She half-expected Ashton Kutcher to jump out and yell "You've just got Punk'd!" but she knew that by that thought alone Nick was right. She was absurd.

"So that's it? Friendship?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow. It looked like he laughed. "That's it," he confirmed.

The center was in sight by this time and she oddly found herself dissapointed. His point had been far more practical than what she had been imagining in her head all day. But she, of course, wasn't about to admit any of that. "I think I can make it from here, thanks," she declared, reaching for her bag, which he was still carrying.

He, however, took two steps to the right, taking the bag with him and out of her reach as he shook his head. "I need to talk to my mom for a second," Nick said. Emilee nodded her head as he held the door open for her. "Thanks," she murmured quietly. From the corner of her eye she saw him mouth a "no problem" in reply.

Nick followed behind her as she entered the room where the children were playing. Ayla was sitting alone in a corner, a completely new book in her hand, and this brought a smile to Emilee face. Denise was sitting at a table in the center of the room, signing to a group of boys, and from what Emilee could tell, she was story telling. Upon hearing Emilee and her son's entrance, however, she looked up.

The expression she wore was one of confusion, but it disappeared quickly, and the welcoming smile Emilee had seen so many times was quickly forming on her face. Denise signed to the boys that she would return in a moment, and they nodded before signing to each other their favorite parts of what she had told them so far.

"Hello," she greeted Emilee before lifting her eyes to Nick. "What are you doing here?" she asked him. Emilee didn't look at him for his reply. Her attention was on Ayla, who had looked up from her book and wore a slight smile on her face. She knew it was rude, especially after him having walked her the entire way from the school to the center, but without a word of goodbye, she started across the room to the girl. This was made a bit worse by the fact he was still holding her bag, but she had temporarily forgotten this.

Taking a seat across from the girl, she read the name on the cover of the book.

Holes? she signed to the girl.

Ayla wrinkled her nose before setting down the book and signing her reply. Required reading.

Of course. Ayla was always reading books advanced for her age, but when reading a required reading book, no matter how good it was, she wouldn't want to read it. It reminded Emilee of herself.

I actually enjoyed that book when I was younger

Ayla sent her a disbelieving look before her attention was otherwise claimed. Emilee turned her head in that direction as well. Denise was back to her storytelling and Nick was gone, Emilee's bag sitting in it's usual position, rested on the wall by the door. But what had apparently caught Ayla's attention was Frankie, happily bounding across the room to meet Emilee, piece of paper and purple crayon in hand.

Go Ayla signed. I have to finish reading this anyway.

Emilee smiled at the girl before pushing out the small plastic blue chair and standing to meet Frankie at a different table. "Can we play a game?" he asked excitedly. She laughed. Frankie was always energetic and enthusiastic. How could she turn him down? "Sure," she replied. He nodded before looking around. Finally, he found an empty table to his liking and made his way there quickly. Emilee followed behind.

Upon taking a seat, she looked down at him, sitting directly across from her and watching her expectantly. "What's your favorite color?" he shot off.

Emilee pursed her lips. She was well aware that this was probably one of the weirdest things that she had done within the last few days, besides making friends with one of the biggest rockstars of this era of music and actually finding a job, but she was willing enough. What harm would it do, anyway?

"Probably white," she replied. Frankie wrinkled his nose, obviously not pleased with her answer. "Why white?" he asked. Emilee shrugged. "White's simple. It's clean. I like white."

Frankie just shook his head before continuting down the list. It was odd, though, he was being sure to keep the list out of her sight, keeping the paper curved upwards as he wrote down her reply. "What's your favorite food?"

"Chicken flavored Ramen Noodles," she replied automatically. Frankie nodded in approval. Apparently he liked them, too. He moved on to his next question. "If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?"

Emilee paused, giving Frankie a look. "Where are you coming up with these questions?" she asked. His smile faltered. "No where," he replied quickly. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't push it any further. "Probably Australia. I have a thing for accents," she laughed. Frankie joined in her laughter before adding this to his list.

"What's your favorite season?"

"Winter. I love snow. It reflects the moonlight beautifully." Emilee was well aware she was putting too much thought into these questions and probably answering more than necessary, but she didn't care. The kid had asked, and she was answering.

"Oreos or Chips Ahoy?"

Emilee laughed out loud. "I came up with that question," he declared proudly. Emilee raised another eyebrow to this confession. "And who came up with the others?"

"No one," he replied defiantly. Emilee pushed out her chair and leaned up to see over Frankie's curved paper, but he took it away and hid it under the table. "You're lying..."

"No I'm not," he argued. Emilee shot him a skeptical look. "Did Nick ask you to ask me these questions?" she guessed. Frankie shook his head, but then looked up at her with a smile. "He paid me."

Emilee collapsed back into her chair before chuckling a bit to herself. "What's he paying you?"

"A bag of gummie bears," he replied. Emilee held out her hand, palm open. "Give me that. I'll answer the rest of the questions, you're free to go." Frankie sat up straighter in his chair. "Really?" Emilee nodded. "Really." He smiled, placing the paper in her outstretched hand and rolling the crayon her way. "Thanks," he said before darting across the room to his mother.

The list was written in the boyish scrawl she instantly recognized as Nick's handwriting from his note earlier. She shook her head. This boy was crazy. And she wasn't sure if she liked it or not.