Falling on Dead Ears

Travis smoothed his shirt out smiling at his reflection. He’d never been so worried about how he looked in his life before, he’d never even really cared about dates either. Sure girls made him nervous and pretty girls made him fumble with his words but Ellie wasn’t just a girl, or just a pretty girl, she was a severely mind numbingly beautiful girl that turned him into the biggest idiot on the planet half the time.

Tugging at the bottom of the white button-down shirt he began nibbling on his lip nervously. The last time he’d worn a nice dress shirt was for a family portrait his mom wanted when he was sixteen and the buttoned collar made him uncomfortable. Ticking his head to the side he undid the top to buttons and let out a relieved breath.

“Are you wearing a button-up?” His head snapped to the doorway, Jolene stood there in horror. She’d never seen Travis in anything so nice before. Hell he wore dirty ratty jeans and destroyed t-shirts to red carpet events. The words: Formal or Black-Tie event meant nothing to him; even if the event coordinator printed it fort 32 on every page or Travis’s planned out night.

“Yeah…” he muttered timidly. “Does it look bad?” He whispered staring down at the white shirt hugging his torso.

“No…” Jolene muttered slowly. Travis honestly didn’t look bad in a nice shirt and the white contrasted his tanned skin. If he’d worn it more often while he was single more girls would’ve thrown themselves at him. “But…” Jolene licked her lips nervously. “I didn’t know you owned such a nice shirt…”

“I bought it yesterday…” Travis whispered as he smoothed the front of it down again. This was awkward for him to say the least.

“Okay…now I’m going to ask one more question.” Jolene whispered back, still worried and highly confused by the situation.

“Okay…” He sounded like a nervous little boy being scolded by a school teacher.

“Why did you buy it and why are you wearing it?”

“I have a date with Ellie.” He muttered nervously. Jolene started amazed at what had just leaked softly off his lips.

“Aw!” She cooed walking over and hugging him. “You’re growing up!” She teased before stepped back and fixing the collar of the shirt for him.

“Shut up.” Travis grumbled as his cheeks flushed a crimson red.

“Where are you taking her?” Jolene was a nosey person when it came to her friends relationships. She couldn’t help it, especially when it came to Travis’s love life which was usually non-existent. So having to finally bug him about in the area was her new favorite thing.

“Ricardo’s.” Jolene nodded knowing the quant little Mexican restaurant.

“So why the button up? It’s a nice little place but it’s not that nice. Jeans and a tee work just fine.”

“It’s out first real date. I want it to be nice.”

“You’ve never been on a date before?”

“Well…we’ve gone out before but it wasn’t really…dates… I guess.” He muttered nervously.

“So it’s… semi-formal?” Jolene muttered confused. Travis floundered.

“No… I just…” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. “I look ridiculous.” He grumbled as he began unbuttoning it.

“No. No.” Jolene grabbed his hands. “Calm down their Seabiscuit.” She teased wholeheartedly. “You look good.” She whispered gently re-buttoning the few he’d gotten undone. He groaned as she even buttoned the top two. “So you just wanna look nice for her?” Travis nodded slowly, tugging on the tight collar. “Okay calm down. You’re worse than a five-year-old.” She laughed undoing the top two for him.

“I just want her to be happy.” Travis whispered sadly. “I think she gets bored here.” He grumbled as Jolene watched him concerned. “All she does is cook, clean, and garden and I’m horrible at all three let alone of she’s cleaning fruits she’d grown outside for something she’s going to cook on the grill.” He grumbled. “Then I really suck at it.”

“No you don’t.” Jolene laughed. Travis frowned at her, amazed she’d just disagreed with him.

“Last time I tried to help I dropped two apples which busted open, dropped a few strawberries down the drain of the side sink,” He said referring to the giant sink off the side of his garage with a massive drain so anything could go down it no problem that was dubbed the ‘side sink’ seeing as it was the only thing the left side of the garage and it usually side swiped anyone unaware or had forgotten of its looming dangerous presence there. “Then I didn’t put the fruit on the skewers right or I didn’t cut them up right so they didn’t fit right on the skewers. Hell!” he gasped, tossing his arms up. “Half of the ones I made fell through the bars and became charcoal!” Jolene grimaced. She vaguely remembered that day. It was also the same day Jim as re-vitalized the sleep-n-bleed and she’d cracked the back of her skull open. “Don’t lie to me. I know I’m horrible for her!” He gasped as he took a seat on the edge of the tub. “She’s fuckin’ perfect and I’m old and broken.” He grumbled into his palm sadly. Jolene wasn’t sure if she should ‘aw’ at how cute and concerned he was about his relationship with Ellie, or if she gasp sadly that he felt so horribly out of place standing in the spot he wanted to be in most of the time; right next to her like an adorable lost puppy.

“Travis…” Jolene fumbled as he glared at the ground, pouting like the kid he was at heart. “You don’t see the way she looks at you do you?” She smiled at he looked up confused. “She may not have voice it to anyone in anyway but trust me, as a girl,” She held up two fingers as if she were a girl scout. “On the safety of my womanly parts.” She teased making him chuckle lightly at the memory of the day before where Jim and he had accidently punched her in the crotch on different occasions while the three of them tested stupid stunts in his pool. “She adores and loves you.” Travis swallowed slowly as he stared at Jolene’s gently features smiling at him softly. “If she didn’t she wouldn’t walk up the side of a damp dirt hill in a white dress or anything for that matter to give you a reassuring hug and pat on the helmet.” He smiled gently. She’d done it on more than one occasion. “She wouldn’t go out of her way to make both your favorite meals on the days that you epically fail straight into a metaphorical or not so metaphorical brick wall.” His lips pursed in annoyance as she teased in about the day he’d turned around and walked right into a brick wall and aided him with advice on his love life.

“I was horribly concussed.” Travis huffed. Jolene laughed.

“No.” She pointed. “Jim was. You were just laughing to hard to realize how close to the wall you really were.” Travis grumbled softly under his breath. “But she does care about you Travis. You are one of the few people who treats her like a normal person. You’re probably the only person who’s gone out of their way to learn a language for her and to be able to properly communicate to her and get to know her on a completely different level. Hell, the rest of the guys and I are floored with how she can look at you and with out sing-language, with out words, with out anything you know what to do, to say, what she wants or needs. We don’t know anything about her really the way we know each other and it’s because, yes, we know some words and signs, but not enough to have articulate conversations with her.”

“But you’re pretty good at sign language.” Travis stated. Jolene smiled.

“But I don’t do what you just did without thinking.” He frowned at her confused. “You just signed every word you spoke flawlessly Trav. I can’t do that. I have to think about it, remember that hand movements mean something so much more to her. You don’t.” Travis looked down at his large tanned calloused hands surprised. “You do it as reflex now.”

“But…” he licked his lips as he stuffed his hands between his knees, a nervous habit. “I don’t know how to… how to hang out with her more. I can’t cook and with her watching me makes me even more nervous that I’m cooking and I nearly kill my self trying. I’m probably the messiest person alive no matter how much I try to pick up after my self. Hell yesterday while she was gardening I tried to clean up around here put away and bunch of stuff, turned around to admire my work and I hadn’t done shit! It was like for everything I picked up some how while I was putting a helmet away in the garage it’d all exploded back into the room and multiplied!” He gasped, grabbing his head concerned and worried. “and gardening. Holy mother of balls, don’t even let me near her garden. I’m like André The Giant.” He grumbled. “No matter how delicate I try to be I still end up killing a whole plethora of plants.”

“And you know what she usually does when you help her cook or clean?” Travis hummed sadly. “She laughs.” Jolene breathed proudly. “She tried to help you because she’s grateful you’re trying. “And good god, you should here her laugh when you’re helping in the garden. It’s like you’ve turned into a stand-up comedian. We can here her across the compound.” Jolene clapped a wide smile on her face. “Girls kill to find a guy that’s willing to go out of their way to spend time with them and that make them laugh. That good guy that isn’t a gay guy trying to pass for a straight one.” A sly smile found its way onto Travis face. “You may not know what you’re doing, you may not understand how to go about doing things Trav. Hell you may suck at it,” he muttered a dry sarcastic ‘thanks’ at her under his breath. “But you’re trying. That’s what I’m saying. You’re trying Travis. That counts for a lot and she notices that she’s not blind. She’s deaf. Although, some days I wish she was blind so she wouldn’t have to half the things you and the other guys wear.” Travis instantly straightened up looking down at the pristine white shirt he wore before back up at her startled. “But I’m glad she can see you today.” She teased pinching his worry worn cheek. “You look good today.” Jolene stated seriously. “She’ll proudly faint.” Travis looked back down at the shirt. “Hell you’re mother would faint right now. You’re in a button-up.” She teased loudly at him before snapping a picture of him on her phone. “Now she’ll wanna see you in a suit at the alter.” She added, referring to his mother.

Grimacing at the idea of getting married. It was such a foreign idea to him.

“Don’t make that face.” Jolene snapped, pointing a stern finger at him. “And are those the pants you’re wearing tonight?” Travis’s eyes snapped down to his worn jeans.

“Yeah why? What’s wrong with them?” There was the normal jeans and t-shirt Travis.

“You’re not going to wear something nicer?” She prodded.

“No. It’s only Ricardo’s.”

“But you’re going to wear a button-up?”

“Well…yeah, I wanna look nice but it’s not that fancy. I told her it wasn’t fancy.” He shrugged. Jolene slapped her forehead. Him wearing a button-up dress shirt was enough for anyone that knew him to question what event or where exactly he was going.

“Trav she knows you.” Jolene groaned loudly. “You in anything more than your old graphic-tees and worn jeans screams something fancy.” She grumbled at him. Travis smoothed the front of the shirt lightly.

“Should I change?”

“No. You look good but she’s going to wonder why you’re wearing it.” She waved her arms out to the side to try and prove her point.

“Do you think she’ll like it though?” Jolene smiled at the one true concern Travis seemed to have with wearing the shirt voiced its self.

“I think she’ll love it.” Travis smiled. “I leave you to fuss over your self like a girl.” She laughed turning and stepped out of the bathroom. “Oh and you might want to close to the door if you don’t want the guys bothering or seeing till you leave.” She called over her shoulder.

“Hey Jo!” He called. Humming she turned to him as his cheeks flushed a slight red. “Thanks.” He whispered meekly. Jolene smiled.

“Any time.” Travis nodded shutting the door behind her before he looked at himself in the mirror.

“I look like a tard.” He whispered to himself. Seeing himself in anything more or less than a graphic-tee was just as weird for him as it was for everyone else. “God I look stupid.” He hushed tugging at the bottom of it and rolling his shoulders.

Ellie blinked started as Travis smiled at her nervously. The guys peering over the back of the couch at Travis in his button-up just as surprised as her to see the sight before them.

Giving a nervous smile Travis rolled his shoulder lightly as he watched her. He knew it, he looked like a total… his thoughts scrambled at the feeling of her small hand on the front of his shirt.

His eyes trailed from her hand, up her, arm to her face. A soft smile lingered on her lips as she stared at him, her fingers playing with the small white buttons before she pulled her hands back to talk.

“Its not.” Travis stated, hands moving as he spoke. She frowned and moved her hand to her shirt before pointing at him confused. “It’s out first … real, date.” He shrugged, hands moving much like hers. “I wanted to.” He added as she pointed out he didn’t have to dress up for her.

She placed her hand over her mouth and pushed it out in a quick thank you. Travis smiled nodded at her sheepishly as her hands kept moving, telling him he looked good. A crimson color tinged his cheeks as he reached out hugging her tightly to his chest.

Ellie smiled, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

“Alright.” Travis smiled as they parted. “Let’s go.”