Distance doesn't separate people, silence does.

Mae

I woke up to the sound of the front door banging. I waited for Zach to get it but the banging didn't stop. I threw the covers off and slowly got out of bed. The pain from the fight wasn't bad, I've had worse. He's done worse.

I went to my closet and pulled on my hoodie along with my joggers. I looked at my safe and decided to get my gun, putting it in my waistband. Zach wasn't the only one with a gun. It was in the bag of money Billy gave me, so I put it in my safe.

He told me people would come after us because Mitch owned a lot of money and his life might not have paid that.

I knew James wasn't at the door because there was a key under the mat, and he knew where it was. He would just walk in and watch TV until we woke up. I opened my door and Zach opened his. I glared at him, and he shrugged.

"I was tired." He had his gun in his hand as well.

"I was the one who fought," I whispered to him and slap the back of his head as he walked ahead of me. He winced, and we walked to the front door.

Zach put his hand, the one that held the gun, behind him. I opened the door and immediately got engulfed in a hug. I looked at the door and saw Ryder and Bennett looking at my 'attacker' before they shrugged. I cringed in pain, but I didn't make a sound.

I froze because I barely even hugged Zach let alone another guy. He froze and pulled away. "Sorry," He said and looked at my face, furrowing his eyebrows.

I was confused as to why he was furrowing his eyebrows until I remembered the bruises on my face. I completely pulled away and looked at Zach, letting my hair fall on my face before I backed up a little bit.

"Mae, who did that to you?" Anger was evident in Damien's voice. I looked up and all three of them were in my house after Ryder closed the door. I shook my head, smiling, but he still didn't ease up. He looked at Zach then at me.

I looked at Zach, and he was analyzing Damien's face. Zach clamped the sleeve to my hoodie with his index and thumb, pulling me closer to him. "You should leave," Zach told Damien.

"Not until I know who did that to her," Damien said.

"Why?" Zach asked, nodding upward once. "We don't owe you an answer, and we never invited you into our house. How did you even know where we lived?"

"We asked," Bennett answered, smiling slightly. I knew that smile, I basically wore that kind of smile like my life depended on it. It was a please-don't-be-mad kind of smile. Ryder nudged him and cringed his face, kind of making him look constipated. "What?"

"Just leave," Zach said, letting go of my sleeve and lifting the same arm, gesturing towards the door.

"We wanted to talk to Mae," Ryder said.

"I don't mind if they stay," I signed towards Zach.

"What did she say?" Damien asked.

"She doesn't want you to stay," Zach lied. I looked at Zach, furrowing my eyebrows, wondering why he was lying. He looked at me, leaning his head slightly towards me and raising his right brow. "He seems like he'll cause trouble in your life."

"I thought you said you didn't care who I talked to," I signed, and he shook his head.

"Maybe some people I do," he said and pulled my sweater towards him, but I didn't want to let him tell me what to do, so I pulled back. He yanked me forward, so I stepped forward to prevent myself from falling but that stomp hurt my side causing me to wince.

"She's hurt!" Damien shouted and pushed Zach's left shoulder, the one closer to Damien.

"Back off! You're in my house," Zach warned. Damien looked like he was going to rush to my brother, but Zach pulled his gun out and pointed it at Damien. The guys did the same and pulled their guns on Zach, so I pulled mine out and pointed it at Bennett. Ryder stood in front of Bennett, blocking his body.

"Drop it," Zach demanded.

"Sorry, I'm late for the par... ty," Max said when he walked in, hesitating as he saw what was happening. I moved my gun, pointing it at Max. "I'm not strapped. Put the gun down, Mae. Unless you're gonna shoot me." I cocked my gun, still pointing at someone intruding my house. Max.

"Big mistake," Bennett mumble. I looked at Max and something in his eyes snapped. Max stepped inside my house and closed the door a little forcefully, making me flinch.

"You gon' shoot me or what?" He asked, his voice getting deeper than I had heard as he provoked me. He eyes narrowed at me as he started walking past Damien, but Damien stopped him with his left hand and pulled Max back. He stood between us, blocking my view from Max.

"Relax," Damien said, looking at me but it seemed like he was looking past me, not really speaking to me but to Max.

"Drop the gun," Zach repeated. His left hand clutched the bottom of his right hand tighter as both of his hands held his gun.

"You first," Ryder demanded. I had a theory I wanted to test out. I stepped in front of Zach, and Damien pulled his gun down first, resulting in the rest doing the same, so Zach and I put ours away.

My theory was correct. I put my gun in my waistband, and we were just looking at each other until Damien broke the silence.

"Do you always answer the door with a gun?"

"Do you?" Zach asked. Damien just smiled and chuckled. I'm taking that as a yes. He looked at me and then Zach. Damien opened his mouth to speak, but Zach stopped him.

"Don't even. I would never hurt Mae like that."

"Then what happened?" Zach and I already came up with a story last night to tell him because Zach swore Damien was going to ask. We just thought it was going to be at school (and we didn't think any guns would be involved).

I looked back at Zach, and he gave me that look that said 'I told you so'. I shook my head, smiling slightly and looked back at Damien. He raised his eyebrow, holding an impatient look on his face.

"She was in a car accident," Zach told him, but they didn't look convinced.

"Her car looks fine. Now, tell us what really happened." Max said. He still looked mad. I didn't need to understand why he was mad. I knew he was mad because I pointed a gun at him.

"That is what happened, jackass," Zach snapped. "It happened after you guys made her mad. She was leaving the beach, and she was driving fast. She wrecked. I've been taking care of her. Mae didn't see the car coming when she was speeding."

"It's our fault?" Bennett asked himself, looking down.

"No. No one told her to drive crazy," Max said. Damien looked at him, and Max made various facial expressions before Damien turned back. "Sorry. Are you okay?" I nodded.

"This is why Men are better drivers," Ryder said, and I felt enraged.

"Says the one who came at me and my brother when you lost our little race and accused me of cheating," I signed and Zach translated it.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ryder asked.

"It means you probably have road rage," I told him, and he laughed once Zach told him what I signed. There was a knock on the door, and Ryder opened it.

Oh, go ahead and answer the door like it's your house.

"What are you doing here?" Ryder asked.

"It's Mae's house. Whatchu doin' here?" I heard James ask.

"Its Mae's house," Ryder said, simply.

"Nah, really?" James asked, sarcastically.

"Yeah. You didn't know?" Ryder chuckled, cockily. He moved back a little, and I got a glimpse of James until Ryder forced himself forward.

"Move bruh. I'm tryin get in." James said and forced himself in, almost falling. Bennett and Damien moved out of the way, so I rushed forward, catching James. James stood up and thanked me. "What are they doing here? Can they leave?"

"I'm trying to get them to, but I'm starting to think they don't know what that is," Zach signed back to James, and they laughed.

"You know its rude to talk about people just because they can't understand you?" I told them.

"What happened to your face, are you okay?" James asked, cupping my cheeks and looking at my bruises.

"What happened to your face, are you okay?" Max asked, cupping Damien's cheeks. He squished them together, and Damien groaned. "I'll never let go, Jack. But I won't hold on either. Everyman for himself." He shook Damien's head back and forth, and Damien pushed max away, leaving Max and Ryder to laugh together.

Bennett was still fixated on me. "Then why do her bruises look fresh?" Bennett asked and looked back at me then Zach. He looked scared but it didn't look like it was for him; it looked like it was for me.

His eyes looked glossed over as he looked into my eyes, but I couldn't tell what he was doing. It looked like he was silently asking me to tell him what was wrong or silently checking if I was really okay.

"Because Dr. Bennett, that happened two days. They haven't healed."

"That has a nice ring to it 'Dr. Bennett'. It sounds good," Ryder told Bennett.

"It does, doesn't it?" Bennett agreed.

"Would you guys focus?" Damien snapped.

"Don't you think so?" Ryder asked making Damien turn around.

"Yeah, it does. Dr. Bennett." Damien tested. "Yeah, has a good ring to it." I turned to Zach and shook my head. I walked into the kitchen with Zach and James following me. I checked the time and it was the afternoon. I went to the fridge and took things I needed to make pizza from scratch. "Hey! Where'd you go?"

"In the kitchen, just follow the sound of my amazing voice." Zach laughed, and I shook my head, smiling at his foolishness. I washed my face in the sink and patted it with a towel before fixing my hair in a high ponytail. I washed my hands and started with the dough.

"What are you making?" Damien asked.

"Pizza," I mouthed to Zach.

"Pizza" Zach repeated.

Damien walked over to the counter and bent down next to my ear and whispered, "When are you going to let me hear that beautiful voice of yours?" The heat from his breath made shivers go up my neck. I didn't even have to turn around to know he was smirking. I could hear it as the words came out of his lips. I couldn't even be mad he asked me that because damn that was sexy.

Don't blush. Don't blush. Don't blush. Too late.

I blushed. Mainly because I was embarrassed for some reason. Although, some of it was because I was nervous. My heart was racing along with the butterflies in my stomach. Why does he have this effect on me? And my brother was no help either.

"How do you know she has a beautiful voice? For all you know, she could sound like a hyena." Zach laughed. I threw a little bit of flour in his face, and he started choking. I swear sometimes I think he's my twin only to embarrass me. I made the dough and put it in a bowl and rubbed some oil on it before covering it with Saran Wrap.

I started the sauce from scratch and put everything I needed on the counter. I made the sauce as we waited for the dough.

"I'm going to take a shower," I signed, and James translated it for everyone. I started walking to my room, and James followed me. He needed to look at my homework to see if he did his right.

"Why are you following her if she's going to take a shower?" Damien asked.

"He needs my homework," I signed and looked at James.

"She wants me to take one with her," James said and lightly pushed me forward. He rushed me to my room and locked the door. "Let's get naked!" He shouted through the door, and I laughed silently.

"That's embarrassing," I told him.

"It's gon be fun teasin him," he smiled and got my backpack. After I got out of the shower, I dressed in my usual black hoodie and joggers with some socks. "I didn't do the homework right, so I took screenshots and sent them from the school's iPad to my phone."

"Just change it up a bit," I told him, and he nodded.

"Make it exactly the same, got it," he joked, and I smiled as I nudged his shoulder. I didn't feel the need to put makeup on because they already saw me without it, so I went back to the kitchen with James. "Best shower of my life."

I walked in, and they were all on their phones. I shook my head because they could be talking yet they chose to be on their phone. Except for Damien and Max.

"Where's Damien and Max?" I asked. I went to check the timer I set for the dough to see that it had three minutes left. I set it for five extra minutes so it was already done. I looked at Zach as I saw him wave to me.

"They went outside to take a phone call," Zach sign.

"Talking about me?" Ryder asked, and I nodded while smiling. "I knew it!" He joked. "So, are you James dating?" My face turned red out of embarrassment, and I sh0ok my head. I squinted my eyes and turned my head to the side, hoping he would understand what I was silently trying to ask. He squinted his eyes, turning his head to the side too, mimicking me. "What are you doing?"

"Why would you think that?" I asked. Ryder looked at Zach, but Zach was talking to James by the fridge. He held out his phone, telling me to type but the screen was off.

I turned the phone on and the wallpaper was of Ryder and some girl. He had his face in the crook of her neck, smiling with her. Their smile seemed so carefree; so happy. The happiest I've seen someone.

I immediately held it back to him, and he realized it was locked. He smiled and held the phone out to me again, leaving me to type.

You guys already know.

"I know, I was just asking," he said, and Bennett called him over to look at a funny video. I walked to the fridge and took out the batch of dough I made along with a piece of paper. Damien and Max walked back in just in time, so I wrote on the paper then showed them what I wrote.

Challenge. Whoever loses has to do something the winner wants.

They all nodded. "There are seven of us so does that mean there will be teams, and we'll go against each other?" Bennett asked and I nodded. I took the paper again and wrote some rules before I showed them.

1.) The shape has to be a circle.

2.) Has to be layered like a pizza.

3.) You have to have your own pizza at the end of the challenge. No switching.

"James and I actually have to leave," Zach said, grabbing the house key.

"Where to?" I asked.

"Friends," James said. Anytime he said that it meant they were going to hang out with the football guys, so I nodded as they were already walking out. Max's phone rang, resulting in him answering it.

"Hello?" He answered. "No... I don't know... how should I know? I'm not her bodyguard... fine... okay, I'll ask." I heard shouting from the other side and Max started shouting in Spanish before speaking in English again. "Well, if she gets pregnant then you'll be a great grandma!" He shouted and hung up.

"All good?" Ryder asked, and Max glared at him. Max sighed and put the phone back to his hear. I felt bad for staring, so I separated the dough by slicing the round dough ball into five pieces; separating the toppings that they'll need.

"I'm sorry, Abuela. I shouldn't have hanged up." He said. "I'll find out where she is. It's already five, your tv show is star-" He looked at his phone and laughed. She had already hung up.

"How'd you learn to make Pizza?" Bennett asked. I grabbed my phone from my room and typed on it as I walked back to the kitchen.

I used to work in a pizza place and I learned what I needed there.

I sprinkled the flour on the counter and placed the dough on top, circling out my pizza. "Can you spin it in the air?" Ryder asked, so I looked up; they were all looking at me. Out of pressure, I nodded instantly. I could but the people I worked with told me not to because when I tried, I would always end up dropping the pizza on the floor. "Can you show us?"

Please, don't let me down. Please, don't let me down.

I got the dough after making it a good enough size and tossed it into the air, spinning it. I caught it and repeated the action twice. I set it back down and look up to see them smiling.

And to think I got fired for wasting pizza dough.

You did. And you set the kitchen on fire with that accident.

No one died.

Just your employment.

Low blow.

"You never cease to amaze me, Mae. But I can do better." Damien teased. He did what I did and threw it in the air.

"A keeper, right, Damien?" Ryder smirked. Damien looked at Ryder but the dough fell back on his face. I couldn't help but laugh when the dough slid off Damien's face.

But it wasn't a silent laugh.

Once I stopped laughing, I realized what I did and looked down, hoping they wouldn't noticed they heard me laugh. I glanced at them and they were looking at me with surprised faces. I turned away and pretended to make my pizza but it was quiet. An uncomfortable quiet. Until Damien broke it.

"Mae-" I cut him off by putting my hand out and shaking my head. "No, Mae. Your laugh is beautiful. It makes me certain that your voice is too." I looked at them, and they nodded. It made me feel better that they didn't make fun of me. The compliment boosted my confidence. The niceness made me trust them a little more.

"So..." Max trailed off, waiting for someone to start a conversation.

"I'm sorry for telling you that you don't have to hide your emotions. I don't know you, so you have every right to be mad at me." Damien started walking toward me. I shook my head, and he stopped walking. I typed on my phone and showed him. He read it, so I started pulling back my phone, but Ryder snatched it out of my hands. Ryder, Max, and Bennett huddled in a circle and read it before handing it back to me.

I'm not mad at you. I was but not anymore. The reason I was mad was because people always try to be my friend and then they ask me why I don't talk. And then you tell me that I didn't have to hide my emotions. I thought you were playing me.

He looked at his friends with an unbelievable face because they were reading what I typed when it was for Damien.

"What? We wanna know too," Bennett mumbled.

Damien replied to me, "No, Mae. I wasn't playing you. I want to get to know you. I wanna be your friend."

My heart dropped a little from embarrassment when he said 'friend' because I wasn't sure if I wanted to be just friends with him. But can he handle my secrets?

"Ouch, Buddy. Do you realize what you said?" Max asked him, and I smiled at Damien. I've gotten good at forcing my smile to look real.

"Oh... Oh! No, I didn't mean..." he shook his head. "I mean... I..." I put my hand out, shaking my head, giving him a smile.

I wanna be your friend too.

"Oh, that's good," he sounded a little... sad? I think.

"Ouch, they just friend zoned each other," Ryder whispered to Bennett.

"I know, that's brutal," Bennett whispered back. I was confused as to why they said that. But I shook that thought and continued to make my pizza. Max's phone rang but his hands were dirty so he used his elbow to answer and put it on speaker.

"Ash, where are you?" Max asked.

"Ash is his little sister, the girl you saw the other day," Bennett told me. I nodded, remembering her as I nodded. "She's a freshman, but she's fifteen. She went to school a year later and then her birthday is in May."

"Tell her Ash's background story too," Ryder teased, and Bennett swiped sauce on Ryder left cheek.

"I'm at the library," she said but there was cheering in the background.

"Lying ass," Max called her out.

"I am. The nerds are just wildin'," she said, and I smiled. She seemed funny.

"Abuela's looking for you," he said. "Go home."

"No, I made new friends, and I want to hang out with them," she said. "You're ruining my fun, Max."

"Are any-" he looked at me then back at his phone. "Are any of... my friends there?" He looked relieved, but I didn't know why. He kept making his pizza while he spoke to his sister.

Everyone was making their own except Damien, so I walked over to him and tapped on his shoulder. He looked at me, so I motioned my hand to follow me and handed him the sauce.

"Really? You want me to help?" His face lit up, making him look like a kid on Christmas. I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, what are friends for, right?" Ryder teased. Bennett shoved him while Damien glared at Ryder. I was confused. I mean, aren't we friends?

"Yeah, G and R," she said, and he nodded.

"Okay, if anything happens, follow them," he told her. "Be safe. Don't have sex, because you will get pregnant and die!" He laughed and she hung up. "Her favorite movie is Mean Girls. That's probably why she's a mean girl."

"You're so lame," Damien teased, but Max smiled proudly at his joke.

"Hey, Siri, call Gunner," Max told his phone. I paid attention this time because I knew a boy named Gunner. I worked with him when I made Pizza.

Our bosses called him Henry or Mr. Acosta but all of the employees called him Gunner. He was nice. At first, I was intimidated by him because he looked moody, but he was really nice and always helped me.

"Calling Gunner," she said, and his phone started ringing.

"What's up?" Gunner asked, slightly slurring. "I'm drinking. I can't do a hit tonight." He laughed and then got quiet. "Unless it's important."

I tapped Damien's shoulder, and he snapped his head towards me with a small panic in his eyes before coving it with a smile. I pointed to Max's phone and then at Damien.

"Gunner?" Bennett asked, and I nodded. "What about him?" I pointed to me. "You know Gunner?"

"Hey, Gunner, you know Mae?" Max asked, looking at me until he finished his sentence then he looked back at his phone.

"Mae?" Gunner asked. He hesitated for a couple of seconds before speaking again. "Oh, Mute Mae?" I looked at my pizza adding the cheese. Do all of them know me like that? "Yeah. Tall chick, hazel eyes. Really pretty?"

Ryder laughed, and Bennett scratched the back of his head, sort of looking awkward. I felt awkward too because I rarely heard that. I heard it, just not that often.

"Yup, that's the one," Damien said, simply. I wiped the nervous sweat that formed above my upper lip with the back of my hand. Was he agreeing to the part where I got called a tall chick with hazel eyes or the pretty girl? Or all of the above?

You think too much.

Who doesn't?

"Yeah, I worked with her at the Pizza place I work at now. She got fired because she wasted too much of the food. Can't spin a pizza in the air to save her life," Gunner laughed. Thanks, Gunner. I rubbed my cheek with my four arm because it itched and handed Damien the pepperoni's to add on.

"Really?" Max laughed.

"Yeah, she's cute though. Especially, if you like the quite but suffering inside type," he said.

My heart dropped for the thousandth time today. I was embarrassed. If I had the chance, I would probably beat Gunner, but I knew that feeling would go away when I wasn't mad.

"Isn't that you?" Ryder laughed. It seemed like he was trying to lighten the awkwardness but only added to it.

"But you know what they say, the quiet ones, are always the freaky ones." Gunner laughed. He started to cough. "Wait. Damien just answered didn't he?" I looked at Damien. Why would that matter?

He probably likes you. 

Shut up. Be realistic.

I know, why would he like y0u?

Ouch.

"Yeah," Bennett answered.

"Am I on speaker?" Gunner asked. "Who's there?"

"Just... you know that's not important right now, Ash is there. Take care of her," Max demanded.

"I don't wanna Babysit," he said.

"Gunner," Max warned, and Gunner sighed.

"Fine. I gotta go, your sister's stripping on the table. Take it off, Ash!" He laughed.

"Shut up, G," she said with an annoyed tone. It sounded like they were right next to each other. "Do you want to get arrested."

"Been there, done that, Ash," Gunner laughed. "Ooo, There's Lindsey. Go make your move, Ash. Get freaky with it."

"I swear, you're so annoying," she groaned.

"Hey, Lindsey!" Gunner shouted.

"Gunner, you better-" the phone disconnected, leaving Max out of the loop.

"Take it off, Ash," Ryder mimicked Gunner, and I chuckled silently.

"I can't get it into a circle," Ryder groaned about his pizza.

"Please, tell me you're not one of those weird people who hates pineapple on their pizza?" Damien asked, and I laughed, aloud this time, shaking my head. "Good, and I like your laugh; it's beautiful. I'd like to hear it more often."

Crap. My face went red from embarrassment again. Why does he have this effect on me? We took turns putting the pizza in the oven.

*~*

The pizzas came out, and we were deciding the winner. I had a feeling about who was going to win.

"Well, considering Damien dropped his pizza, he's automatically the loser." Ryder laughed.

"I did it with Mae!" Damien defended.

"Yeah it. Still, you don't have your own pizza. The rules are the rules. Sorry, Damien." Max said.

"I'm hurt, Max," Damien said, putting his hand over his heart.

"I'm sorry, Ruby," Max laughed, and Damien threw the oven mitt at him.

Max and Ruby?

"And the winner we've all been waiting for..." Bennett took a dramatic pause while Ryder drum rolled. "Mae." We all laughed, and I turned to Damien. His eyes were sparkling under the kitchen light. Good thing I just changed the lightbulbs.

"It's alright... I guess. I would do anything for Mae." I gave Damien a devilish smile, making him gulp. "I have a feeling I'm going to regret this."

Oh, you have no idea, Damien.

*~*

We waited for Damien to come out, but he didn't want to. Ryder walked out of the store and pulled Damien in.

Damien was wearing a coconut bra over a neon orange crop-tank top, pink short shorts, and a grass skirt. I covered my mouth to muffle my laugh because it was so hard not to laugh aloud. People stopped and laughed at him.

I felt bad. They were laughing at him.

Damien looked furious, and I felt even worse but his pink crocs didn't help the situation. He walked to me and crossed his arms. His bulging muscles didn't help the situation either.

"Yeah, I don't think I'd do anything for you ever again," Damien grumbled. People were surrounding us, and I felt really bad. He put his hands on his hips when Ryder and Bennett fell to the floor laughing their asses off. Ryder was laughing too hard he started wheezing out his laughs.

"I... can't... breathe!" Ryder laughed.

"Gonna... die!" Bennett laughed. They looked at each other and laughed harder. I grabbed Damien by his grass skirt and started to pull him out of the store.

"What are you doing?" Damien asked. I pulled my phone out and typed.

I shouldn't have made you do that. I hate it when people laugh at me, and I made you a laughing stock.

He read it over and frowned his eyebrows. "It's okay, Mae. Really. You seemed happy so it made me happy. Besides, the guys coerced you to make me do this." Max walked out with a bag that held Damien's clothes. Max handed them to him, so Damien started stripping, but I turned around, and they both laughed. "I'm still clothed. I'm only in my boxers."

That's the point!

"You could turn around now," Damien said, so I slowly turned around, but he was only in his black pants and shoes. I looked down, gulping, and he laughed. I've only ever seen James' body while he had his boxers on, so it was a bit weird for me to see someone else. Seeing James didn't mean anything to me because we've known each other since we were kids but seeing Damien, well, let's just say, innocent thoughts didn't cross my mind. I put my hands out silently asking 'why?' "I wanted to see your reaction."

I'm glad I could have been of assistance.

"It's getting late. Let's go home," Max said. I saw someone looking at us when I looked to my right but when I kept looking, they walked away. I couldn't see their face. It reminded me of Saturday night when I saw someone. I wondered if it was the same person.

I nodded, getting in my car while Damien got in his car. I drove home and walked into my room. I changed and headed to the gym.

Even though I was hurt, I still had to work out. I had this fear that if I rested when I was hurt, my body would rely on rest. It's a stupid thought but it's what I felt.

After a couple of hours at the gym, I started heading back home. I felt like I was being followed, so I started speeding down the street. I saw a car trying to catch up with me, so I turned left and went into an alley. I turned off the car and ducked. I saw the car pass by, so I waited until I felt like it was safe.

I turned my car back on and drove home. I took a shower then started to fall asleep. I had fun today, despite the last part of my day, it fun. I wouldn't have had fun if it wasn't for the guys.

It was weird having new friends. That meant I had to learn about them but most importantly, they had to learn about me. I felt uncomfortable with that thought. But what am I supposed to do, be antisocial my entire life? That sounds... well... antisocial. With that last thought, I fell asleep.