People cry. Not because they're weak. It's because they've been strong for too long.

Mae

I reached on the top shelf of my closet and pulled out my stats textbook to do homework. When I pulled out the textbook, one of our family photo albums fell.

I sat on the floor of my closet, opening the photo book, looking at all the happy smiles within the pages. I looked at one of the photos. It was of Zach and I sitting on the couch watching tv. I remembered that photo. We got in trouble and he told us to sit on the couch.

He came in with a camera and told us to smile and we did. We weren't happy and those smiles weren't real but that's not what the photo showed.

It's crazy how you can remember the story behind the photos. Good or bad. Don't believe every smile you see in a photo. Lies can depict anyone, at any time, anywhere. I flipped to a part where we were at Disneyland.

Our family's dysfunctional, to say the least, but there were some parts where our times were actually happy. Where I thought things would change. It's part of the reason why we never called the cops.

There were times where he would cut me. Whether it was with a knife or his harsh words but, he would come to my room and apologize for being mean. He promised it wouldn't happen again but it did. He took us to Disneyland and promised that things would be different.

~Flashback~

Five years ago

Zach and I were eating a bowl of cereal in front of the tv, watching SpongeBob. "Who wants to go to Disney?!" Our dad asked as he walked into the house. Zach and I jumped up, confused but excited.

"Us!" We said, excitedly.

"When?" Zach asked.

"Today," our dad told us. "Go pack your bags. We're leaving as soon as you get packed. Put the stuff your packing on your beds, so I can make sure you don't take anything else you don't need."

Zach and I ran to our rooms and grabbed our duffel bags — I had to borrow one from Zach since he had some from football. We put our stuff on our beds and our dad told us to pack it up.

I ran to my dad's room and grabbed a framed picture of my mom. I wanted to take her with us to Disneyland. I walked out with my bag in one hand and the frame in the other.

"Put that back," our dad said.

"I want to take her with us," I said.

"Put it back," He said, sternly.

"No," I stated, and he slapped me across my face.

"Don't ever tell me no!" He said. "You don't ever talk back to your parents." He grabbed the frame from my hands, but I fought against him, pulling the frame toward me. He snatched it out of my hands and slammed it on the ground, shattering the frame.

"Look at what you did!" He said.

"I didn't do it! You did!" I shouted at him.

"Stop yelling at dad or we won't go!" Zach yelled at me. I hated when people yelled at me, I would always cry. Tears started rolling down my face.

"Stop. Go to the car. I'll clean this up," father said. He bent down and grabbed the picture of our mom. He hesitated, looking over the picture and then held it out to me. "Keep it safe." I reached for it but he pulled it away. "Promise."

"I promise," I said and took it out of his hands, running to the car with my bag and the photo.

*~*

We made it to our hotel and left for Disney. Once we arrived and went in, it was the best thing I had ever seen. "Don't go too far." Our dad said, and we agreed. We ran to the first ride we could and stood in line.

"I want to go on all the rides," Zach said and I nodded.

Our dad waited for us when we finished our ride. "Are you guys hungry?" He asked.

"Very," Zach said and I nodded.

"Mae, are you hungry?" He asked and I nodded. "Mae."

I pointed to the ride I wanted to go on, but he stopped me by grabbing my wrist when I tried walking away. "She's hungry too, dad. Let's just eat," Zach said. He knew our father wanted me to speak, but we were in public, and I didn't want to.

"How is the world supposed to know you exist if you don't speak?" Our dad asked me and I looked down.

"You make it seem like it's my fault for not wanting to speak," I signed with my hands.

"Stop that," he said and grabbed my hands.

"Dad, Stop. You're causing a scene," Zach whispered, looking at the people who were staring at us.

"Not until she speaks."

"Yes, I'm hungry," I whispered. He let go and stood up.

"That's better," he said. "Let's go get some yummy food."

We were sitting at the table, eating, but I decided to thank him for the food first.

"Thank you," I whispered before I took another bite of food.

"Thank you, Dad," Zach said with his mouth full.

"I don't want you to be ashamed of speaking," he said and my stomach dropped. Zach gulped his food down, looking between our father and me.

"Maybe... we shouldn't talk about this at Disneyland," Zach mumbled, holding his spoon of food in front of his lips.

"Why don't you speak?" He asked, and I almost choked on my food. Was he serious? How could he ask me something like that? As if he doesn't already know.

"You always tell her that her voice is ugly, that she should be ashamed," Zach answered.

"I'm sorry," he apologized like he did dozens of times before. "Eat and then we can go have fun. It'll be different from now on. Okay?"

"Okay," I said, slightly intimidated and nodded. I knew it was a lie. He said that every other time. Before we'd go out to eat; before we'd go to a carnival; before we'd go to the mall; when he'd get paid.

It was always the same thing. Always the same lie.

He'd apologize then he'd hit us again and again then he'd apologize, again. It was an endless cycle but he was our dad. He was allowed to hit us and tell us things.

'I'm the dad,' he would say when he needed an excuse for telling us mean things or hitting us with whatever he could grab first when we made him mad. He seemed to get mad very often.

When we would miss the bus. We would only miss it because he would tell us after the bus had left that we needed to take the bus. When the house was dirty, but Zach and I were in the process of cleaning it. When his car was dirty, the lawn wasn't mowed, or when his food wasn't made when he came home from work and when there wasn't cold beer in the fridge.

"Can we go on all the rides?" Zach asked with a beaming smile.

I always got scared of being completely happy because whenever I was completely happy, something bad always happened.

"Of course. On all the rides you want, Papi," he smiled at Zach and placed a hand on the back of his head. Zach smiled and continued to eat.

"And candy?" Zach asked.

"Anything," our dad said, pulling down the corners of his lips a little bit, making it look like anything Zach wanted was no big deal.

"Can you buy Disneyland?" Zach asked, his eyes widening from excitement.

"No, Papi, that's too much," he laughed and Zach did too before he continued to eat again. I smiled and ate too.

"Do you want my onion and tomato?" I asked dad.

"Eat it," he told me while he took another bite of his food.

"I don't like it."

"Mae,... eat your food," he told me, and I didn't want to make him mad so I did.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted it but I like it too," I smiled and he nodded. I looked down at my tomato and onion.

The thought of having to eat it made my stomach clench. It wasn't the taste I didn't like. If I had to, I could eat the taste but it was the texture I didn't like. It's what made me a picky eater and made our father mad. Every time.

"I don't want my toast," Zach said picking up his toast.

"You-"

"I don't want it and I'm not going to eat it," Zach put his foot down, cutting off our father.

"Okay. Mae will eat it," he said. Like it was no big deal. I grabbed the toast and put the tomato and onion on it. I wanted to spit out all of it because of the crunchy sound that I felt in my mouth.

"All of it," our dad said and I nodded.

"Can I eat other food too?" I asked and he nodded, so I set the toast down and ate my other food. While occasionally taking bites of the toast with tomato and onion.

~End of Flashback~

I heard the door opening, bringing me out of my thoughts. I looked out my closet door and saw Zach standing in the doorway, looking around my room.

"Mae, it's me. Zach," Zach called out. I saw him pass by the closest and go into the restroom. "Mae?"

"I'm here, sorry," I stood up and put the photo album back.

"Taking a trip down memory lane?" He asked. He reached up and took the album from me before I could fully put it back.

"Yeah, I saw pictures from Disneyland," I told him. "Happiest place on earth right?"

"I think it depends on the people you go with. We should take a trip there this year. You, me, and James," he suggested and it sounded like the best of ideas.

"I'm down," I smiled. I looked out my closet, into my room. It was a brighter blue from outside. I looked at him and noticed he had clothes on. "What time is it?"

"Seven-thirty," He said, making my eyes widen and my head cock forward.

"Seven-thirty?" I asked. "I woke up an hour earlier so I can do homework. And I didn't. I swear the mornings before school goes by so quickly."

"Tell me about it. I snoozed for what felt like five minutes and it ended up being forty-five minutes. Someone's playing with us."

We looked at each other in suspicion.

"James," we said and laughed. There was a knock on the front door, so I looked back.

"Speak of Diablo and he shall appear," Zach said. "Get dressed. I'm gonna eat a bowl of cereal and open the door to James. In that order." He laughed and walked out. I looked through my clothes and I wanted something better. I felt the need to go clothes shopping.

When I went two weeks ago, I only bought a few things, so I would need some new clothes by the time September hits.

I chose light jeans with rips down the legs. None of it peaked through to my skin so it wouldn't count as dress code. And to go with my jeans, a simple black fitted v neck.

I went to my restroom and closed the door. I didn't have enough time to put makeup on and my hair was wavy, so all I had to do was brush my teeth.

Once I finished, I looked into the mirror and smiled. I leaned closer, looking deep into my close almond, Hazel eyes. "You're strong, and I'm proud of you."

Being proud of myself hit hard.

"I'm proud of myself," I realized. My eyes watered at the fact that for the first time in my life, I was proud of myself. I blinked a couple of times, drying my eyes and smiled in the mirror then walked out.

"What's for breakfast?" James asked when I walked into the kitchen. He was standing in front of the counter, pouring himself a bowl of cereal. He looked back, waiting for me to sign.

"Whatever you're making," I joked. He smiled sarcastically, squinting his eyes. "I'll take eggs, bacon. Maybe a pancake?"

"Let's go to school instead," he said and sat down with a bowl of cereal.

"We're gonna be late," I told them but their eyes were only on their bowls. I snapped my fingers and they still didn't listen.

"If we don't look, we won't be obligated to listen," Zach said, and James hummed in response.

"You tell her 'bout football?" James asked and Zach looked at me.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you they pushed the football game for two months. I guess the other team got sick or something," Zach informed me and I nodded, understanding. I went to the fridge and grabbed the strawberry container from the shelf with the other fruits and vegetables.

They were already washed so I leaned against the counter and took a bite. My eyes slightly widened because of how sweet they were. I looked at James to see if he wanted one and he was looking at me.

He opened his mouth, so I took a strawberry to him and he leaned his head forward. He didn't move his arms, despite them being free, so I put half the strawberry in his mouth and he took a bite while I looked at my strawberry and finished it, only leaving the leaves.

"Yo, that's hella sweet," he said and took the rest of the strawberry from me and finished it.

"Let's go," Zach said. I grabbed two more strawberries and James did the same. I grabbed a knife and sliced off the leaves of both and walked out. I ate the strawberries as I walked to the car.

We got in and I started eating the second strawberry. Zach moved the seat forward, making James get in the back. Zach's always hated sitting in the back so he makes James sit back there every time. I backed out of the driveway and left down the dirt road.

Halfway to school, I saw a red challenger at the same stoplight that Ryder usually tries to race me. I tried to look in but their windows were as tinted as mine. He revved, so I revved. It was probably Ryder.

"Ryder got a new whip or what?" James asked, still looking at the red car while he munched on his strawberry.

"Maybe," Zach said, eyeing the car. I looked at the light and it turned green. I floored it, and we were racing. We were going at the same pace. There was a car on his lane, so I accelerated, resulting in him having to slow down and go behind me.

Adrenaline coursed through my body, making my hands shook a little, and I smiled while gripping the steering wheel tighter.

"Oh, shit. I'm gonna die," James laughed. He looked scared yet excited. "The black guys always die first."

"Shut up," Zach laughed with James.

"My momma's gonna kill me," James said. "And then Mae."

"Not if we die first," Zach said backing up in his seat.

"Awe, hell nah. I could already picture it. My mom yelling at me. 'James Samuel Baxter, What in the hell were you doing in that crazy white girl's car?"

"I'm not white," I signed, and they shouted at me to keep my hands on the wheel.

The driver started riding me. I pushed the pedal further and the school was near. I switched lanes and so did he. He tried to go right and go into the school first, but I made it first and parked in my usual spot. The car parked next to me, in the spot Ryder usually parks.

"Definitely not Ryder," Zach said as we both tried to look in the car but couldn't.

"Could be. Parked in the same spot," James tried to reason. I nodded because it could have been Ryder.

"Maybe it's Damien?" Zach asked.

"Right," James said with a disinterested tone. I looked at him in the review mirror and he popped a strawberry in his mouth. His chew was by far the cutest. I used to think that he would lose his chewing habit when we got older because he ate like a kid but he never did.

When he chewed, his lips pouted and he chewed up and down. His cheeks looked chubby despite there not being much food in his mouth. He looked out the window to his right, still chewing.

He looked at me through the mirror, and I looked away quickly. He chuckled and I knew he caught me staring. "Do I look cute or something?" He asked. He leaned forward after taking off his seatbelt and came near my face. "Be honest."

He leaned forward and smiled. I looked down at his lips and he licked them. I looked at his teeth and smiled.

"You have strawberry in your teeth," I told him, and he looked in the mirror, leaning closer. He scratched it out and blew a kiss at me.

"If your checking if I'm blushing don't waste your time. Black guys don't blush," he said, looking out the window at the passing students. I reached back and felt his cheeks. They were hot. He was embarrassed.

I took my hand back and smiled at James. He took his shirt off to put his practice jersey on, and I looked down. He didn't have abs but he was toned.

It was different from the last time I saw him shirtless. James wasn't a big guy nor did he have big muscle. He was on the thinner side with a toned body but that's what made him a fast running back. James and Zach were near unbeatable.

With Zach being the quarterback and James the running back, they were able to read each other like no other if they couldn't run the play.

"You could have all this but ya keep playin'," James said, and I laughed. "Just kidding." He chuckled.

"I know," I signed and smiled.

We didn't make a move to get out. I wanted them to make the first move. I kept looking, but I couldn't see anymore because someone got in front of my window. They ducked and I saw Damien in my window. He threw his hands up asking, 'what?'. I turned off the car and got out but the people in the red car stayed.

"We saw the race. That was sick." Ryder put his hands up to high five and I couldn't leave him hanging, so I slapped his hand lightly. His hands were warm.

"We thought it was you," James told Ryder. Ryder looked at him before looking away, completely and rudely ignoring James. I nudged James' arm and smiled at him when he looked at me. He gave me a smile in return.

We waited by my car, so we could see the people in the car get out. They finally turned it off and got out. There were three of them getting out of the car, but I couldn't see their faces yet.

They turned to face us and I finally saw the driver. I'd be lying if I said he wasn't cute. He was the tallest out of his friends. I noticed because he was the one standing in the middle of his friends.

He had auburn hair along with green, hooded eyes and a sharp jawline that was easy to tell when he clenched and unclenched his jaw. He seemed to be clenching and unclenching a lot as he stood before us.

The black-haired boy to the right, next to the middle, looked skinnier than the other two. His square, prescription glasses sort of hid his dark brown, mono-lid eyes along with a mole under the bottom corner of his right eye. He was the shortest out of the three, making him look the smallest because of the size difference in height and muscle.

He was shorter than his friends but from the looks of it to me, he was still taller than me and my height was a few inches taller than that of an average woman.

The one on the far left had brown hair along with upturned, light brown eyes. His face looked tired like he just woke up. It made him have a bit of a babyface. Especially his narrow nose and close, dark eyebrows.

The one in the middle was staring at me. My feet shuffled under his gaze, and Damien put his arm around me. I looked up at him but he was glaring at the guy in the middle. Middle-man looked at me then Damien and smiled. His smile was friendly, soft even.

"I'm Daniel," the guy with brown hair said.

"I'm Solan." the guy with black hair said. I noticed a bit of an accent to him. It was noticeable, so I was able to tell which accent it was. He pointed to the middle man and said, "and he's Axel."

"Why couldn't he introduce himself?" Zach asked out of curiosity. Daniel looked at Axel and Axel nodded at Daniel.

"Axel's mute." He was like me. I smiled because I had never met someone who was mute. He smiled at me too and let me tell you. Damn, that smile.

It was nothing compared to Damien's smile, but Damien did have dimples and hi- why am I comparing him to Damien? I threw that thought to the back of my mind.

"Awe, shit," Ryder whispered and kind of snorted. Damien stiffened, so I looked at all of them, and they were all glaring at the new students they were being rude except Zach and James. They're going to think we hate them.

I used my left hand to remove Damien's right arm off my shoulder. I gave him a nervous smile and his hard expression melted, softening as I looked at him.

I looked at Axel and he noticed when I looked at him, so he took his eyes off of Damien and looked at me. He looked at Damien again and there was a look in his eyes I couldn't read. I smiled and approached them.

Daniel and Solan gave me a handshake but when I tried to give one to Axel he gave me a breathtaking smile and hugged me. It was awkward at first, but I hugged him back because maybe this was how he greeted people where he's from?

I pulled away because I realized how long it was that we were hugging. It was starting to get awkward. I looked up and he was smiling at what was behind me. I turned around and Damien looked annoyed while he clenched his jaw. Was he mad? I walked back to stand next to him, but he doesn't notice me until I tapped his shoulder. He looked at me and I smiled at him.

"We're going to be late for class," James whispered in my ear.

"It's okay. Traffic on Monday's are always the worst," I signed and he shrugged.

"I'm Zach," he pointed to me and said, "And this is Mae."

"Why couldn't she introduce herself?" Solan asked. He smiled at me so I smiled back at him in return.

Zach laughed and looked at me. I nodded and he said, "Mae's mute." I looked back at Axel to see his reaction and he was surprised and happy.

"So from one mute kid to another, how mute are you?" Axel signed. How swiftly he signed made it feel like he's been signing his whole life. I didn't find the question rude or personal for some reason.

"Oh. Actually, Mae doesn't li-"

"Completely," I signed before Zach could finish his Sentence. "What about you?"

"Completely," he nodded. "For me, it's by choice. Is it the same for you?"

"Yes," I put my right hand back down after signing and it felt like a mutual understanding between Axel and I. An instant bond.

For the first time, I finally understood why the kids would ask me why I was mute. I was curious why Axel was mute. I never understood those kids, not truly. I understood that they were curious, but I never felt that curiosity first hand.

"That look. Are you curious?" Axel asked.

"I'm Ryder."

"Dude!" Bennett hissed at Ryder.

"What?" Ryder asked, lifting his shoulders as he turned to Bennett.

"You're not supposed to interrupt people when they're signing. You'll get bad luck," Bennett told him, and I instantly smiled.

"For how long?" Ryder asked. His eyes slightly widening as his head leaned forward.

"Duuude," Bennett said like it was a big deal and moved his head back.

"Dude," Ryder said, slightly scared.

"Dude, you fall for anything," Bennett laughed and Ryder pushed him. "I'm Bennett." Bennett laughed a little. He pointed at Damien and said, "And this is Damien."

"What? Is he mute too?" Daniel chuckled.

"I'm very much not mute. Would you like to hear some words I have of you?" Damien snapped.

"Whoa, relax," Daniel chuckled, putting his hands out.

I looked at Damien and furrowed my eyebrows, moving my head back. I was confused as to why Damien was acting like this. I had never seen this side of him before.

Have you seen any sides of him? You don't know him that well.

I was right. I didn't know him, so I shouldn't have been surprised.

"Come on, Cupcake," Ryder put his arm around me and pulled me to the front doors of the school. Once we were inside, I looked at him like he'd grown two heads. Why did he call me cupcake?

Someone cleared their throat, and we turn around to see Damien looking at Ryder with his right eyebrow raised, questioning him. I looked at Ryder, and he had a boyish grin playing his lips.

Behind them, I saw Axel and his friends. He waved towards my direction, and I didn't want to wave back to him if he wasn't waving at me.

Been there, done that.

It's so embarrassing. I looked back but no one was looking over here, so I turned back to wave, but they were heading towards the office.

"Let's go to math," Damien smiled. I looked around for Zach but forgot he had football drills. Damien put his hand on my back, but I walked faster to avoid his touch. "Wow, you walk fast." He laughed.

Ryder was going to walk in the class before Bennett pulled him back, preventing him from walking in. "Go to your class," Bennett told him, and Ryder frowned and started walking toward the end of the hall.

"I hate this class," Ryder said as he walked to his class.

"It's only fifty minutes," Bennett told him. Damien guided me faster into class.

What's with all the guiding? We walked in and sat down. Damien says next to me with Bennett in front of him. The bell rang and five minutes later Axel walked in with Daniel.

"You're late," Mrs. Gonzalez, our math teacher said. "Go to the office and get a late pass."

"We just came from the office. We were getting our schedules," Daniel told her. She held out her arm and asked for the schedule. Mrs. Gonzalez looked at the bottom and nodded. She took Axel's paper and looked at the bottom as well before nodding and handing them back.

"The timestamps check out. Go find a seat. I don't have a seating chart for my class so behave yourself unless you want a seating chart," the teacher said.

"Yes, Ma'am," Daniel said with a firm nod and sat down. She smiled at his respectful tone and pulled out her folder to take attendance.

They sat on my left side of me on the next row. I took a piece of paper out and wrote on it.

Second time not being late. If you keep this up you're gonna lose your bad boy cred.

I looked up, and he was shooting daggers at Axel. I nudged Damien's arm, and he looked down at me. The coldness vanished and all that was left was kindness.

I handed him the note and he read it, instantly smiling. Showing that amazing smile with his dimples and his perfect white teeth.

He had an over gap and it made me wonder if he had braces before because I noticed that people who have had braces tend to have over gaps.

I've always wanted braces, but we never had enough money for them. My teeth are straight the only thing I don't like about my teeth are the gaps. It's why I never smile with my teeth. And when I laugh, I cover my top teeth with my bottom lip. It's better than with my hand.

I noticed when someone laughed and covered their mouth with their hand that after they were done laughing their teeth had gaps as well. I have money for them now, but I don't want them on for my senior photos.

"For you, I wouldn't mind," I looked into his eyes. I wanted to look away but at the same time, I didn't.

'Look away. That's too long. It's too much,' my anxiety yelled at me, so I turned away and looked at my homework which I hadn't completed.

"Besides, I don't care to have that title. Means nothing to me. Can't care about losing something if you don't care about it in the first place."

"Axel, what's your last name?" The teacher asked as she wrote on the attendance paper.

"Smith," Daniel said.

"Thank you, Axel," she said and looked up at the two boys sitting together. "What about you, Daniel?"

"Ross," Daniel smiled. She wrote on the attendance paper and sighed her name.

"Anyone care to take this to the office?" Everyone raised their hand and a girl named Mariah stood up. They just wanted time out of the class.

"I'll take it," Mariah said and walked to the teacher's table, grabbing the attendance sheet and leaving.

"Thank you," the teacher said. "In your desks are the math textbook please open it to page three-twelve."

Max walked in late with a sweat-stain that went down the middle of his shirt. Going all the way down to the center of his torso. He handed the teacher a yellow slip and took his seat. Damien leaned over his desk and Max let out a heavy breath. He was still breathing hard. I reached on my side backpack and pulled out my cold water bottle.

"What happened?" Damien asked.

"My car was stolen," Max said. He looked at me and smiled. "Hey, Mae." I held out my water to him and from the looks in his eyes, he wanted it but he said it was okay. I smiled and nodded. "Thank you." He took it and drank the entire bottle.

"At your house?" Bennett asked.

"Yeah, there... there was a symbol," Max said and the way he said symbol like it was supposed to mean something. Bennett looked at Damien and they turned to look at me. I felt embarrassed for being nosy so I looked at my homework.

"Which one?" Bennett asked.

"I'll buy you another one," Max said, so I looked up and shook my head. "No, really. I'll buy you one at the snack bar outside. It's only a dollar."

"Solve problems one through four," the teacher said and everyone groaned. "Shall I double it? Or do you want to do one through four?" Everyone cheered, happy to take one through four. I looked at the page and the numbers had letters next to it. Great. 1a. 1b. 1c. 1d. 1e. And so on. Two and four also went up to letter F. "I'll collect the previous homework tomorrow and if you want to leave the class, you need to work on this. It's your exit ticket."

I heard some girls having a conversation, and I couldn't help but eavesdrop. I know it's not good but I had to. Or I wanted to, same thing. I noticed that it was about Axel.

"Yeah, he just moved here." A popular girl named Cassandra said. She was nice to everyone but her beauty was intimidating.

"He's super hot." Her friend, Maya giggled.

"I know. He's also mute."

"Kind of kinky," Maya said. How is that kinky?!

"As much as I hate to admit it, him and Mae would be a cute couple."

"Yeah, they're both mute." They stopped talking once the teacher said she'd go over problem number one.

"All of them?" A black boy named Tyson asked when he lifted his head up. I looked near his lap and he was on his phone. "I need a little help." Tyson was a popular guy. He's never had a girlfriend but he did talk to girls. He was a Basketball player and Track runner. He was also a four point-O student. He has been ever since the sixth grade.

"Maybe you wouldn't need help if you paid attention instead of going on your phone," the teacher said and he laughed.

"Awe, come on," he said with a smile. "I was just texting my moms. She couldn't find the eggs in the fridge." Everyone laughed and he smiled. I looked at Damien but it looked like he was about to explode if the teacher asked him something. I looked at Bennett, and he looked tense too. I took another piece of paper out and wrote on it then handed it to Damien.

Do you wanna hang out today?

He read it and smiled. The anger completely melting away. "I'd love too. You could come to my house after school?" I nodded my head, and we stopped talking as our teacher talked about the classwork.

*~*

"Okay, there's five minutes left but go ahead and start packing your things. Leave out the worksheet that you're going to be turning in," the teacher told us and everyone started packing their things. "I'm going to talk but keep packing. We're doing a project and you need to have partners." the class started booing and looked at their friends that they were going to partner up with. "But this time, I'm going to pick your partners." The class started booing again.

"Hopefully, we're partners," Damien smiled at me, and I nodded. Bennett turned around and feigned pain but couldn't keep the smile off his face.

"I feel betrayed." Bennett started chuckling as the teacher named students off until I heard my name being called.

"And Mae you'll be partners with..." she trailed off looking at Damien and Axel. "Well, you can choose."

I had to choose between Axel and Damien?!

Why in the world would she make me choose? I felt bad because Axel didn't speak. I know what it's like being partners with someone who's oral. It's hard because they don't understand why you don't speak. They'll ask you something and when you write something down to try and communicate they get mad because you're taking one second to write something down.

Not all the people I've partnered up with were terrible but the majority of the people were. They had no filter nor did they care to have one.

"Choose, Mae." She seemed to be getting impatient.

It's not that easy, Mrs. Gonzalez! I felt bad for Damien because if I didn't choose him, isn't that like rejection? I would be rejecting one of them and accepting the other. I looked at Axel, and he looked hopeful with his smile. I looked at Damien and he did too but with a hint of vulnerability in his eyes.

"Mae and Axel," the teacher decided and my heart dropped as my face felt hot. I looked at Axel and smiled. He smiled too but it wasn't the same as before.

"Max and Damien." The teacher nodded and started calling off names. "Bennett and Maya." I looked at Damien to see how he was feeling, but I couldn't. He was unreadable. Not allowing anyone to see his emotions.

I felt bad for not choosing Damien. A part of me wanted to be his partner; but another part of me was relieved that I wasn't his partner. I felt like I would have been too anxious to keep writing notes to him. The bell rang, and we walked out.

"Were we still going to hang out?" Max called out but I kept walking. What if he wasn't talking to me? "Mae?"

I turned around and raised my eyebrows, pretending I didn't hear him. "Hang out after school?" Bennett asked. I nodded with a smile, and they nodded. I looked at Damien and he looked at me. I waved to him, and he gave a small smile before turning around and pulling out his phone.

I went to my next class, and I still didn't cool off from my embarrassment. "Mae, right?" I looked to my left and Solan was standing in front of my desk. "Do you mind if I sit?" I moved my backpack from the chair beside me to my right side and he sat on my left side.

"Do you know sign language too?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, fluently."

"How long have you known? Is it because of Axel?" I asked. He looked confused for a second until he nodded.

"Sorry. Yeah, it's because of Axel. Umm... I've known since," he paused and looked up in thought, slightly squinting his eyes in concentration. "For about seven years." He nodded.

"I have a seating chart so everyone please stand," the teacher said when he walked in. "Actually, Mae, you can sit back down.

"Uhh... Actually, can I stay too? I know sign language," Solan said as he signed and the teacher agreed. "It'll be easier." He told me and I nodded. H had a really light atmosphere that surrounded him. It made me feel comfortable because he seemed relaxed.

A couple of people that walked in smiled and waved at him. Cassandra was in this class too, and she came over to see how finding his classes was for him. He said he got lost coming here, and she told him that if he ever needed help that he could ask her. It was a friendly gesture.

"If you don't have a place to sit, you and your friends can sit with my friends," she offered with a smile.

"Cool. Thank you," he smiled and she nodded.

"Bye," she told him. "Bye, Mae." She smiled and I smiled too. She sat in the front with her other friend.

"Made any new friends yet?" I asked.

"Yeah, everyone's really nice. I take it new students make friends easy?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah, it also helps if your good looking," I said and smiled.

"You must be very popular then," he said, and I shook my head, almost wanting to laugh. I noticed his voice had a bit of an accent.

"Do you have an accent?" I asked and he nodded.

"A Korean accent. I'm Korean-American. I was born in Daejeon, which is a place in South Korea and moved here with my parents. We moved with my grandparents in San Diego. My father's side is American," he told me and then laughed. "I just told you my whole life story. Where are you born?" He laughed again.

"Here," I signed. "Born and raised." He chuckled and nodded.

"Okay," he nodded while smiling. "So I'm in your home." He took out his pencil and book.

"I guess it's yours now too," I smiled.

*~*

School was over and I was sitting in my car, parked in Damien's driveway. I felt bad for him, but maybe it was for the best? I wanted to be Damien's partner when our teacher was calling students, but I just couldn't think with that much pressure. I got out of my car, stepping onto the smooth driveway and walked to the front door. I rang the doorbell, and Ryder opened it.

"Cupcake! You made it!" Ryder sounded happy. Too happy and loud. Damien walked in and rolled his eyes at Ryder, but Ryder just gave him a goofy smile. Making dimples show on the corners of his bottom chin. By the time Ryder left Damien and I alone, I still didn't know what that whole ordeal was about.

"Come on," he mumbled, giving a small smile but there was this look in his eyes. Almost like a dullness at the very back of the eyes.

The soft grey that his almond eyes carried was really pretty. I smiled and the dullness in his eyes slowly faded, like a light that was slowly disappearing into the dark. "Are you thirsty?" He asked and licked his plump lips. I shook my head, not wanting to bother him. He nodded and turned around, but I pulled his arm back as he started to walk.

I was nervous. What if I was thinking too much into this, and he was not as sad as I thought he was? He looked at me, and I put out my out hand, telling him to hold on as I pulled my phone out and showed him what I typed.

I'm sorry for not picking you to be my partner. It's just that I know what it's like to have a partner try to talk to you when you don't. I know it all too well. I wanted to be your partner. Believe me.

Were you mad?

"Not mad... just confused," Damien said slowly. "When I told you that I wanted to be your partner you agreed like you wanted to be mine too but when it was time for you to choose, you chose differently, but I get it now." I nodded with a small smile on my lips. He didn't look as sad anymore. Which felt like a weight being lifted off my chest. I heard footsteps coming down the hall. "I want you to meet some people." I locked my phone and put it back in my pocket. I looked up and saw them.

Oh shit.

What the hell are they doing here? "Mae, are you okay? You kind of looked shocked... or scared?" Damien brought me out of my daze. I blinked a couple of times and nodded.

"I'm Deacon."

"I'm Declan."

"I'm Dylan."

Dylan took a step forward and put his hand out. I remembered the fight and how he stepped every time he punched. I shook his hand and did the same with the rest of them. I smiled because they couldn't know it was me. Right?

Remembering that made me relax a bit. There was no way they could know me as The King. No one has figured it yet.

What if Billy told people?

I doubt he would do that to me. He trained me and gave me the idea to hide my identity. I doubt he'd tell people after how hard he worked to hide who was behind the fighter.

I looked at Damien, and he seemed happy.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mae." They said at the same time. Now, my smile turned real, that was funny. Damien grabbed my hand and led the way. I looked down at my hands and no guy has ever held my hand before. When we walked in, I was met with Bennett and Ryder. They were arguing about what movie to choose from.

Bennett was holding a comedy movie while Ryder was holding a horror and romance movie.

"We're not watching a romance movie," Bennett argued.

"Yes, we are. If not, then horror."

"This happens a lot," Damien's whispered, pulling me to the couch with our hands still interlocked and now that we were in a room filled with guys, my heart was racing from anxiety.

What if I say something wrong? What if I embarrass myself? What if I don't fit in?

"Aww!" Ryder gushed. "You're holding hands." I pulled my hand away and looked to the left, at the door so that I was avoiding eye contact. Damien seemed to be unfazed.

"I just led the way. Relax, man."

'I just led the way,' Damien's voice repeated in my head as my anxiety was analyzing the way he said it. How he said it and possibly other reasons why he would have said it... other than the real reason why he said it.

My brain liked to work overtime and stress itself out and to get its hopes up to only crush it with the cold truth. I could feel all their eyes on me but luckily the triplets saved me.

"We wanna play a game real quick," One of the triplets said, walking in with his brothers. They were all wearing the same thing.

"Oh, no. I know what game this is. No way—you're gonna confuse her." Damien tried to shoot down their game but the triplets didn't back down.

"No. She'll be fine, we need to know if she's worthy." One of them laughed but the look in his eyes said that he was half kidding.

"Come on, Damien. It was funny when we did it to Ryder." Another tried. I looked at Ryder and he shook his head.

"Not for me. I was confused!" They laughed at Ryder, and I looked at Damien. I nodded, giving him a reassuring smile.

I looked back, and two of them were pretending to fight. One of them stepped before he punched and the other blocked it. When the second one gave a punch, he shifted his weight and I knew them as Dylan and Declan. I noticed both Declan and Dylan's eyelids were covered with band-aids so their birthmarks weren't showing. That must be the game they wanted me to play.

"Okay. Damien's gonna call a name and you point to who it is. After you're done, pull off the band-aid that you think is covering our birthmark," Deacon explained. "Sound good?" I nodded.

I kept my eyes on them, looking over all their features. I noticed that if they didn't have their birthmarks, they would all look the same. You wouldn't even be able to tell them apart.

"Dylan," Damien called out. I looked at them and remembered the one that stepped before he punched and pointed to him. "Declan," I remembered the one who shifted his weight because of his leg and pointed to him. "Deacon." I point to the only one left.

"You can take off our band-aides now," Dylan said, keeping his cool.

"Dude, I don't even know who's who's," Ryder said and laughed with Bennett. I took off Deacon's left side to reveal a birthmark, and I smiled. I removed Declan's rights side to real a birthmark, and I removed both of Dylan's band-aids to reveal nothing.

"You're welcome." Deacon smiled at Damien. I looked back at Damien and there was a look in his eyes that I couldn't quite read. I wasn't able to tell what it was. I walked and sat down next to him. With enough of a space to fit another person. Ryder looked at the space between Damien and I and started to make his way over here, but Damien put a pillow between us.

"Are you going to tell me how you did that?" Damien asked, leaning over to me. I took my eyes off Ryder and shook my head, answering Damien's question. "What?! Not at all?" I shook my head again, smiling at his shocked face.

"She got lucky, it was beginners luck," Ryder argued. Obviously, he was jealous I figured them out faster than he could. I shook my head and got comfortable. Leaning against the pillow that was between Damien and I. They ended up choosing an action movie. One of the Fast and Furious movies to be exact.

Ryder came back with a blanket and laid on a single recliner. He was doing something with the bottom of his shirt, but he stopped what he was doing and brought square, black glasses up and put them on.

When he put them on, he squinted before relaxing in his seat. He had prescription glasses which suited his face. He looked at Bennett and whispered to him. Bennett passed him licorice and Ryder started eating. I looked back at the movie as the beginning credits were starting to end.

The air was hitting my face and it felt nice because the outside weather was hot but it started to dry out my eyes. I closed my eyes to make them wet again but it felt good. These couches were extremely comfortable. My muscle started to relax. I opened my eyes to see cars racing down the street. I closed my eyes again as my body relaxed a bit more.

I finally closed my eyes, not able to fight my sleep and let my body relax against the pillow that was now warm with my body heat.

*~*

"She looks so peaceful," I heard a voice say. I couldn't make out who it was. It was too far away so I couldn't decipher if what I was hearing was real.

"I know, she kind of looks pretty," I heard a smack and an ow. My head was leaning against a warm pillow.

"She doesn't even make a sound when she's sleeping."

"Ryder can't relate. He starts sucking up people's walls with his snores," I heard Bennett's voice. It was starting to get clearer. His voice was a little thicker than the others and despite his age difference from the guys, I knew that someday, Bennett would have the deepest voice amongst the guys.

"Are you sure she's alive?"

Smack.

"Ow, why do you keep hitting me?!"

"Because you're acting dumb," I heard a steady pumping sound. I raised my hand on the pillow and the pumping accelerated. The more I moved my hand the faster it went. I took a deep, shaky breath in through my nose and got a whiff of gunpowder but the more I smelled the more it mixed with cologne.

"Dude, what is she doing?"

I heard a chuckling through the vibrations. I had a thought that crossed my mind. What if it's not a pillow?

It better be a pillow. If not, you're moving to Canada.

I opened my eyes, and I saw a bulge.

I jumped up into a sitting position and looked at who the bulge belonged to. Damien. I'll take that shipment to Canada, please. He was smiling and despite the AC hitting me, I started to sweat.

It first formed on the bridge of my nose then on my upper lip. I looked around us and everyone was watching me. The bottom of my head, near my ear, itched with sweat, so I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

"You're finally up, cupcake?" I looked at Ryder, and he was smiling. I hated the nickname. Him calling me Cupcake made me feel like a stripper or someone's grandchild—there was no in-between.

I felt the heat rise from my cheeks. "You know if you wanted to touch me, all you had to do was ask?" The heat released from my chest, rising all the way to my cheeks and my face felt flushed. I couldn't just let him tell me that, so I rolled my eyes at Damien, but he laughed. I got my phone out and checked the time. The time read twelve forty-three in the morning.

"Sorry, we didn't wake you. You just looked peaceful." Bennett said.

"How do you not make a sound when you're asleep?" Declan asked and another smack was given by Bennett. I'm assuming that he was the one giving them while Declan was on the receiving end. "Ow! Stop! Hitting me!"

"Then stop saying stupid things," Bennett warned.

"I'm just asking so Ryder can take some notes," Declan laughed.

"Okay! Let's not announce it to the whole world," Ryder told him.

"Not the whole world. Just Mae."

'You're not the whole world. You're just Mae," my anxiety reminded me.

"Sorry for my brother," I waved Damien off. I pulled out my phone and showed Declan.

I don't know. I'm silent.

"Well, yeah. But don't you ever feel bad that you have a voice and you choose not to speak while others wish to have a voice but can't speak?" Declan asked, and I wasn't surprised at all. He wasn't the first person to ask this. I got my phone out and showed him.

Read out loud.

He nodded. I showed him the rest of the text, and he read it out loud. "For anyone in this room that wants to know, apart of me does feel bad because I have a voice that others dream of having yet I still choose not to use it. But if you've lived through what I've lived through. Been through what I've been through, maybe you'd be silent too." I gave him a gentle smile, and they all looked sad.

"Mae-" I stopped Damien by putting my hand out again then I typed.

Don't worry, he didn't push too far. I have to go home. I'll see you tomorrow?

"Yeah, you will," Damien promised. I got up and walked out the door. I went to my car and drove off.

**********************************************
A/N: I hope you're enjoying the story. This was a loooong chapter but I just had more things to add

Don't forget to vote and comment.

Do you have any names that are Badass?