Appreciate those you have because if they were gone, how would you feel?

Mae

"For what?" He asked, smiling, and already liking the sound of a plan. I waited and planned out everything in my head on how it was going to happen before telling him.

"I wanna prank Ryder," I said, and he smiled instantly.

"I'm game," he agreed without missing a beat. "What do you have in mind?" I laughed at the fact that he agreed to prank his best friend without even knowing the prank I had planned.

"Well," I started and let him in on the plan. He followed along, agreeing that Ryder was gullible enough to fall for it.

"But now, we need him to separate from the guys, so we call tell the rest of them," I told him, hoping he would suggest a way to get Ryder away from the guys. He thought for a second before pulling out his phone. He started swiping and then pulled his phone to his ear.

"Hey, Gunner, I'ma need you to call Ryder and distract him for as long as you can and then have Ryan do the same. Don't tell him anything I just told you. Just keep him distracted. Tell him to separate from the group he's with because what you're gonna tell him is a secret. Tell him it's business or something... okay... yeah... thanks."

He hung up his phone, and we looked toward the group of guys, but we were too far away to see them clearly. From what I could see, they were all messing around with each other, but one of them stopped and stood still, bringing his hand up to his ear before walking away from the group.

"Okay, let's go," I said, and we started walking. I felt his hand interlocked with mine, holding my hand, so I looked down at his hand and then at him. He smiled, and I smiled as well, holding onto his hand as I walked faster.

"Are you going to be able to talk to them?" Damien asked, and I slowed down a bit because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to talk to them. I shrugged as I let go of his hand, and we kept walking as I thought about it. Bennett saw us first, and he nodded toward us, resulting in the rest of the guys to turn around.

"Hey, Mae," Bennett smiled. I smiled and nodded up once, acknowledging him.

"Hey, Mae," the triplets said in unison, and my smile grew wider. It was funny how they always did that.

"Thanks for my hey," Damien frowned, and I smiled at him as he looked down.

"Hey, buddy," Bennett cooed like he was a dog, and everyone laughed. There was a silence that appeared as everyone looked at Damien. "So?" Bennett asked, leaving his lips pursed as he finished his word.

"What's the verdict?" Max asked. Bennett and Max were both looking at Damie, waiting, so I knew they weren't expecting me to answer which gave me time to think if talking to them was going to be possible.

"How about I let Mae tell you," Damien said, distracting me from my thoughts as he looked at me. I smiled as I looked at the guys, and they looked at me as if they were thinking, probably coming up with the possibility that I spoke to him.

"Did you..." Deacon trailed off as I started to nod, already knowing what he was going to ask.

"No way," Declan shook his head as he looked at me in a daze.

"You didn't," Dylan shook his head with an unbelievable look.

"Say something," Max said, already knowing I had spoken to Damien.

"She's not a parrot," Bennett whispered, still shocked. I smiled as I realized there was no voice, no anger swarming in my head. It was completely silent and peaceful for the first time in years.

I looked at the guys, but I didn't know what to say. I shrugged, not knowing, and searched through my head for anything to say, something was better than nothing. "Something," I blurted out, and Max laughed.

"Holy crap," Bennett mumbled as he stared at me with wide eyes.

"Say Deacon," Deacon blurted out, looking at me, and cocking his head forward, waiting for me to speak.

"Deacon," I repeated, and he smiled.

"Say Declan."

"Say Dylan."

"Declan and Dylan," I laughed, and they beamed bright smiles. I shook my head as I smiled at the boys. I found it funny that they had the chance to get me to say anything, and they chose their names.

"Wow," The triplets breathed, and my smile grew wider. I wasn't scared or nervous talking to them. They had a similar aura Damien had. It was safe and comforting. I felt safe and protected in their presence. "It's so different," Declan added as he smiled, but I was confused by what he meant.

"What do you mean?" I asked, and they all looked at me in a daze, still shocked that I was speaking.

"They pictured it before," Damien admitted as he smiled sheepishly. "They all wondered how you would sound."

"Ooh... I hope I don't disappoint," I mumbled, scared that they pictured something sounding prettier or more feminine than my voice actually was.

"No," The triplets said, shaking their head.

"You sound nice," Bennett smiled as he nodded, agreeing with his own words.

"It suits you," Max agreed with a nod, and I smiled at all of them. I felt content with my choice to speak with them. It felt like the right thing for me to do.

"Just wait 'till Ryder gets here, he's gonna be hella happy," Bennett chuckled.

"He might annoy you," Deacon warned me.

"Now that you talk-"

"He's never gonna get you to stop talking," Dylan said, interrupting Declan.

"Kind like him," Max said. "He just talks and talks and talks." Max's eyes looked down, widening at the reminder that Ryder never stops talking. "It's torture." I laughed at what was his misery. Poor Max, suffering through Ryder's endless speaking.

"We need to plan before he gets here," Damien said, but the guys furrowed their eyebrows in confusion. Damien looked at me, wondering if I wanted to tell them.

Now that I felt safe talking to the guys, I knew I would be able to talk to them from now on and that it wouldn't be hard to communicate with them anymore. I would sometimes feel embarrassed that I would have to use my notes to speak with someone because I never used my voice. I would feel embarrassed because I knew that wasn't that person's way of speaking, and it seemed like an inconvenience to them which only made my anxiety worse.

I looked at the guys and told them what we were going to do. "We're gonna prank Ryder," I declared.

"Aww yeah," Bennett said as he rubbed his hands together, nodding excitedly.

"Finally!" Max exclaimed, and threw his head back, looking at the sky.

"He always pulls pranks on us," Deacon shook his head.

"He shaved off my eyebrows once," Declan recalled, shaking his head.

"And super-glued my butt to the toilet seat," Dylan cringed at the memory.

"He oiled the bottom of the stairs one time and started a fire in the kitchen, so I'd come running in," Bennett added.

"I tried growing out a goatee, and he burned it off," Damien said, and I laughed silently.

"He did us all a favor," Declan said, shrugging at his brother's wounded face.

"So you've all been pranked?" I asked and looked at all of them. They snapped out of remembering the pranks Ryder pulled on them and nodded.

"Yeah. He put itching powder in my briefs when we went on a long hike," Max shook his head, angry at the memory. "Worst feeling ever."

"Well," Damien started. "We're gonna get him back for all that." The guys smiled, ready to get revenge on Ryder.

"I hope it's a good one," Max said. "All the pranks anyone pulls on him are mediocre."

"Wow!" Deacon scoffed.

"Ouch," Declan winced, putting his hand over his heart.

"You wound us all," Dylan frowned. Max smiled as he waved them off and turned to me, wanting me to fill them in on what was going to happen.

I filled them in on the prank, and they were down to do anything to Ryder. It kind of scared me but also amused me how willing they were to get payback. It was a harmless prank, so I figured that was why they were in on it so quickly.

"So you guys understand?" I asked, and they nodded. In the beginning, they heard me speaking, but they didn't listen to what I said, so I had to repeat what I said twice until they finally understood. I wasn't annoyed that they were having a hard time understanding that I was speaking because I knew they were shocked. They needed more than an hour to get used to me speaking.

Max and the triplets adjusted better, but sometimes Bennett was still dazed. I figured it was because he knew of me since freshman year and knew I didn't speak.

"So how do we start this?" Bennett asked. I told them to follow me while I went to Ryder but to stay a little behind. I went to where Ryder was sitting down, talking on his phone, and the closer I got, the more I heard his conversation.

"Nooo!" He shouted into the phone, slightly annoyed. "I'm at the beach, I want to enjoy my time here, Ryan!" He growled into the phone before making a whining sound. "Yes, Ryan... a turtle is born with its shell."

I smiled at the conversation he was having while I sat down next to him. I wasn't sure if he had heard me or not because he didn't look at me. I concentrated on the speaker over the phone and heard a guy talking.

"How do you know?" A guy, who I was assuming was Ryan, asked over the phone.

"Because it's science, man, I don't know. You can search this stuff up. Just because I'm at the beach, doesn't mean I'm gonna know everything," he said.

"But you're gonna be a doctor, shouldn't you know this stuff?" Ryan asked, and I held back a laugh.

"Ooh yes, Ryan, that's right. My final question to see if I'm gonna be a doctor is gonna be on Turtles. That's how I'm gonna save lives, Ryan. One turtle knowledge at a time!" He shouted into the phone and hung up.

"Hey, cupcake," Ryder said, so I guess he could see me without ever looking at me. I looked at the ocean, knowing what I was going to say and fought a smile.

"Hey, cupcake," I replied. I saw from my peripheral vision him snapping his head toward me, but I pretended not to see him as I looked at the waves.

"Did you really speak?" Ryder whispered, so I shook my head, and he let out a breath of relief, causing me to raise an eyebrow as I looked at him. "I thought I was going crazy."

"You are," I whispered, and he nodded.

"Okay," he mumbled, looking at me with his eyes wide, like this (0.0).

I laughed as I shook my head. I looked at him, and he looked me in the eyes, trying to find anything that told him he wasn't crazy and that I really did speak, so I did him one better.

"You're not crazy," I laughed, and he froze with his mouth open. He didn't move, I wasn't even sure if he was breathing or not. I waved my hand in his face, but he did nothing, didn't even flinch. I pointed my finger and moved it toward his right eye. I was millimeters away from his eyeball, but he didn't move. I moved my hand down and pointed at his lips. Once I was millimeters away, he opened his mouth and chomped down, clenching his teeth, but I moved my hand back before he could bite my finger off.

"I almost bit your finger off," he smiled proudly, raising his eyebrows, and I laughed.

"You're crazy," I laughed, shaking my head, but his smile faded, and his face went flat.

"You're talking to me," he stated, and I nodded. "Guys she spoke!" Ryder shouted and turned the upper half of his body back. I laughed a bit as he stood up and faced the guys. I stood as well, standing on his right side with our backs facing the water.

"Who?" Bennett asked. He looked at Ryder with a confused and curious face.

"Mae. Who else?" Ryder asked, cocking his head forward.

"Who's Mae?" Deacon asked. He looked at Ryder with a worried face.

"Is she your imaginary friend?" Declan asked.

"It's nice to meet you, Mae," Dylan said as he leaned forward, holding out his hand to the left side of Ryder where no one stood.

"Stop! She spoke!" Ryder said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Stop what, Ryder? Who are you talking to?" Bennett put his hand on Ryder's shoulder while looking at him with a worried expression. Who knew Bennett was such an actor.

"The triplets and Mae," Ryder gave Bennett an incredulous look, but Bennett just looked more concerned.

"Triplets? What triplets, Ryder?" Max asked, raising his shoulders.

"Stop, Max! The triplets as in Damien's brothers. You know Damien, the best friend you stole from me," Ryder glared, but Max kept a straight face and shrugged. Everyone kept straight faces, never cracking once.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Max shook his head, looking lost.

"Ryder," Bennett began slowly. "Who's Damien?" Ryder's eyes went wide, and he turned to Damien.

"Tell him to stop," Ryder told Damien, but Damien shook his head slowly as he shrugged.

"Ryder, who are you talking to? Have you been drinking?" Max asked, shaking his head, disappointed.

"NO, I'M NOT DRUNK!" Ryder looked like he was about to lose his mind. He turned to me and asked, "Can you tell them?"

I shook my head and said, "We're not real, Ryder. We're just a figment of your imagination." I gave him a gentle smile.

"Watch. They can't hear or feel us," Declan said and walked to Bennett. Declan put his finger in his mouth, popping it out and then put his finger in Bennett's ear. I smiled as Declan gave Bennett a wet willie, and Bennett didn't do anything but stay calm. "Look-it," He said and walked to Max. He pulled his hand back and smacked the back of Max's head. Max blinked at the impact but did nothing else. "They don't feel anything," Declan smiled.

"Let me try," Ryder said and walked to Max and held out his hand.

"Try what?!" Max snapped and backed away. Ryder looked as if an idea struck his head.

"Your cars. They're here," Ryder said and nodded quickly. "I'm gonna prove you guys are real. I'ma prove it! You want me to prove it?! I'll prove it!" He started repeating his words like a maniac and started running to the parking lot. We went after him with Bennett and Max yelling at him the whole time.

"Maybe if we checked you into a psych ward, you'd feel better," Max said as we chased after Ryder. He whispered to himself, "I know I would."

"Ryder, I think you've lost your mind!" Bennett shouted once we got to the parking lot. There were no cars, the parking lot was empty, and Ryder sighed, disappointedly as he fell to his knees.

"My best friends don't exist," he put his head in his hands and became silent. "Haven't I lost enough?" I felt so bad. I felt like a terrible person.

"Maybe we should stop," I whispered quietly into Max's ear, but he shook his head.

"I miss my cupcake and Damien! Even the annoying triplets," Ryder sniffled into his hands.

"Hey, we're still in your head!" The triplets shouted at him.

"You have us, man," Bennett said, and Ryder stood up, facing Bennett. He turned to Max and glared.

"Why are you here then?" He asked.

"I met Bennett, I'm his best friend," Max smiled, but Ryder laughed.

"Bennett's my best friend," Ryder said, pointing to himself. He turned to Bennett and said, "you're my best friend!" Bennett nodded, making Ryder smile, and he turned to Max. "Ha!"

"Well, you're still stuck with me," Max smiled. "Forever and ever and ever." Ryder's eyes started widening at the thought of having Max forever. Ryder turned to look at Damien.

"You don't exist?" Ryder asked, and Damien shook his head. He looked at Damien intensely into his eyes to see if he was lying.

"Mae, Damien has a small... a very, very small-"

"No, I don't!" Damien argued, furrowing his eyebrows, and cringing his cheeks up with an incredulous look.

"It's so itty bitty small," Ryder's eyes were low as his lips held a smug smile.

"I have a huge dick!" Damien shouted. The triplets fell on each other laughing. Dylan leaned on Declan, causing him to lean on Deacon, and they fell on the floor.

Ryder turned to me and smiled. "It's small, Mae." Why was he telling me?! I avoided eye contact and looked at my shoes.

"No, it's not, Mae. It's huge, you'll like it," Damien blurted, and I could feel my face burning up instantly. I could feel the embarrassment bubbling in my chest, and my heart hammering as the feeling in my chest released and burned through my entire face. A tomato would be jealous of how red I was. I looked at Damien, and his eyes were wide. His face and ears were probably as red as I was. "I-I-I mean, I..." he trailed off, turning to Ryder and glaring at him. "I'm gonna help Bennett kill you!"

Ryder gulped and rushed to me. I closed my eyes, scared of what he was going to do, and he grabbed me, using me as a human shield. "I'm too young to die!" Ryder shouted while shaking the life out of me. He shook me with each word he said, making my head bobble back and forth.

"Let me go, Ryder," I told him after opening my eyes. He let go of me but held me flush against his body by wrapping his arms around my waist. "All the way." He didn't listen.

"Alright, man. That's close," Damien told him as he took a step forward. He looked at Ryder's arms around my waist and clenched his teeth. "Alright, you can let go now."

"No," Ryder said, and I could feel the motion of him shaking his head.

"Let her go, or I will kill you." Damien was calmer than I wanted him to be.

"No, 'cause now you will kill me for touching her!" Damien started walking toward us, and he intimidated me by how he was taller than Ryder. Ryder backed up with me still in his arms. At this point, I just kind of went with the flow. Whatever happened was going to happen. It is what it is. My subconscious told me.

Ryder pushed me, and I took a step forward in hopes that I could catch myself before falling to the ground, but I lost my balance. I put my hands out forward to catch myself, but Damien caught me instead.

My face hit his chest first, and I felt embarrassed for falling into him. I was surprised I didn't knock him down. He brought me up, but I was too embarrassed to back away. He readjusted our position so I could stand straight but still be in his grasp. I put my hands on the sides of his waist, and he hugged me tighter.

"I'll kill you after," I heard Damien say as his chest vibrated. I could hear his heartbeat with my ear pressed again his warm chest. It was beating fast, but I wasn't sure if it was because he was angry or nervous at our position. Would he be nervous because we were hugging?

I was sure guys got nervous about small things like this too, right? I mean they were human. They were bound to the same feelings females were. I just think the whole notion that men didn't feel the same way as females did was because they didn't express it the same way we did.

But how could they when society told them not to express sadness or nervousness. They say they shouldn't be nervous because that made them less manly. They were basically saying they should be confident and assertive but when they're too confident and assertive, they're seen as egotistic.

They also said men should be nice and humble but not too nice where it made them look weak and not too humble where it appeared to be fake. But being of the right amount was being the perfect amount and no one was perfect. Humans were not made to be perfect, that was why everyone was flawed in their own way.

I placed my hands on his chest and slowly leaned my head back, looking at Damien. He looked down at me and smiled. His dimples making an unscheduled appearance and deepening the more his smile grew. I smiled at his beautiful smile and noticed when his eyes shifted from my eyes to my lips.

I was nervous again, but I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to know what it felt like and if he would have leaned down and kissed me, I would have let it happen and kissed him back.

My lips felt dry, so I pulled my bottom lip in my mouth, licking my lip and pulled it back into place before pressing my lips together. He took a step closer to me, and I stayed in place.

His arms went around my waist, holding me closer to his body as he leaned down a bit, but it wasn't close enough for him to kiss me, just enough for me to feel him.

My heart was hammering in my chest, pounding with nervousness, and I focused on him and how nervous he was making me feel. I kept wondering how I looked on the outside. Was I showing my nervousness? Was he able to notice? I was breathing normally until he got closer, and I held my breath in fear that it wasn't still minty from when I brushed my teeth two hours ago.

He brought his right hand up to my face and caressed my cheek softly. It was a light touch, and it tickled my face, making me smile. He leaned closer,  and I wanted to kiss him. I was nervous, but I had to start somewhere. I couldn't be a perfect driver without making a few mistakes on the road, right? I started leaning closer, and I felt his warm, scentless breath fan my face. I hoped my breath at least smelt the same. He leaned closer, inches from my face, and I was ready to kiss him.

"Are you going to kiss her not?" Ryder asked. I backed away, pulling from Damien's grasp, and looked at Damien to see him glaring at Ryder. I looked at Ryder, but he was smiling smugly.

Damien shook his head and interlocked our hands.
The guys started talking, but I tuned them out with the thoughts I was thinking. We almost kissed, and now we were holding hands, what did that make us? People had often said that if someone had to question it, it probably didn't mean anything, but that was hard to believe in my case.

"Mae," Ryder called, so I looked at him. "Earth to, Mae," Ryder snapped his fingers in my face.

"I'm listening," I smiled, and he laughed.

"I know," he chuckled, and Max smacked his shoulder.

"Dummy," Max mumbled.

"Don't touch me!" Ryder said, turning to Max.

"Or what?" Max asked and smacked Ryder's shoulder again.

"Stop," Ryder pushed Max back, and I looked at Damien, worried if they were going to start fighting.

"Just ignore them, we do," Bennett told me and shrugged.

"They always fight," Deacon told me as he walked closer to me and away from the two boys arguing.

"Ever since Max met Damien," Declan said, following Deacon to me.

"Ryder's jealous of Max," Dylan added as he followed Declan.

"I'm not jealous!" Ryder said at the same time Declan said, "he's not jealous!"

"Yeah, he is! Ever since Max came back," Deacon argued, turning to his brother.

"Well, he has a right to be, don't you think?" Declan asked, and I was looking at all of them and saw their annoyed expressions.

"You're dumb, how do you figure?" Deacon asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Don't fight," Bennett and Dylan said, but no one listened to them.

"I'm dumb?! You're just blinded following Max like a lost puppy," Declan snapped, and I felt like an outsider, intruding on a family argument.

"Me? You follow Ryder like a lost puppy," Deacon snapped, and the two boys took a step closer, ready to start fighting.

"Stop!" Dylan said as he got in the middle of the two. "You're not fighting!"

"Get out the way. I'ma teach prince here, a lesson," Declan sneered.

"Stop, both of you," Damien said, but the two boys glared at each other. Max pulled Deacon away, and Ryder pulled Declan away.

"I've taught you well, young grasshoppers," Bennett nodded, patting Dylan on the back. I looked at them, and everyone seemed to have calmed down.

"Look," Declan told Deacon, nodding toward the sky, so he turned back, and I looked up. The sun was starting to rise.

"Let's go," Deacon told him, and they took off running toward the sand as if they had never fought in the first place.

"Let's go, Dylan!" Deacon and Declan shouted, so Dylan ran after them.

"They fight like that all the time and then make up," Damien told me, seeming like it was no big deal, and I figured it wasn't because they were brothers.

"So they're not mad at each other anymore?" I asked, making sure, and he shook his head.

"They're best friends," Max said and looked at Ryder.

"They don't ever truly stay mad," Ryder said as he looked at Max, and they both smiled as they took off, following the boys.

"Come on, Bennett," they told him, and Bennett took off following after them.

"Come on. The sun's going to rise soon," Damien told me, holding my hand firmly as he started to walk forward. He looked down at me and smiled as he looked at my lips.

"Don't even think about kissing!" Ryder shouted, and I looked forward. "Make room for Jesus!"

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A/N: I hope you liked the prank. I know it probably wasn't the best, but I still hope you liked it.

Please don't forget to vote and comment. I appreciate it soooooo much!!

What do you do over the weekends?