As I walked to school, I paid attention to my surroundings this time, especially looking around for Chris.

Finally, I did find him, walking ahead of me.

I ran up to him, and he immediately looked over at me, smiling.

"Hi, Ella!" He exclaimed.

I waved, smiling back at him.

"Last night was fun." He said, adjusting his backpack. "Thank you...for letting me come over and all."

He looked over at me, and I gave him a small smile.

It was silent as we walked for a few minutes, then Chris looked back over.

"Phil and I are thinking about joining a band." He said.

I looked over at him.

"A few guys from school are starting one.." he said. "They Asked me and Phil If we want to join. Isn't that exciting?"

I smiled at him, nodding excitedly.

He giggled a little. "I think it'll be fun." He looked up, pointing down the street. "There's Phil now! Hey, Phil!"

Phil stopped, before jogging over. "Hey, Guys." He smiled a little.

I waved at him, before we continued walking.

"Chris, have you been thinking about joining that band?" Phil Asked Chris.

"Yeah, I have. Have you?"

Phil nodded. "What do you think?"

Chris smiled. "I think it'd be awesome!"

"Yeah?" Phil Asked, laughing a little. "What do you think, Ella?"

I bit my lip, before just smiling and nodding. Did he know I couldn't talk yet? Did Chris tell him?

"Well then," Phil Said. "We should do it. I'll talk to the band today."

"Yay!" Chris Exclaimed.

Once lunch came, Phil and Chris were nowhere to be found, so I just went out to my bench without them.

However, when I got there, the both of them were already sitting there, talking to each other.

I smiled to myself, going over and standing by them.

Chris looked up, smiling widely. "Ella!" He exclaimed. "We were waiting to start eating till you got here."

I smiled at him, and he patted the spot beside him. I sat down, and the three of us began eating.

As we ate in silence, I realized That I had a question for Chris.

I turned to look at him, and he immediately looked at me, something he's probably gotten used to doing since I can't talk to get his attention.

I pointed at his jean pocket, and he smiled a little, reaching his hand in. He pulled out a small notepad and a pen, handing them to me.

I was almost beginning to wonder if he kept them in his pocket for me, now.

I opened the pen, before writing on the notepad as he watched me.

When did you leave my house?

I handed it to him, and he read it.

"Oh, I left before the sun came up." He Said, before smiling a little. "I didn't want you to get in trouble."

I nodded, And he handed the notepad back.

You're a heavy sleeper.

I gave it to him, and he laughed a little.

"Am I?"

"What?" Phil Asked, leaning in to see the notepad.

"She says I'm a heavy sleeper."

"You are!" Phil laughed. "I can never wake you up!"

"Maybe I'm pretending to sleep?"

I shook my head, laughing silently.

He was definitely not faking it last night.

"What?" He Asked, laughing. "I'm not that hard of a sleeper."

"Did he stay at your house last night, Ella?" Phil Asked me.

As I went to nod, though, there was suddenly a shadow that came over the three of us.

"You know she can't answer you, right?"

Chris quickly stood up, and so did Phil and I.

Ethan was standing behind the bench, a group of four boys behind him.

Chris swallowed nervously, before stepping in front of me to protect me.

"Aw, that's cute." Ethan laughed. "But you know you're still too weak to protect her."

"Why don't you leave us alone?" Phil Asked, attempting to raise his voice, though it didn't come out that loud.

Ethan scoffed. "Your friend here attacked me the other day." He said. "I'm only trying to make it even."

Phil looked over at Chris.

"I-I didn't.." Chris Stuttered.

"You threw yourself at me." Ethan growled. "You punched and kicked me."

I wanted to scream at Ethan. I wanted to explain to Phil that Ethan was hitting Chris First. Why wasn't Chris defending himself? He had only hit him in the first place because he insulted me.

I held onto Chris' arm, shaking it a little, hoping that he would explain what really happened.

Chris sighed, looking at his feet. "I'm sorry, Ethan."

Ethan's friends burst into laughter, and he did as well.

"Do you really think that's gonna cut it?" He asked. "Come on, guys."

All of Ethan's friends began to approach us, and we all stepped back a little.

Chris reached for my hand, looking at me. "Run.." he mumbled. "Run!"

The thee of us turned and began running as fast as our feet could carry us.

I felt like I did on Tuesday, except this time, I wasn't so sure we'd escape them since it wasn't just Ethan.

We approached the fence, and Phil quickly began to climb over. Chris grabbed my hand, helping me climb up as well.

Ethan and his friends were getting closer, and my heart was beating so quickly I thought it might explode. Not only that, but I was pretty sure I was having an asthma attack.

Phil got over the fence, and just as Chris and I were about to, Chris gasped.

I looked at him questioningly, and he looked back with wide eyes.

"I'm stuck!"