For the rest of the day, the two of us just wandered around the woods. As the sun began to set, We found an area beside a creek. We both sat on a large rock, just staring at the water as it flowed.

I looked over at Chris, who was smiling slightly as he watched the creek.

I smiled as well, and he looked over at me. "This was fun." He said.

I nodded.

He laid back, sighing a little as he stared at the sky. I laid back, my eyes meeting the darkening sky, which was becoming full of stars.

Chris began to hum a little, before singing quietly. "Look at the stars, look how they shine for you."

He bit his lip, and I looked over at him, wondering why he stopped.

"That's all I have so far." He mumbled. "Do you like music?"

I nodded.

"I like it, too." He said. "I want to start a band, someday.."

There was silence for a bit, before he looked at me.

"It's getting dark...my mum's probably wondering where I went." He mumbled. "Do you want to come to my house?"

I sat up, looking at my watch and gasping a bit.

Joseph is going to kill me.

Chris sat up. "What's wrong?"

I pointed at my watch, before sliding off of the rock. I began to run in the direction of my home, as Chris watched me.

"Wait! Where are you.." his voice trailed off as I got farther away.

Joseph was pretty strict with me getting home late. I was supposed to be there before he  was, and here I was hours late. Who knows what he was thinking, he could've called the police or something.

I could explain, but I don't he'd be very keen of the idea that I was out for hours with a boy.

I ran home as fast as my legs could carry me, even though I was tired and weak from running and hiking all day. Not to mention how dirty I was. Joseph would be so angry!

I finally made it home, where I walked up, opening the door and stepping inside, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Joseph, however, was in the living room, and saw me come in.

"Ella." He said, standing up. "Where were you?"

His voice was so harsh, I could tell he was upset.

I bit my lip, looking down.

"I got a call that you missed half of school today." He said. "Where did you go? Look at you, you're filthy."

I reached out my hand, and he sighed, picking up the notebook from the coffee table along with the pen. He came over and handed them to me, and I began to write.

The mean boy was bothering me again. Chris came and saved me again. We ran away together, and stayed in the woods all day. We had fun.

He looked at it, shaking his head. "You can't skip school like that." He said. "I'm glad you had fun, but there's no excuse for leaving."

I know.

He sighed. "Just be careful, too." He said. "I don't know if I trust this boy. And no more staying out late. I don't want you getting hurt."

I nodded.

"You missed dinner, but I left some ramen for you." He stated.

I nodded again.

"Go wash up, okay?"

I set down the notebook and pen, before making my way to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror as I washed my face and hands, a small smile appearing on my face.

Chris was nice to me, and today was so much fun. I couldn't help but wonder if this would be the start of a friendship. I mean, I didn't have any friends, and it seemed as if he didn't really have any, either.

I coudront get over how kind he was to me. Everybody, even if they were really nice, still treated me differently because I can't speak. But Chris, he acts as if I can speak. He's the first person to ever treat me like i'm normal.

I sighed happily as I dried off my face.

I couldn't wait to see him tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 12th, 1994

The next day, I awoke when my alarm went off. I got out of bed quickly, going and changing before heading out to the kitchen. To my surprise, Joseph wasn't there.

I made my way to the pantry, just grabbing cereal since Joseph couldn't cook me burnt eggs this morning.

Stuck to the box of cereal was a sticky note, with writing on it.

I pulled it off, reading it.

Meeting today, had to leave early. I'll be home a little later than normal.

I nodded, putting the note down on the counter. This wasn't the first time he had to leave early and come home late. Besides, I'd get to see Chris today and we could hang out again.

I poured myself some cereal, eating it quickly before going and grabbing my backpack. I'd have to leave early if I was going to walk.

I slipped my arms into the handles of my backpack, heading to the front door and skipping on my shoes. I opened the door, stepping outside before locking the door and shutting it behind me.

I began to walk down the sidewalk, reaching I to my backpack and pulling out my cassette player and headphones. The cassette tape from the other day was still there, so I just listened to the other side, which I had recorded from the radio.

It had bands like The Cranberries, Green Day, And U2 on it, along with other random things that played on the radio that day.

As I walked, I looked down at my feet, not really paying attention to anything. Which was why I walked straight I to the street without looking both ways first.

I looked up, just as a pickup came barreling down the road.

My eyes widened, and I tried to scream. Of course, nothing come out.

Just before the pickup could hit me, I was pushed out of the way by something, or should I say someone.

And whoever it was was laying on top of me.

I pulled off my headphones, looking up to see a pair of familiar blue eyes.

"Oh my gosh! Are you alright?"

I swallowed, nodding. Chris had already saved me like, three times and we only met a few days ago.

His eyes were so pretty up close, not to mention how good he smelled. He finally realized that he was on top of me, and got off, moving to the side as I sat up, brushing myself off.

I didn't know how else to thank him, so I just sighed out, 'thank you.'

He smiled a little, scratching his neck. "It's okay."

"Chris!" I heard, and looked up to see another boy running over. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Phil, I'm alright.." he said.

"What about you?" The boy looked down at me.

I swallowed, nodding.

"Here, Ella." Chris stood, reaching for my hand.

He helped me to stand, before motioning over at the other boy.

"Ella, this is my friend, Phil," He said. "And Phil, this is my friend, Ella!"

I waved at Phil, and he smiled at me, slight blush creeping up on his cheeks. "Hi, Ella." He said. "I think I've seen you at school before?"

I nodded.

"I thought so." He said. "When did you and Chris meet?"

I looked at Chris, and he stepped in. "A few days ago." He said, And Phil nodded.

"Now we have a bigger friend group." Phil smiled. "It was just me and Chris before.."

"That's because we're shy." Chris laughed a little.

"Right." Phil chuckled. "Well, we should probably start walking again."

"Yeah." Chris nodded. "Ella, would you like to walk with us?"

I nodded.

"Awesome! Come on."

We all continued walking, Chris and Phil talking about random things. I didn't know that Chris had any friends at school, but I was glad he was really nice. I just hoped he wouldn't ask me why I couldn't talk, because eventually, he'd have to notice I wasn't saying anything.