During their break between classes, Crybaby ends up in Angelita's dorm. They sit together on the couch, and quickly begin rambling back and forth.
After suddenly remembering news she had to share, Crybaby lunges forward in excitement, tapping her hands on Angelita's legs to grab her full attention.
"Ow." Angelita says, lightly shoving Crybaby's hands away. "What?"
"I have news!" She signs. A wide smile covers her face.
"Oh my god, you're kind of scary when you're this excited." Angelita smiles back at her. "What's up?"
"I spoke to Celeste!" Crybaby signs. "With my voice!" Her proud smiles beams at Angelita.
"Holy shit, when?" She leans forward in surprise, grabbing Crybaby's leg.
"Yesterday! At the treehouse!" Crybaby signs.
"What? After I left with Ben?" Angelia asks. Her grip on Crybaby's leg loosens.
Crybaby nods.
"Oh, what? I miss all the cool stuff!" Angelita teases, before leaning forward, and wrapping an arm around Crybaby's shoulder. "Seriously though, that's awesome. I'm proud." She smiles.
Crybaby proud grin lingers on her face as she taps her head against Angelita's.
"Is that why Celeste was acting kinda strange after I got back?" Angelita asks suddenly, pulling away.
Crybaby's grin disappears. "Um, maybe." She signs, throwing in an uncertain shrug.
"You're acting like I'm wrong?" Angelita points out. "Did I miss something else?"
"No, nothing else happened while you were gone." Crybaby signs, smiling weakly.
Angelita narrows her eyes at Crybaby. "I don't believe you." She whispers. Her tone quickly shifts back to normal as she continues. "Anyways, I was thinking about having another bonfire."
Crybaby feels a wave of relief as the topic changes.
"Like, another celebration fire?" She signs, tilting her head at Angelita.
"Yeah." She nods. "I was curious about if you'd want to invite Fleur?" Angelita's words grow more cautious as she speaks. "And, maybe Magnolia?"
Crybaby's heart skips a beat in surprise. "You want to invite Magnolia?" She signs, eyes wide.
"Not on my own." Angelita clarifies. "But, if you want to, I'd be open to it. I know you're trying to be chill with them again."
"We don't have to invite them." Crybaby signs. "I'm not against it, though."
Angelita hums. "I'll think about it a bit more."
A beat of silence passes before Angelita asks, "Wait, what did you say to Celeste?"
"What?" Crybaby signs.
"When you spoke to her, I mean." Angelita leans back against the couch. "Did you have a whole conversation, like with Ben?"
"No." Crybaby signs. "I said "it's okay," but then I was too nervous to say anything else." A look of disappointment crosses her face.
"Hey, that's still a lot of progress!" Angelita points out. "And, you didn't even do the phone thing first."
"Yeah." Crybaby feels her sense of pride return. "Yeah, I did a good job."
"Yeah, you did!" Angelita cheers, smiling wide.
Crybaby laughs, and a smile lingers on her face.
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As the group sits around their usual cafeteria table, Angelita prepares them for her announcement.
"You're all invited to another celebration fire!" She smiles proudly.
"You decided?" Crybaby signs, tilting her head curiously.
"Yeah." Angelita nods. "I'm not inviting Fleur or Magnolia, though."
"That was a possibility?" Ben asks, raising an eyebrow.
"We talked about it a bit earlier." Crybaby signs to Ben, before directing her focus back to Angelita. "Why aren't you inviting them?"
"It just feels like a bad idea to invite them to the same place where we got into an argument." Angelita shrugs. "We haven't hung out since the last bonfire, so inviting them to the same event just felt odd to me."
"That makes sense." Crybaby signs.
"When's the bonfire?" Celeste chimes in.
Her sudden interaction causes Crybaby to notice how quiet she's been so far. She eyes linger curiously on Celeste, as Angelita responds.
"I was thinking this weekend?" She shrugs in uncertainty. "I don't know about you three, but I need a break from big events for a bit."
Ben laughs. "Most of the things we end up doing are your plans." He points out, light-heartedly.
Crybaby's eyes break away from Celeste, looking around the group as she signs. "I think I need a break from big social events, too." She smiles politely. "For at least a few days."
"So, this weekend, then?" Angelita suggests. "So, there's a few days of calm, before I drag you all into more activities."
"You can drag me into anything you want." Celeste's playful words slip out, as she nudges Angelita in the seat beside her.
Crybaby's eyes flick back to Celeste, accidentally catching her gaze. She watches Celeste's eyes widen in embarrassment, before quickly looking away.
"Okay!" Angelita grins. "Then, I'll be hanging out with Celeste, and nobody else, until you two-" She points back and forth between Crybaby and Ben. "-regenerate your tolerance of me."
Crybaby grins, meeting Angelita's eyes. "Have fun without me, then." She signs, letting out a quiet laugh.
"Peace and quiet!" Ben cheers, teasingly.
As Angelita tosses a balled up napkin at him from across the table, Crybaby's gaze drifts back to Celeste, who is already looking at her.
"What?" Crybaby signs, tilting her head curiously.
Celeste's eyes dart to the side, gesturing to Angelita, before returning to Crybaby.
Crybaby smiles, shrugging. "Have fun!" She signs.
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As Crybaby climbs into bed, she picks up her phone, checking it one last time for the night. She eyes fall on a notification from Celeste.
"HELP SHE WANTS TO HAVE A SLEEOVER WITG ME!!!!!"
Crybaby laughs quietly. She taps the notification, opening her texts with Celeste, and begins typing a reply.
"You've had tons of sleepovers with her before." Crybaby sends.
A small bubble immediately pops up. Celeste is typing.
"BUT I WASNT ALONE WITJ HER"
"I'm not joining." Crybaby sends in reply, before adding in a separate message, "You'll be okay."
"NU UH."
As Crybaby begins typing, Celeste sends another message.
"PLEAS COME WITH M E :((("
"No." Crybaby replies dryly. "I'm not leaving my room for anything other than classes, until the bonfire."
"You're so mean 2 me :'("
Crybaby laughs at Celeste's message. She types a quick "goodnight," before putting her phone down, and going to sleep.
YOU ARE READING
Night Mime | K-12 AU
FanfictionCrybaby has Situational Mutism and cannot speak at her boarding school, K-12 Sleep Away. Throughout this story, Crybaby gets into her first romantic relationship, has several conflicts with some of her friends, and sneaks out with everyone else to h...
