Speechless (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

My hand turned slowly clicking each of the combination lock's numbers in place 13-24-6. The hallway was already beginning to buzz with weary students. It was Wednesday of the first week of school so the tiredness and routine of waking up early every morning was beginning to take a toll on the student body as a whole. The excitement of school returning had vanished and the hallways had become the home of the walking dead.

This was my kind of environment. No one cared about anyone besides the ones close to them. I had finally escaped the lime light with most of my dignity in tack.. There were far more important things to discuss than the new mute girl and that is exactly how I liked it.

Pulling open my locker I began rummaging through the stacks of binders and books getting my first few classes situated in my worn backpack.

"Hey you." a light soprano voice called in my direction.

I slowly turned my head and saw a blonde girl making her way across the hallway towards me. She was one of the girls in my English class that had laughed at me the first day of school. Her bright blue eyes held an incredible amount of makeup and she wore a pale blue sun dress. Everything about this girl was flawless. The way she walked, the way she carried herself, her skin, her eyes, her hair, everything about her was perfect.

She clearly ruled the school, as she passed horizontally through the hallway people nearly leaped out of the way. She had no struggle when passing through the crowded hall.

I bit nervously at my lip as she reached my locker.

"Hi," she cooed leaning casually against the locker beside mine, "my name is Lindsey."

I let a weak grin cross my face and I raised my hand in a small hello.

"So I saw Harry by your car yesterday and I heard he went to your house."

My eyebrows raised in confusion and I titled my head slightly to the side. This was a clear sign of my befuddlement I knew for certain she couldn't sign so I had to use the other set of tools I had developed to communicate.

Before I became fluent in ASL I learned the value of a glance. I began to show my emotion as clear as day on my face in order to let my family know what I was thinking or feeling. It was strange at first, realizing that words were just excessive in a means of communication. That they were entirely unnecessary for long spans of time.

 Its the same reason best friends and lovers can communicate from across the room. Words aren't needed when you know someones face well enough.

 "Word travels fast in a small town, we know everything Vive, " she laughed, "can I call you that? Vive? Its soo much easier to say than that mouthful of a name!"

 Lindsey playfully paced her hand on my arm as if we were the best of friends. She figured I liked her because everyone else liked her. I gave a clearly fake smile but it obviously passed as a real one for her because she began to chatter away at me.

 "well I know you mute an all so I'm just going to talk and you can listen." Her voice was higher and louder than most people's in the hallway so it was clearly drawing attention towards us, "well Harry is kind of a jerk."

 I pursed my lips and leaned forward in a show of wanting a bit more information. Lindsey smiled and returned to her chattering. She slowly began to pull away from my locker and began to walk down the hallway. I followed her quickly.

 I wanted to know what she had to say about him. She obviously went to school with him in the past so she knew him significantly longer than I had. Even if she was a bit loud and too perky for my liking I needed all the information I could get on Harry Styles.