Strolling down the pathway while munching on their hot dogs, Tanner and Autumn soon spotted a pond with ducks in it and a bench to gaze out at the scene. Wanting to talk to her more, Tanner took a seat on the bench as Autumn did the same.
"This is nice" he commented with a smile "I should do this more often."
Autumn gave a small smile when she suddenly felt a loud burp escape her mouth as her eyes widen.
"Well that was loud" Tanner chuckled as she gave an embarrassed laugh while hiding her face with her hand.
"My family says I have a loud burp," she remarked in a nervous smile "And they're not wrong."
"Well speaking on your family, tell me about them. Like who do you live with right now?"
"Well-" she replied, "I live with my parents and my sister Kara."
"Your parents are still together?"
"Yeah."
He sighed "It must be nice having both parents, my dad lives in New Mexico."
"I'm sorry" she responded sadly.
"It's fine" he sighed again, remembering the day he found out his parents were getting a divorce.
He was 9 years old and was devastated when he found out. But he's gotten used to living with just his mom and sister, and he still maintains a good relationship with his father who he calls every once in a while.
"So-" he continued "Tell me more about your family."
"Well um..." she began to think "My mom is a chef at a restaurant, and my dad works for some science company, I don't actually know what he does, it's complicated."
"Well a lot of things with science can be complicated" he stated with a small chuckle "I know because I'm sucking in Science right now."
"Are you in Physics?"
"I am, and it's really hard for me. I have a D average in my class."
"Oo" she cringed.
"What about you? How are you doing in Science?"
"Oh I have a B average" she replied casually.
"Seriously?" his eyes widen "You're good at Physics?"
"Once you understand the equations, it's not so hard."
Tanner suddenly remembered that people with Aspergers tend to have higher IQ's compared to people with Autism and even normal people. And he wasn't even surprised anymore that Autumn was smarter than him.
"Hey uh, any chance you can tutor me in Physics?" he questioned.
"Well um-" she replied a bit shyly "I can try, but I must warn you, I'm not so good at teaching people things I know, it's not as easy as it sounds."
"Oh I know" he agreed "It happens to me too. But hey, you can at least try."
"I guess" she shrugged.
"I'll tell you later when we can do it. But until then, let me tell you a bit about my family. I have a sister too, her name's Alison, I call her Ally, and she's 9. And um... all she basically does is watch TV."
She gave a snicker as he continued.
"My mom works as a psychiatrist. And I work at Dunkin Donuts every few days."
"Do you get free donuts because of it?"
"Just one and only on Fridays."
"Lucky" she smirked.
"Hey I can bring you one if you want." he offered.
"Are you allowed to take 2 donuts?"
"I can ask."
"In that case-" she smiled "I'd like a chocolate glazed donut with sprinkles."
"Is that your favorite?"
"Yeah."
"Mine too" he smiled just as he got a text on his phone.
He pulled out his cell and saw that he had received a text from Dayna.
Dayna: Where r u?
He gave a small groan as he put his phone away.
"What's wrong?" Autumn questioned.
"Nothing" he assured, "Let's just continue."
Being the girl that she was, Autumn knew something was on his mind due to his body language which consisted him on his hands clasping together as his body hunched forward. But thinking it wasn't that important, she shrugged it off.
After chilling on the bench, the two decided to walk down the path some more. And whenever they walked, Tanner noticed that Autumn always had her hands clasped in front of her, and her posture didn't seem straight. He couldn't tell if it was how she always walked, or only when she's anxious. But not wanting to make her uncomfortable, he kept his mouth shut, only to spring up a new question.
"Hey can I ask you something?" he asked, "Does it always bother you when you get touched or are there times when you don't mind it?"
"Well-" she replied while rubbing her arm "There are times when I don't mind it, but it rarely happens. Like whenever I have to hug someone or shake their hand, I'll do it to be polite, but inside I'm just wishing I didn't have to do that."
"Damn" he breathed "It must be hard to feel that, touching is an everyday thing."
"I know" she sighed while tilting her head down "I just have to deal with it."
He couldn't imagine how uncomfortable it must be for her to suffer from touch and not being able to interact with people while feeling normal. But that suddenly gave him an idea as he stopped walking.
"You know what?" he announced while turning his body to her "Why don't we practice?"
"Practice what?"
"Since I wanna help you with social skills, why don't we start with you getting more comfortable with touch?"
"Um- there's no way I can get better at that, I'll always be uncomfortable with touch."
"But let's just try it at least. Let's start with something simple. Try holding my hand."
He offered his hand to her as she froze. Even without the touch, she could already feel her body tensing while clenching her fists.
"Hey" he spoke calmly "It's okay."
Fighting against her anxiety, Autumn gathered up her courage to slowly move her hand towards his. Her body started to heat up, but she fought against it as she gently placed her hand into his, causing her tense up again while taking a deep breath.
"Relax," he said while running his thumb over her hand "You can do this."
As he felt her soft hand in his, he watched as she tried to calm herself from the interaction. He could see how uncomfortable she was and how hard she was trying not to be. He knew how Aspies can't handle touch, but he never knew it was this challenging. And after thinking she's had enough, he let go as she quickly pulled her hand away.
"You okay?" he asked in a soft tone.
"Yeah" she mumbled while looking down.
Even with just a simple hand holding, Tanner couldn't believe what it could do to an Aspie, and it hurts to see Autumn that way.
YOU ARE READING
Becoming Normal
Romance(Inspired by my own life story, well not completely) Senior year of high school is already starting off well for Tanner Gray, he's got his whole life planned out, and he can't wait to share it with his best friend and girlfriend. That is until he me...
