I Will Listen

I

Chapter One

Lillian's POV

Walking up to the big doors of Stanford University, I think about how lucky I am to be here. I never thought that this could be a reality, especially not with my special circumstances. It's only been five minutes and I'm already lost. I have no clue where my dorm room is.

About a month back, I found out that I had to have a roommate if I was even going to THINK about being able to afford college, let alone Stanford. So as you can imagine, I got nervous immediately. For a few reasons. If there's one thing that I really, really don't like, it's meeting strangers

The only reason I don't like it is that my mental health gets in the way.

Something you need to know about me, I'm quiet. And no. I don't mean "Oh she doesn't talk a lot, does she?" I mean, "That weird girl hasn't said anything in seven years." But I have an excuse. There is no point in saying anything if no one cares enough to listen. Right? Right.

As I'm wandering I let myself think about what I left behind.

My parents aren't the best. My mom passed away- No, she killed herself when I was twelve. She was amazing. Sometimes I would come home from school and there would be a sticky note on the door. It would tell me a clue. Like what room to go to, or what color something was that I had to find, and I would go there to find another note. That's what happened the day I came home from school and found out she died. But that's a different story for a different day. Every time I think about her I just get angry again.

My dad was different. He was never home until my mom died, he would always be working or out grocery shopping. Then it seemed like home was the only place he was. I couldn't do anything because I was too young; I didn't see a problem with it, so I let it happen thinking it was normal. That's why I don't talk anymore. The only person I would usually talk to was my mom and she's gone. My dad was too, he was absent from himself.

As I pull out the map that I got at the front desk, I let myself think about Tessa, my sister. Now that I'm gone, she's all by herself to deal with our father. She's only 14, which means at least four more years of whatever he wants her to do. Hopefully she will get it easier than I had it. I still hate myself for leaving her, but I want to get my doctorate. I need to. That way, I can help the people like me.

I put the campus map away after I finally got an idea about where to go. My room is on the third floor. Room 27. With a soft sigh I start making my way up the final flight of stairs. I just hope no one is there yet.

I've always got a notebook or a piece of paper with me. Even if I don't talk I still need to communicate somehow. I would use sign language, but basically no one knows how to use it correctly, so that's out of the picture. That's when I learned the key piece of information for a mute person.

You don't need to talk for someone to hear you.

Pulling myself out of my string of thoughts I see the door to my shared dorm room and pull out my pre-written note. It's got a simple I'm your roommate scrawled in neat handwriting.

Today is not my lucky day. The door is cracked open, which means that my roommate is here. Well, that or there is a three headed dog named Fluffy waiting to attack. I sigh and hold my note out as I push the door open. My eyes dart around the small living space and land on my roommate.

I close my eyes for a moment and open them, looking back at the person sprawled across the couch.

The guy sprawled across the couch.

Jason's POV

I'm laying on the couch of my new dorm room playing Subway Surfers. Man, this game is hard! It gets so fast and I'm just... slow. There's a soft creaking sound and I snap my head up, locking eyes with a beautiful girl.

She has light brown hair that falls in her face as she looks down at a small notepad in her hand. When she looks back up, our eyes meet. I swear her eyes are the most beautiful thing ever. Her eyes. They are something I can't look away from.

After I stare for a few seconds and then catch myself and look down, I realize that the blush I'm wearing on my face is probably the brightest thing ever. I mean, it's got to be. This girl is staring at me like she saw a ghost eating pie.

How is this even possible? I don't even know her name and she's already got me blushing.

While I scan her face for some kind of reason as to why she is here, I notice that she has a small scar above her left eyebrow. I kind of want to ask her what happened, but there are more pressing matters.

Like why she is in my room.

It took me a long time to focus on the object she was holding in front of me. Her little notebook.

I am your roommate.

Once she sees me finish reading it, she quickly pulls it down and keeps her hands firmly in front of her stomach. She looks nervous, it almost seems like she thinks she is doing something wrong.

"I think you're in the wrong room, sugar." I chuckle to myself and look up at her. I can feel smirk form on my face at the sight of her pink cheeks.

It sucks that I'm wearing a Star Wars shirt and basketball shorts. This is definitely not the first impression I would have had in mind if I knew she was coming.

The chick shakes her head again and looks down. Her hair is shielding herself from the outside world. She's shy that's the only solution to why she won't look at me. A moment later, the girl with no name grabs a pen from her backpack and writes something. I just watch her write, trying to be patient and- Wow, she's pretty. Beautiful even.

If she really is my roommate, then I'm going to have a hell of a time pushing that thought away. God, I hope she isn't my roommate. Oh, God I hope she is, but then-

This is my room.

As she flashes the notepad at me, I inwardly thank myself for being a quick reader. As fast as it was in front of me, it was gone again. That girl does not waste time.

I give her what I hope comes off as a sympathetic smile and repeat what I said earlier. "I promise you're in the wrong room, hun." She shakes her head at me with a panicked look grazing her features, but holds a finger up to ask me to wait.

I wonder why she isn't talking much. Or at all really. I just realized she hasn't said a single word since she came in here.

I want to ask her. I almost did. Is that rude? Yeah, that's definitely rude.

"Sweetie, sexy beasts and little girls can't room together." I speak again after losing my patience with the quiet girl in the doorway.

I get a glare and another 'hold on' finger in return before she looks down at her notepad with a smirk and writes something new.

Oh I know, and you're totally right. Little girls like you can't room with us sexy beasts.

With that she leaves me speechless and goes back to writing what she had been originally.