A/N: This is an OLD requested plot that Kittykat5900 had for me. ('∇｀*) Sorry!
High School AU, but still in the FT universe.
And, for those of you who might not know, JSL is Japanese Sign Language. I felt that JSL would be more fitting for this fandom rather than ASL, considering it's characters are Japanese animated ones.
Word Count: 1835
*Italicized words in the '...' are thoughts (and later on, signed words)*
The shrill scream of Magnolia University's bell alerts the staff and students that class is to be in session. Students rush into their seats, pushing past each other in a frenzy to scramble across the room. As soon as the door opens, all the present students are seated and ready for the incoming lecture. Entering several minutes later, Professor Gildarts Clive saunters into the room with his laptop bag slung over his shoulder and large coat hanging on his shoulders. While instructing his students to pull out their notebooks and writing utensils, the instructor unpacks his own materials and sets up the projector. After five minutes, he starts the lecture, not stopping to check the progress of his pupils.
Slide, after slide, after slide is shown as the man presents the given information, going into depth about the subject quickly, his loud voice projecting throughout the auditorium. When he pauses to transition over to a subtopic, the door opens slowly with a loud groan. The head of the school's secretaries pops through the small opening and sheepishly smiles, quickly apologizing for the interruption. Gildarts waves off the apology and welcomes her into the room.
The short, plump, middle-aged woman waddles in, her heeled shoes creating loud clicks against the concrete floor. Behind the secretary, a younger woman follows suit, her footsteps almost deadly silent. Once beside the tall professor, the secretary tries to stand on the tips of her toes to whisper in his ear. Giggles resonate in the room, the less mature students finding the sight of the short woman struggling to match their teacher's height incredibly funny. Speaking in a hushed voice, Gildarts listens to the woman's message with animated expressions on his face; his facial expressions morphing from confused, surprised, and then an expression that none of the students can discern. The man nods and wraps an arm around the young girl next to the secretary, his head nodding with a smile tugging at his lips.
"Okay, class," the professor announces," we have a special transfer student who will be joining the class from this day forward. I know this needn't be said, but treat her nicely. You guys are all adults, so please act like one."
Stepping up to a desk on the side of the lecturing podium, the girl bows slightly, but says nothing, leaving the class confused.
"Hey, kid! What's yo' name?!" shouts a random student.
"Yeah," chimes in another.
The man clasps a hand on the silent woman's shoulder. Retrieving a dry erase marker from his bag, Gildarts writes '(Y/n)' name across the top of the whiteboard in a vibrant hue of orange before gesturing for her to find a place to sit.
Soft footfalls are unheard by all the room's occupants as (Y/n) walks up the stairs to search from an empty seat. In the sea of students and backpacks, she finds a spot next to a young man with dark, spiky, maroon hair. He is leaned back in his seat with his eyes shut, his chest rising and falling steadily, telling (Y/n) that he had fallen asleep during the beginning of the lecture. She finds herself staring a bit longer, her curious eyes landing on the scar that runs over his right eye. Figuring he would not be awake for the rest of the lesson, the young woman sits next to the man and pulls out a notebook, scribbling down the necessary information on the slides. Though she is not going to be able to get all the information, since such detailed information is always given verbally in order to save space and minimize the presentation's size, (Y/n) makes a mental note to ask for the page numbers of the lesson.
---
The harsh, shrill scream of the campus's bell sounds off again, prompting the students to gather up their materials and exit as their professor writes their homework assignment on the board. By the time a majority of students have left, (Y/n) notices that the maroon-haired man next to her has yet to awaken. Tapping on his shoulder gently, she tries her best to not startle him.
"What are you doing," the man grumbles, huffing in annoyance. A long silence follows his question. "Oi. Answer me. You get my attention, yet nothing comes out of your mouth." Finally opening his eyes, he looks over to see the new girl beside him is looking down, her hair falling over her face. Unintentionally, the man listens to her thoughts and learns the reason why she hasn't responded to his words. "Y-You can't hear me..."
Tanned fingers slip under (Y/n)'s chin and lift her face to meet his gaze. The man sends an apologetic look and taps her forehead, confusing her until she hears an unknown voice in her head, making her jump in fear.
'I'm sorry. I did not mean to be rude, but I listened to your thoughts. That's how I realized that you could not hear me.'
'How are you doing this!?'
'My magic, kid. I can listen to other people's thoughts.'
'Whoa... By the way, what's your name?''
'The name's Erik, but some random guys came up with the nickname Cobra.'
'That's a really cool nickname, Erik! My name is (Y/n)!'
For the next twenty minutes, the two newfound friends chat in their spots, neither of them uttering a single word all the while and, for the first time in nearly more than a decade, the young girl is truly happy. All her life, (Y/n) has been living in sorrow without a single person who knows how to sign or realize that they don't necessarily need JSL to communicate with her. Finally finding someone who she can talk to without any complications or obstacles makes her feel a sense of relief.
---
After Erik's first encounter with (Y/n), he has rarely 'spoken' to her. His avoidance has no rude or unpleasant intentions. Erik does not want to upset her. When he unintentionally tunes into (Y/n)'s thoughts, the man hears her many unsung pleas to find someone who can speak freely to her with JSL without worry of judgement or resentment.
With a new goal in mind, Erik uses every opportunity he has to study the unique language. There is a deep yearning in his heart to see (Y/n)'s face when he uses JSL to communicate with her. He knows it will make her happy; it is all he wants to do for her. It confuses Erik when he feels his heart beating so intensely when around her that it is almost as if the organ is trying to escape from his chest. Deeming it as just his anxiety of wanting to see (Y/n)'s reaction, Erik pushes the odd feelings aside to focus on his learning; he is convinced of its unimportance.
---
'Hey, (Y/n)!' Erik mentally calls out to his friend in the bustling halls of the school during their passing period while pushing past the other students to reach her. His screams go unnoticed in the girl's busy mind, her internal voice rehearsing notes she needs to study for an upcoming exam. "Oh, wait," Erik muses to himself as his run transitions to a slow walk. "I'll just talk to her in class. The professor isn't always on time." He takes his time walking to class, mulling over the best method to approach (Y/n).
Stopping when he finds his feet at the doorway of Professor Clive's room, Erik panics. All the thoughts that were previously in his mind bolt for the nearest exit and leave the young man feeling utterly hopeless.
A finger tapping on his shoulder brings Erik out of his hysteria. He usually has a keen sense of his surroundings, so the sudden disturbance startles him, causing a hand to fly out at the person in front of him without so much as a glance at who it is. To Erik's surprise, his hand is caught by a smaller, much softer one.
'(Y/n),' he sighs out in relief, scratching at the back of his neck sheepishly. Then, remembering the point of all the hours he has put into studying, Erik pulls his hands up in front of (Y/n)'s face and begins to sign out words. 'Sorry about that. People usually don't sneak up at me like that.'
As he had predicted early on, the look on her face is priceless. A wide smile stretches across (Y/n)'s face, her entire expression seeming to glow with ecstaticness as she signs at a rapid pace.
'Oh my-... When did you learn how to sign?! You seem so fluent in JSL too!!'
'I've only started right after our first encounter, so it's only been a few months or so.'
'But why? You told me yourself, you don't need to learn sign language when we can just have conversations with our minds.'
In a moment of sudden, out-of-character shyness, Erik's eyes find solace in staring at the toes of his shoes. His face feels warm, heat rushing in from an unknown source.
'I... It's just that... You seemed so disappointed all the time that you have no one to talk to using sign language. Sure, us two, we don't need it in order to have a conversation, but I heard your thoughts; You feel lonely still.'
'Erik...'
'I want to make you happy, so why not start off strong?'
Smirking proudly, the young man regains his confidence as (Y/n)'s throws herself at his body, her arms wrapping tightly around his midsection as she hugs him tightly. Erik hugs her back, causing his heart to beat against his ribs. The two part shortly when their professor steps in, prompting everyone, including his friend and himself, to pull out their writing utensils and paper in order to capture the words itching to fly out of the professor's mouth.
'I don't know if you're paying any attention to my thoughts right now.' (Y/n)'s thoughts enters Erik's mind, 'I just want to say thank you, Erik. Thank you for that. You have no idea how much it means to me. Well, actually, you can listen in on my thoughts, so maybe you do know. Anyway, we both need to pay attention to Professor Clive, so I'll shut up now.'
Erik hears her loud and clear. He rests a comforting hand on her shoulder before returning to his notes, a soft smile gracing his features for a brief second.
'Don't worry, (Y/n), I can hear you. I will always hear you.'