I worry but only because I care.
Mae
I heard the sound of crunching and slurping next to me, one of my biggest pet peeves. I wanted the irritating sound to stop, so I covered my head with my blanket but the slurping got louder. The sound prolonged and dragged for what seemed like an eternity. I sat up furious at what the sound could be and heard chuckling to my left.
"You know you mumble in your sleep?" I looked to my left and saw James eating a bowl of cereal. "Not actual words but like if you're having a wet dream." He was laughing. The sound he was talking about was something I did. When I would sleep, I would take in deep breaths of air and release my breath at once, creating a moaning or groaning sound. He brought the bowl to his mouth and slurped loudly. As if me not beating the crap out of him—not literally—yesterday wasn't enough, he does this?
"I will murder you again," I threatened, half-heartedly. My body was tired from wrestling with the boys yesterday. We had a wrestling contest. They kept turning and twisting my body in different ways, ways my body was not meant to be twisted and turned. Fortunately, nothing broke or tore, but I was still sore. I looked at the clock and saw what time it was and groaned. "Why are you waking me up at six in the morning on a Saturday?"
"I wasn't tryna way ya up, you just light sleeper," he chuckled and I groaned as I fell back on the bed. "Oou, let's watch The Walking Dead."
"It's six in the morning, James," I signed. He stopped eating, so I closed my eyes, slowly losing my hearing as unconsciousness became of me.
"Mae!" James shouted and my heart dropped. I gasped from being scared, and I looked at him. I smacked his arm and he started laughing.
"You scared the crap out of me!" I signed angrily. I put my hand on my heart, feeling the beating that could've matched a hummingbird's heartbeat and glared at him. "Get out. You're not welcomed here."
"Awe, Mae. I was just joking," he laughed. I just wanted to sleep, nothing would have made me happier. I closed my eyes, hoping to ignore him and sleep. "Mae!" He shouted again. I jumped a little and glared at him. He was laughing and laughing, tears were brimming his eyes as he laughed. He clutched onto his stomach as he took deep breaths.
"Shut up!" Zach yelled from his room. James kept laughing, not caring about anything around him. I heard Zach groaning from the other room and it sounded like he was crying. "I just wanna sleep! Is that too much to ask for?!" I looked at James to tell him to be quiet, but he was laughing too hard, his eyes were squeezed shut.
I grabbed my pillow and hit him but he kept laughing. He tried talking but only laughs would come out. "You... you shou... you should've..." he spoke through his laughs but trying to speak only made him laugh more. His laughing lifted my mood and made me start laughing loudly.
"Make it stop!" Zach cried from the other room, so I stopped laughing. I heard hard stomps approaching, and James started laughing harder when Zach walked into my room. "Why are you laughing?" He was angry and sleepy. Never a good combination on Zach.
"Ya should've seen her... she got so-so scared," James managed to say through his chuckling. His laughing fit stopped and he started taking deep breaths, trying to cool down. "Ugh, that was good." He chuckled about his laughing.
"For who? You're the only one happy!" Zach snapped. James looked at him then me and pointed to me because I was smiling. "Stop smiling!" Zach snapped at me and I laughed. He groaned and walked away. I got up and went to the restroom.
"Party time!" James sang as he walked out of my room. After I was done using the restroom I walked out.
"You spent the night?" I asked when I walked into the kitchen.
"I used the key under the mat," he said. Of course, he did.
"Breaking and entering," I joked.
"Nah, 'cause no breaking was done," he defended. "I even brought a gift." He held out a container of powdered Koolaid. Every time he came over, he complained that all we had to drink was water and how boring water was. This resulted in me having to buy Gatorade and fruit punch for him which seemed to make him happy.
"We don't even drink Koolaid," I told him. "That's for you."
"Think of it as a gift from me to you for me," he said and I laughed as I shook my head. He took a pitcher out from under the sink and started making 'his gift'. "We're hanging out today, watching moves, eating snacks."
"Sounds good, I'll start," Zach said and left the kitchen. I peeked out of the kitchen and into the living room to see Zach laying on the couch, falling asleep.
"He fallin' asleep, ain't he?" James asked and I shook my head, not wanting to snitch on Zach. I went into the living room and laid down on the other side of the couch. I started falling asleep and it felt so relaxing. "GUYS!" I jumped up and it reminded me of being woken up on a school day after my parents had just woken me up and told me that I'd better not go back to sleep or I'd get in trouble. Zach glared at James as his left eye twitched.
"You're a dead man," Zach growled, pouncing towards James. James moved in the last second, making Zach stagger in his steps. Zach steadied himself before he could fall. "We're not friends!" James started laughing at how Zach was acting.
"Some pizza?" James asked and Zach stood straight, no longer in his offensive stance.
"You got some already?" Zach asked, ready to fight if James didn't.
"Nah, but we can get some at the store," James said and I laughed as Zach's left eye twitched again. James looked at me, so I signed to him.
"You're pushing him too far," I told James.
"Awe but that's when he at his funnest. When he gets all riled up," James laughed and Zach's shoulders slumped in tiredness. The sun shined through the window, hitting Zach in the eyes, and he groaned while moving behind the wall "Nah, but for real, we can go get some pizza."
"It's six in the morning," Zach groaned with an added stomp to the ground.
"Then we wait for a lil'. No biggie," James shrugged.
"Then I'm going back to sleep. If you come into my room, I'll shoot you," Zach said. He stomped off to his room and slammed the door shut.
"Damn, it really be ya own blood!" James shouted over his shoulder towards Zach's room but not going in.
"It'll be a headshot, so yo big ass mouth shuts up," Zach shouted from his room and James laughed.
"Let's watch the walking dead," I told him and he smiled. I brought my blanket from my room and laid on the couch. I snuggled more into my blanket and smiled as the sleepiness came back.
"You gon' fall asleep," he complained. I opened my eyes and watched the intro. I shook my head, disagreeing with what he was saying. I was too sleepy to sign. "Yes, are you. You won't even sign. You gon' fall asleep. Watch." And that's exactly what I did.
*~*
"Maaaaeeee," I heard James' voice drag. "I'm hungrryyyyy." My back was starting to ache from the awkward position I was in, so I sat up and my head began to hurt, a pounding that went all around my head.
"How long was I asleep for?" I asked.
"Three days!" He raised his voice and fell back on the couch dramatically. I threw my pillow at him and got my phone from my pocket. I slept for three hours. "I'm hungry."
I stared at him. He stared back. "Why didn't you get food from the kitchen," I told him and got up, going to the kitchen. Speaking of being hungry, I woke up starving.
"What's for breakfast?" He asked, happily.
"Whatever you're making," I said, mocking what he told me the last time I asked that.
"Ha. Ha," he mocked and opened the fridge. "When's the last time y'all went food shoppin'?" I looked in the fridge but it was fully stocked. I stocked it this week. He opened the freezer and pouted. "Where's all the good food? The hot pockets, the burritos, somethin' good." He took out the bacon and sausages.
"Zach doesn't like hot pockets, and I don't really care for the burritos," I told him and his mouth dropped.
"Zach doesn't like hot pockets?!" He asked, incredulously. He took in a breath full of air "ZA-" Zach walked into the kitchen before James could finish.
"I'm hungry," Zach grumbled groggily. He sat at the kitchen table, releasing a huge breath of air.
"Same. Mae's gonna make breakfast," James said, filling the sink with hot water from the tap and setting the packaged bacon and the other package sausage into the water.
"Good luck," I signed. I started walking out of the kitchen and I heard James' heavy footsteps as he started to run, following behind me. I ran to my room and jumped on my bed. He stood by the door and glared, jokingly. I sat on my bed and waved. He rushed me and I gasped as he jumped on me, surprised. My throat closed, suppressing any sound from coming out and any air from coming in.
He straddled me and grabbed my wrist, putting them over my head. "What if I was a predator?" James asked and I knew where he was getting at. I tried moving my arms but he held my wrists securely in his hands. I raised an eyebrow, wanting him to let go of my hands, so I can speak but he didn't let go. "You need hands to speak, I get that. But yo attacker's not gonna care. Ya need hands to talk so get 'em free. Gotta fight with 'em too, get 'em free."
"Aye, foo! Get off my sister?" Zach growled.
"I'm tryna' show her how it's gonna be if someone tries somethin'," James clarified. "Try and get out."
I started pushing my arms outward but he leaned most of his weight on my wrist so the pushing became useless. I moved my legs but he squeezed him together with his own.
"You won't be able to try anything," Zach told James. "If you move, she'll be ready."
"True. Get over here then. Play along," he told me so I nodded. I'd play along and humor him. He let go of my wrists.
"You only have me in this position because I didn't know you were going to be my attacker. I would have been ready."
"Yo attacker's not gonna say when he's gon' attack you," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and I guess he was probably right.
"What do I do?" Zach asked.
"Grab her wrists," Zach came to the other side of the bed and looked at me. I shrugged and nodded. He grabbed my wrist.
"What if I hurt you?" He asked, worried. I barely pulled my arms back and he didn't resist. I knew he wasn't going to hold me tight unless I told him to.
"Don't worry. I can handle pain. If I really can't handle it then I'll scream. Okay?" I told him and he nodded. He grabbed my wrists tightly, but it didn't hurt. I nodded at James and he got down and grabbed my ankles.
"I'm not gonna do anythin' bad but I'm also not gonna tell you what I'ma do so you'll end up being surprised but don't worry. A'ight?" He asked and I nodded. "Action!" He laughed and I laughed too but stopped when he opened my legs.
I tried closing them but he pushed himself between then. "Fight, Mae," Zach told me. I tried pulling my wrists but Zach held them tightly, still, it didn't hurt. My instinctive reaction was to close my legs.
I needed a way to stop him while having him do nothing to me. I spread my right leg more and tried kicking him but he pushed my leg away and curled his arms under my knees, compressing them in the folds of his elbow.
I twisted my body but it only twisted the upper half of my body, hurting my back in the process. I stopped before my back could get injured. Despite all the effort, I was still in the same spot I was originally in. I sighed and James smiled.
"Give up? How're you gonna defend yourself?" He asked. I was starting to get angry that it was starting to look like he was right. I was angry so I moved my legs, wrapping them around his waist and he raised his eyebrows. "You gonna do that to your attacker? That gonna make him happy not-" I squeezed my thighs as hard as I could together, squeezing his waist.
He removed his hands from the back of my knees and grabbed my thighs as he winced in pain. I let go and lifted my lower body, using as much ab strength I could muster and rolled back on the bed.
I pulled my arms to me as I rolled off and Zach came with me. He fell on the bed and I landed on my feet, squatting down on the floor. I got up and ran towards the door but James was blocking it.
"The front door is your only way out," Zach said as he got up. I backed up, trying to prevent them from grabbing me, but Zach ended up cornering me. He leaned over in an offensive position, waiting to attack me. He glanced at my feet and I remembered him telling me he could always tell which way James was going to run because of his feet.
He was trying to read the direction I was going to run, so I shifted my feet a little towards my left and his feet shuffled in the same direction. I moved to the left but ran to the right. He jumped straight to the right without bothering to move to the left and grabbed me. I grabbed him back, hugging him and trying to shuffle my weight to the side to turn us. I leaned on him, pushing him and he pushed back.
I tickled his stomach and he let go. So he was ticklish. I ran to the door and tackled James. I got up fast and tried making a run for the front door but he grabbed my ankle.
I fell to the floor, catching myself in the last second and saving my chin from being crushed on the floor. I flipped my body and kicked his stomach. He fell back, taking Zach down with him. I got up and ran to the door opening it.
"I would have run out," I signed quickly.
"And they gon' chase you," James said running towards me. I took a couple of steps outside, and he ran full throttle at me. I moved to the side as he ran past me. I rushed inside, locking the door.
"I'm too tired now," Zach said, giving up. James knocked on the door.
"Okay, I get it," James said. "I would've won." He mumbled so quietly I almost missed it.
"What was that?" I signed to Zach and he translated it for me. I heard James curse under his breath, making me laugh. "Just admit it. You know I can take care of myself."
"Unlock the door so we can talk," he said, softly with seriousness in his voice. I unlocked the door, and he sighed. "I know you can take of yourself, but I don't want that to cloud your mind. I don't want you to think you're all that and a bag of chips. I don't want the day to come where you find that out and realize there is going to be someone who comes and takes you off your high horse. They'll win against The King.
"I'm not saying you're gonna lose all the time, but have you ever thought about that one match that changes you forever? That one match that's gonna end your streak? Words gonna spread farther down in the country and when someone who can do some serious damage comes at you? What? Whatcha gonna do?"
I knew he was right. I understood now why James wanted to get his point across so badly. He wasn't trying to tell me what to do, he was trying to warn me about what could happen. That, one day there's gonna be a fighter who puts me in the place I put others in. It'll be bad and hard, I might not ever recover from it and that's what he was trying to tell me.
I looked him in the eyes but there was a look in his eyes and I read it. It was almost as if the fighting wasn't the only thing. I looked deeper and I finally understood the real reason why he didn't want me to hang out with Axel and the guys.
"You think I'm going to get heartbroken," I told him as I was realizing what the look in his eyes was. He didn't answer or try to defend what I said was wrong because I was right. "Why do you think that?"
"'Cause," he said, unable to find words, but I waited. I wanted to know the full reason behind it. I heard Zach's footsteps retreating, so I looked at him and he was walking into his room, closing the door behind him. "You're starting to trust."
He noticed. I hadn't realized it was noticeable to anyone but me. I didn't say anything. What could I say? He was right.
"I can see it. First, with Damien and now with Axel and the others. It feels like you'll end up dating one of them, but I know they won't treat you right. You deserve better. Someone who won't break your heart or your trust. I don't want you to get heartbroken. I don't wanna see you get hurt. I care too much for you."
I was surprised.
He kept looking down the entire time he spoke, and I knew it was hard for him to express his feelings; that was one of the biggest things he struggled with. So hearing this before me, made tears roll out of my eyes at how much he cared for me. I knew he cared, but I never knew to what extent. I reached out to him but he looked at me before I could touch him. His eyes were soft and calm.
"I think it hurts and scares me more, knowing that you can protect yourself more than I can protect you. And if you end up getting hurt and not able to protect yourself, I'm gonna feel like I failed you as your best friend," he admitted, closing his eyes.
"James..." I trailed off. Words failed me and he smiled softly. I knew he could read my face. My face was portraying every emotion I was feeling. "Thank you."
I hugged him tightly, trying to show him that I was truly thankful. He hugged me tighter and it felt warm. It was peaceful in James' arms, and I felt at home. He was my home. It almost felt like all my broken pieces would mold together and become one, become whole but he let go too soon. "I just wanted you to see where I was coming from."
"I do and that's what I'm afraid of too. But I know what I'm doing, at least with Damien I do. With Axel and the guys, that's a little different. I just don't feel anything so you don't have to worry about that," I assured. There was a saddened look in his eyes but I couldn't tell what it was for.
"What are you doing with Damien?" He asked. "Are you two... dating?"
"No. Technically we're not dating. But we're talking. Kind of. I think. I don't know, okay?" I signed quickly, wanting the dreadful conversation to end. I wasn't sure what Damien and I were.
We hung out a few times but only at school. He would meet me in the library and we would talk. Well, he would talk and I would text him. Sometimes I would teach him a few words and by then, he was able to ask how my day was and answer for himself. They were sort answers, but he was learning nonetheless. I wanted to walk away from James but he wouldn't let me.
"Well, what does he's he say?" James asked and I should my head.
"I'm not talking about this with you," I signed quickly and shook my head. I've never had a guy to talk about so this was new territory for me. This was never a topic I'd thought I would talk about with another guy. "It'll be awkward."
"Why? I'm your friend this is what friends do," he said but thinking about the conversation made me feel awkward already and nothing had even been said yet. "Just tell me, how does he act with you?"
"I don't know, nice," I said but I could feel my face turning up in confusion. He deadpanned and I groaned. "He's really sweet, always giving me compliments and he's learning sign language." I smiled as I told him. There was a look in his eyes, an almost pained look in his eyes, but I must have imagined it as it was gone before I could take a closer look.
"You like him," He said as if he was certain that I liked Damien and I laughed because I wasn't sure if I liked him or not.
"I don't know. I've never liked anyone before, so I don't know what it feels like to like someone but when I see him, I get kind of nervous," I admitted and he chuckled.
"Yeah, ya like him or you're starting to," he walked into the kitchen whining yet again about how hungry he was. "Zach, make me food!"
Zach came back from the room with a sort of pained expression, but I couldn't figure out why. He looked at me and smiled but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. I wanted to ask him what was wrong but he stirred up a conversation with James about football.
I started getting ingredients out from the refrigerator to cook with and sat them on the counter but they told me they would cook.
"Are you sure? I don't mind," I told him and they both shook their heads at once without communicating it with each other.
"It's alright. We don't need help," Zach said hastily. It felt strange for me to be in the kitchen when they were doing everything and holding their own conversation so I walked out.
It felt as if Zach was acting strangely and yet again, I couldn't figure out why. I went to the living room, gathering my blanket and phone and took them to my room. I turned my phone on and there were texts from Axel and the group chat.
I feel like Mae doesn't really wanna hang out with us :( -S
Yeah. She never mentions it first -D
I guess we wanna be her friend more than she wants to be ours. -A
There were laughing emojis on some of the texts, so I knew they were messing around. I laughed as I texted back.
That's not true. I wanna hang out. -M
Then how come you never mention it? -S
Because I don't know if you guys want to. What if I mentioned it and you guys are like 'Nah, I'm good' or something like that. -M
Nah, we wouldn't say sum like that -D
You think we're mean :(:( -S
No! Of ourselves not. -M
Then let's hang out :):):):):) -S
I heard Zach and James laughing in the kitchen and I forgot we were supposed to watch movies today.
I'm supposed to hang out with Zach and James today. -M
Bring 'em. We can get pizza or something. -A
We can go at 3 -D
I went to the kitchen and found that the guys were managing to actually cook. Well, it seemed like James was doing most of the cooking, and Zach was cutting the ingredients.
I snapped my fingers and they looked at me. Their happiness seemed to almost fade, so I blinked twice to see if what I was seeing was right, but they were both completely happy again.
"Axel and the guys wanted to hang out-"
"We're supposed to hang out today," James interrupted before I could finish.
"We're hanging out today, Mae. Tell them no," Zach snapped. "Why do you always have to hang out with guys?!"
I was taken aback. "What are you trying to say?! I've never had friends before that wanted to hangout!" I snapped. Zach was taken aback and James turned around, shoulders slumped as he got the sausages out of the sink. He took them out of the package and put them into the pan.
"So we're what?" Zach asked harshly. James looked at him and then back at me. "We're your lost puppies that follow you around?"
"No, why are you making this a big deal? I didn't mean it like you guys aren't my friends, but we've been friends since we were seven. You're already my brother, Zach, and James is like my brother too."
Anger left Zach's face and was replaced by a grim expression. He raised his eyes brows slightly and turned around, going to the refrigerator. I looked at James and he had the faintest bit of shock on his face. James laughed and turned around to the sink to get the bacon that was defrosting in hot water. I clapped my hands and it took them both a second to look at me. Zach looked first then James.
"They invited you guys too," I told them. "They wanted to get pizza at three."
Zach and James looked at each other. They both wanted to laugh but held it in. I wasn't aware of what was funny. They huddle together like they were discussing a play they were going to run. They started whispering and getting louder until Zach shushed James. I cleared my throat, but they kept whispering.
I went to the sausages and flipped them over as the guys continued to whispered. I tried to listen and was able to hear a glimpse of Zach growling he wanted pizza. They stood straight and both smiled, mischievously. "We're in," they agreed in unison.
I narrowed my eyes, eyeing them suspiciously and Zach smiled ecstatically. I started worrying about why they both were suddenly super happy and willing to hang out with the guys.
"Be on your best behavior," I signed, and Zach was the one who caught it.
"You make it sound like you're bringing babies. We know how to act," he grumbled sourly.
*~*
I walked into Me 'N Eds Pizzeria with Zach and James and saw Axel and the guys. I waved and they waved back as I walked to them. "You guys remember James and my brother, Zach?" I asked as I sat down.
"Yeah. What's up?" Daniel nodded. James and Zach nodded once in acknowledgment.
Zach sat next to me on my right, and James sat to my left side. In front of me, sat Axel in the middle and to Axel's right in front of James, sat Daniel. On Axel's left side in front of Zach, sat Solan.
"Hey, how was your day?" Solan smiled. He always seemed so happy, and I envied that of him, but I was glad he was happy. His happiness made me happy and it suited him better, felt more natural.
"It was good, how was yours?" I asked, mirroring his smile. I didn't think it was possible but his smile grew bigger.
"Won fifty bucks from Daniel," he chucked. Daniel brought his cup to his lips, mumbling something incoherent.
"I let you win," Daniel said and Solan laughed. Axel smiled smugly at Daniel. I assumed Daniel did not let Solan win.
"If that were true you wouldn't have given up the fifty bucks," Solan boasted as he took a drink of his soda.
"I'm gonna order a pizza," Daniel grumbled angrily as he shot up from his seat.
"Get pineapple," Solan said as Daniel was walking away.
"No," Daniel grumbled and Solan laughed.
"He'll get it," Solan assured with a nod.
"Order us a pizza," I told Zach, not wanting to leave the guys alone. I was afraid they would act like animals. I gave him some cash. "One large pepperoni, olive, and pineapple and then another large of something else." Zach and James could eat an entire pizza to themselves so these would most likely be starter pizzas for them.
"And to drink?" Zach asked.
"Just bring the cups," James said and Zach nodded.
"So how do you know sign language?" Axel asked James. Axel's smile was friendly as he waited for James to answer.
"I learned," James said curtly, so I kicked him under the table subtly and he continued. "When I was younger I saw a family signing to each other. It was a group of two young women and an older lady. I didn't know what it was, but they started laughing; one signed, the other nodded. It looked like they were communicating with each other but their mouths never moved. Some did but not enough to actually talk, more like very bad lip-syncing.
"I went up to them, patting the younger girl's leg because I couldn't reach any higher. 'Excuse me, miss,' I called to her. My moms always told me to be respectful when I'm speaking to anyone older than me, especially if they're a girl. 'If you don't mind me askin', what are you doin' with your hands?' I asked. I remember my moms getting so mad," James chuckled as he recalled the memory.
"One of them looked down at me and signed as she talked. She said the name but at that time, I couldn't remember the words American Sign Language but she told me ASL, so I remembered that.
"'I have a friend who doesn't have a voice,' I told them and the older lady bent down to me very seriously.
"'Everyone has a voice but different people have it in different ways,' she said seriously, looking me dead in the eyes but with a soft smile.
"'What do you mean by that, ma'am?' I asked. She looked at the girl next to her and that was the younger girl's leg I patted. The girl's leg I patted was looking at the girl next to her and that girl was signing. 'She's signing everything I'm saying,' the lady told me and when she said that, the girl who I patted looked at me and smiled. She started signing something to me, so I looked at the lady so she could tell me
"'When someone signs to you, you look at them until they finish speaking,' she didn't say it in a rude way but with a soft tone so that I would understand, and I did. I looked back at the girl, and she moved her hands in ways I'd never seen before. I was shocked as the lady beside me started talking I half-listened to her as I kept my eyes on the girl signing. 'What I'm doing is signing to you. The lady next to you, who's my mom is saying everything I'm saying. It's called American Sign Language. People who are deaf use it. People who are mute also use this.'
"I looked at the lady and then at the young girl and they laughed. Lookin' back at the memory now, I know they could see how shocked I must've been. 'What's mute?' I asked.
"'It's when someone doesn't speak. There are different kinds but you're far too young to understand.' It made me sort of angry at the time when she said that, but she was probably right so I let it go. 'Your friend doesn't speak at all?' The lady asked.
"'No but she used to and now she doesn't anymore. Not a single word or sound, but I wanna talk to her and have her talk to me back. Right now, we pass notes back and forth but it takes long,' I told her and they nodded." As James recalled the story I listened to it wholeheartedly. I had never heard it before. He never told me it; not to this extent. He only told me that a lady at the store had told him about it. He continued and I gave him my undivided attention.
"'She must be mute. Some people chose it by choice, others not so much as you get older, you'll understand.' The lady translated for the younger girl. 'Try learning sign language and show it to her. Trust me, it'll make all the difference. Be patient with her. Treat her kindly. There's a reason she doesn't speak. But just because she doesn't speak, doesn't mean she doesn't have a voice. Help her find her voice.' I nodded, and they told my moms they had to go and my moms understood. I remember rushing her home so I can find out more about sign language.
"I taught Mae, and then Zach felt left out, so I taught him and then they looked most of it up on the internet at home and practice together. Mae learned faster than we did. She looked things up with the internet and with her books. She ended up teaching us a few things and soon after that we spoke faster and then conversations wouldn't stop. I was happy when I realized that I was understanding her voice better," James finished recalling the story and I was smiling at him. I smacked his arm and he looked at me like I was crazy.
"Why didn't you ever tell me that?!" I asked. I felt so touched.
"You never asked," he shrugged like it was no big deal.
"You never knew the full story?" Daniel asked, and I looked at him. I hadn't realized he was sitting down next to Axel again. Zach was also sitting down next to me. I was so engrossed with the story I hadn't realized either of them came back.
"No, he never told me it," I signed and James smiled as I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Sprite?" He asked as he got up with both of our cups in his hands.
"I can get mine," I told him as I made a move to get up, but James shook his head and walked off. A number was called and Zach went to go get it.
"James seems like a really nice guy," Solan beamed as Daniel came back with the pizza. Solan reached for a slice before Daniel could set the tray in front of him. Zach carried one pizza tray between his thumb and index finger and the second underneath with the rest of his fingers. James walked behind him with our drinks and the pepper and parmesan glass shakers.
They didn't get the ranch, so I got up to get some. I looked back at the table worriedly as I was waiting for the worker to get the ranch from the back and saw the guys eating. I saw James' lips move and Zach laughed. I waited impatiently because I wanted to know what they were talking about. The worker came back with three ranches, so I walked back to the table and as I was walking closer I heard them laughing.
"What's funny?" I asked after setting the ranch's down. The other guys already had their ranch.
"They were telling us about the other school and how their football teams suck," Zach chuckled.
"They do. I have a cousin on the Northside, and he says their team always gets their ass handed to them by you guys," Daniel said.
"Ooh yeah, we're rivals," James laughed before taking a huge bite of his pizza. "I hear next year their gonna stop playing us."
"Which is complete crap if you ask me. What's the point?" Zach grumbled, taking a big drink of his soda.
"They're probably tired of getting their ass handed to them," Daniel laughed and they guys agreed while they laughed. The guys continued to talk about football and challenged each other to a match one day.
"So is that something you want to do when you're older? Play football?" Axel asked.
"For me, yeah. I wanna make it to the NFL," James smiled. "I'm gonna work hard and right now, it's paying off. I already got an offer from LA, so we'll see what senior year has to offer."
He got the offer three days ago but his mom and coaches told him to wait out and maybe he'd get more. It was already his plan to wait out so he had no problem waiting.
"For me, I wanna do something in the child protective services," Zach said and I smiled at him. We had similar goals. We both wanted to help those who couldn't help themselves.
We kept talking and my guys seemed comfortable with the guys. It made me happy that everyone was getting along. Axel's phone started ringing, so he got up and rushed outside. I looked at the guys and there was a look in their eyes.
"I'ma refill my cup," Daniel said.
"Me too," Solan said, and they both got up to refill their cups.
"It's probably Axel's girlfriend," I told the guys when they looked at me to see what I thought had happened.
"He has a girlfriend?" James asked, almost as if he was happy. Which he probably was because that meant he didn't have to worry about him trying anything on me.
"Yeah, so you have nothing to worry about," I told him and shook my head. I was still happy that he cared so much for me. I was glad I had him in my life.
"I like him better already," James smiled. I looked out the door at Axel and his mouth was moving. So he did speak. He was like me, only choosing the people he felt comfortable speaking with. I wondered if he spoke to Daniel and Solan. It looked like he was arguing with someone over the phone. He threw his head back in despair and pulled on his hair. He nodded and hung up. "I guess he's in an argument with her."
The guys walked to him, and I saw Axel's mouth moving, so I guess he did speak to them. Daniel and Solan nodded and they came to sit back down. "Is everything alright?" Zach asked. I wasn't going to ask but was glad when he did.
"Yeah, just a little argument," Axel said and began eating. "So how long have you all been friends?"
"Ten years," I answered and he smiled.
"If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been mute?" Daniel asked. Everyone from town already knew so no one had asked me that before. It was always the why's or the what's. Why I was mute or what happened to make me mute. I didn't know how to feel about it.
"Actually Mae doesn't like-"
"Ten years," I answered cutting Zach off and Axel and the guys seemed surprised. I looked at Zach and he seemed surprised too. I glanced at James, but I couldn't see what he was thinking. He was looking down, putting peppers on his pizza.
"So do you speak to James too? Or is it only your brother?" Solan asked as he took a drink of his soda. I felt the atmosphere get tense and thick like walking into the humidity during the summer.
"Why are you so concerned about Mae and her being mute?" James asked hastily. It sounded like he was angry.
"We're just curious," Daniel said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "We've never met anyone else who was mute. So we're curious."
"We never meant to offend Mae with anything we said," he looked at me worriedly. I shook my head and smiled.
"You didn't offend me. It's just that people ask me questions about being mute and the guys hate it because they know it upsets me. I'm sure James didn't mean any offense by it," I told them, but I wasn't sure if James meant any offense by it because when I told them that, James didn't say anything.
James' phone rang so he answered it. "Yes, ma'am," he spoke, and I knew he was speaking to his mom. He kept talking to her and then he hung up the phone. "I have to go. I gotta pick up my little sister from my aunt's house," James said so I nodded. "I'll get a box."
"It was fun hanging out with you guys. Next time, I'll mention it first," I said and they laughed, Axel laughed silently and I smiled.
"I'm glad you guys invited James and I," Zach smiled and the guys nodded. James came back with the box so we started putting some of the pizza away. "Do you guys want some of it?"
"Nah, Nah. We're good, thank you," Daniel said and the others nodded.
"We'll see you at school," Solan smiled and waved as we walked out.
"So they're not that bad," James grumbled once we were standing outside my car and I laughed.
"Yeah, they're funny," Zach chuckled. "I guess we judged a little too soon before even knowing them."
"Thank you! Was that so hard to say?!" I signed incredulously.
"Yeah, yeah. Hey, you have a race today." Zach reminded me and I completely forgot. I started to feel the tiniest bit of nervousness.
"Damn, I wanted to see it, but I gotta take care of my little sister," he said with a small frown.
"There'll be others," I smiled and he nodded. I took him to pick up his sister and then dropped them back off at his house.