A/N: Wyatt perspectives will be interesting. I mean he doesn't speak. Though i'll be delving deeper into selective mutism as I experienced it. But anyways, lets get into it~!
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Wyatt's pov:
I had just finished changing into my gym clothes, wondering if I should wait for River. He was a strange boy. Perhaps a little lonely? When me and my sister Sherri left chemistry, she told me about some of the bullying he went through in earlier years of highschool. So I figured i'd look out for him when I saw Braden pull him aside. Braden was someone I didn't trust. And hoped River wouldn't fall into bad company. The boy was sociopathic. The things he said to me back when we were in middle school cruel for someone so young; all because I never spoke. Though he's never had the guts to physically hurt me since my younger sister has always been my shadow. And she was the crush of many boys in our small town. And harming me would put them on her bad side.
And despite her pretty looks she was pretty fierce. I often joked about how I wanted to be like her when I grew up. She was honestly the person to push me to talking more. Though I was still always super anxious when it came to speaking to others. But as of lately I've been able to speak to my teachers and coach in private without the threat of panic attack. I wanted so badly to be able to speak freely like my peers. But whenever I tried my voice would just lock itself away. When I was younger I would go so long without speaking i'd forget what my own voice sounded like at times. I exited the lockeroom, finding the strange looks I got a bit annoying. I should just swear loudly and suddenly; but alas the prospect was out of reach.
I busied myself stretching, feeling this would be a decent warmup for practice today since I hadn't been on a run in about two weeks. Right as I was in the middle of a stretch, I looked up and saw a pair of hairy legs in front of me. I looked up further, nearly falling forward as I realized it was River, awkwardly standing before me while fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt. Perhaps he was in his awkward teen phase, though I don't recall having one.
"Do you mind if I run with you?" River asked shyly.
I shrugged and waved over my sister Sherri who was also in my class. Meaning we'd also have the same lunch, which made me happy. Sitting with random people was always awkward as they'd sometimes expect me to speak. I took out my notepad, as I always traded in my notebook for something more compact when doing something active.
"Do you know anyone in this class?" I asked, showing him my note.
He looked thoughtful for a moment. I mean sure he seemed a little on the weird side. But surely he has to have some friends?
"I have one friend. But he's not here I think." He shrugged, offering a weak smile.
And me being the emotional softy I was didn't want him to be alone.
"What's up?" My sister asked as she walked up to us.
I wanted to speak. But I still didn't feel quite comfortable around River. I had only met him today after all. I took out my notepad and jotted down a few symbols that me and my sister recognized as words. It was much faster than writing out full words and it was like a language me and my sister created when we were younger.
"Well lets get going. Coach says we start now." She replied.
"We'll both have to keep up with Wyatt here. He's co-captain on the cross-country team. So he's like a sports car compared to us normal people." My sister explained with a chuckle, flustering me.
I jotted down a quick note to defend myself.
"I just have endurance. I'm not really fast." I protested through writing, River and my sister sharing a chuckle.
Sure it was at my expense, but the closed off boy seemed to be opening up a bit.
"Okay class let's get going and see what you all can do!" Our teacher shouted, getting out attention.
"Starting. Now!" He added, pressing his stopwatch.
I let River and Sherry take off ahead of me. I had 4 miles to run at practice after school today so i'd aim for about 2 in this 30 minutes so I wasn't a corpse by then. After they took off I followed after, keeping pace with them. Sherry seemed to be keeping pace with River who was almost at a sprint. It was a bit funny. He'd end up burning himself out at this pace he was running. And my sister would burn out trying to keep up with him.
Deciding to help them out I took the lead, eventually slowing down their pace until it was comfortable and sustainable for them; or at least I thought. I shot them a smile and took off a bit faster, my mind wandering off to that place it went to while I was on runs. It was a serene place; one of deep thought and mind stimulating questions. With my body in autopilot I eventually completed several laps. And I guess I sped up in pace without my knowing as when I came to I had ended up overtaking River and my sister.
"He really is fast." River commented as I slowed down to run beside them.
"Last year he was one of the top runners or whatever on our cross country team." My sister went on, knowing full well how I felt about attention with a mischievous grin.
I wondered if they knew that running indoors and on flat ground was easier than running through a forest or something. A whistle was blown, causing me to slow to a stop beside my companions.
"Alright everyone! A little breather before our next exercise! Pair up in groups of two." Our gym teacher announced as everyone in relief.
"Oh my gosh its Sam! Sorry Wyatt, gonna partner with her." My sister said excitedly, screaming at her best friend.
She was only 16 after all. And I was the oldest of my siblings. I couldn't be there all the time and they couldn't always be around me all the time. Perhaps it was time to drop my "Mother instincts" as my sister frequently referred to my behavior as and make some friends outside of family.
"Uhmm. Wanna be my partner?" River asked, catching my attention.
And yet again, I wanted to speak. But words were trapped in my throat like usual. So instead I just nodded yes with a small smile. I wasn't sure what we would be doing. But I guessed we were to work together on something.
"Alright everyone. Ready? Its simple. I just want you all to do your best." I our teacher said, tapping a table of papers.
Me and River followed everyone's lead, picking up a paper that had instructions and diagrams as to what we were to do and where to go in the gym.
"What do you wanna do first?" River asked, his voice that jittery mess it seemed to always be. I wasn't used to leading what others did. Hell at cross-country meets i'd run ahead of everyone or behind them; all depending on my pace.
But River seemed so insecure. So I supposed I could lead the way for a while. He seemed interesting nonetheless. I glanced over the paper, evaluating myself as well. All the running I had to do today was going to eventually get taxing. I already ran what I would run at a meet. Plus I had practice later today. So to conserve energy, I would do the exercises requiring upper body strength, which I lacked.
River looked at me expectantly with puppydog-like eyes, melting me on the spot. He was honestly super adorable. I took out my pencil which I always carried with me, and wrote numbers above the exercises we'd be doing and in what order. So we set to work getting through the exercises, River surprising me with his upper body strength considering he was so thin. I however struggled a bit, but managed to do a decent enough job. I guess i'd have to work on that throughout the year.
"So cross country, how did you get into that?" River asked, a sheepish smile on his face. A clever attempt into getting me to talk, though even he knew it was fruitless. My silence was fueled by anxiety; not by choice all the time.
I offered him a small smile as we assumed position for our next workout.
"Do you think you could help me out? I did pretty bad on the run I think." He asked as he began doing sit-ups while I held his feet down.
He seemed to need a friend. Though his pressing to get me to talk while I couldn't write was a bit much. So long as I entertained the thought and never attempted it I could probably steer clear of anxiety. I nodded yes with a shrug, taking mental note of how many sit-ups he managed. A respectable twenty to my forty. We had finished a little after everyone else had, our coach calling our attention just as the bell rang, signalling that lunch was in session.
"We'll discuss more tomorrow everyone." Our gym teacher announced.
"Oh my gosh hey you." My sister greeted, hugging me from behind, catching me off guard.
She had come with another guy at her side, who waved at River who stood beside me.
"Hey, so they're gonna sit with us at lunch." My sister informed, gesturing to the boy beside her and River who had surprise in the depths of his brown eyes.
I didn't like not being able to speak. But being around new people assured that I remained silent.
"I'm Joshua by the way. You're Wyatt right?" The boy greeted, offering a hand for me to shake.
I took his hand, not even bothering to try explaining that I didn't feel comfortable speaking with him.
"Of course he is silly. I totally didn't point him out to you." My sister scolded, rolling her eyes, shooting me a small smile.
We had all begun walking to the locker rooms to get changed. I'd fret about having to wait in the long lines. But I decided this year i'd cook my own meals for school in an attempt to eat healthier so I could be in the best shape ever for this season of cross country. So I could afford to take my time getting changed.
Joshua and River went off on their own, disappearing off into the locker room somewhere. I had the wildest idea that they were a couple. It was silly to think that from just one action like that. But It was the first thing that came to mind. I unlocked my locker, collecting my clothes and bags. As I got undressed in typical fashion, some of the guys thought it was okay to wolf whistle and laugh about lewd comments on my scantly clad body. It was harmless for the most part as I dressed however I wanted; sometimes my style containing traditionally feminine accents in the eyes of toxic masculinity. I was known throughout the school for not speaking. Some people didn't believe that it was just the way I was. And would try to provoke me into speaking sometimes. It took some getting used to but I eventually got over it.
I finished changing into my favorite combo of a large sweatshirt and shorts combo, walking over to the sinks to freshen up a bit. One thing I hated was being smelly. I'd shower if I had more time; and the locker room were a bit more vacant. As I washed my face, I caught River looking at me awkwardly, as if he had something to say. But not quite able to spit it out. He seemed really timid, so I spared him as I just continued on with my routine.
"H-hey. Uhhh. Your sister wanted me to come back in and tell you we were headed to the lunch room in you guy's usual spot. He stuttered, appearing in my reflection behind me.
I sighed a little internally, pulling out my notepad, scribbling 'okay i'll be there soon' before going back to putting on my favorite necklace. By the time I finished getting ready, the locker room was empty. Or so I thought from just observing. But for some reason I felt watched. It was like an extra sense of mine I developed over the years. People got murdered in horror movies in creepy situations like this so I left quickly.
As expected everyone was gone. So I left as well, headphones in my ears as I made my way through the halls to the lunchroom. The tables were pretty vacant as many people were still waiting in line for food. I claimed the seat me and my sister usually sat at with her friends. As my only friend outside of family was a man named Cruz. I had a lot of associates though; I didn't verbally speak to them. As I waited for everyone I took out my phone, sending a text to my dad not to worry about dinner tonight. He was coming off of a long and honestly grueling shift. I normally cooked for my family any way since mom passed away of cancer when myself and my siblings were much younger.
I had actually taken up quite a few duties around the house to help out. I handled most cleaning and cooking as well as grocery and household shopping. My dad worked too much too often to do a lot around the house so it was the least I could do. I'd stop by the place I worked during the summer as it would be on my way home for dinner tonight. I had to also make sure my younger sister and brother got home okay as they were starting middle school this year. My sister had gotten to the table first, sitting down with a huff, rolling her eyes at the long line.
I leaned forward to whisper in her ear as now was as good a time as ever to tell her I needed her to be home early today.
"Hey, I have practice after school so i'll be a back at around 6. Aaron gets out at 3:30 now. I'll stop and get dinner too." I whispered quickly as everyone had started making their way up to the table by this time.
"Gotcha." She said with a wink.
"Those lines are problematic as hell." My sister's best friend sighed.
"Tell me about it." Joshua chipped in.
Everyone delved into conversation. Something I wasn't normally included in unless it was people I could speak to. It used to bother me a lot when I was younger but now I had come to accept the times I could speak. In this school there were only a handful of people I could speak to. I was interrupted just as I was about to continue eating by River.
"So what are you doing after school?" River had asked from beside me, everyone turning to me expectantly.
My mind seemed to be short circuiting under all the attention as an answer was expected from me. I was freaking out because I didn't have my notebook within easy reach to respond.
"He's got cross country practice after." My sister answered for me as I calmed down, nodding in agreement.
"So it really is true you don't speak." Joshua commented.
"He does speak. Around people he's comfortable with he's a total chatter box. Its just you two are new so he's going to be quiet." My sister's friend Sam explained.
"Isn't that right Wyatt?" She asked, shooting me a soft smile as I nodded yes.
"Sorry man. Its just really interesting. I mean you're really interesting." Joshua rambled.
"I keep forgetting. I'm sorry." River apologized earnestly
I shook my head, offering the two newcomers a smile. While opting to pat River in his shoulder reassuringly. Lunch was pretty uneventful, just idle chatter that didn't drag me into it; well if it did my sister or Sam answered. Now I was on my way to the rest of my classes. The first day of school feeling just like any other did; well there was a bit excitement as this was my last year bound to this system.
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A/N: Worry not my loves. The plot is comin' to get back everything the darkness stole. I'll go home its okay lol. For those that read the related book will already know what is to come to a degree. But this is from this side of the story, as even something as thin as a sheet of paper has two sides, as well as a center.