On the last Monday before Christmas break Andy had spent the entire day filled with anxiety. They'd be getting their science review tests back. If he passed this one that would lift his grade in science significantly. He was chewing on the cuff of his sweater sleeve as Mr. Kane began handing the tests back.
"Andy. Good job. I'm very impressed." Mr. Kane said as he placed Andy's test on his desk. Andy's eyes shot to the grade at the top and he grinned. A-. His best science grade since the school year had started. As soon as the bell rang Andy went in search of Juliet.

———

"Juliet!" Andy exclaimed as he ran up to her waving a sheet of paper. "I got an A-!" She smiled.
"Good job! I knew you could do it!" He smiled and blushed.
"Thank you. You. You. You." He pulled his back pack off his shoulders and dug around in it. He came up with a small wrapped package. "Merry Christmas." He mumbled.
"Oh. Thank you." She took the gift from him. He nodded, face still pink.
"Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye."
"Bye! Merry Christmas!" She called as he walked away.
"Alright I admit he's cute. I don't think I'd ever wanna date him, but he's cute." Alice said.
"Oh my gosh." Juliet said. She'd been completely ignoring Alice and opening the present.
"Pencil toppers?" Katelynn asked, noticing the present.
"Pencil toppers." Juliet confirmed. "I told him on Wednesday that I'd lost the only one I had and it was kinda bumming me out."
"That's cute." Alice admitted.
"It is. I need to buy him Christmas present." The bell rang. Juliet stuffed the package of pencil toppers into her bag and headed for her next class.

———

Chris picked Andy up from school. They went straight to the hospital. Although her days were numbered finally resting and not overdoing had perked Amy up. When they got there she was sitting up and, with the help of a nurse, wrapping gifts. A pile of wrapped gifts sat around a small artificial tree on the table in the corner, scraps of paper and ribbon were scattered across the bed, soft music played. Frank Sinatra's Christmas Carols. Amy's favorite. It was already growing dark out and snow was falling in large soft flakes. The sky held purple and pink and orange. Beautiful.
Mom. Andy signed enthusiastically as he burst into the room. Amy smiled.
"Hi, honey." Andy came over to the bed after dropping his backpack by the door. "How-" She took in a shuddering breath, "was school?" He shrugged, "Did-Juliet like-the present?" He shrugged again. "Didn't you-watch her-open it?" He shook his head. "That's okay." The nurse, Lexie, placed the last piece of tape on the present.
"I'll clean up this mess and then I'll leave you guys alone." She aid softly.
"Thank-Thank you." Amy said. Lexie gatherer all the scraps as well as the tape, scissors and rolls of ribbons and paper then left. Andy watched her leave and realized Chris was no longer in the room.
Where is Dad? He signed. When Amy didn't seem to understand he repeated the signs again more slowly. Amy was at a loss. She knew he was asking a question and she was pretty sure he'd signed Dad.
"Where's dad?" She made a guess. He nodded. "He-went-" she started coughing. Concern covered Andy's face and it made Amy upset to see him worrying about her, "to get Gram and Gramp from-the air-airport." Andy nodded and kept his gaze on the floor. He loved his grandparents, he did, but they didn't understand. They would give him hugs, tell him to get a haircut, expect him to answer questions and be rude when he pulled away from them and when he was silent. That's how it always was.

———

The room got very loud when Amy's parents arrived. Everyone was talking over everyone else. But they were all ignoring Andy which he was grateful for. He sat on the couch with his notebook and drew Batman while humming softly to himself.
"Oh! Andy! You were being so quiet I almost didn't see you." Andy ignored his grandma and kept drawing. "Andy!" She said sharply. He frowned and looked up at her. "Come on. Give me a hug, let me see you. You're my only grandson and I hardly ever see you." Andy closed his notebook and put his pen into the spine before standing up. He was immediately wrapped in a hug by his grandma. He tried not to flinch or pull away, but it was no use. When she didn't let go he stopped trying not to flinch and actively began fighting her until she let him go. She looked horrified and mad. Amy was frantically trying to get Chris's attention and Andy was on the verge of tears as he knew what was coming.
"You're too old to fight hugs from your grandma." She said.
"'M sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry."
"And you still repeat everything in a whiny tone. Didn't I talk to you about this, Amy?" Amy moved her gaze from her mother to Chris and back again.
"Is-now really-the time?" She asked.
"Yes! He needs to grow up and stop all this childish behavior!"
"'M sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." Andy murmured.
"It's okay." Chris said softly. Andy wipes his eyes with his sleeves. His sleeves slipped down revealing the pen all up his arms.
"No! It's not okay! He is sixteen! He needs to stop whining and stop acting like a baby! And for the love of god get this boy a haircut! He'll never get a job looking like that! And he needs to stop drawing all over himself like a toddler!" To emphasize her point she grabbed Andy's arm and pulled his sleeve up, exposing his doodles. Amy, though she loved her mom, was not going to sit there and let her talk about Andy like that.
"Leave him-alone!" She snapped. "He's fine!"
"Fine? You think he's fine? He acts like a toddler! He won't talk even when you tell him to, he doesn't like haircuts so you don't make him get one, he fights when you touch him and you sit there and pretend it's normal!"
"Because it is!" Chris said firmly. Andy's grandma raised her eyebrow. "Maybe it's not normal to you, but it is to him. I know you don't think of autism as a real problem, but it is. And it's one he deals with everyday. It's not fun for him and he doesn't do it to spite you. Even Amy and I don't touch him unless it's on his terms. And we work on having him actually talk, but things aren't going very well right now. And we have bigger fish to fry!" He gestured at Amy. "He's tired and anxious and he has enough on his plate right now! If he doesn't want to talk he doesn't have to. And you don't have a say in how we raise our son!" Silence settles over the room. Andy took the opportunity to escape and locked himself in the bathroom. He sat on the floor and cried for a few minutes before just staring at the floor blankly and listening to his grandma and his dad argue.

———

When it got quiet in the room Andy opened the bathroom door and stepped out. Amy was crying and Chris was comforting her. Both his grandma and grandpa were gone.
Grandma? He signed. Chris sighed.
"They went for a walk. They'll be back in a little while." Andy nodded.
"'M sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." He mumbled.
"You don't have anything to be sorry about." Chris told him.
"Don't-" Amy stopped to inhale, "listen to-grandma. You're-fine just-like you are."
"Your Mom's right. It's okay that you don't like to be touched and that you don't talk and that you draw on your arms and don't like haircuts. That's who you are and I'm sorry grandma doesn't understand that." Andy nodded and sat down on the couch again. He picked up his notebook.
"Andy?" Amy said softly. Andy looked up at her. "Come-here?" He stood and shuffled over to the bed. "I love-you sweetie." She smiled. He smiled and signed,
I love you. Then he gave her a hug. It was a short hug, but it was enough. It said everything Andy couldn't. And Amy understood.

———

The next day after school no one was there to pick Andy up. He had a text from Chris apologizing for not being there and telling him he'd see him at suppertime. Andy sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. Chris hadn't asked anyone to pick Andy up so Andy decided to walk to the rec center and ask someone to talk him home after group. He was just a few feet from the school when a car came up beside him and stopped. Juliet. She rolled down the window.
"Hey, do you need a ride? It's pretty cold." Andy shrugged. "C'mon. Get in." She jerked her head toward the passenger side of the car. "You're gonna freeze."
"You sure?" He asked, brows furrowed. She smiled softly.
"I'm sure. Come on." He walked around and got in beside her. "What's your address?" She asked as she pulled back onto the road.
"'M goin' to the rec center."
"Oh. Okay. Mind if I turn on some music?" He shook his head and she cuddled with the radio until Christmas music began to play quietly. Andy played with the cuffs of his jacket. Neither of them spoke for the duration of the ride.
"Well, here we are." She said, pulling up in front of the rec center. "See you tomorrow?" And then Andy did something he'd never done before. He invited a friend to group.
"Wanna come in?" He asked so softly she almost missed it.
"I can if you want me to." He nodded.
"Please. Please. Please. Please." He mumbled. She smiled.
"Sure." She parked and they both got out. Andy held the straps of his backpack tightly as he led the way inside. Most of the group was already there. Emerson, Remington, Mike, Awsten and CC were sitting on the floor playing Tensies. A game played with dice. Each player needing ten. Andy immediately sat down with them. He pulled out the present Juliet had given him earlier that day, a Batman figurine and a notebook with the Batman symbol on the front of it. His excitement when he'd opened it had made Juliet's day. Juliet stayed back, just taking in the group. A tall, dark haired guy wearing a suit walked up to her.
"Hi. I don't think we've met. I'm Sebastian."
"Juliet. We haven't met. I've never come before." He nodded. "Andy invited me." That caused him to pause.
"Really?"
"Yeah. We're friends from school. Um, what exactly is this?" He followed her gaze to the group on the floor.
"They call it group. It's a place for them to be themselves. To not feel like outcasts. Those two," He pointed at a young boy with a large, floppy hat and a boy dressed in yellow, "are my younger brothers, Emerson and Remington."
"So everyone here is like Andy?"
"More or less. They aren't all on the spectrum if that's what you mean. Some of them are. My brothers being among them. But CC," he pointed to a boy with long, dark hair who dressed entirely in black, "and Awsten," a boy with purple hair, "both have Tourette's. Chloe," a girl standing off to the side talking to herself, "has schizophrenia. Monica," He pointed at girl beside Remington, " Is completely deaf. Vic is deaf in one ear and his little brother Mike has Aspergers." He pointed out two short, dark skinned boys, "Which is kind of like autism. Jack has Dystonia." A tall, skinny guy with obviously dyed blonde hair, "and Lisa, who's not here yet, has Parkinson's."
"What about the others?" Juliet asked, noting the people he hadn't mentioned by name.
"Parents, siblings, significant others. We drive, coordinate, and we're here to help them stay comfortable and keep fights from breaking out." Juliet nodded. She looked at Andy, who was smiling and having a conversation in sign language with Emerson and Monica.
"I don't think I've ever seen look this happy. This comfortable." She said.
"For a lot of them this the highlight of their week. They get to spend two hours with people who don't see them as strange or different. They get be surrounded by friends, play games, tell stories and they fit in."
"This is amazing."
"Sebastian!" Remington came running over. He stopped when he saw Juliet. "Hi! I'm Remington!"
"I'm Juliet."
"Are you Andy's friend? He's being talking about the friend that came with him. I brought a friend too! Her name is Monica! She's really nice! Do you like cupcakes? May brought cupcakes today! And she said she's gonna bring Christmas cookies on Thursday! And she said we can decorate them! Do you like decorating cookies? I do! Oh! I had a question for Sebastian. I forget. Oh well! Nice to meet you Juliet!" Juliet hid a laugh behind her hand.
"It's nice to meet you too."
"I just rimendered-ramendered-rememembered-ra-re-" He huffed, "I know what I was gonna say! Can Mon come home with us and have supper with us?"
"I have to check with Mom, but probably." Sebastian replied.
"Okay!" He ran back to his friends.
"That was by far the most fun conversation I've ever had with anyone." Juliet said with a giggle.
"He is very easily excited. And once he starts talking it can be hard to get a word in."
"It was cute. I notice he also asks questions and doesn't care if he gets answers."
"Yeah." They were quiet for a few seconds before Sebastian spoke again, "Andy must really like you."
"Yeah?"
"The only person he's ever come with is his mom. He doesn't trust people easily. Not after Hannah."
"Who's Hannah?"
"It's not my place to tell." Juliet nodded in understanding. "Just know that you are a very important person in Andy's life, whether or not you know it."
"All I do is tutor him. We don't even know each other that well." Sebastian shrugged.
"He's talked about you for awhile now. Don't tell him I told you." Juliet smiled and nodded, "He hasn't been himself since he found his mom has cancer, but this is the happiest I've seen him in awhile. And I think that has something to do with you." Juliet didn't know if that was true, but she loved seeing him smile and be himself. And she knew that him inviting her to group was a much bigger deal than she'd originally realized.