Chapter Seven

Today is Saturday. I don't know what Sebastian's plans are, but I dressed in clothes that could work for a date or just two friends hanging out. I hope it works for both. I feel a ping. I look down at my phone. Sebastian's here. I walk out to his car.

I smile when I see him and climb into his car. He's wearing a button down shirt and jeans. I wasn't dressed too casually; I think I dressed just right.

"Hey. You look nice."

He's never complimented me before, so I beam brightly at this.

"Thank you. You look great as well." Of course, me being me, I sound tight. Why can't I just relax? He smiles back anyways.

"How is everything with you?"

"Great. How's everything with you?" I feel super self conscious when I say this.
"Way better now that I get to see you." I laugh. This surprises me.

"That's good. Where are we going?" He grins strangely at me. My eyes widen. Where is he taking me?

"Nowhere special."

"I don't believe you. I hope there's food there because I'm starving." I feel him chuckle beside me.

"There's food." I clap my hands together cheerfully like a child.

"Yay." He chuckles at my behavior.

"Why are you so hungry?"

"I haven't had any food since lunch." I try to say this in a 'duh' tone, but I have no clue what it actually came out like.

"Wow."

"Yup."

"You're lucky I'm also starving." Sebastian says this with a grin.

"I'm so excited. So where are you taking me to eat?" I can barely contain a squeak of delight as I say this.

"Alright. I'll tell you the truth." I frown.

"What truth?"

"I'm playing it all by ear." I frown again.

"Really? Then how can you be so sure that there is food?" He smirks.

"As I told you, I'm starving."

"Hmmm. Do you have any ideas of where we're going?"

"Nope."

"Sebastian!" He starts laughing as we pull up to some place. I'm not paying any attention until we park.

"Here we are."

"Oh goodie." We're stopped at some sort of restaurant.

"Yup." Sebastian seems to be in a good mood today. I smile at this. He usually isn't this cheerful. We are just here to pick up food, which he already ordered. Hmm. Now we're going somewhere else. I'm confused. We've only known each other for a few weeks, and he's already taking me on a surprise whatever this is.

"So." There is a short pause in our conversation. I don't want it to turn into an awkward silence, so I'm filling it with small talk. "What are you doing for break?" He doesn't look at me. I can tell he's uncomfortable.

"Uh, I don't have any plans for break." I practically gasp.

"What? Sebastian!" When he doesn't say anything, I go on. "What about Christmas?" He shakes his head.

"Nope."

"That's terrible, Sebastian. You have to do something. Do you have a tree? Do you have someone else who is also doi-" I stop myself. "Well, we can at least talk on Christmas. I won't be here, but we can text." I would say video chat, but he doesn't know sign language.

"That would be great. While you're away maybe we can talk on the phone or something like that." I glance at him out of the corner of my eye and sigh.

"If only! I wish I could just be here with you." Why did I say that? I've only known him for a few weeks, but I don't want anyone alone on Christmas. That's no fun.

"Why can't you talk on the phone?"

"Well, I wouldn't be able to hear you. We can't video chat unless you learn sign language."

He looks at me with wide eyes. "WHAT?" All the color drains from my face. I forgot. I forgot to tell him that I'm deaf. My hands get slightly shaky.

"Uh, oh no. I'm deaf." I feel strange saying this.

"Are you joking?"

"N-no. I jus-"

"You're deaf?"

"Yes."

"You have to be joking." A smile starts to appear on my face. This is awkward.

"No. When I look away," I look away, demonstrating, "I have no idea what you're saying. I can't hear you. I can only read your lips." I look back at him, and he's frowning.

"Why didn't you tell me b- well," He looks at me. My eyes widen. I quickly say something before he gets any ideas.

"I didn't want to hide it from you or anything. I just didn't realize that you didn't know already. I've gotten so used to people knowing that I forgot you didn't"

I feel a blush forming on my cheeks as I realize how I sound. How could I forget that I'm deaf? How could I forget to tell one of my friends?

"I did wonder about your accent, but you speak flawlessly." My eyes shine.

"Really?"

"Yes." He has a smile on his face. I hope he isn't too mad about this.

"Would you mind describing my v- never mind. I mean...yeah." I blush at the thought. Nobody has ever told me what my voice sounds like. I don't think I'll ever know.

"I don't think I could describe your voice with words if I tried."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's- how long have you been deaf?"

"My whole life."

"Oh. You've never heard anything?"

"Nope. Sometimes I imagine what things sound like. I have ideas of what everything sounds like. I've never heard talking, so I only know what it feels like." There is a pause, and he seems like he doesn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry." I smile sadly.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. I wish I could hear, but I think being deaf is...well...I don't know. I've never talked much about this with anyone. I wouldn't be the same person without my deafness. I would to an extent I guess. I can't bring to words what I'm trying to say." I stop myself there.

"I think I know what you mean." I look into his eyes. They are on the road. I can tell there is something he's going through. Hopefully I'll find out what it is one day.

"Good. We can still text..." I feel weird saying this. There is another pause in our conversation.

I sigh at the strangeness of it all. I find the humor in it and start laughing. He turns to me with a questioning look on his face. I just laugh harder. After a few moments of him being confused, he seems to catch on and starts laughing as well. When I finally calm down, he manages to calm down shortly after I do. I say something to end the awkwardness.

"I forgot that I'm deaf. That's how used to it I am. Let's talk about something more cheerful." He smiles.

"Yes. We will definitely text during break." Another giggle bursts from my lips.

"Sorry. I think I'm a bit slaphappy. I get slaphappy really easily. Ugh."

"I just realized something."

"What?"

"Since you're deaf, you probably don't hear the music I play." I shake my head.

"Nope."

He blushes. "I got a whole- well, it doesn't really matter anymore. I was thinking we would go on an adventure." My eyes widen.

"An adventure?"

"Yup."

"YES. Adventures are the best. What is it?" He smirks.

"Good."

"Are you going to tell me anything about this adventure?"

"We're almost there. You won't have to wait long before you see."

"Okay. I have a really awkward question." He frowns.

"What is it?" I blush. Why am I being so awkward? I can't back down now! After what was probably a long pause, I finish what I was saying.

"I just want to know...well, we hardly know each other- it's fine though- is this a date?" I cringe. We've only known each other for a little while, and I wanted to know this. It's over.

"Yes." My jaw drops at how fast he answers.

"Yay! I was hoping you would say yes. It would have been dreadfully awkward if you hadn't."

"From now on, I'll tell you if you're going on a date with me or not. I guess it was an accident. I'm lucky you caught me."

I have a wide smile on my face. He smiles back at me. I look at the building before me. It's an aquarium.