【 not edited! 】

Despite having close to no clue what had happened throughout the day, Gerard decided he didn't mind mainstream school too much.

Sure, he'd gotten a few funny and pitiful looks, but for the most part he was fine. He didn't even run into that group of boys anymore after Biology, which he was both grateful for and a little resentful. So what if Gerard thought they looked intriguing? That should be perfectly fine... Not to mention that one boy in particular made Gerard's ears burn and the back of his neck sweat.

He didn't have a schoolgirl crush or anything - Gerard was sixteen goddamnit. He was only in that boy's presence for around one eighth of the day anyway and he refused to have any feelings that weren't indifferent towards that boy. That would be ridiculous and shallow and a little immature... So just like a blind man at an orgy, Gerard wanted to feel this out first.

Besides, at that very moment he wasn't even at school, he was simply playing with his drumsticks as he had earphones in, playing The Who at the loudest possible volume as he tried to focus on Keith Moon's drumming - well, the vibrations of it. Gerard tended to use earbuds since it was much easier to feel the vibrations compared to headphones. Obviously his preference was feeling with his fingers, but it was pretty late and Gerard didn't want to accidentally wake Mikey or his father up.

Gerard knew he probably should have been asleep too seeing as it was nearing 4AM and he was supposed to get up in a few hours to do his obligatory walk around the neighborhood. He always did it at a very specific time seeing as his father didn't usually let him out without Mikey being there. But Gerard swore he didn't need Mikey to walk around a block - that was just ridiculous.

He was fine walking by himself, and that was that.

Only now Gerard wasn't so sure he'd make his walk at all since it was two hours away and he hadn't even gotten one wink of sleep.

As if on cue, his mouth opened in a tired yawn, his breathing slowing as he rested his head against the cool glass of his bedroom window, where he had been looking all night. He let his eyes slip shut for a few seconds before sleepily getting up and taking his earbuds out, shutting his phone off after checking the time; 4:09.

Gerard sleepily took his sweatpants off, leaving himself in only his white shirt and boxers as he crawled into his warm bed. The covers smelled like his oranges since he liked to spray both his linen and clothes with this certain orange scented perfume. It came off weird to both Mikey and most people he'd explained this to, but the smell reminded him a lot of happy memories. Gerard had basically grown up with a love for the smell of oranges, and even though random people who caught a whiff of him may have assumed he had a chronic addiction to eating oranges - he couldn't care less. He didn't do it for them, he did it for himself and his own comfort.

With that thought in mind, Gerard drifted off... his thoughts filled of nothing but dark rooms and fruit.

☆ ☆

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Mikey asked as they got out of their father's car, walking towards the large brick building. "You're acting like a zombie."

So, maybe the night before Gerard would start at Mikey's school he had had a slight repeat of his previous evenings. Staying up till four before eventually crashing whilst listening to music. The only difference that particular morning was that Gerard didn't look too tired - which was a fucking miracle, he'll say that much, what gave him away was his slow walking and gravity-drawn shoulders.

The way he carried himself to the doors was just classic Sleep Deprived Student, and unfortunately for Gerard's nerves and ego, no, it wasn't a fashion trend, and no, Gerard wasn't working it in the slightest.

The only thing he could really be happy about that morning was the cute pink sweater he was wearing, and the cherry-flavoured chapstick he'd found in the nick of time. It was really the small things that made Gerard dislike his life less sometimes - not that he ever really disliked his life, he was a pretty chill guy, it was just at the early hours of the morning it was nearly impossible for him to function at any thing faster than three pings a minute.

Gerard didn't even have the capacity to realize he had been stared at by a certain bootleg Danny Zuko the whole time he walked almost robotically next to Mikey.

"Well, aren't you a treasure," Gerard signed sarcastically before sticking his tongue out. "Telling your older brother he looks like crap."

"I never said crap." Mikey defended, making Gerard huff before smiling when he caught sight of Pete and Ray across the only half-crowded hallway. "Although, now that you mention it..."

"Oh quit it, Mikes." Gerard signed with a childish scowl, "I think I look cute."

"You do look cute today, kid." Pete smile as he signed to Gerard as they approached the two, only making Gerard smile wider in return.

"Why thank you, kind sir." Gerard replied with another silent giggle he'd probably never be able to give any sort of reference to.

"And Mikes, you look like you're ready for some early morning Chemistry." Ray joked, nudging Mikey who had a frown etched across his face. They weren't signing anymore but that was fine, Gerard could just read lips and fill in the blanks.

"Yeah, well, you look like you're ready to get fucked by socie—"

Gerard frowned when Mikey stopped mid word, the three of them looking irritated as he noticed everyone else moving. The bell must have gone... only for Gerard it technically hadn't, because he'd been told he was to wait outside the 'refurbished' classroom that he would be taking all of his subjects in. Apparently Mr Ben was usually quite late, which worked in Gerard's favor because that meant he had more time to explore the school grounds.

"I have class on the other side of school but I'll come back to bring you to lunch, okay?" Mikey signed quickly, clearly worried about being late.

Gerard nodded and pulled Mikey into a hug, needing comfort above all else. Because sure, maybe he wasn't as nervous as he was when he'd first come to visit this school, but he wasn't fucking accustomed to being alone and in a new environment.

Ray and Pete also went in turn giving Gerard gentle hugs, their worry of being late clearly masked by sympathy and compassion for Gerard, which he did sort of appreciate.

By the time they'd all left and the hallways were practically empty, Gerard realized he now had to find his classroom. He got out the small sheet he'd jammed into his pocket after folding it close to a hundred times. Apparently he would be in room 54, not that that gave him any sort of help whatsoever since he was currently in a hallway with a bunch of 30s.

But it was like his prayers had been answered because low-and-fucking-behold, Gerard caught sight of two boys walking down the hallway. They had boyish grins across their faces, seeming way too relaxed for a couple of students that were beyond late, well, maybe not beyond but it wasn't like Gerard had a watch or anything. He was living off of assumption and hope at that very moment, so when he'd chosen to shyly walk over to the two boys walking, he was praying his hope would save him from any embarrassment.

But the closer Gerard got the more he realized, oh god, one of them was that weird yet oddly intriguing guy he'd seen in Ray's biology class.

He still had his piercings in and what had to be illegal tattoos on his one arm, and his hair was still swooping on one side and oddly shaven on the other. And although he did have an oddly charming grin across his face as him and his friend pushed each other around with no regard for time or the legal academic learning requirement, Gerard couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated as he walked over to them.

Unfortunately for Gerard's stealthiness and will to live, the moment he stepped in front of the two, they noticed him and stopped. The one beside the boy Gerard vaguely knew of smiled coyly in confusion as Gerard's nervous face turned pink and his bottom lip got sucked in between his teeth in anxiety.

"Do you know where room 54 is?" Gerard asked shakily, receiving only confused stares until the boy beside the lip-ringed one seemed to remember something.

Gerard could tell he had proceeded to ask a question by the way he looked expectantly at Gerard, regardless of Gerard's most obvious deafness. But Gerard knew by now that it was a force of habit for every hearing-person, and Gerard honestly only knew what they said half the time because his lip reading was pretty close when he actually put in effort.

But just then Gerard really hadn't had any time to read the boys lips, so all he did with an internal sigh of reluctance, was point to his ears and shake his head 'no.'

Gerard watched as realization dawned on their faces.

"Oh... hold on a sec, cutie." The one with the lip ring then said, making sure he mouthed the words somewhat clearly - Gerard barely able to keep himself from half swooning half choking at the nickname.

Okay, so maybe Gerard was a little flattered- he'd never been called cute by anyone who wasn't either in his immediate family or friend group, so maybe his innards twisting and turning as his ears turned pink was justifiable.

The boy didn't seem to notice Gerard's internal turmoil at all as he got out his phone, opening the Notes app before passing it to Gerard who smiled a little in relief despite his light blush. Alright, he had a way of actually communicating now.

Gerard quickly typed in his question; do you know where room 54 is?

The boy read it over before nodding, he grabbed the phone from Gerard - despite the fact that Gerard could simply read his lips again.

it's down the hall, then take two rights

Gerard's eyebrows furrowed as he read over The boy's message. And the boy seemed to understand he was pretty clueless to his more than basic instructions, because he took his phone again.

i'll just take you there

Gerard's cheeks turned a light shade of rosy again as he watched the boy turn to his friend. From the angle Gerard couldn't see what he was saying, but he assumed it was some kind of explanation or parting of sorts.

They did a weird handshake Gerard had honestly never seen anyone do, and before he could even think another thought, his right hand was being held by a warm hand that definitely wasn't his own.

Gerard's eyes protruded from his head. Was this kid seriously holding his hand?

God, that had never happened to Gerard before in his entire sixteen years of breathing - well, excluding Mikey of course.

Admittedly at first his wrist did ache a bit at the angle, but it wasn't like it mattered when a boy that had minutes ago called him 'cutie' was holding his hand and leading him down the hall to his presumably depressive classroom.

But after a few more steps Gerard couldn't take it anymore, he abruptly stopped causing the boy to come to a confused halt too. He reached for the boy's phone again that was unlocked in his other hand, and he quickly typed.

why are you holding my hand?

The boy read over the message before letting out almost a scoff-like gesture, like the hand-holding hadn't been for his benefit at all and more in Gerard's favor. Which really made Gerard reflect on this kid's character. Who was he to scoff at a simple question?

"so you don't run into anything?" Was the response Gerard got in return, and honestly, that made him more than just upset. It made him a little angry even.

His eyebrows furrowed and he snatched the phone with a little more aggression than needed.

i'm deaf not blind. i can see where i'm walking

The boy read it over and raised an eyebrow at Gerard before his hands raised in defeat. Though he didn't seem to have the slightest bit of remorse for babying Gerard like almost everyone did - in fact, he looked more irritated that Gerard had reused his oh so gracious hand holding and kindness. He didn't respond to Gerard verbally at all as he instead just took off down the hallway, clearly expecting Gerard to follow.

Gerard obviously did, but he wasn't happy about it. Because one thing was for sure; he didn't think he was very fond of Lip Ring Boy.

Which sure, may have been an overreaction on his part, but Gerard had waited his whole life to be in an environment where he was treated the same as every other teenage kid. And he didn't think he had the patience to let kids his own age treat him like he was helpless, and childlike- which, okay, he could be at times, but that didn't give that boy the right to basically treat Gerard like he was blind.

He wasn't stupid, and he was very capable of walking down a hallway. Sure, maybe he should have been more grateful to him, but Gerard couldn't help being stubborn sometimes... even if he felt incredibly guilty and upset afterwards.

So remembering he would probably regret being rude; despite Gerard's deep seated unhappiness and dissatisfaction, when they arrived in front of a door labeled 54 Gerard collected himself and turned to face the boy.

"Thank you," He signed gently, trying to muster up the most grateful expression he could, but it was pathetic at best.

For the first time the boy seemed to understand what he was signing and silently mouthing without any help from a phone, because Gerard watched as a beyond cocky and unnecessary smile came over his face - as if Gerard basically owed him his entire life for this one minuscule favor.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." He said, clearly having no regard for Gerard's deafness - but probably having caught on that Gerard understood his 'mouth movements' at the best of times.

"Sweetheart?" Gerard's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the strange boy, now feeling somewhat startled.

Clearly this time the boy didn't understand what Gerard was signing, despite his very clear silent pronunciation, because all he did was continue to smile.

"You know your gesturing thing is kinda cute." He said, leaning against the lockers by the door Gerard was waiting outside of.

And Gerard was honestly quite torn between feeling upset and offended by the boy's complete lack of self awareness to realize that was Gerard's fucking way of speaking - and feeling somewhat perved on.

And as Gerard's mouth practically fell agape from how detached this boy was from common sense, the boy -in the most simplistic terms- walked off mid whatever-the-hell kind of conversation they were having. Which was barely a conversation by its literal definition mind you.

And once he was out of Gerard's peripheral vision, a small frown came over his face.

Who the hell was that boy?

☆。*。☆。
i feel terrible that this book's timeline is all over the place and a lil boring, but i'm trying oKaY