Silently Falling (ORIGINAL): Chapter Six

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Our weekend goes by normally. Alyse FaceTimed me Saturday night and apologized for leaving so quickly and worrying me, and I ended up going over there for a bit to 'talk' her through what she was feeling. It was good for her to let out her frustrations and fears about Toby with me, because by this morning everything feels like it's back to normal. Alyse came over in the morning while I was cooking breakfast, and Toby drove the three of us to school.

Now it's the third period of the day. For me and Alyse, it's Chemistry. Tyler has the same class his first block of the day, so he warned us this morning that we are going to have a pop quiz and I don't think Alyse has stopped stressing about it since.

"I'm absolutely, positively screwed for this chemistry quiz." Alyse grumbles as we stop by her locker.

"You're going to be fine," Gray says, leaning against the sea of blue and yellow lockers. Our school couldn't have chosen more cliche colors or a more cliche mascot; the Trojans of East Bridge High School.

There's not even a West Bridge High School; or a North, or a South.

"I'm such a failure, I didn't study." She groans, hitting her head against her locker.

"That would be because we didn't know we were gonna have it. Hence the term 'pop quiz.'"

"You shut your trap."

"I never opened it."

"Gray, back me up here!" Alyse says, turning her head to where he just was. Now he's off flirting with a...provocatively dressed freshman, pinning her against the lockers with his 'charm.'

Poor girl looks like she's ready to take him here and now, and I'm sure his fashion sense is helping that along. Out of the three boys, Gray dresses the best. Today he's wearing a light grey cardigan, fully buttoned, with a white button-down underneath and khakis. He is also sporting his glasses; he has contacts, but every now and then he decides not to wear them.

The girl blushes as he takes a small step closer to her, his blue eyes flickering over her figure. I bet she hasn't heard of his reputation yet, or maybe she doesn't care.

I sigh and start to follow Alyse as we walk to Chemistry. One of my most recent songs flows through my head as we walk down the tiled hallway. I was playing it last night on the piano while Toby was out to pick up dinner. I was supposed to be doing homework, but my mother's old piano was calling out to me.

I couldn't just ignore it.

I should have been working on the song Mr. C assigned me to write. He wants me to have it completely finished by the end of the month, which only gives me two weeks. The music is only halfway done and the lyrics have yet to be written. Because this isn't a personal song, it's harder for me to focus on. Instead, I was working on the song Alyse saw me writing last week in class, and I'm now regretting it.

I only have one page of Mr. C's song complete, and I know I'm going to have to grind to finish in time and not have it be a piece of junk. It's difficult at times to write songs for my Music class, because without a voice I have no way of hearing how it will sound. Neither Toby, nor Tyler, nor Gray can sing for the life of them, and for obvious reasons neither can I. Alyse can't either because Mr. C doesn't want any of his students to have a look at the song before it's turned into him.

"Earth to Raine!" Alyse drowns out, snapping in front of my face so that I focus on her. "I asked what you think West did at the party."

"Tyler said he didn't drink, and he also said he didn't bring any girls home."

"Yeah but Tyler was drunk and may not remember." She argues.

"Why are you so adamant to believe West got wasted?" I question.

She shrugs, "I just find it hard to believe that the guy who is known for being arrested when he was 17 didn't have a lot to drink."

I nod, silently agreeing with her. "Or we can use this information to rule out going to jail for one too many DUI's."

Alyse reads my hands and laughs, "That too."

"I bet he just got in too many fights and finally got charged."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because he's rather aggravating." I scowl as we turn the corner to our class.

"But, he's a hunk if I've ever seen one."

"I've already agreed he's hot. But he's freaking annoying with his little smirk and inquisitive stare." I say, scrunching up my face at the thought of it. "Not to mention he's intimidating."

"Well, someone tweeted he got into a fight. Did Tyler mention anything about that?" She asks.

"Not that I know of. But I wouldn't doubt it."

When we turn the corner for Chemistry, my eyes land on none other than West walking down the hall. He almost instantly catches my eye, as if he knew exactly where I was. It takes me longer than it should to look away. He didn't talk much today during lunch, and he arrived late to the table. His hair looks a little messier today, his face not quite as clean shaven, but not for lack of hygiene. It just appears to be a slightly new look. He's wearing a plaid shirt rolled up at the sleeves, showing off the tattoo on his forearm.

However what sparks my interest the most is the lack of any bruises on his face. Thus disproving the alleged rumor of a fight between him and someone at the necrophiliacs party.

All of the sudden I feel an arm drop onto my shoulders and I jump. My thoughts revolving around West disperse as Tyler grins at Alyse and I.

"Well hello ladies," he drawls.

I give a small wave, and without realizing what I'm doing my eyes trail back over my shoulder to the direction of West. I pick him out among the crowded hall almost instantly. Instead of a lazy smirk on his lips now, I see them again in a line as he narrows his eyes at something.

I'm relieved when I notice they're trained on something other than myself, but then I scrunch my brows together as I realize he's staring intently at something around me.

Tyler's arm.

OoO

The next day, Alyse and I head towards English together after walking inside from Toby's truck.

"So, did you fail the Chemistry quiz yesterday?"

She's massaging her temples and she puts up a hand. "Don't ask."

I chuckle and pat her back. "I got mine back and I got a 100."

She lifts her head and glares incredulously at me. "How the hell is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"I never said it was." I sign smugly.

She narrows her eyes at me before burying her face back in her arms with a groan.

My attention is pulled away from her and to the chair next to me when West shows up, offering me a smile.

"Afternoon, Sunshine." He says.

I turn to look at my desk and start fiddling with my pencil, his stare holding onto me for a few more seconds before I no longer feel his gaze. I only lift my eyes when I hear Lilly approach our desks. Her high heels click along the tiled floor and make her presence known way before she even reaches our desk.

"Hey West," she says. She flicks her hair over her shoulder, and when she sees me she smiles. "Hey Raine." I smile and wave back.

West doesn't offer her a response.

Lilly is a slut, but she isn't a bitch. She's been with both my brother and Tyler, but she's friendly to me. The fact the two of them kind of threw her away like a used tampon didn't change her thoughts towards me. We've always been semi friends.

I cringe at my own thoughts for using the word 'slut.' It has such a negative connotation, and I didn't mean it as such. I just meant that, like Tina, she could be considered as someone who isn't afraid to sleep around.

"I was disappointed when I didn't see you at the party." She starts, frowning at him. "I thought you said you were going to go?"

He shrugs, "I was there. You must've missed me."

"Really? Because I was looking around for you..." She says, taking a step closer to him.

"I wasn't there long."

Lilly opens her mouth to say more, but she gets cut off by the bell. She huffs at its inconvenience and struts away, promising West to talk to him later. She offers me another wave before she goes to her own seat.

West glances at me, "Friend of yours?"

I click off the cap to my dry-erase marker and write my response on my board.

'She's been with the boys', so I see her around a lot. She's a nice person.'

"I never said she wasn't."

I don't write anything back since Mr. Patterson stands in front of the class to get the day started.

"Alright students, I want to give you the majority of class to work on your assignment. So I'm going to get right to it; it's an essay-" groans of boredom- "Yes, yes, I know essay's aren't favored, but what did you expect coming into an AP English class?"

"I'm excited to write, essays are easy A's. What's the topic, Mr. Patterson?" The teacher's pet pipes up from the front.

As he begins to answer, I feel warm breath on my ear and freeze. It fans over my skin and flows down to the beginning of my jaw, making goosebumps threaten to rise.

"Let me guess, she's the class suck up?" West whispers.

I refuse to let myself look over at him and nod, trying to pay attention to Mr. Patterson.

"-it is based on the topic question 'What interests you?' Now, I don't want a million essays about the newest video game that has come out or your favorite TV show. I want you all to think deep." He says, making it a point to look at the slackers of our class. "I want you to choose something you know little about, use this as an opportunity to learn about something new!"

"But what if, like, we write about Fallout 4 but it's, like, an amazing essay?" One of them, Harry, asks.

"Then I will give you the grade the writing deserves." Mr. Patterson answers, walking back behind his desk. "You may use the rest of class to come up with your topic and begin researching."

Instantly I'm getting out a piece of paper to write down any ideas that float into my mind. One problem; none do.

What interests me? There's always music, but I know most all there is to know about music. Or at least the portion of it that interests me. I don't care much for the history of it, just the playing part.

"What are you writing down?" I sign to Alyse, watching as she scribbles down a few things.

"Male models."

I'm not even that shocked.

I laugh, "You would."

"Well he said do what interests you, male models spark my interest more than anything."

"I think he meant more like the works of Jane Austen, or maybe the history behind aerodynamics."

"Did I read your hands right? Aerodynamics? Raine, this is a class of high school juniors, give or take a few seniors, no one is going to write about that!"

"You really think Mr. Patterson wants to read about models?"

"Hey, he said he was going to grade based on the quality of the writing. Not the content." She defends, getting out her phone. "Now if you would excuse me, I need to conduct my research."

I huff and go back to my own paper. I put my pencil down onto it and start to rack my brain for something. Twenty minutes later I look down at my sheet to see what all I've written.

A smiley face, the Superman symbol, and a random scribble.

I groan and put my pencil down. I let out a deep sigh and look at Alyse. She's on her phone, the brightness turned all the way down as she flicks through picture after picture of men with desirable six packs.

A part of me expected her to back off this topic to find a real one, but I'm pleased that she didn't. What she chose is sort of perfect for her; a boy crazy teenage girl with ridiculous fantasies. Now, if only I could describe myself well enough to come up with a topic to write about.

I stare at my paper for another minute or two before I get so desperate I glance at West's paper. I don't know what I expected to see, but I'm not surprised when I see it's completely blank. My eyes trail from the paper and to him, and I see him laying back in his seat. His hands are folded on his chest and his eyes are closed.

Is he asleep?

"You know Sunshine," he begins, startling me, "just because you're mute doesn't make you invisible. I can feel you staring at me."

I feel my body freeze upon being caught, quickly glancing away. But he cracks one eye open to see my reaction, and his next response sends me into a whole other fit of embarrassment.

"No need to blush."

I quickly feel my cheeks to see if they're hot, which they aren't. I'm not blushing, and I completely fell for his little trick.

"Cute and gullible." He hums as he shuts his eyes again, raising his brows briefly.

I scowl and grab my paper, finally writing something on it more than a few random drawings. When I finish I lift it for him to read, shaking the paper to get his attention. He sits up upon hearing me jostle it in front of his face and I straighten it out for him to read.

'Could you not use the term 'mute'?'

"It bothers you?"

I nod.

"Why didn't you say so?"

I stare blankly at him, clearly not amused.

He grimaces, "Okay, poorly worded. I wasn't making a joke that time. What should I refer to you as instead?"

'There's always my name...'

"Sunshine, right."

I can see the way his features become amused, just waiting for some sort of reaction from me. His brown eyes dance with mischief.

"What do I call your, eh, situation, then? If not mute, what are you?"

I debate what to write for a few moments, tapping my lips with the pencil.

'Vocally challenged.'

West takes one glance at my paper and chuckles. "Okay, vocally challenged it is. Not sure if that's much better, but hey who am I to judge?"

Before I can write anything else down, he shuts his eyes again and goes back to his little nap. Which leaves me sitting here wondering; did I just make things worse for myself? A tap on my shoulder pulls me from my thoughts, and I turn to see Alyse with a big grin, wiggling her eyebrows as she glances between me and West.

"That was a cute interaction." She signs.

I scowl at her, pouting my lips and turning back around as I beg the time to go by quicker so I can get out of this class. My wish is granted, sort of, and eventually class ends and I book it to my locker to evade having to converse with West or Alyse right now. I swap my current books for what I'll need later, slamming my locker shut so that it successfully closes.

I tuck my hair behind my ear and start to walk down the hall, but before I can take one step my heart leaps out of my chest from shock. West is standing right next to my locker.

I put my hand over my heart and control my erratic breathing. Those commercials are true, heart attacks don't come with warnings.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He says.

I turn back to my locker and quickly write my question on the whiteboard. 'What are you doing here?'

He cocks his head slightly, his smirk widening. "I'm here to make you fall in love with me." He says.

What.

My heart starts beating rapidly in my chest and my breath catches in my throat. My face pales and my eyes widen as I stare back at him. He can't be serious...

Instantly he starts laughing and I let out a breath of relief.

"Relax Sunshine, I'm only kidding."

I don't even know what to write in response. I think my heart rate is still dangerously fast.

"Damn, I didn't know falling in love with me was such a scary thing for you." He jokes, leaning against the lockers next to me.

I stare at him for a second before pointing back to the question on my whiteboard.

"The English essay."

What about it?'

"We're meant to write about something that intrigues us." He adds on, shifting his position a little.

I nod and make a motion with my hands for him to continue.

"Not one to beat around the bush, Sunshine?" He asks, cocking his head at me.

I give him a bored stare back.

He nods with a small chuckle. "In that case, I'll get down to it. I want to write about sign language." He states. "I don't just want to write about it though, I want to learn it."

My eyebrows draw together in confusion and I recoil slightly in shock.

The delinquent is interested in sign language...?

'Do you want me to refer you to a tutor or something?'

He reads it and chuckles. "No. I want you to teach me." He says, taking a step closer to me.

I gulp.

My first instinct is to say no, but the more I look at him the more I stall my hands. I don't have any red flags other than what I've heard about him, and the fact he annoys me. But he wants to learn sign language; who has ever come to me to ask me to teach it to them?

I want to know why he is even talking to me. Many girls have come to him already, and he's only been here one week. They've showed mounds of interest, I've shown none.

"Raine!"

Toby's voice drifts through the air, and I glance behind me to see him walking towards West and I. When his eyes land on West he stares at him in confused anger and stops when he's next to me.

"Come on, we don't want to be late to class."

He finally tears his inquisitive eyes from West, directing them to me with a small sense of urgency.

I nod up at him and put my dry erase marker back on the magnetic board. My brother turns and starts to walk away, leaving me standing in front of West. I avoid his gaze and look at the floor.

"Sis!" Toby calls, stopping to look back at me before I can give West an answer.

With one last look at West, who has stood here patiently waiting for an answer, I turn away and jog to catch up with my brother. I risk another look back at West, who I literally just left standing there. He's still staring at me, eyes dark and mysterious, but now he's holding my whiteboard for me to read.

'I'll wait on that answer.'

I swallow down the lump in my throat and turn back to watch where I'm walking, ignoring my desire to turn and walk back to West to tell him yes or no.

"So, what was that all about? What'd West want?" Toby asks.

"He just wanted to know about our English homework," I sign.

Toby already doesn't like West, it's obvious every time he sees him. He's not happy to have him sitting with us, and clearly wasn't happy to see me interacting with him. It may be best to leave out West's little question for now.

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Y'all may have noticed that even though this is the original version, it is still slightly edited. This version has NO PLOT CHANGES, but it has still been cleaned up regarding dialogue, grammar, etc. 

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