On Mute

Chapter 11: The Truth

He wore boots to school, dry mud encrusted them and it was hilarious to watch as he tried to hide them with his pant legs. He saw me staring and adjusted them again.

"What?" He asked, "Never seen a boy in the countryside wear rubber boots before?" I turned back to the board, my laughter faded.

              "I'm just glad your house is alright." He leaned back in his chair.

            "Yeah, guess I got you worried for nothing then huh?" I flicked my pen, not knowing how to respond. Marc expelled air, his eyes staring intensely at the side of my face. "Abigail, how bad did they ground you?" I bit my lip. Should I tell him, I don't want to make him feel worse than he already did? "Abigail." He urged.

                 "A month okay?" I darted my gaze towards him, annoyed. "A... month without my sketchbook and pencils." I looked at my wielding weapon, a pen. It was like a Viking holding a Styrofoam sword, it didn't work. It has only been a day and a half, and I was already dying. I need my daily intake of pencil lead and thick sketch paper or I will surely perish.

                 "I guess I can't invite you over then." I almost jumped from my chair. What was he saying... did I suddenly become friends with my enemy?

                 Suddenly my memories of Marc ran across my mind, the smiles, the laughter. No, he stopped being my enemy long ago.

                 "What?" I asked. He bit his lip, the humour running from his face.

                 "I wanted you to come by the house; I had something to show you." I felt a nerve tug in my face. He must have saw that as well for he picked up where he left off almost immediately. "I-I was perfecting it, I haven't done it in a while so..." He trailed off but came back stronger. "Y-you might like it?" He shook his head. "I know you would like it. I really want to get your take on it." His eyes were glowing, he was really excited... which was hard to explain in words. This guy had the darkest eyes in the world... how could darkness glow?

                 "I'll see what I can do, I'll tell yah by the end of the day." He nodded, his lip curling at the edge slightly. His dark irises... glowed like a thousand suns.

                 "So, what is it that you are going to show me?" He turned back to the board, like he was scared that if he said it to my face something would happen.

                 "I can't tell you, it is a surprise."

~X~

                 "...And that was what he said." I was talking with Margaret about Marc's little invite; Brie was on council and was MIA for my little story. Margaret looked surprised; she flushed after a moment, twirling a piece of hair as she configured what to say. That was not a good sign.

                 "No offence, but... that sounded like something serious?"

                 "Serious?" What did she mean by that?

                 "Like, he was hitting on you." What, how did she get that out of what I told her?!

                 "Are you kidding me? You have to be joking?" Her eyes boggled, like she was holding back something that she felt strongly about. She took a breath and calmed herself.

                 "Well, he is a boy you know? And..." she let go of her hair, leaving a perfect ringlet. "You do not know how much he stares at you." I felt like I was in a cave, slowly sinking further and further into the darkness as those words repeated over and over again in my head.

                 First Brie, now Margaret.

                 Those kind eyes... those dark kind eyes. Did they really stare at me from afar? Did Marc really like me more than as just a friend?

..."No, she didn't, I didn't give her Sir's biscotti!"

"He took the bullet for us... And the most disturbing thing is I don't know why?"...

I felt my heart beating, racing hard inside my chest.

..."Thank you for the clothes, it means a lot you let me stay here."

"I guess, although I kind of liked having you indebted to me."...

My mind was in turmoil, it was buzzing with questions, with signals, with pictures of his magnificent smile.

... He was standing in the doorway, he looked frozen, my foot grazed his and I saw his eyes flicker.

I grasped my knee, bent over. Those eyes, why was it not until now I could see past them? They were so dark, so mysterious, they hid it all!

..."I love the view, it's beautiful." I stated randomly, Marc never looked in the direction I was staring.

                 "Yeah," He said sincerely. "It is."...

I jolted to my feet.

                 "Abby?" Margaret asked; confused. I never looked at her, my mind was racing, and so were the legs beneath me. The last bell rang as I bolted from the Library. I was a girl on a mission.

                 Swiftly swerving through the crowd I booked it down the corridor. My heart was thumping, trying to locate Marc's last class; Geology. People were everywhere; I couldn't seem to remember where Mrs. Crawford's class room was. My head was spinning, my inner voice shouting that I needed to find him. Where was he, his dark hair, his glowing black eyes, they imprinted themselves in my mind and I could not let them go.

                 "Ms. McFaul?" A short old woman became apparent in the crowd; she beckoned me into the room to my left and placed a hand onto my shoulder. "My dear, what has come over you? You look like you just seen a ghost!" I swallowed hard, I was shaky. My body was buzzing from the adrenaline. I focused in on the woman, her frail features, and her square spectacles. It was Mrs. Crawford!

                 "Miss, miss I need to find Marc, do you know where he went?" She looked taken aback, like I was possessed.

                 "My dear girl, are you alright?" I leaned against the wall, retaining my balance.

                 "Yes, j-just out of shape." She smiled slightly, and then her eyebrows met in thought.

                 "Marc has been in the learning center all of this period, he may still be there if you hurry?" I booked it out of the room after I gave my thanks.

                 I found the door, it was open and I looked inside. Marc was there, sitting in a chair.

                 "Marc I_!" Marc pulled something out of his ear, something beige and small. He looked at me, and I looked down to the small machine. It was a hearing aid. His face darkened.

                 "You are wasting your time yelling." He said, he replaced the gizmo back where it came from and stared at me dead on. "Even with this thing in I can barely hear you."

                

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