The Mute || m.c. au ON HOLD

1.

// fixed,edited //

   It was another day for Michael, he sat at the very last desk in the middle row. Kicking his feet at the back of the desk in front of his and leaving in one earbud. Just so he could barely hear the teacher and mindless conversations about boys, girls, and sex that surrounded him daily.

Michael raised an eyebrow at the brunette who made it painfully obvious that she was new. She inched slowly into the classroom, looking around in search for the teacher- or an empty desk perhaps. He approved of her outfit, she being one of the few people at this school to wear a band tee, black jeans, and a flannel. Him being one of those few.

"I like my emo girls, they're more demented in bed" a mindless sex troll winked at the girl as she passed. She looked at him in disgust, taking a few reassuring steps down the aisle of desks before speaking.

"I'm not emo" she calmy spoke "I'm punk rock".

Michael snickered to himself at the comment, not knowing if she was joking or being serious. The straight look on her face determining the thought for him.

She continued to walk passing students with her head down as they stared.

Michael mentally cursed at the new girl for her choosing in a desk. Of course it had to be right next to his. Though it wouldn't really matter, he wasn't going to talk to her anytime soon. He wouldn't talk to her ever actually.

"Hi" her quiet voice spoke, from the corner of his eyes he saw the girl looking over at him as she sat back pack on the floor.

And of course, he didn't respond.

"I'm Lola" she continued "I'm new". As if Michael didn't already know, besides the fact she made it beyond obvious Michael knew basically every student that attended here. Including Freshmen.

Lola turned away, feeling unwanted since the boy she found most attractive was ignoring her. Usually they roll thier eyes or wave her away after explaining 'she's not their type'. Instead this boy just sat there, facing foward without any emotion showing on his face.

She thought that maybe he couldn't hear her due to the ear bud blasting loudly in his ear. So loud she could hear it from two desks ahead of his.

But she wasn't dumb, and she knew when she was being ignored. It was something she grown to know well at home.

The short teacher walked in, her horribly overdone makeup making Lola widened her eyes in shock. Not that she was judging. It was just- brave.
***
Michael sat at his usual lunch table, with his three friends. They knew him before he went mute, before his life took a turn for the worst.

So despite his lack of interest in thier conversation they still hung around, because that's how much they cared about him.

Lola grabbed a single apple and granola bar for lunch, not feeling very hungry. At least that's what she told herself.

She dreaded lunch, she hadn't made a single friend yet. Except for one shy girl she had met in third period who claimed she went off campus for lunch.

In search for a table to sit at she laid eyes on the boy she had talked to today in calculus. The boy who didn't talk back, the one who looked effortlessly gorgeous as he stared off into space. He was listening to music, looking uninterested as the other three boys surrounding him exchanged in conversation.

Lola was never a shy girl, she was rather outspoken and opinionated. She just figured she was a horrible person and that's why she couldn't make friends.

So there she walked, with long strides to the table of boys.

"Hi" she spoke earning the attention of each boy.

"Hi" the blonde one spoke, looking rather strangely at the girl with short dyed hair.

"Do you mind if I sit with you guys?" She questioned already putting down her tray and taking a seat.

"S- sure" he stuttered. It wasn't because he was shy, like Lola he a pretty outgoing person. He was just shocked because no one ever wanted to sit with them, since the whole school thought Michael was weird. So having company other than the three other boys was rather odd.

She smiled and started to peel open her granola bar "I'm lola" she introduced taking a tiny bite.

"I'm Luke" the blonde one, who she now knew was named Luke spoke.

"That's Calum and Ashton" Luke introduced the other two, they waved and mumbled a small 'sup'.

There was a long pause before everyone looked at the quiet boy who still had his ear buds popped in. "That's Michael" Luke finished, eyeing the equally dark dressed boy through his eyelashes.

"We've met" she chuckled "Though he didn't talk much, not at all actually" she brought up the fact he ignored her. Hoping the others would give her an explanation behind his lack of speaking.

"Yeah he won't" Calum huffed before finishing the last of his chocolate milk, tilting his head back to get every single drop.

"Why not?" She took another bite of the granola bar.

"Long story" Luke finished for him "Rather not get into it".

Lola nodded, understanding it was probably something personal between the four that she had no place in knowing. She looked at the black haired boy who looked at them with a straight face.

"Can he hear us?" She questioned.

"Probably" Ashton answered "I think he just leaves those headphones in so people won't talk to him" he shrugged.

"People already don't wanna talk to him" Calum huffed "He doesn't have to worry about that".

She chuckled.

"What's funny?" Calum asked and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"He just sits there with a straight face as we talk about him, I would've rolled my eyes or something by now" she chuckled some more.

Luke joined in "Same".
***
"I'm home!" Lola called out, hoping that maybe today would be different and that she'd get a response.

Today wasn't different and she didn't get a response. She sighed kicking off her shoes and began walking softly into the kitchen where her baby brother sat in his high chair throwing cheerios upon the floor.

"Dustin" she shook her head in disapproval "You know mom hates a mess" she kissed his soft head knowing he wasn't understanding one word coming from her mouth.

She grabbed the broom sitting in between the crack of the refrigerator and the wall. She began to sweep up the mess and toss it into the bin.

"Where's mommy Dustin, huh?" She talked in her best baby voice as she picked up the heavy baby.

"Gosh you've gotten big" she talked quietly to herself as she walked through the small dark halls.

She carried the baby into her room in the back of the house, knowing her mom probably left him home all alone as she went out with friends. Even in the middle of the afternoon her mom still thought it was okay to have more than a few drinks. Leading her to come home drunk and angered at midnight with some random guy from the bar.

"Wanna watch cartoons?" She spoke in her baby voice again before changing the left on tv from Teen Wolf to Steven Universe.

She enjoyed the show, though she'd never admit that to anyone. She was a Junior in high school who enjoyed a show on Cartoon Network, no one could ever find out.

After a full episode Dustin was already asleep, sucking his thumb whilst breathing softly into the sheets of her bed.

She smiled and waited for her moms arrival, sighing at the realization it would be another night of her pushing some scruffy old guy off her wasted mother.

Trying a new writing style (:

The story only gets more interesting from here, enjoy!