Deaf Euphoria (boyxboy)

chapter seeeeeeven

"Where are we?" I asked, my head still pounding like a jackhammer was pulsing through it. All that driving really hadn't helped, either. "You know what, I don't even care. As long as you've got some Advil or some alcohol, I'm aiight, bro." I grunted as I stumbled out of the car. Day rushed forwards and caught me, steadying me.

"You're certainly not 'aiight', genius. You look like you're about to keel over. C'mon, let's go," he signed, beginning to walk towards a large rock path. I followed him and after fifteen minutes I was dying. My mind wandered to more pleasant things in order to shield itself from the pain. I imagined that Day's arms were around me, his hands wandering down to my no-no area. Mmm, what a fantastical idea. I imagined him doing this while we were at a concert...an A Day to Remember concert! Fuck to the yeah!

"Is there any particular reason that you're fist pumping?" Day asked me, pumping his fist instead of signing it. My cheeks burned and I quickly retracted my fist.

"Um, yeah, go nature hikes!" I squeaked. I moaned in pain when my voice was too loud for my migraine to handle. "Sorry, migraine pain. Hehe, that rhymed! Oh, oh sorry head, I will shut up now." I said, smacking my forehead and moaning again when pain reverberated through my head.

"Aaron! No more moaning!" Day cried, sounding surprisingly pained. He was several steps ahead of me, and when he turned back around I couldn't see his face. I jumped forwards and stood on my tiptoes, placing my lips near his ear and moaned several times. I made sure that they were some top notch, hot ass moans that were some of my finest. He spun to face me, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"AARON!" He yelped.

"Alright, no more sexy ass moans. I know I'm too hot to handle." I sighed wistfully. I pivoted away from Day, beginning to walk forwards again. We made it to a small ice cream shop, which Day tugged me inside of. He asked the woman behind the counter for some Advil before buying two extra large milkshakes and paying for both of them. He took me outside after we got the shakes and the Advil. Actually, it was Aleve, which wasn't what I was used to but whatevs. He handed me a milkyshaky and we headed out and hiked for 6,192 years (Narnia time) until we came to a waterfall. We sat at the top, watching the rush of the water.

"What do you think it's like to just give up?" I inquired, sucking the milkshake slowly to avoid a brain freeze. Day didn't seem taken aback by my question, especially in his current state of disfigurement. His entire body had hateful words etched into his flesh, which was how I'd known he'd take me seriously. He leaned back on his elbows, placing the milkshake between his knees.

"I think it seems peaceful but in reality probably hurts like a bitch. Imagine the worst pain you've ever felt multiplied by every organ in your body as it fails," He signed, his hands lifting above his chest, his elbows still on the ground as he told me this in ASL.

"Damn, my head hurts and I can barely take that," I said aloud. I couldn't imagine a pain that great.

"Have you ever imagined what it would be like to disappear? Take a new name, a new look, and start over in another country?" I asked.

"A lot. I think I'd name myself Edward Cullen, just to freak girls out," Day grinned. Girls, he said. I twisted my face up into a grimace. "What about you? Who would you be?"

"I'd still be me. I'm proud of my name, my heritage. You know, where I came from," I mused before realizing how insensitive that sounded. I quickly turned to look at Day, my stomach sinking. "Day I didn't-"

"No, it's okay. Just because I come from a place that's not so hot doesn't mean you can't talk about your family. They're pretty amazing," he commented. I wished, not for the first time, that he would talk aloud. I couldn't hear him, obviously, but it was nice to see his lips move. They were too still now. I decided to open up to him and admit something I didn't particularly love thinking about.

"Want to know a secret? One you can't tell anyone?" I inquired. He nodded, sipping his milkshake. His lips wrapped around the straw almost perfectly, making me shiver.

"Milo's homophobic," I said aloud.

"I-I-I know," Day told me. I'd almost forgotten that  he'd been tutoring my baby bro.

"Want to know an equally confidential secret?" He signed. Excited, I grinned, nodding vigorously and sitting up so that I was sitting with my legs criss-crossed.

"I'm dyslexic. It's probably the reason my stutter developed in the first place. Sometimes, if I'm disoriented, or if I just woke up, or if I'm equally as tired, it gets really bad and I can't read anything. It scares the crap out of me. That's the only reason I've never gotten drunk before." He told me, his hands moving fluidly.

"Whoa, a two for one. You're dyslexic and you've never been drunk. I haven't either, but because something could happen to me because I'm deaf. I don't want to get hit by a car or get raped or whatever because I'm stumbling around stupidly and can't hear," I admitted.

"That sounds legitimately terrifying." Day agreed.

"Sometimes I just wish I could marry Brock from Pokémon. He would take care of me and we'd live a nice, sheltered life with his Pokémon. Misty and Ash would be my brother and sister in law since they're basically related to Brock and we'd live happily ever after," I sighed, watching the water rush down. I saw movement in my peripheral vision and I turned to see Day rolling around, laughing his ass off.

"Shut up! I'm serious!" I shrieked, kicking him in the arm. He over rolled and then he was gone. His body was crashing towards the water below at an increasingly alarming pace, his eyes wide and his lips parted. It didn't happen in slow motion, like it does in the movies. One second he was falling and the next he'd hit the water. His body broke in the water and I held my breath. Dear God, was he alright?

Only seconds later, he resurfaced, his mouth opening. Was he laughing at me? That jackass! I stripped off my t-shirt and decided to join him. Stepping off the edge was the hardest part. Gathering the courage to take that leap, knowing you would inevitably fall towards something you've never experienced before was a hard thing to commit to. In the end, I thought of Day's smiling face at the other side and I jumped. My body was floating for the briefest time, in a timeless, oxygen absent, free fall. Then water was encasing my body in frigid coolness and I was shooting for the surface, my lungs ready to burst. I greedily sucked down the air, relishing in the joyous sensation of restoring oxygen to my deprived lungs.

Day's wet blond hair was clinging to his face, his wide, beautiful green eyes sparkling. Water dripped down in rivulets from his hair to hips lips and chin, defining his best features. Whether he knew it or not, the cut on his cheek was a part of him now- a part that only made him more superb. It showed that he'd been through Hell and had come out smiling. It showed that his feet were still on the ground, his shoulders leveled, his chest pumping with his chin up. He was proud of his flaws and his weaknesses and he embraced them.

In that moment, our eyes meeting, we were infinite. Our souls entwined for a moment, a spark of life. We were together in a way that I could never explain. Happiness bubbled through our veins and everything we ever needed to say was said with absolutely no words. His smile had a thousand watts and illuminated the distance between us, making it seem nonexistent. He was everything I was looking for, and I didn't have to search any longer to find it. We bobbed up and down, our hearts meeting for the first time.

Then everyone followed. Children, teenagers, people of all ages began hopping into the water after us. Everyone from the ice cream shoppe followed our lead, diving and cannon balling into the water. We were leaders, heads of the pack, alphas in a sport we hadn't known existed. Adrenalin rushed along with the falling of the water and we were no longer alone. Parents and grandparents stood at the top of the falls, taking the leap and diving in with their children. It was a sight I'd never seen before- people forgetting what society dictated, forgetting about how their soggy clothes would feel and just living. In that moment, I was immortal. Day and I, we were immortal. We shared the rushing, confident, ecstatic feeling, our eyes meeting once more. I couldn't hear but just then I didn't need to. I could hear all I needed to in the way my heart beat and in the pearly white stretch of Day's shared euphoria.