A Silent Cry

Chapter Two: Heathens

Cry often considered himself very normal. He didn't do anything "exciting" or "adventurous". All he did was stay inside as often as he could. He lived his life in a fixed routine, just as any other person. All his days went like clockwork. After school, he would always stand under the tree out front with Russ and wait until someone came to pick them up. This day should be like any other. Once the final bell rang, Cry calmly grabbed his bag and left the class. Students shoved things in lockers, stood around to wait for their friends, or left the school without a second glance back. Cry saw Russ in front of him. He meant to call out but found himself toppling toward the ground.

The people standing closest to him just glanced down and continued to walk. Cry felt his face burn with embarrassment. He picked himself up and dusted off his shirt and pants. He looked around. A few students standing by were staring at him, but he didn't see if anyone had tripped him. He was sure he didn't fall on his own. He shook his head and rushed out of the school as if that would help his embarrassment. "What's up with you?" Russ asked. "You look like you saw someone's grandma naked."

"I wish," Cry sighed. He sat down in the grass. Russ joined him. "I'm pretty sure someone tripped me in the hallway." Cry began plucking grass blades. He would gather a bunch of blades to let them go in the wind.

Russ scoffed. "I'm sure it was an accident. No one would purposefully hurt you, Cry. You're way too nice." He jokingly punched Cry's shoulder. "Plus, even if someone wanted to hurt you, you could just use that magic voice of yours."

Cry laughed a bit. It was true. Russ often joked that guys would go gay for Cry's voice. Cry thought that was a little exaggerated, but Russ insisted. "You're probably right."

"You bet I'm right."

The two talked and joked until Cry's sister, Sarah, came. Russ and Cry were neighbors -- it's how they became such close friends. They've been together since kindergarten. Their mothers both had several pictures of little Russ and Cry playing with each other. It was rather embarrassing when the two mothers got together. They could talk for hours about their sons when they were young. Sarah pulled into the driveway. Russ said goodbye and walked over to the next house. Before Sarah opened the door she said, "Oh! By the way, Nate came home super excited so you might want to look out for that." Cry groaned and his sister opened the door.

Their little brother came running toward them. Before Cry could step inside, Nathan jumped on him. The two stumbled backwards, but Cry was able to maintain his balance. Nathan wasn't exactly a small kid. He was seven years old; a little too big to be carried. Yet he hung on Cry's neck as if he was still three. He started babbling on and on about whatever was running through his little head. Cry tried to interrupt, but Nathan was better at interrupting than he was. "Kid, you're really heavy," Cry managed to get in while Nathan took a breath. "And I haven't even gotten inside yet." He set Nathan down and shut the door behind them.

Cry started walking to his room and Nathan chirped along. Cry smiled to himself. His little brother was amusing. And it was so cute how he could be amazed at the simplest things. Cry plopped down on his bed and Nathan climbed up to join. He continued to ramble on but Cry didn't mind. "Hey, Cry," Nathan said after a moment of silence. "Do you think when I get older I'll have a voice like you?"

Cry couldn't help but laugh. "Maybe if you're lucky, kiddo."

Nathan sat up and looked down at Cry. "Your voice is the best, Cry. When you read I can fall asleep easy and even when you're just talking it's like... I don't know." He seemed to think for a moment; his little cheeks puffed out to find the right words. "Like I'm home."

Cry stared at his brother for a moment. He never really thought Nathan could feel that way about a voice -- his voice. Could a voice really be that powerful? Cry cracked a large grin. "C'mere, you." He embraced his brother and ruffled his hair. "Now don't you wanna go tell Sarah all the things you told me?" Nathan eagerly jumped off the bed and began calling for their sister. Cry just sat back and enjoyed his bed.

~~~

There was a time when Russ wasn't a sarcastic asshole. Cry wasn't sure how old Russ was when he first understood the concept, but he wished that never happened. The boy was just too witty for his own good. It's one of the reasons the two ended up in detention. The other reason was that Cry was stupid. A rather deadly combination. It certainly wasn't their first time serving detention. The pair would often get into trouble more often than they would like. They had a habit of getting on teachers' bad sides.

Russ flicked a piece of paper off the desk he was sitting at. Cry was sitting beside him, absolutely bummed out. He was hoping to get home to take a nice nap, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. He could already imagine Sarah rolling her eyes at him. His mother wouldn't care much. She was hardly around enough to know how many times he got a detention. Russ's mother was almost as sarcastic as he was, so she wouldn't give a damn. Cry always found it odd that Russ's father was the only strict member of the family.

The two waited for all the students to pile in the room. It was mainly students who typically get in trouble. There were a few who looked out of place; who most likely got a tardy from a strict teacher. Cry and Russ played paper football as they continued to wait. It was Cry's turn to flick the little paper triangle between Russ's poised fingers. He was about to hit it when he noticed a change in mood. The students hushed and some even sat up straighter. Cry looked toward the door in curiosity. His heart nearly stopped when Keith Watts looked him straight in the eyes. Russ turned around to see what the fuss was all about. "Whatcha in for?" He asked in a joking manner. Cry threw the paper football at his head.

Keith only grunted in response. He walked over to a desk and sat down without another word. "Sheesh," Russ turned back around. "He's not much of a talker, is he? Rather neanderthally if you as me." He made sure to lower his voice at the last remark. He picked up the paper football. "That counts as a miss, by the way."

Cry rolled his eyes, but he felt on edge. The way Keith looked at him... it was unsettling. It didn't seem as if it was some kind of accident. But there was no reason to get Russ concerned. Cry put up his fingers to make the goal. "Whatever. It's not like you can do any better."

A/N: Hopefully this chapter was written better. Anyway, I have no idea what Cry's sister's name is so I just made it up because We Don't Talk About Sarah. Also, I had no idea what YouTuber I could use that looks/acts intimidating, so I made up Keith Watts. I don't really like doing that. I prefer to use YouTubers in YouTube fanfics, but oh well. Let me know what you think!