Muted

Chapter 10

I was sitting on the cold bleachers by myself, waiting for gym to start. Ms. Stuart and Mr. Morgan were gathering equipment on one side of the gym, since people were still filtering in from the change rooms. Alex and Greyson came running out of the boys change room, laughing and nudging each other in the shoulder; both wearing a white t-shirt that emphasized the sheer size of their chests and shoulders, and sky blue basketball shorts. The girls were also wearing white t-shirts, however we had the option of wearing either tennis skirts or shorts; I had opted for the skirt as it covered a bit more than the shorts did. As I continued to look around the slowly filling room, a heavy body landed next to me.

"Well hello beautiful. We meet again much to my pleasure." Greyson grinned at me.

"God Grey, you gotta take it down a notch before ya' scare her away" Alex laughed as he sat on my other side. "Hey Ari."

I smiled back at the both of them before a group of girls coming towards us made my entire body stiffen almost to the point of pain, and any happiness seep out of me; it was the girl – Juliana, and her group.

"Hey what's the matter?" A large warm hand came to rest between my stiff shoulder blades. I felt Greyson move closer to me, but I couldn't move my eyes from what seemed to be my impending doom.

"Grey" Alex said, his voice hardening slightly. They seemed to be having a silent conversation as my hands started to shake and clench together tighter and tighter.

A sharp, piercing whistle sliced through the air, making me flinch and cover my ears.

"It was just the teacher's whistle Ari, it's okay" Alex said as he gently pulled my hand from my ear.

Laughter sounded in front of us, I quick glance confirmed it was Juliana and her friends. They were staring right at me as they cackled together. My hands resumed their shaking in Alex's grasp. All of a sudden Greyson stood up and took a menacing step towards them, anger written in his expression. The girls stopped and stared at him surprised and unsure. He went to take another step when my arm, seemingly with a mind of its own, reached out and caught the back of his shirt before he could get closer to them. He looked down at me and something in my expression seemed to have caught him off guard, causing him to falter in his step.

"Alright Ladies and Gents we are going to be playing a friendly game of volleyball out in the yard." Mr. Morgan's voice echoed around the gym.

As Ms. Stuart came to lead me to which team I would be playing on, I looked back to see the two boys watching me walk away, concern emitting from them. I gave them the biggest smile I could muster, that is until I saw which group I've been put in.

Juliana's territorial grin is what greeted me.

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So far so good. We had been playing for 45 minutes and had managed to win two games, with minimal comments from Juliana. She was actually a really good player from what I could tell. We were now playing against Greyson and Alex's team. Every time they scored or we did, they both would hoot and holler at me, making me grin until my cheeks started to hurt.

If this feeling is what having friends is like........ please, no one take it away.

An irritated huff from my right indicated that Juliana has decided she has had enough. We were rotating positions, I ended up near the net across from Greyson and she was right behind me in the serving position. He winked at me before his expression started to shift into one of anger and panic. I frowned and turned to see what he was looking at. As soon as I turned my head the volleyball hit me straight in the nose, my momentum causing me to trip. I opened my eyes to see that I was suddenly staring at the clouds and voices were yelling. Warm hands gripped my face, and then for some reason, everything went black.