The Silence

Chapter Sixteen

A/N: Am I happy with anything today? 😕

Julian:

I stood outside for a little while after Saint was gone, touching my lips and silently freaking out. He'd kissed me again. Really kissed me this time. Like how boyfriends kissed ... I let out a happy squeal and slapped my hand over my mouth. Oh my God. He really kissed me.

"Julian." My mother said when I hurried back inside, but I ignored her and ran straight for my room. Saint kissed me! I fell on my face on my bed and giggled into my pillow. I felt like I was going crazy. When I had daydreamed about what my first kiss would be like, I never could have imagined how it made me feel. Like I was floating on air and -

"Julian." My mother knocked on my door and pushed it open. I sat up slowly and crossed my legs on my bed.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say goodnight before you go to bed." She said and took a few steps into my room, wringing her hands.

"Oh." I picked at a stray piece of cotton hanging from the corner of my bed. "Goodnight."

Silence.

"When did you start learning sign language?" She asked and I winced.

"Um..." I started. "Not too long ago. Saint teaches me. He learns a new word every day. Then he shows me. It's cool." I said in a rush and she stared at me blankly.

"Julian..." I tensed at her tone but she just sighed loudly. "Goodnight, Jules."

"Morning." Saint said with a grunt when I jumped into the car the next day. He looked extra grumpy this morning, but he had an extra large flask that I guessed was filled with coffee so he should be less grumpy by the time we got to school.

"Morning. Did you sleep well?" I asked and Saint snorted as he took a sip of his coffee. I watched him as he let his head fall back on the head rest and it rolled back and forth with the movement of the car. I could pretend like I wasn't staring at his lips, but I wasn't about to lie to myself. He looked good this morning. Too good. The sun peeked in through the car's window and lit up his face. Damn...he looked amazing. I was still staring at him when one of his eyes opened and caught me. A flutter of butterflies exploded in my stomach but before I could look away, Saint was leaning in.

I closed my eyes just as his lips touched mine. I gasped softly and then I tasted coffee. When was the last time I had tasted coffee? Saint just smiled at me when he moved back.

"We know that poetry is sometimes described as ..." I tuned out Mr Johnston's voice again as I felt a certain pair of eyes staring at the back of my head again. Focus, I scolded myself. I had to focus. If I wasn't careful, I'd miss the whole lesson and then I'd have to ask for notes again and I didn't want to do that.

It took a considerable amount of effort to keep looking forward, but I managed to get my notes and I sighed with relief when the bell rang for home time.

"Come on." Saint said next to my desk when I was taking too long packing away my things. I zipped up my bag and he lifted it off the desk away from me.

"Hey!"

"Peter is already waiting." He said and I hurried behind him.

"I thought you had band practice today." I said when we were in his room later that afternoon.

"I quit." Saint said matter-of-factly and my mouth dropped open.

"What? Why?" How could Saint have quit the band? He shrugged and pulled a face in my direction, but he didn't answer. "You can't quit. Isn't there a performance next week?" I asked. "I was going to come and see you guys. I've never heard you play." I pouted and Saint laughed out loud.

"Julian. If you want to hear me play, all you have to do is ask." He smirked and led me out of his room.

"What did you play anyway?"

"Trombone." He said and opened the door at the end of the hallway.

"Wow." I gaped at the wall of instruments displayed inside the room. "Can you even play all of these?" I giggled and he swiped a guitar from it's case by the door.

"Most of them." He said. "Sit." He pointed at a chair next to the piano in the room and I sat down. He sniffed as he strummed a few of the strings. "Any requests?" He asked. I shook my head and gestured to him.

"You know I don't listen to much." I said and he grimaced.

"OK."

When Saint started playing my jaw almost dropped to the floor. I don't know why I was surprised anymore that he was a lot sweeter as a person than anyone looking in from the outside would have guessed. The notes coming off that guitar...

"Oh my God." I whispered and he grinned at me as he stopped playing suddenly and put the guitar down. "Saint...that was beautiful."

"Thank you." He said and dragged my chair closer to his, pulling my knees between his legs. He reached for my hands and squeezed them gently.

"You shouldn't have quit." I said. I didn't know if he was as talented on the trombone as he was with a guitar, but I knew how much music meant to him. In the past few weeks that we'd become friends, we'd talked about anything and everything and it was easy to see how much he loved it. His face lit up when he spoke about music in a way that nothing else could. "What are you going to do for college?"

"College? Eh?" He shrugged again and looked at me curiously. "No idea. You?" I chuckled at his casualness.

"Same. No idea." To be honest I hadn't spent much time considering it. I was too worried about my hearing getting worse...

"We should take a gap year. Travel the world." He threw his hands in the air and I gave him a small smile.

"I can't fly." I said softly and he deflated.

"Your ears?" I nodded.

"That sucks." He grunted and I laughed.

"It does." His hands came up to touch one of my ears and my eyes closed as he played with my lobe.

"Are you staying for dinner?" He asked.

"I should go." I'd only come over because I was still mad that my mother was avoiding the topic of my father, but I didn't want to worry her too much. Saint's hands shifted from my ear to my hair. He tugged at a curl and ran his fingers through it lightly. "Why do you like touching my hair so much?" I asked with a laugh.

"It's pretty." He said simply and I tried not to blush. I really did.

"When I was younger, my mom kept it really long." I said. "I should cut it, actually." It was getting a bit long for the school rules.

"Don't." He said pulling at another curl.

"Don't?"

"Don't cut it." I scoffed and pulled away from him.

"It's school rules." I said.

"No one will bother you about your hair." Saint said and I blinked at him. "Don't cut it, OK?" He dragged me even closer and pressed a kiss on my nose. Did he like my hair that much?

"OK..." I whispered.

"OK?"

"OK." I nodded and Saint's answering grin was wide. The next kiss was on my mouth again. God, how insane was this? Kissing Saint was like a drug. I wanted more so badly. I wanted -

"Saint, your father wants to know if you...Oh!" Evelyn stood by the door with her mouth hanging open. Uh oh.