Cracked But Not Broken

Chapter Three: Noise

My eyes stare at the ceiling above, my glow-in-the-dark stars staring back. My gaming system had been untouched ever since I was taken. The same with my lion slippers and face mask products. However, when I slipped my jacket back on it smelt different. A nice different, and I noticed a dark hair in the hood. I played it off as nothing but it was still drifting around in the back of my mind.

I bring my fingers up to my ear and snap. I was met with a familiar sound. One that was not distorted in any way.

After I got out of the pod Coran informed me of my new situation. Permanent hearing loss was the result of my torture. He said that things may seem louder or quieter at times than they really are.

I pull my jacket tightly around me when I hear a knock on my door. "It's time for dinner." The familiar voice of Pidge seems slightly quieter than normal, but that could be because of the metal door.

I silently rise from my bed and slip through the door into the, now empty, hallway. I guess Pidge was too hungry to stick around. Or maybe she just didn't want to deal with my noise. That's all I am, annoying, unnecessary noise.

I walk into the chatty room and sit in my seat beside Keith. Shiro and Allura are discussing future battle plans, again. Coran is helping Hunk with his finishing touches on dinner. Pidge is fiddling away with some new contraption. Keith is watching everyone with a content smile.

Everything seems normal, was it like this when I left? If it was why did they bother saving me? Allura could easily pilot Blue. She would probably have a stronger bond with Blue than I do. Maybe she already started training with Blue. Maybe she already has a better bond with her than I do. Maybe she a better Blue Paladin than I am. Or was. If they knew what was best for the team they should've never saved me at a-

I'm broken from my thoughts with a hand on my wrist. Keith is staring at me with worried eyes. When my eyes glance toward my hand I realize why he looks so worried. I'm clenching my hands so much I've broken the skin.

My eyes rise up to meet Keith's, "What's going on in that mind of yours?" He tilts his head to the side as if he's trying to look into my thoughts.

"So much, it's giving me a headache." I say with a sigh as his hand slips into mine.

"I don't want you hurting yourself anymore." He says averting his eyes quickly.

I give a small, barely noticeable, smile. My attention goes to the pale hand in my lap. It wasn't that Keith's hand was small, it was just dainty. Especially when comparing it to mine.

I spread each of his thin fingers out and place my hand on top of his. I stifle a laugh, my finger are about an inch longer than his. He really does have dainty hands.

I continue to mess with his fingers, curling them into a fist, slipping them through my own, noticing how callused his, otherwise soft, hands are, and using my nail indent the pads of his finger tips, until dinner was served. Then I simply intertwine our fingers while I pick at my food.

About halfway through dinner everyone's voices grow loudly. It's gradual at first, but then it sounds like they're all yelling at the top of the lungs. It's almost echoey.

I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping it will go away on its own. But it doesn't and I end up clenching my hands again. Through the noise I hear a yelp, that's when I remember Keith's hand is still in mine.

I loosen my grip on his hand, not letting go completely. In this moment his hand is the only thing grounding me.

Too loud. I see him mouth. I quickly nod then Keith says something to Shiro. It adds to the loud noise and I squeeze my eyes shut again.

I feel a tug on my hand as I leave the noise behind. The loud slowly but surely fading into the background. When two hands cup my face I feel safe enough to open my eyes. I'm slowly met with two beautiful, violet orbs.

We both stare at each other in complete silence. I listen to the sounds around me, the creaks of the castle, the air from the vents, and the quiet chatter from the team, until everything sounds normal again.

"I'm okay, everything sound normal again." I say and cringe at how weak my voice sounds. With hesitance, I rest my hands on top of Keith's and give a small smile.

"You were really giving me a scare, I thought you were going to rip my hand apart." He shows me a small smile, that rare smile that I love so much.

841 words. That's a new record, I think. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know it's been a while, but I finally got it out. I know not many people read this so I just kept pushing it off. Comment, vote and share with your friends! Until next time, Zoe signing off.