Words [Niall Horan] AU

Chapter 1: New School

I walked onto the school grounds and headed straight to the head office where I saw teachers and students running around preparing for this second semester.

“How may I help you?” The lady’s lips moved with a smile on her face.

“I’m Erica Mason, new student,” I responded with a small smile.

Her eyes widen and she whips around to talk to another girl who looked like she was in her early 20’s but I didn’t know what they were saying because they weren’t facing me. Both of the ladies turn to face me and the younger girl begins to sign use sign language.

‘Hi, I’m Emily, your interpreter’ she signs.

“What? I don’t need an interpreter,” I state bluntly.

‘You’re mom insisted’ Emily signs.

“Can you call her and tell her I don’t need and interpreter?” I ask the lady.

She nods and scurries to find her number in the sheets of paper in front of her.

But of course my mother sent me an interpreter. First she moves me to this fancy private school from my regular deaf school where all my friends were so I can ‘learn to live in the real world’ and now she wants me to look like a freak with an interpreter following me around.

‘Your mother asked if you were sure about not having an interpreter’ Emily signs.

I nod in response and the lady continues to talk on the phone again but I don’t pay attention. I look around to see students talking to their friends, laughing and probably gossiping on drama which made me think of my friends.

‘Your mother said it was fine for you not to have an interrupter in class if you don’t want one. Here’s your timetable and locker number, it is just down the hall to the left, if you need help or change your mind I’ll be here’ Emily signs.

“Thank you,” I smile and take the sheets of paper from her.

I walk out into the hallway and follow Emily’s directions to my locker. I finally reached my locker but I was too busy paying attention to the numbers on the lockers I didn’t realise I had crashed into someone who must have been in a hurry due to the impact I had felt when we crashed and fell. He’s friends helped him up while one of them offered me their hand which I gladly took.

“Watch where you’re going,” the boy I crashed into lips moved with a clearly irritated facial expression.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

His friends yelled at him, well it looked like they were from their hand gestures but I couldn’t see their faces since their backs were facing me. The boy who crashed into me was jock and so were all his friends, I could tell by their varsity jackets. He hand blonde hair and looked like he was growing angrier by the second which I assumed wasn’t just because of me since crashing into each other was a simple accident.

Two of the boys took away the blonde that had crashed into me while one stayed in front of me and turned around. I looked at him with a confused facial expression but he smiled at me anyway.

“Sorry about Niall, he’s had a rough morning and not usually like that at all I assure you. I’m going to take a wild guess here that you’re new. Am I right?” The boy that stayed asked.

“Yeah, I’m Erica,” I smile and stick my hand out.

“Malik, Zayn Malik,” He says and shakes my hand.

“Did you need help with anything?” He asked.

“If you don’t mind, could you direct me to my first room?” I ask politely as I open my locker and placed what I didn’t need for now in it while still looking at Zayn so I could read his lips for his answer.