Chapter Text
Grace sat at the back of the classroom, questioning every decision that had gotten him into this place.
He had gotten his ID, schedule, and a small map of the school from the front office, and then was turned loose in the massive building filled with students who couldn't care less about who he was.
He had tried to ask other students where any of his classes were in the maze of a building, but was met with side eyes and quiet giggles, so he decided to figure it out himself.
Despite the lack of social interaction, Grace could feel eyes following him throughout the day. They wouldn't be caught dead talking to him, but they wanted to know everything they could skim from his appearance and (lack of) fashion sense.
Whispers seemed to fill the silence around him, as ubiquitous as the oxygen in his lungs.
Grace wandered the school; nothing seemed to be labeled correctly or placed in the right area. It felt like a maze. If only he had the golden thread.
Or the Minotaur showed up and ate him.
After what felt like the hundredth wrong turn, he finally found the right classroom.
It was small, much smaller than the ones at Hail Mary High, though this school needed the space more. There were 4 rows of desks, spanning from the front to the back of the room. Each was equally spaced from the others, leaving a small aisle between each desk. All the other students had already arrived for class, leaving bags and legs taking up most of the already small aisles.
There was only one empty desk at the very back of the room. Grace picked his way across the room, muttering half-hearted apologies when his mere presence interrupted no doubt very important conversations happening across the aisle.
Once Grace made it to the desk, he piled into it. He had never had issues with claustrophobia, but this school might make him start. Everything was small, squished, and seemingly shoved into every nook and cranny of the school. Every corner was piled high with papers, books, and teaching equipment. It didn't help that Grace was 6 feet and a half, or that he felt like every wall and ceiling was closing in around him.
Grace let out a deep, slow breath, trying to calm himself as he settled into the space.
It was only a short time before class started, and Grace proceeded to not pay attention with the rest of his peers.
Instead, he pulled out the only real notebook he had brought.
It was from Hail Mary High and still had the first half of the notes he was taking before-
Well, you know.
He read through the notes, working through some of the problems in his head, when an incessant tapping sound caught his attention.
He expected to look up and see a domineering teacher come to tell him to pay attention. Instead, to his left, he found another student tapping a pen on his desk as he listened to the teacher with rapt attention.
Grace glanced around at their classmates. Apparently, he wasn't the only one to notice the noise as other students shot the boy glares before returning to their aloof dissatisfaction.
Grace examined the boy at his side, trying to understand how the noise wasn't affecting him.
The boy was short, even while sitting, Grace could tell as much. He wore mostly differing shades of brown and tan. His hair was a dull sandy color. It had been swept up and to the side into interesting curls that seemed to defy gravity. His eyes were a pale hazel, but since they were trained forward, they looked more like a light grey. He wore brown work pants and a tan T-shirt. The only extra bit of color was two turquoise bracelets circled on his left wrist. He sat forward in his chair, left elbow on the desk as his head was propped up on his hand, in his right hand was the pen he still continued to rap on the desk.
Grace once again glanced at his classmates. None seemed to be paying any more attention to the boy, though every once in a while another glare would be directed at the oblivious boy.
After Grace was satisfied that no one else was going to call attention to the noise, he pivoted toward the boy and cleared his throat.
Nothing.
That's fine; he hadn't done it very loudly. He tried again, slightly louder this time.
Nothing.
He considered other ways to get the boy's attention.
Maybe he could tap him on the shoulder? No, he could be touch-averse. He could freak out, and that would be a whole other scene to deal with.
After a few more moments of deliberation (and a few pep talks), Grace decided he would tap on the boy's desk to get his attention.
Grace adjusted his glasses, placing them back on his nose, and smoothed out his sweater. Who could fault him for trying to look presentable? This could be his best chance to make a friend!
Grace took a deep breath, pushing down the butterflies that threatened to crawl up his throat. Before he could have a second thought, he reached over and knocked twice on the boy's desk before quickly retreating back to his own.
The boy blinked. He looked down at the spot where the knock had found purchase before turning to Grace. The boy looked at him for a moment, hazel eyes trained on sky blue ones. His eyes were full of intelligence and curiosity. For a moment, the two sat there, just looking at one another before The Boy(TM) raised an eyebrow and tilted his head questioningly.
Oh right, I'm supposed to speak!
"Um... Hi." The Boy(TM)'s eyes flicked from Grace's lips back to his eyes, "S-Sorry, I was just wondering if you could stop tapping your pen."
Say your name! Say your name! Say your name, idiot!
"Oh." The Boy(TM) looked down at the pen he was still holding and set it down, "Sorry."
Before Grace could say another word, The Boy(TM) smiled at him and turned back to the front of the room.
"M-My name is... is Ryland Grace! Though most people just call me by my last name, Grace. But either is fine with me! I-I'll respond to either! It's... um... nice to meet you." Grace tried to recover the conversation.
Nothing.
He wasn't sure whether he didn't speak loud enough or The Boy(TM) was just choosing to ignore him, but Grace decided that was the end of that friendship opportunity. From now on, he would just stay silent in this class. Never to make a fool of himself again. At least for these 45 minutes. He reserved the right to make a fool of himself some other time, though he hoped he wouldn't have to use it.
Once again, Grace stood in a room full of people and felt unfathomably alone.
The Cafeteria was alive with chatter and laughter. Every table seemed to be filled with happy students and their friends, none giving a second glance at the new boy standing just inside the door. A cold feeling draped itself over Grace as he looked to find a place to sit and eat the food provided. He gazed around the hall, stubbornly refusing to stuff himself in a seat that he was unwanted in. But he couldn't even find an empty table to pathetically wallow at as he ate alone.
Just as he was about to give up and go eat in the bathroom as he had seen geeks do in movies, he felt a warm presence at his side.
Turning to his left, he saw The Boy(TM) looking up at him. Now, with them both standing, The Boy(TM) only stood at about Grace's shoulders, but he looked up at Grace, pale hazel eyes glinting with excitement and a lazy smile across his face.
"Want to sit with me?" The Boy(TM) annunciated his words carefully as he nodded his head in the direction of two double doors.
Grace felt hope sing within his chest. Maybe he had just been too quiet. Maybe he could actually make a friend and not feel so alone.
"S-sure! Yeah! That would be great!" Grace winced as his voice carried a bit more than he meant to, but The Boy(TM) didn't seem to mind as he nodded once and led Grace to the doors.
Beyond the doors was a small outdoor courtyard with a few tables lining one end. The sun graced the small area, but Grace sighed in relief from the oppressive fluorescent lights and even more oppressive air.
The Boy(TM) basked in the light for a moment before turning to one of the tables and dropping his bag and lunch tray on the table. He looked up at Grace, practically vibrating with energy as he nodded for Grace to sit across from him. Grace complied, still not totally sure what to say or do as he clumsily climbed into the small table and dropped his things.
The Boy(TM) tapped his fingers on the table, watching as Grace got comfortable before speaking, "Hi."
"Hi."
"My name is Rocky. What's yours?" Once again, he seemed to focus very hard on the annunciation of his words. His fingers briefly stopped their drilling into the table but continued after he spoke.
"Um... Oh, Grace. Ryland Grace. Though most people just call me Grace." Grace's brain, though lightning quick with science, seemed to be racing to catch up with his mouth and body. "Is your name actually Rocky?"
The Boy(TM), Rocky, laughed, "No, it's just a nickname, though it has since stuck."
"I see... It makes me think of the movie."
"Yeah, can't you see I'm as big and strong as he is?" Rocky lifted his arm, fake flexing as he stood and put one foot on the chair in front of him.
The two boys laughed. It felt good. It was the first time Grace had laughed in what felt like forever, and even longer since it was with someone else. He felt a pressure lift off his chest as he could relax. As if, in this moment, in this courtyard, with this boy, he didn't have to worry. He could just be with his friend.
Friend? Were they friends? It had been forever since it felt like Grace had had a friend. Should he ask? Would that be weird? They had only really had two conversations, and one was less than 10 words. Was he thinking too much about this? Okay, he was definitely thinking too much about this. I mean, if he felt like they were friends, he should just let it be, let it be unspoken. It didn't need to be spoken to be true, right?
"Hey, Grace?" Rocky's voice pulled Grace out of his spiral; it looked as though he had been watching him while a flurry of thoughts had coalesced within Grace's mind. "Can I ask you something kind of weird?"
A pit formed within Grace's stomach. A weird question? What could it be?
"S-sure, Rocky."
"You wouldn't... happen... to know sign language, would you?"
Grace was surprised, but not unhappily so.
Grace just so happened to indeed know sign language. Though Hail Mary High was for STEM, it also focused on creating well-rounded scientists who could work on a global scale. That meant at least one language was required. Grace had never been good with words, so instead he had chosen something that didn't require them. He also found it fascinating, being able to communicate without using a key part of most communication styles. Though he was now missing what was supposed to be his last year in Sign Language, he was still, for the most part, proficient.
Grace smiled a bit, made a fist and "nodded" it, bending his wrist back and forth to sigh 'yes'.
"Oh, thank God." Rocky sighed with relief. He reached up behind his ears, and Grace heard a dull click. "Sorry, fucking hate [-------]."
Grace nearly spat out his drink from a surprised laugh. He wasn't expecting Rocky to place his fingers under his chin and flick them forward. Especially not with the vitriol he placed in the movement. However, another sign also caught his attention. Rocky had held out his pointer and middle fingers as well as his thumb like he was holding a baseball, then moved them to his ear. Grace could tell it meant something about his hearing, but wasn't sure.
"[-----]" Grace repeated the action, tilting his head curiously.
"Cochlear Implant." Rocky repeated the action back to Grace, but this time he spoke as well, allowing Grace to understand the new sign.
Grace thought for a second. Just because he knew the language roughly didn't mean it didn't take a second to translate what he wanted to say, "Don't need them for hear?"
Rocky let out a barking laugh before waving his hand, "Structure almost worse than me. You talk. I sign. Rocky very good at reading lips." Rocky fingerspelled 'sign' to help emphasize his point.
"Sorry." Grace wasn't entirely sure what he was apologizing for. Not being better at the language? Either way, he felt a lump titled 'guilty' stick in his throat.
"Good. No apologizing." Rocky grinned at Grace, his hazel eyes sparkling in amusement as he shifted side to side in the seat. Despite his guilt, Grace found it nearly impossible not to grin back.
His energy was infectious as the two continued to converse, melding two languages into a symphony only the two understood.
"So, why do you wear the cochlear implants if you don't like them?" Grace finally asked; curiosity had been eating away at him as the conversation had continued. At first, Rocky seemed a little shocked; it had been a non-sequitur, and Grace assumed most people didn't bring attention to it.
This is why you don't have any friends, moron. You always pry into things that aren't your business. Just because you're "curious". Curiosity killed the cat, and now, your one chance at making a friend here. AGAIN!
"Easier," Rocky signed after a moment of contemplation, "can hear teachers and classmates if not facing."
"I see.... I-I'm sorry I brought it up-" Rocky waved his hand, once again dismissing Grace's apology.
"Is good sometimes. No one know when Rocky 'listening'." Rocky's easy smile turned mischievous.
Grace could tell he used this power often, judging by the information and gossip he was able to spill on many of their classmates. Grace didn't even think he knew that much about the people he had seen every day in class at Hail Mary High. Heck, he had only learned Dave's last name when Headmistress Stratt had told him it was Torres. Rocky had learned more about his peers just listening and watching them than Grace had actually (semi) interacting with them.
Was he not observant? No, he observed plenty of things that had to do with experiments and classes.
But that wasn't the kind of observation that Rocky was doing. He didn't have his head stuck in a book or stay in his dorm when everyone else was out hanging out with friends.
Rocky had been living life.
Experiencing things.
Not just watching. Not just sitting. Not just letting it fly by.
That was the difference between Grace and Rocky. The reason why Rocky was able to approach Grace so easily.
He had lived.