The Story of Us.

“So, did anything interesting happen at school?”

I bit my lip, letting the question repeat in my mind once before my gaze paused on the pile of noodles twisting around my fork. Nerves flowed through me like a wave when I thought back to this afternoon and I could feel the blush finding its way up my cheeks. Swallowing my mouthful, I shrugged my shoulders and scooped my overflowing fork of noodles into my mouth as a distraction.

“Really, you’ve been smiley since you got home.” Mom added, excitement in her soft tone.

I smiled a little, shrugging again as I chewed. Thinking back to it made my heart skip anxiously while my stomach flipped another few times. Riley asked me out. Well, I maybe got him to ask me out? I can’t believe I did that. I can’t believe he wants to date me out of all of the other girls. I can’t believe I’m taking Ashley’s advice and trying things out instead of hiding away forever.

“Your mother is talking to you, Jack.”

I flinched, shrinking back in my seat at the gruff voice filling my right ear. Licking my lips, I swallowed hard and lifted my gaze to my glass of water. I gripped it in my free hand and quickly brought it to my lips, taking a long sip to cool my face down.

“Lynn.” I corrected, clearing my throat before meeting eyes with Dad. “My name is Lynn.”

I kept my eyes locked with his, taking in the way his seemed to glaze over a little bit. I gulped, feeling my gut clench at the look of distaste in his gaze after he looked me over.

“Your name is Jack.” He argued, wiping at his lips with his floral printed napkin. “And your mother is trying to talk with you, not watch you shovel food into your mouth and shrug.”

“Jerry.” Mom called warningly, making me shrink into my seat even more. “Her name is Jacklyn, Lynn for short.”

“Dammit, Annie!” He yelled, slamming his hand back on the table as he forced his chair back. “This shit has been going on far too long! This…this weird phase he’s going through needs to be over!”

I tightened my grip on my fork, feeling my fingers shake anxiously at the slur slipping into every other word. Biting the inside of my lip harder, I forced my gaze onto the white lace tablecloth and tried to ignore the way my heart sunk lower into my stomach.

“Jerry!” Mom shrieked, causing another crash as he swiped his plate from the head of the table.

I jumped at the sound of the glass shattering along the tiled kitchen floor and squeezed my eyes shut, my knuckles numbing from the pressure of the neck of my fork. Not again. Please, not this again.

“Shut up, Ann!” He bellowed, forcing goosebumps to raise up my arms. “This is our fucking son and you let him play dress up and grow his hair out so long he looks like the fucking faggot you let him act like! You’re allowing it with that shit you pulled for him to change his face behind my back! Stop fucking en-encouraging this gay bullshit and take him to a fucking doctor like I’ve been telling you ever since he started asking for makeup and dresses and piercings. I made him and his name is Jack Bassam Barakat. Not Jacklyn or Lynn for short, it’s just Jack.”

“Out!” Mom hissed angrily, chair screeching against the tile. “Get out of my house right now!”

“This is mm...my home! My fuckin’ house!” He argued, pushing the table into my stomach from the force as he stumbled right into it. “Dammit.”

“Get out and don’t come back until you’re sober!” Mom ordered, voice stone-cold.

I kept my eyes closed, holding my breath and biting down on my lip hard enough to feel it getting puffy. My heart pounded in my ears as warmth built up in the corners of my eyes and the tightening in my chest warned me to take a breath soon, but something in the back of my mind told me to keep holding it in. I flinched, choking out the breath and barely registering my fork clatter against the table when thin arms pulled me around in my chair.

“Breathe, baby!”

I raised my hands to my throat, gasping desperately while my eyes popped open to meet a matching dark brown pair. I coughed, easily standing to my feet once she yanked me up. She pulled me into her arms, forcing my face into her hair from being the same height and the comforting smell of her perfume rushing up my nose knocked me right back into reality.

“It’s okay, baby.” She cooed, rubbing my back soothingly as my tears soaked her cheek along with the neck of her grey t-shirt. “Daddy didn’t mean it. He had too much to drink-”

I closed my eyes, choking out a quiet sob at the excuses flying out of her mouth. The same excuses she comes up with every time.

“Don’t listen to anything he said, Jacklyn.” She continued, squeezing my thin body tighter. “He lied. You are my little girl. You always have been and you always will be.”

I nodded, unable to control the hiccups escaping my throat as I tried to breathe through all the crying. All of the nervous excitement and thoughts of Riley and telling her about my day left my mind, the only thing clouding my memory being all of the harsh words thrown not even five minutes ago.
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“Well, someone looks like death.”

I blinked slowly and finished shoving my five-subject notebook into my messenger bag before pushing my locker closed, ignoring the comment that would normally make me laugh. I kept my gaze down as I pulled the zipper closed, giving myself a quick once-over the best I could without a mirror. Black leggings clung to my legs while a loose black crop top hung over my torso, ending just over my belly button.

“Lynn?”

I looked over to Ashley, unable to even force a smile when I saw her concerned expression. I twirled the split ends of my wavy hair, giving her a slight nod while I moved my hands to adjust the pink cat-eared beanie over my head. Her frown deepened and she grabbed my arms, tugging them down as she pulled me close to her.

“What happened?” She demanded, glancing around the semi-busy hall.

“Nothing.” I mumbled, wincing at the croak of my voice.

“Lynn-” She pressed, stopping when I felt a presence behind me.

“Hey Sexy.”

I bit my lip, ignoring her confused eyes once more while I slowly spun around to face Riley. He moved to stand beside me, shaking the front of his black football jersey out until the hem rested over his dark blue skinny jeans. I cleared my throat, shooting him a small smile while I busied myself with twirling my hair and clutching my bag.

“Hi, Riley.” I greeted softly, looking up into his green eyes.

“I was thinking-”

“What the hell is going on?” Ashley interrupted him, lightly pulling on my shoulder to turn my body back towards her. “Lynn?”

“Ah, she didn’t tell you the good news yet?” Riley teased, draping his arm over my shoulders. “I asked her out yesterday and she’s totally into me.”

I bit my cheek, feeling a little awkward from his words while Ashley’s eyes burned into my face silently. I coughed uncomfortably, shrugging his shoulder off gently and re-adjusting the strap over my shoulder.

“Um, yeah.” I revealed, wanting to smack myself for not telling her as soon as it happened.

“Owens!”

I widened my eyes, glancing back to see more of the football team walking over.

“Why don’t I catch up with you later, yeah?” Riley suggested, running his hand along my side. “You can sit with me at lunch.”

“Yeah.” I agreed half-heartedly, forcing another smile.

I swallowed thickly, feeling my heart speed up in my chest as he slowly backed up with a wide smile taking over his face. He looked me over and sent me a wink before spinning around to meet his friends and I felt a weird feeling settling in my stomach.

“What the hell, Lynn?” Ashley whispered, forcing my attention back to her. “I find you looking like shit, no offense, and find out that you’re apparently with Riley fucking Owens now?”

“It slipped my mind.” I offered, rolling my lips together when she raised her eyebrows. “I mean, it just happened yesterday. He left early with some of the guys before lunch and I figured I’d tell you before the others.”

“Okay, but you never told me.” She frowned.

“I was going to, but like I said I didn’t really think about it and the rest of the girls were around. Plus, some things happened after I got home and I just wanted to go to sleep.” I shrugged, clutching my strap tightly. “I’m sorry, but yeah. He asked me to be his girlfriend-”

“Things happened? What things?” She rushed out, widening her eyes. “Girlfriend? What are you thinking, Lynn?”

“You’re the one who told me to let my guard down.” I reminded, furrowing my eyebrows at her tone. “And stuff I don’t want to talk about.”

“Maybe I did, but I didn’t mean with the douche who spread lies about you.” She argued lightly. “I meant with someone you actually like.”

“I could like Riley.” I defended, crossing my arms over my chest. “He likes me.”

“I don’t want you to rush into things.” She went on, leaning on the locker next to her. “Especially with someone like him. You know he’s not known to have a-”

“Then why would he ask me?” I scowled, feeling my stomach drop even more. “First you tell me I need to let my guard down and try things out and now I’m making a mistake? I thought you’d be happy for me. I’m finally trying something out instead of just being my boring self.”

“You’re not boring because you aren’t ready to date.” She retorted, pushing herself off of the locker.

“I wouldn’t agree if I wasn’t ready.” I snapped, starting to get irritated. “What does that even mean?”

“We had a deep conversation yesterday. You’ve been really focusing on yourself and being happy lately and I don’t think that should stop.” She mentioned, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “I don’t want you to rush into this because I said you need to let your guard down eventually. I meant you need to let it down when you’re ready and trust me, when you meet him then you’ll know you’re ready. I don’t think Riley is that guy because it’s pretty clear to me that he thinks he’s going to get into your pants before you even go on a date.”

I sighed heavily, letting everything sink in before I shrugged.

“I appreciate your opinion.” I started, licking my lips. “I’m not going to push my happiness aside though, I’m going to add to it by experiencing my first relationship.”

I bit my cheek lightly, trying to ignore the way my own words came out sounding unsure.

“And we both know he’s not going to get into my pants…” I trailed off quietly.

“If that’s how you feel.” She muttered.

I frowned, all kinds of unsure thoughts flowing through my mind about Riley. Did I make a stupid decision? It was really out of the blue and Ashley’s right, he really gets around. What if he’s only asking me out to be a one-night-stand? That’s definitely not happening right now, especially with my mind all over the place. I’m barely ready to look at myself naked, let alone a boy I’m not sure I’m ready for.

“I’m happy for you, but let’s get to class.” Ashley called, interrupting the voice rambling inside my head.

I nodded, following behind her as she led the way down the hall. I walked slowly, glancing down my flat stomach and over the front of my leggings. I took in the sheer stripes covering my thighs and felt a wave of insecurity hit me when my eyes lifted back to my hips and paused on the silky black band just barely peeking out of the thick waistband of my leggings. Biting my lip, unwanted sickness churned in my gut as the light pressure between my legs became more noticeable and all I can see in my mind is Riley’s face when he finds out.

This is our fucking son and you let him play dress up and grow his hair out so long he looks like the fucking faggot you let him act like!

I shivered, my mood sinking even lower when Dad’s words repeated over and over in my mind. He just doesn’t get it. I’m not his son and I never was. I’m a girl and I’ve been trapped in the wrong body for way too long.
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I clicked more led out of my pencil, feeling like my body is on autopilot as my hand continues flowing across the half full page of my notebook dedicated for History next period. Sighing, I paused my movements and looked away from the million dates displayed in the open textbook in front of me. Despite it being a nice distraction, I can only look at so many war events before my eyes start to burn.

“Jacklyn Barakat, please report to the main office.”

I froze, hearing everyone in free period go silent at the sound of the principle’s voice over the intercom.

“Again, Jacklyn Barakat please report to the main office.” He repeated.

I swallowed thickly, rolling my eyes at the calls surrounding me while I shoved my notebook into my history book. Closing it, I scooped the books back into my messenger bag with little struggle.

“Alright, settle down everyone!” Mrs. Charles ordered, in attempt to quiet all the hollering.

I zipped my bag up and slipped out of my seat, grabbing my phone from the desk. I wrapped Ashley’s headphones around it and clutched it in my right hand after I slung my bag over my shoulder.

“Get caught fucking Riley in the bathrooms already?” Lilly called out as I walked up the aisle, making me almost choke on my spit.

“No.” I hissed, feeling heat rush up the back of my neck.

“Miss. Shultz!” Mrs. Charles scolded loudly, clapping her hands together. “Everyone quiet down now or I’ll assign something for the rest of the week.”

I ignored the giggles and whispers, forcing my focus on my white Pumas as I rushed to the door. Twisting the long handle, I pulled it open and hurried outside. Sighing, I cooled down in the silent hall and felt the nerves start bubbling in my gut the closer I got to the office. What could I possibly be getting in trouble for? I stared at the dusty linoleum under my feet, clutching my phone harder in my hand when the familiar green and purple triangle patterned carpet met my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to stand up straight as I walked through the open doorway and into the office.

“Hiya Lynn.” Tracey greeted cheerfully from behind the long desk a few feet in front of me. “Principle Evans is waiting for you in his office.”

“Um.” I mumbled, furrowing my eyebrows at her mood as I stepped further into the room.

“Go right on in.” She chuckled, shaking her puffy blonde hair with the shake of her head. “You’re not in any trouble.”

“Oh.” I sighed with relief, letting a small smile appear. “Thanks Tracey.”

She hummed in response, going back to the papers spread out in front of her while I made my way around the curved desk. I relaxed considerably, continuing my way to the large office at the end of the small hall with more ease. Once I made it to the dark brown door, I knocked twice and waited for my que to enter.

“Come in!”

I bit my lip, switching my phone into my left hand before twisting the round knob enough to pop the door open. I pushed my way inside, letting the door shut softly behind me while my eyes automatically fell on the two-seat couch in front of Principle Evans’ wooden desk.

“Lynn.” Principle Evans greeted nicely, taking my attention from the slumped figure taking up half of the small couch. “Please sit.”

I pulled my bag more in front of me and awkwardly slipped into the free cushion, setting my bag over my lap comfortably. I licked my lips and crossed my arms on top of my bag, quickly looking beside me before flickering my gaze to Principle Evans. He cleared his throat loudly, leaning forward on his desk while he motioned towards me.

“As you should know, I didn’t call you in here for any sort of punishment.” He started, raising his eyebrow. “I do, however, need a favor. And you seemed to be the first to come to mind being one of the top students in the Junior class.”

I tried to keep the smile on my face, but his words already had thoughts swarming my head and I can already guess what he’ll be asking me in a few seconds. Resting my back against the hard cushion protruding behind me, I cast my gaze next to me again and inwardly groaned. From the slumped position to the black hoodie and black ripped skinny jeans clearly sagging, it’s obviously a guy and he’s probably failing classes already if Principle Evans brought up my grades.

“Okay.” I nodded, taking note of the obvious pause he made for me to respond.

“Alright.” He continued, leaning forward to nudge where the kid had his head down. “This is going to be a little different so to speak, so you can tell me if you’re not comfortable with what I ask of you.”

I pressed my lips together in a line, giving a light nod while my attention moved back to the body next to me as he sat up. My eyes immediately fell to the side of his face and I felt my eyes widen slightly before annoyance rippled through me. With my luck, it would be him and now the fact that I’m about to be asked to tutor him makes sense. He is a stoner after all.

“You’re asking me to tutor him?” I assumed, looking back to Principle Evans.

“I’m asking you to be his guide.” He corrected, raising his graying eyebrow again. “He-”

“I don’t need a fucking guide.” Alexander hissed beside me, almost giving me a heart attack from his sudden outburst.

“Alex.” He warned, shaking his head with a sigh. “This is the last time I’m going to tell you to calm down, or I might have to send you to the nurse for another dose.”

I bit my cheek, feeling a little overwhelmed from the tension filling the room. I’m also pretty sure a threat like that shouldn’t be said in front of someone completely un-involved like myself, but what’s said is said.

“I don’t need a guide.” Alex told a lot more calmly, voice wavering weirdly.

“You’re leading me to believe otherwise. You’ve been here for a few days and I’ve already gotten complaints about you being disruptive and simply attending classes you’re not registered in.” Principle Evans argued, scooting back to pull one of his drawers open. “It’s only your first week and you can barely keep up, Alex. If you won’t take Lynn as your guide, I’ll have no choice but to place you on floor two in room six thirty-six permanently.”

I sucked on the inside of my cheek, feeling my face heat up once again in embarrassment for him with the way Principle Evans is talking to him in front of me.

“From now on, you’re meant to have your ID around your neck at all times. You will be escorted to each of your correct classes by Lynn. You will need to sit in the front and notify all of your teachers.” He listed, closing the drawer and tossing a black and red striped lanyard over to Alex before looking to me. “If you’re not comfortable with what I’m asking of you, let me know.”

I blinked, looking between him and Alex a few times while nervous butterflies fluttered through my stomach.

“You want me to walk him to class?” I asked cautiously, stealing a glance towards Alex’s scowling face.

“I want you to make sure he gets to his classes and be sure he understands what he’ll need to be doing before you go off to your own class.” He informed with a nod, holding a white slip of paper out to me. “This will be your pass if you decide you can do it. Present it to your teachers if you ever turn up a few minutes late.

I pulled the paper from his fingers, glancing down to see his signature written across the bottom while the top red Special Notice. Biting my lip, I gave him a nod and shrugged my shoulders. Why turn down the chance to get out of class even if I have to deal with an obnoxious-pothead for five minutes before every class.

“Sure.” I agreed, holding the note over my lap. “I don’t mind at all, Principle Evans.”

“Great!” He cheered, clapping his hands together. “I knew I could count on you.”

I shot him another small smile, letting it drop from my face as soon as he spun around in his chair. I looked over to Alex, raising my eyebrows at him and as he wrapped the Dulaney High lanyard around the white rectangle hanging from the hook attached to the bottom. He shoved it into the long pocket in front of his hoodie and stood from the couch almost violently, pulling a very ratty-looking black backpack from the ground.

“Okay Alex, here’s your official schedule.” Principle Evans called out, standing from his seat as well.

I jumped up, feeling my bag drop against my right hip once I got on my feet. I leaned forward, taking the paper held out to me first before he held another one out to Alex. Looking it over the short list of classes, I paused on English and looked towards the room number to see that he’s still in Mr. Lyle’s class with me. Continuing down the short list, I saw that his History class got switched from third hour like mine to his sixth hour.

“Remember Alex, your ID around your neck. Not in your pocket and not in your backpack, around your neck.” Principle Evans stated sternly, looking to me. “If there are any problems, let me know immediately. As for now, you both are dismissed.”

I nodded, stepping to the side when Alex practically trampled me in his beeline through the door. I jumped into action, grabbing the side of the door before it could close and slipping out into the hall.

“Hey!” I called, jogging to catch up with his long strides. “I get it-”

“You don’t.” He hissed, stopping once we stepped back out into the dead silent hall outside of the office. “I know where I need to go. I don’t need a fucking babysitter.”

I bit my lip, taken aback by the anger aimed down at me while his light eyes pierced through me. I blinked, hearing the paper crinkle in my shaking hands while I stared up at him silently.

“Cat got your fuckin’ tongue?” He snapped, pulling his hood more over his head. “Had no problems being a bitch to me before when I helped you out both of those times.”

I snapped out of my silence, letting a scoff escape my lips while I cocked my hip.

“Excuse me?” I gawked, feeling my mouth drop open more when he rolled his eyes and turned his back to me. “Hey!”

I hurried over to his side, struggling to keep up with his fast pace towards the staircase at the end of the hall. I squished his schedule into my hand with my phone, clutching my bag tightly as I rushed up the steps right behind him. The shrill of the bell echoed through the whole building I bit my lip, sticking myself as close to his side as possible when crowds started pouring from classrooms.

“Could you slow down? I only come up here once a day and I have no idea where I’m supposed to be going right now.” I called over the loud chatter filling up the halls.

I scowled when I went ignored, hurriedly cutting the nearest corner right behind him to find it thankfully vacant for the most part.

“Wow.” I breathed, finally able to hear my own footsteps instead of a word of everyone’s conversations.

I gasped, slamming into his hard back when he stopped abruptly. I hissed, holding my hand over my nose gingerly while I took a small step back.

“Ow!” I exclaimed, shooting a glare up to the back of his head.

“I said I don’t need you.” He repeated, turning to face me briefly before he rolled his eyes and slipped into the classroom.

My scowl returned and I forced myself to take a deep breath, forcing a smile as I stepped into the classroom. I blinked back in surprise, looking around the unfamiliarly small classroom as soon as it came into view. Tables of four were spread throughout the small area while one single desk sat in the far corner beside the small teacher’s desk at the other side of the room. I walked in further, looking along the walls curiously. I studied the room in awe, taking in the bright stripes of the rainbow patterns painted behind the mix of posters and signs until my gaze caught on the plain wall behind the teacher’s desk. It seemed to be one giant white board and written in purple was a short name I haven’t heard before until now.

“You can leave.” Alex muttered, bringing me out of my head when he slammed his thin notebook on the table in front of him.

I opened my mouth, snapping it closed when I heard a loud repetitive beeping. I spun around, looking for anything that could be making that God-awful noise when it cut out just as quick as it started.

“You don’t have to be such a prick.” I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my tingling nose gently while I glanced back at him. “I’m just doing what Principle Evans asked me to.”

I rolled my eyes, moving my arms to cross over my chest when I went ignored.

“What class is this anyway?” I questioned, watching him scribble on a blank page in his notebook.

“Hello!”

I jumped, almost dropping my phone and the crumpled schedule while my head shoot back towards the open door to see a redhead skipping into the room with a large container of paints. She hurried over to me, sending me a wide grin while her bright blue eyes bore into mine. I smiled back shyly, a little uneasy from her overly-ecstatic body language.

“Oo, are you another new student?” She chirped, sliding the container on the closest table. “My name is Mrs. Ren.”

“Oh, no. I’m not new.” I stammered, motioning behind me awkwardly. “Um, I was asked to make sure he got here okay.”

“Alex!” She exclaimed, clapping her hands together loudly while she leaped beside me. “And how are you today? Better than yesterday I hope.”

I pressed my lips together curiously, turning with her while she called out to Alex again. I bit my lip when he remained silent and watched as he continued to scribble over his drawing furiously. I squeezed my arms together more, feeling eyes on me and looking over to meet Mrs. Ren’s. I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth, almost feeling like I shouldn’t still be here.

“Is he being stubborn or…?” She wondered, raising her eyebrows as she spoke.

“Uh…um.” I stammered, furrowing my eyebrows. “I don’t understand?”

“Oh, that’s alright.” She smiled nicely, bouncing away from me and over to the table Alex sat at closest to her desk.

I stayed behind, watching in confusion as she tapped his shoulder. He looked up, his eyes shooting over to me right away as he pushed his glasses up before Mrs. Ren waved her hand in front of him.

“Alex.” She greeted, giving him a salute. “How are you?”

I cocked my hip, raising my eyebrows in amusement at the weird movements of her hands while she talked. She has to be one of the most energetic teachers I’ve met and I have no idea how I haven’t seen her before.

“Alex.” She said again, repeating the hand motions a second time.

He sat up straight, slapping his left palm over his chest and dragging it up a little bit before turning his hand almost completely over.

“Why are you upset?” She questioned.

I leaned more on my right foot, feeling my heart thud in my chest as realization washed over me during the silence. Out of the corner of my eye I saw his hand raise up and I dropped my gaze down, bringing my free hand up to cover my mouth when I saw his finger pointing towards me. Mrs. Ren followed his pointing, frowning in disappointment when she saw he was aiming it at me.

“What’s your name?” She questioned gently.

“Lynn.” I mumbled through my hand, feeling guilt take over me when my eyes followed his hand into his hood. “Um, I was assigned to be his guide until he memorizes his classes.”

Chills ran down my spine when I heard a clunk as he pulled his hand back down and the thick blue and black ear piece laying on the desk made my heart fall deeper into my stomach. I swallowed thickly, flickering my gaze down to the headphones dangling from my phone and immediately observed the similarities.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lynn.” Mrs. Ren called politely, just as the warning bell went off. “Don’t it personal, he’s just a lazy signer. You best get off to your class before time runs out.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I agreed, feeling sick to my stomach as my mind drifted back.

“I’ll see you in an hour.” She said happily, pulling out the chair across from Alex and plopping down in it.

I nodded, staring for another few seconds before turning around and high-tailing it back into the packed hall with guilt still creeping up the pit of my stomach.

Notes

I can finally answer the question without giving anything away! Yes, Alex is deaf in this fic. Mostly anyway, it gets explained better in the next chapter. This is kind of a filler to get things really starter. I wanted to give insight of her home life as well as finally realizing Alex is actually deaf. As y'all can see, her mom is fully supportive while her dad is on the fence about her. I wanted her parents to clash about her because I decided I didn't want her to have the perfect family like Jack usually has in my fics.

I hope this is enjoyable for you guys because I love writing and posting my stories! Thanks to everyone reading and commenting! Love you all. :)

Lynn

Alex