Chapter 1: Who are you?
It was a cold autumn day at Jamison High School as Aaron Watkins walked through the bustling halls, headed for his classroom. He was a normal person or at least that's how it looked but in truth, he was far from it. He Typically stayed to himself everywhere he went and despite being on neutral ground with everyone he didn't say a word. No one noticed him and he didn't take the time to notice anyone else, which he'd come to regret later on.
After reaching the classroom, he sat down, and started on the opening bell assignment. When class started and others got to talk, he stayed quiet and finished his work before quietly playing on his phone until class ended. This continued in each of his classes until lunchtime came around and he headed outside in the courtyard where he knew no one barely sat around this time of year. Unbeknownst to him, he had the attention of a girl who had been watching for quite a while but finally decided to make an appearance.
Out of the corner of his eye; he saw a person coming up to his table and he quickly put his other earbud in. As the figure got closer, it was revealed to be this black-haired Hispanic girl named Anna. She was very tall but petite, with rosy cheeks, and golden skin with some distinguishable body features but not much, either way, guys still didn't hesitate to ask her out. She stood there for a minute before she heard her two friends Marie and Nancy, calling her and she quickly walked back over to them and continued walking. Marie looked at her and said "What were you doing?" and she said, "Oh just checking to see if he was alive".
Marie said, "Sheesh you don't pay attention much; rumor has it that the boy became mute after a terrible accident and since then he has stayed to himself". Marie said, "I heard slightly different but both stories do agree on one thing; he is mute and antisocial but no one knows why". Anna nodded as her friends resumed talking about the assignment for Modern Art class.
After watching the girls slowly walk off, Aaron breathed a sigh of relief before removing one of his earbuds and resuming the video he was watching. He thought nothing of that encounter but soon he'd realize it was just the beginning of something. The next day at school went as usual except he could've sworn someone was following him. In fact, he didn't need to swear, there was in fact a girl following him but it wasn't just any girl; it was the girl who approached him yesterday.
She was tailing him and taking notes but he figured it wasn't hurting anything as long as she didn't approach or talk to him. His attitude changed when he got to his job at "Jay's burger joint" and saw her there in the dining room, notepad in hand. This continued on for 2 more days until finally, he approached her while on his shift and pulled her out behind the restaurant.
He looked at her and said, "Who are you and why do you keep following me?".Anna looked at him and said, "I don't know what you're talking about ". He frowned and said, "bullshit, now I'll give you one last chance...tell me or tell the cops cuz I'm calling 'em, I don't care if you're cute or not I will not be harassed any further!"
Anna sighed and said" Fine I'm doing research for a science thesis on antisocial behavior and you're the first one that came to mind"Aaron frowns and says "I'm not a science experiment and I'm not your entertainment...stay the hell away from me or next time I'm filing a restraining order...fuck I hate this shit". Thinking he was gonna lose his temper, Anna scurried off but stopped after hearing crying instead of raging.
Aaron had fallen to the ground, pulled his knees up to his chest, and began sobbing. Feeling bad, Anna walked over and sat down next to the visibly distraught boy. She smiled before patting his shoulder as he continued to cry. Aaron was feeling defeated at that moment, he didn't know why he was like this; he didn't know why interacting with people was so hard for him and why couldn't he control his feelings. He felt like if he was destined to have all these issues then why was he granted the ability to continue living while other more normal individuals who clearly are more deserving; die along with so many others each day?
His mind continued exploding uncontrollably until he felt this sensation. Someone had wrapped their arm around him and rested his head on their chest. As his head settled, he realized those were boobs his head was resting on and that they must be that girl's. Sure enough after opening his eyes, there she was with a smile. She said, "We'll get you out of your bubble and I'll be your friend". Aaron stood up and walked back into the restaurant without saying anything.
When he headed in, one of his coworkers looked at him with a concerned face before saying "The boss is looking for you".He headed to the boss's office where he saw her hand extended as if wanting something. It took a minute before he put two and two together, laid his apron on the desk along with his hat, and walked out the front doors of the restaurant to go home.
