WARNING: UPSETTING CONTENT

NOTE: The interactive part is more detailed today so you don't have to share anything if you don't want to! I'd love to hear your thoughts regardless if you're comfortable.

Azlan, Yukishiro and Maya formed a protective circle around Silas as they left the school.

"Where's this dog then?", asked Quinn.

Silas frantically looked around, as if he were being hunted. His eyes widened when he spotted something. "There!"

Everyone followed his gaze to the bus stop. A black and grey dog with blue eyes lay very still.

"Hey, that's Corndog!", grinned Yukishiro.
"He belongs to the homeless man near the bank."

"Ernie?", questioned Maya, to which the boy replied with a nod. "Isn't he the dog that's always... you know?"

"The one that always h*mps everything?", asked Quinn.
"Yep."

Silas shuddered.
"I could've been h*mped by a dog."

"Let's just get you back home", said Maya.

"I have to get home.
My favourite Aunt's coming to visit", said Azlan.

"Aunty Nora?", questioned Quinn.
"Is she going to bring her blueberry pies?"

"Of course she is", smiled Azlan.
"I'll bring some in for you guys tomorrow. See you at the party!"

Everyone said their goodbyes to Azlan, before continuing on their journey to Silas' house.

______________________________

"Mum, where's my-", started Bennett, before cutting himself off when he saw his mother.

His mother was sat on her bed, clutching a green and black checkered shirt. She held it close to her chest.

"B-Bennett!", exclaimed his startled Mother. She quickly stuffed the shirt under a nearby pillow. "Y-Yes, dear?"

Bennett slowly walked towards his Mother, his eyes still on the pillow. "Was that... my shirt?"

Bennett's Mother sighed.
"Yes, honey. It was."

"Why have you still got it?", questioned Bennett.

His Mother frowned.
"Honey, I thought it might help you remember-"

"-That's not your choice to make!", yelled Bennett. "It was a blessing that I couldn't remember much of what happened.
Now, I'm getting these flashbacks and-"

"-You are? That's good, Bennett! You can start to heal-"

"-I CAN'T!", he yelled.
"I can never heal."

Tears formed in his Mother's eyes. "Bennett, please. I just want my son back."

"Your son died in a dusty room after being suffocated by darkness.
You're stuck with me now."

_____________________

Azlan's Aunt held up some outfits for her to try.
'Your girlfriend will love these', she signed.

Azlan's Aunt was born deaf. She was offered countless surgeries but ultimately decided she was too old. Truth be told, Nora actually loved being deaf.

Sure, she struggled with some things. But being deaf became part of her identity. Nothing brought her more joy than the first time her niece and nephew signed to her.

Azlan grinned.
'Maya is coming over. Her Uncle isn't really good when it comes to fashion', she signed.

Nora chuckled.
'Men. I say get rid of them', she joked.

Azlan laughed.
'No complaints on my end.'

'So tell me about Mary-Anne.'

Azlan smiled.
'She's the best! I told her all about you. She's excited to meet you.'

Nora beamed brightly.
'I can't wait to meet the girl who stole my little Cherub.'

Azlan giggled. Apparently, Azlan's cheeks used to be very red when she was a baby. Nora found it adorable, and thus the nickname was born.

"Azlan! Maya's here!", called out her Mum.

Maya walked into the room and waved at Nora.
'Hi, Miss Delham', she signed. 'How are you?'

Nora smiled.
'Beautiful, Maya! I still can't believe sign language isn't your first language. And what have I said about calling me Miss Delham?'

Maya smiled.
'Sorry. Nora.'

"So what are you going to where?", asked Azlan.

Maya looked down at her black leggings, grey top and black jacket. "This."

Azlan frowned.
"Oh, honey. No."

Nora nudged Azlan.
'Leave her! True fashion is supposed to make you feel good.'

Azlan nodded.
'Right. That's true.'

"Azlan!", called out her Mum.
"Your girlfriend is here!"

Azlan smiled brightly when Mary-Anne walked into the living room.
"Woah. You look great!"

Mary-Anne blushed as Azlan continued to look at her.

Nora grinned at the girl, her eyes lighting up.
'You're gorgeous!', she signed. 'I'm Nora. Azlan's Aunt.'

Mary-Anne smiled awkwardly at the older woman. Nora frowned. She looked at Azlan.
'She doesn't know sign language?'

Azlan shook her head.

'Has she tried to learn?'

"Um, Azzy? What's she saying?", asked Mary-Anne.

"Oh, uh, she... she wanted know if you know any sign language", said Azlan.

"Oh. No", said Mary-Anne.
"You can talk to her for me though, right?"

"I can show you some basics", offered Maya.

"That's nice but it's no problem. Seriously, Azlan can just translate", said Mary-Anne.

Azlan looked down at the ground, in an attempt to hide her frown.

"We should go.
We've got a lot of work to do", said Mary-Anne.

Azlan nodded. She turned to her Aunt. 'I'll get changed at Mary-Anne's house. See you later.'

Nora gave her a small smile.
'Have fun, my little Cherub.'

Mary-Anne smiled at Nora.
"IT WAS NICE TO MEET YOU!", she exclaimed, over articulating an every word so that it stretched out each sound.

When Mary-Anne had her back to them, Maya translated what she said into sign language.

__________________________

The vibrations from the music rippled through the air, igniting a fresh energy into the scene.

Elodie had done a great job, though Mary-Anne's older sister and Dad deserved some credit too.

Speaking of Elodie, she decided to wear a plain white t-shirt with a vibrant red jacket and dark blue ripped jeans. Her hair was tucked behind her ears, with two front strands of hair curled.

Silas and Katie watched on as some people started drinking alcohol. "Alcohol impairs your system's response mechanisms", said Katie.
"So why do these people drink it?"

Silas shrugged.
"I don't know. It's nice? I've only ever drank once and I hated it."

"Did you drink on a school night?", asked Katie.

Silas shook his head.
"Weekend. It was only a sip anyway. Vile stuff. But, a lot of people my age drink."

"It is a normal occurrence?"

Silas nodded.
"Yeah. It's not wrong. As long as they don't go overboard who cares?"

________________________

At the party, Azlan broke away from Mary-Anne and joined Maya in looking for Quinn.

"You ok?", asked Maya.
"You haven't said a word since we got here."

After a long pause, Azlan looked up at Maya.

"What if dating Mary-Anne is a mistake?"

______________________

Hi.

Azlan's having second thoughts? Will she decided to give Mary-Anne another chance? Or will she call it quits?

Bennett has suppressed his emotions so much in an effort to protect himself. But sometimes, talking about your ordeals can help you heal too. It's not always a fast recovery, but you'll end up learning more about your own strength along the way. Will Bennett find his strength?

Aunt Nora is the best! She obviously means the world to Azlan. I wanted to include such a positive presence in Azlan's life to help explain why Azlan is accepting of her Usher's Syndrome. She still gets upset, but having someone as great as her Aunt in her life has helped her. Do you have positive presences in your life that have helped you?

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

DoodleYeet

LeMystical-Puffle

hopefulfirebird

agathokakological_05

italllic