chapter three , Hearing You

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Water drops onto Justin's face and he wakes up with a groan. "Fuck! What the fuck?!" He yells. Bryce laughs as he gets up and hits Justin. "Dude it's time to wakey," He says.

"We're rolling in ten, if you feel like school," Bryce says.

"Oh Shit!" Justin exhales "What's with the fucking water?"

"Just having some fun," He states as he throws Justin a shirt. Justin mocks Bryce as he starts to put the shirt on.

"Justy, you know you're welcome here all the damn time, buddy, but I thought you were going home last night," Bryce says worried.

"Yeah, that guy Seth is back," Justin states.

"Meth Seth?"

"Yeth," Both of the boys laugh.

"And that's all, right? Just Meth Seth?" Bryce asks.

"Yeah, just that asshole," Justin states. "I can't deal with him, you know that," Justin says.

"'Cause your girlfriend's texting me now," Bryce says "Brother, you know that Seth or whatever, I got your back, always." Bryce states.

Justin nods his head, "Yeah, I know."

"Whatever you did, if you even fucking did anything, we can take care of it," Bryce says "I mean anything. You know my one rule." Bryce adds.

"Keep you clean," Justin states.

"Keep me clean. All right," Bryce taps Justin on the chest.

"And Jessica, take care of her, all right? She's your girl." Bryce says. Justin smirks.

Before Bryce walks away, he looks back at Justin. "Mia was in here yesterday, right?" He asks him.

Justin looks Bryce and inhales, "Yeah she was, why?" He questions.

"She came inside with her clothes all wet and shit. She looked more miserable than she usually does. Did something...happen?" Bryce asks.

Justin shakes his head, "I mean...she took of few hits of the bong and went for a swim but...that's about it, she just went inside afterwards." Justin explains.

Bryce sighs and runs a hand through his hair, "I don't know what I'm going to do with her Justin..." Bryce says quietly.

Justin smiles and pats Bryce on the back, "Yo, she's going it be alright. This'll all just blow over. And if it doesn't and she needs actual help then, we'll help her." Justin says.

Bryce nods his head, "If she needs actual help then my dad would flip his shit," Bryce says with a chuckle. Justin raises his brows in agreement. "That's why...we will take care of it," He emphasizes. Bryce smiles, "Thanks

, man," He says.

"You want Breakfast?" Bryce asks. "Marisa the maid's here making some Mexican shit," Bryce shrugs his shoulders.

"You know she's Guatemalan, right?" Justin asks.

"Sure, Hungry?" Bryce says.

"Yeah," he answers and follows Bryce out of the pool house and into the house.

"Miss Walker?" A fragile voice says.

Mia groans and peaks out from underneath her pillow and sees the nice Maid.

"Marisa, I already told you, you don't have to call me Miss Walker. Mia is okay," She says with a soft smile.

"Okay, well I made breakfast if you want some...you don't have to--"

"I would love some of your breakfast, Sorry I didn't get any the past few days," Mia holds both of her hands and pats them.

She takes a shower and puts on a sweatshirt and sweatpants. She grabs her bag and walks downstairs.

"Mia!" Justin yells. Mia holds her head in pain. "What?" She says in her cold demeanor.

"Jeez, it seems you haven't had your daily dose of--"

"BREAKFAST? Yeah! You're right, Justin..." She says loudly to cover up what he was saying.

Justin knits his brows together as he sees her looking around. Mia grabs a piece of flesh on his neck and he twitches. "Oww! Fucking Hell--"

"If Bryce figures out that I've been doing more than just Marijuana, he will fucking think I will need help and actually do that shit!" Mia whispers harshly.

"I swear to god! Justin if you tell him--"

"I wont, I fucking won't!" He whines as he keeps squirming. Mia releases the piece of flesh and he starts to rub at his neck.

Bryce looks at the two weirdly as he comes out of the bathroom, "What are you guys doing?" he asks.

Mia shrugs her shoulders and sits down, "Nothing...just..." Mia grabs a plate of food, "eating."

Bryce looks at her weirdly, "You...eating? That's suspicious--"

"Fuck You! I'm not Anorexic I just don't have an appetite!" She says to him.

"Says any anorexic ever..." He mumbles as he grabs a plate.

"Says any anorexic ever..." Mia mocks him. Bryce laughs as he continues eating. He watches Mia move her food around on the plate.

"Hey," he says. Mia looks up at him with annoyance. "Are you sure, you're alright?" He asks her. Justin looks at the both of them and Mia rolls her eyes, "I'm fine. Don't start caring about me now," She says with a strained smile.

Bryce squints his eyes and looks at Justin. Justin inhales and goes back to eating his food. Mia shoves a spoonful of food into her mouth and chews quietly. She swallows the food and raises her brows, "Holy Shit! That's really good!" She says with a laugh.

"I know, Home cooked meals..." Justin says as he shakes his head in disbelief.

"They hit different," Bryce, Justin, and Mia say at the same time. They all look at each other and smile. Mia looks at the two boys and chuckles. They both have been there for her when she needed it the most. They all have a bond that could never be broken, but she'll later figure out that their bond isn't as strong as she thought it was.

☆

Mia sits down on the seats and stiffens up as she sees Mrs. Baker walk in. Mia looks the opposite way and quietly prays to herself, "Please no, please god no--"

"Mia?" her pleas are interrupted but Mrs. Bakers soft voice. Mia looks at her and gives her a small smile. "Mrs. Baker, It's so nice to see you again..." Mia says trying to keep a happy expression. Mrs. Baker wraps her arms around Mia and Mia does the same.

"You still give the best hugs..." Mia says to her with a chuckle.

"Mrs. Baker, Hi. I wasn't expecting you," The Principal Bolan

Olivia and Mia separate. "Olivia. Please." She says. Mia sniffles and wipes her nose. Principal Bolan looks at Mia. "Uh--Mia...Mr. Porter, is waiting for you in his office."

Mia nods her head and sends a small smile to Olivia before making her way to Mr. Porter. Mia opens the door and peeks in. "Miss--I mean...Mia...come in." Mr. Porter states.

Mia nods her head, walks into the room and sits across from him. "So...how are you doing?" He asks her. Mia bites the inside of her cheek pretending to think. "Ummm...Well...I guess, I feel...confused..." Mia shrugs her shoulders. Mr. Porter gets intrigued, "Confused. About what, Mia?" He asks.

Mia tilts her head and smirks, "Confused on why you're the one asking me how I am...shouldn't I be asking you that?" Mia asks.

Mr. Porter knits his brows together, "What do you mean?" He asks her.

Mia scoffs, "I mean you're the school counselor. Hannah's dead and well..." The ends of Mia's mouth go down while she raises her eyebrows. "you failed your job..." Mia says.

Mr. Porter opens his mouth to say something, but Mia interrupts. "Oh My God...you did a shit job at your job..." Mia laughs loudly and covers her mouth. "I'm sorry, I', sorry. I didn't mean to laugh," She says with a smile.

"Mia, I think that you're trying to turn the blame that you feel about Hannah's death onto me--"

"No, No...I'm not, I actually...I think that you deserve blame. Because..." Mia tangles her hand in her hair as she quickly taps her leg. "Where were you?" Mia asks.

"Mia, please--"

"Where were you?!" Mia raises her voice.

"Just...calm down, please..." Mr. Porter says with a soft voice. Mia notices her now standing up with her hands balled and on his desk. Mia exhales and sits back down with a thump. Mia runs a hand through her hair. "Is this all you wanted to...talk about?" Mia asks.

"I wanted to also talk to you about...school, I heard you've been...skipping school and your grades are descending." He states as he hands her a paper. Mia looks at him with raised eyebrows. She sets the paper down, "Okay...um...I'm sorry, I'll try to do better?" Mia says carelessly.

"Mia. Your grades are essential, especially with your caliber," He points at you. Mia sighs, "My caliber...?" Mia says carelessly.

"You know what it means. And I know you are a very smart girl--"

"Mr. Porter, keep it professional," She snickers.

Mr. Porter inhales, "You just...don't have motivation anymore...maybe we can find something for you that will get you more--"

"Does it really matter if I care? I mean, once I'm a certain age I could be able to leave anyti--"

"Mia, having that kind of mindset won't get you anywhere in life, just think about Ha--"

"Don't talk about her, like you know her, okay?" Mia snaps.

Mr. Porter closes his mouth and silence develops around the room. Mia bites the inside of her cheek and Mr. Porter sighs. "My apologies, I know that this is still hard for you. Maybe I can assign you to a thera--"

"I don't need a therapist, I need to go home!" Mia says with anger. Mr. Porter looks at Mia and his eyebrows furrow, "Mia, your nose," He says.

Mia touches her nose and looks at her fingers. She sees the crimson liquid and she opens her mouth. "Fuck..." She mumbles. Mr. Porter grabs some of his tissues and hands them to her. Mia holds them against her nose and stands up.

"May I go to the nurse?" Mia asks. Mr. Porter nods his head, "Of course, you didn't have to ask--"

"I know, I was just trying to be polite," Mia says in a nasally voice. She leaves the room and walks into the bathroom. She wipes her nose and throws the tissues away. She walks into the bathroom stall and grabs her prescription bottle and realizes that it's light. She shakes it and notices that it's empty, she hits her head on the wall of the stall. "Fuck!" She yells in a harsh whisper.

She flushes the toilet and walks out, she stops as she hears people talking. "Isn't that Hannah's mom in there?" A girl whispers.

Mia looks at the two girls and turns to the stall with the crying sounding from it. The crying stops but Mia walks over there in worry, it's the first time she's actually felt anything for anyone in a long time. She lightly knocks, "Mrs. Baker?" She asks quietly. The crying stops and silence settles in, and Mia sighs.

"I don't want to ask you if you're alright, but you not answering is going to want me to--"

"I'm fine, Mia. You don't have to worry," She says with a small voice.

Mia looks at the two girls and gives them her signature death glare. "Out. Now." She says.

The two girls look at one another and quickly walk out of the bathroom. Mia wipes her nose and leans against the stall door. She hears camera shutter sounds and Mia lifts her head up.

"Mrs--"

Olivia opens the door and looks at Mia with red eyes. "This school...it's not...like any other schools is it?" She asks.

Mia exhales, "All schools are shit, but this one...this one is much fucking worse," She spits with anger. Olivia inhales a shaky breath. Mia does the same thing as well she looks at Olivia. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to--"

"You were being honest, and I appreciate that," Olivia touches Mia's shoulder and squeezes it. "Do you want me to walk you out?" Mia asks.

Olivia nods her head and they both walk out of the bathroom.

"Mrs. Baker. Hi." A soft voice says.

Mia rolls her eyes as she links arms with Olivia. "Mia, how's it going?" She asks.

Mia gives her a tight lipped smile, "It's going great, Court," Mia says with a fake cheery voice. Courtney smiles happily at Mia. She turns to Olivia, "I'm Courtney Crimsen. I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you like it. People keep adding to it..." As Courtney continues to talk Mia hears a ringing start in her ear.

Her breathing starts to become heavier, her hands become sweaty as well as her forehead. Mia unwraps her arm from Olivia's and touches her throat as it feels like it's closing up. She clears her throat quietly to not draw attention to herself. Tyler looks at Mia as she turns away from Courtney and Olivia.

He walks over to her and touches her back, "Hey, Mia...are you o--" Mia flinches and quickly grabs his hand tightly. He flinches as he stares into her scared and cold eyes. "The hell are you doing?" She whispers harshly. Tyler opens his mouth to speak, "I-I-I was just...I just saw you were freaking out kind of and I didn't mean to--"

Mia pulls Tyler closer to her, "Don't touche me ever again, I will fucking cut you..." She says in an ice cold tone that sent shivers down Tyler's spine. She drops Tyler's hand and looks to Olivia.

"Mrs. Baker...I have to go to class, but it was nice seeing you again," She smiles softly and touches her arm. Olivia turns to Mia and smiles, "Of course..." Olivia hugs Mia.

"It was nice to see you again, too"

Mia separates and she turns around to walk away. She stops and looks at Tyler, he averts eye contact with her and she walks closer to him and tilts her head. She shoves past him and walks around the school trying to clear her head. She wipes the sweat off her forehead, and looks at her clammy hands.

She looks up from her hands and sees Clay standing there with a Walkman. She smiles and walks over to the teen. She leans against the wall and stairs at him until he notices her. Mia examines the cut on Clay's forehead. She looks at the expression on his face and she can tell he's troubled with something.

Clay looks up and his eyes slightly widen. He shoves the Walkman into his sweatshirt and takes his headphones off. "Mia...uh, wh-what's up?" He asks her.

Mia shrugs her shoulders, "Nothing, I just saw you and was wondering what was wrong," She states.

"You're troubled, tell the fuck up what's wrong," She says. Clay chuckles and looks down at his hands. Silence fills the void between the two teenagers. Mia waits patiently for Clay.

"Did Hannah...ever talk to you...about the things that happened to her at school?" Clay asks hesitantly. Mia tenses up and grips her bag. "Hannah? I mean...y-y-yeah we...talked..." She feels her heart beat faster as she tries to talk about it. She bites her nails, she chuckles. "Sorry," she says to him.

Clay shakes his head, "No, it's fine...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked...I was just wondering, why--"

"Yeah, I think, everyone who cared about Hannah, is wondering why," She says cutting him off not wanting to talk about it anymore.

Clay closes his mouth and nods her head. Mia sighs, "I'm sorry, I'm just tired and...school is just...fuck..." She inhales as she covers her face. The bell rings and everybody leaves their classes.

Mia looks around and sighs, "I guess we've got to get to class..." She says with a smirk. Clay nods his head, "Y-Yeah, I'll see you around." Clay returns a small smile and walks to his class.

Mia walks to the lockers and looks t a certain one. "Montgomery De La Cruz..." She says with a smirk. She digs in her sweat pants pocket and pulls out a pocket knife and pry's open Montgomery's locker. She rummages through it, praying she finds what she's looking for.

She grabs the Oxy from the corner of his locker and she quietly celebrates, "There really is a god..." She whispers as she shoves the bottle into her pocket. She closes his locker the best she could and walks away and to the bathroom.

After Mia was done drowning away her sorrows, she walks out of the bathroom and looks at Clay and Alex having a conversation. She walks the other way and out of the school

☆

Flashback

Mia looks around the library and smiles as she spots Clay and Jeff. "Jeff! Clay!" She yells.

The librarian hushes her and she winces and whispers a 'sorry' . She walks over to the two and drops her flower bag to the ground and looks at the two. "How's the work going?" She asks with a smile.

Jeff raises his brows, "I-It's going..." He says with misery. Mia chuckles and kisses his cheek, "It can't be that bad--"

"Before you say that, you might want to read it first." Clay says.

Mia looks to Jeff and Clay and shrugs her shoulders as she reads it. Mia raises her brows and sets the paper down after she was done reading it. "It's...good..." She says with a smile. Jeff rolls his eyes, "Please...I know that smile, you're lying." He states.

Mia opens her mouth, "Y-You just need to work on...structure, and you...you um used the word "unique," like, seven times. Babe." She says scratching her head.

Jeff shrugs his shoulders, "So?" He questions. "If one thing is unique, the other six things should probably be, um...something else?" She says looking at Clay.

"What's wrong with unique? If something's unique, it means it's different, right? So what I'm saying here is this type of literature is different than other kinds of literature." Jeff explains.

Mia raises her brows and nods her head, "I mean it is..." She says hesitantly and averting eye contact. Jeff rolls his eyes, "Isn't it, Jensen?" Jeff asks.

Clay doesn't answer, Mia and Jeff look away from each other and look at Clay. "Clay," Jeff says.

Mia furrows her brows and knits her eyes together she follows his eyes. "Ah. You saw the list," Mia nods her head.

"She does have uh..."

"Unique lip. Yeah," Jeff says. Mia and Clay chuckle.

"You should get her number," Jeff says. Mia snaps her head over to him and growls, "No. He shouldn't..." Mia says. Jeff looks at her, "Why?" Jeff asks.

Mia shrugs her shoulders, "Because...I think that Clay looks cute with a someone else..." Mia wiggles her brows at Clay and he chuckles.

"No. I don't want her number. I'm just..."

"Thinking about kissing her." Jeff adds. Mia slaps his arm. "He is not." Mia says quietly.

Jeff looks at Angie, "Congrats, Angie. Looking good." Jeff says. Mia smirks, "Thank you, Jeffrey." Angie wiggles her fingers and Mia squints her eyes. "Look back at your phone, Angie." Mia says with annoyance.

"Shh! Library." Skye says. The three kids turn to her.

Skye smiles, "Looking good, Clay...Mia." She says to the two teens. Mia smiles, "Thanks, you too. Skye." Mia replies.

"Hey, Skye. Sorry," Clay replies. He looks away from her and looks back at her.

Mia keeps her eyes on Skye and smirks. Jeff looks at the two teens and groans. "Oh, man. Don't tell me you have a thing for Twilight." He says to Clay.

"I don't. I mean..." Clay looks at Mia.

"No. We just...all three of us used to be friends." Clay says. Mia nods her head with a tight lipped smile.

"Huh. Cool." Jeff replies. "She's a pretty girl. I mean...I don't know why she dresses like that." Jeff says. Mia scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"But at least she's unique." Jeff says. Mia covers her face and groans. "Please don't tell me you're going to be saying that all the time...it's not going to be unique if you keep saying that." Mia says. Clay chuckles and they all get back to helping Jeff study.

Mia follows Hannah down the hall and walks beside her, "So...what are we gonna do? Put Nair in their shit and make them bald?--Ooh how about we cut their dicks off in their sleep or--"

"Or...we could just go talk to the person who started this?" Hannah says to Mia. Mia tilts her head, "Y-Yeah...I guess that could work too..." Mia follows Hannah into the locker room.

"Alex! Alex Standall!" Hannah yells through the locker room. Mia keeps her eyes forward as she feels all the naked boys eyes on both of them.

Mia spots the blonde boy and she grabs Hannah's hand and pulls her to him. "Alex, What the hell!" Mia growls.

"What were you thinking? Seriously!" Hannah yells with betrayal in her eyes. Alex stands there looking between the two angry girls.

"Come on. Hannah, Mia, you both know you can't be in here." Zach states. Mia shrugs her shoulders, "Really? Why not? You've been staring at Hannah's ass all day!--"

"Also, your tits!" Someone yells in the background. "Fuck off!" She yells back at them.

"Hey. Hey! Get out. It's the boys' locker room."

Hannah walks away frustrated and Mia grabs Alex's shirt, "We are not done, Standall. You fucked up. Big time..." Mia growls and shoves him back. Hannah flips everyone off as they cheer.

Mia exits the locker room and sees Hannah crying. Mia sighs and walks over to her, "Hey...do you want to skip, class today?" Mia asks.

Hannah wipes her tears and looks at Mia suspiciously, "You never skip," Hannah says to her.

Mia shrugs her shoulders, "What can I say? You make me a bad girl..." Mia whispers. Hannah laughs as they both hug and walk down the hall.

Present

Mia walks down the street with her hands jammed into her sweatshirt pockets. She hears loud music coming from the street she looks down the street and groans as a familiar car comes down the road.

"Hey, Sis! I was looking for you. The fuck!--"

"What is it, Bryce?" she snaps at him.

"Mom wants me to pick you up, and since I found you. Just hop in, huh?" He motions his head to the car. Mia rolls her eyes and jumps into the car.

Bryce drives into an alleyway and they all get out of the car except for Mia. She folds her arms and groans. "Um excuse me, but uh...I thought we were going home?" She asks her brother. Bryce looks at her and opens her door, "Get out of the car, have some fu--"

"No thanks." She cuts him off with a cold tone. Bryce looks around and sits next to her. "Listen, Mia...I know that everything has been hard for you this year and...I haven't been there for you, but...I need you to do this, you just got to loosen up. Have some fun, with us...tonight?" Bryce lightly shoves her and Mia thinks for a moment.

'Maybe loosening up can be good for me. Maybe they might even have drugs too.' Mia runs a hand through her hair and chuckles.

"Alright, fuck it. Lets do it, okay?" She shrugs her shoulders and Bryce claps his hands.

"ALRIGHT!" He yells. He brings out the beer he bought from the store and Mia crawls out of the car. "Em is coming out to play!" Bryce raises his arms.

They all cheer for her and Justin throws an arm over her shoulder. "Now, That's what I'm fucking talking about!" He cheers.

"There he is! Jensen!" Justin yells. Mia groans. "You've got to be fucking kidding me--Justin!" She grabs his arm. Justin looks at her, "Calm down, it's going to be fine..." He chuckles and walks over to him, "Come have a drink with us, buddy!" Justin says.

Mia places her hands in her sweatshirt pockets and looks at the two boys interaction even though she couldn't hear them. Justin places a hand on the back of Clay's neck and they both walk over to the group.

Mia curses, "I swear, Bryce. If Clay gets hurt I'm gonna--"

"Relax, sis...have some fun..." Bryce says to her. Mia stops talking and bites her bottom lip.

"Come on. Drink your 40. Alex, you're up, man!" Justin says.

Mia shakes her head, "Fuck no. I'll do it," Mia exhales. Everybody looks at her and Mia makes eye contact with Clay. She shrugs her shoulders, "Mia...are you sure you--"

"Yeah, Yeah...sure..." She scratches above her eyebrow with her thumb as she cuts Justin off.

"Okay, Okay...I love it! Freak versus Geek!" Bryce hands Mia the bottle and she rolls her eyes.

"You do know that I could count for either of those, right?" She questions him. Bryce hugs Mia and kisses the top of her head. "Time trial. Forty ounces" Bryce announces.

Clay shyly looks at Mia, "Should we really be doing this?" He asks her quietly. Mia chuckles, "No...but, they told me to have fun today, so..." Mia pops the top off of the bottle and gives Clay a tight lipped smile.

"Let the best Geek win..." She says to him as she raises the bottle.

A red car pulls up on the side of the road, Mia and Clay recognize the car. "Tony" Mia and Clay say.

"Oh look, your boyfriends here."

"The record is 18 seconds." Zach says. Bryce raises his hand in a cocky way. Mia raises her brows.

"Wait, to drink it all?" Clay asks

"Yes. To drink it all." They all answer.

"There's two ways you leave, Jensen: Buzzed or beat down," Justin threatens. Mia scoffs, "Justin, shut the fuck up!" Mia says annoyed.

"I'm kidding!" Justin says with a smile.

"Come on, Jensen, don't be a bitch!" Zach laughs. Mia rolls her eyes, "Hey..." Mia says to him.

Clay looks at her, "The only reason I'm doing this is to beat my fucking brother's record..."

"A small tip...hold your breath, get it over with...I'm not going down that easily, Clay." Mia gives him a wink and Clay chuckles nervously.

Bryce starts to count down and Clay looks back at Tony. "Go, go, go,go!"

Not even a second later, Mia tilts her head back and lets the strong liquid fall down her throat. She closes her eyes and keeps going, living in her own world. She chokes, but ignores it and keeps going. She drowns out the cheers for her and Clay.

"It's so fucking close!" Bryce yells.

Mia swallows the last few drops of her sorrow and throws the bottle to the ground shattering it. She burps and giggles. "It's a fucking tie!" Bryce yells.

Mia stops giggling and looks at Clay, "Fucking what?!" She exclaims in amazement. She laughs and pats Clay on the back. "I didn't know you...had it in you." She slightly slurs. She staggers back and Justin catches her.

"Whoa, there!" He laughs. Mia laughs and stands up straight. Clay walks away and Mia waves, "See ya tomorrow, Clay!" She says cheerfully.

She turns to the boys and raises her arms. "Who's the mother...fuckin' champ...?" She walks over to Bryce. Bryce nods his head, "Ha Ha Ha...okay, get in the car." He helps her into the car as she laughs, hiccups, and screams.

"That shit was pretty insane though, you two are both fucking small." Bryce sets her in a sit and she falls into the car. "Surprised you both even finished," He answers. Mia chuckles and opens her mouth to say something but her eyes roll to the back of her head and she lays on Zach's shoulder.

"Dude, your sister is fucked." Zach says laughing. Bryce looks through the rear view mirror and laughs, "I'm just glad she loosened up today...she wasn't worried about any of that Hannah Baker bullshit. She was a fucking kid,"

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