Silence is too loud (FINISHED)

S E V E N

I had totally forgotten it was raining. So there I was, literally sliding around in the mud and that meant I had to change, again. So did Chris but he gave up at looking decent at dinner and put on his pyjama's on, they were blue with red and white dinosaurs on them. I had a pair similar but with cars when I was his age.

Jamie and Chris's parents had come home around the same time as each other, his mum was first due to her working in the city unlike Mr Birch who worked in Cambridge and who commuted everyday to and from.

Mr Birch was busy making Chris's alternative to dinner because he never really liked what Jamie made for dinner which was his loss, I suspect he would grow into the taste. But in the meantime he would be eating chicken fingers, peas, carrots and broccoli for dinner with a tall glass of chocolate milk on the side which sounded actually really tasty if I'm being completely honest.

Everyone sat down and started munching on their dinner. Jamie was talking to his father about exams and how easy the history exam was for him, of course it was easy for him, his dad is a history professor.

Christopher was playing with his food, making a tower of chicken fingers and placed a single pea on the top of the tower and told me that it was a princess. Next he fashioned his carrots into an orange dragon. When he was finished playing win his food, he ate the princess pea and told me that the dragon couldn't reach princess pea so the dragon kindly asked him to fulfill the dragons wishes and eat the princess pea.

It all made sense in the mind of an eight year old but was sort of sick and twisted in the mind of a slightly corrupted sixteen year old but let him have his fun before this strange world invades his innocence.

Mrs Birch reached over and tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention.
"How were your exams?" She asked. I finished chewing a piece of the lasagna and looked at her with all my attention.
"They were good, a little difficult but that's the fun of them I suppose." Mrs Birch grinned with a slight crinkle of her noes. "Are you still interested in directing?" She inquired.

"Yeah I am. I just have to find a uni that'll help me get there." Mrs Birch pushed the excess veggies around on her plate and took a second before she opened up a new topic.
"I have a colleague who is doing a work shop for acting and directing. Most of the people participating in the work shop are university students but two or three of them are your age but I thought it would be perfect for you." Jamie's mum looked so enthusiastic about it and so motherly like as she explained.

"I don't know, it would kind of be difficult getting my mum to drive me because of the hours at the hospital." She shook her head to stop me and made me shut up. "Aaron, you are like my adopted son, if you want to do this, I'll pick you up on my way to LSE and it's a free course he's offering at the university." I was really intrigued by this course, it could give me a leg up and maybe a more attractive university application.

But would it be too hard for me to follow with all the hearies? I sat there for a good minute thinking about it before making a decision.
"Okay, thanks Mrs Birch. I'll do it." She smiled and gave me a thumbs up. "It starts August 1st. I'll email your mum the rest of the stuff," she said. It started soon which was nice and I would have had my birthday before so it wouldn't be such an age gap between the students.

Dinner was soon over and Chris was sent up to bed. He had an early bed time even on weekends like today. Chris went to bed at 8:00 on weekdays and 8:45 on weekends and holidays, he hated but we all knew he wouldn't actually go to sleep at that time, he would pull out a flashlight under his covers and read for half an hour which was fine with his parents. As long as it was just reading.

I had texted my mum to tell her that I was at Jamie's house and that we were going to study for our last exam which happened to be my best subject and so she didn't have a fit when I suggested I might crash there.
We were both inside his room and whilst he read through his text book, I played a really old Simpsons video game on his play station.

It really was an old game but you just couldn't beat the classics, now could you?
Whilst I was playing the game, I considered that formal invitation. Did I really want be set up on a blind date with some girl that Maddy is friends with? I mean, if she's anything like Maddy's friends, I'd rather stay home and lock myself in a wardrobe for how ever many hours this formal was.
But if she was anything like Maddy, that might have been a different story.

Not that I liked her or something, if that's what you're thinking. Maddy was just different and even though maybe I wasn't the most gentleman like to her, she was alway lady like and kind to me.

But if she was always civil towards me, it meant she didn't hate me, she tolerated me. But than again, tolerating a person is one thing but sending an extra invitation to a formal is another. Maybe I should go, to burry the hatchet and apologize to her. I did have some redeeming to do. My behaviour was everything but gentleman like, but why the hell would I act like that to some one, some girl, actually the first girl who ever was really nice and respected me and didn't treat me like I was an idiot?

If she asked me that, I wouldn't have an answer. Even if I asked myself, I wouldn't have an answer. It just happened. I paused the game and got up, stood right in front of him until he lifted his head from the text book.

His eyes traveled upwards to me and put on a cheeky little grin. "Yes?" He asked.
He put his feet on the desk and his text book in his lap.
"I think, I might go to that formal thing." He looked slightly astonished that I changed my mind. "Oh? And what changed your mind?" Jamie asked. He settled his hands in the pages of the text book and had curiosity imbedded in his eyes.

"I have some redeeming to do and this might be a good way," my explanation was very subtle towards Maddy's personal protector. He looked a little confused. "What do you mean?"

"Maddy and I were fighting a little, and both Maddy and I said some things that shouldn't have been said." That was all he needed to know but I knew his dose of curiosity hadn't been quenched and needed to know more. He put the text book on his desk and put his feet up on the desk.

"Like what?"
"Nothing mate," I hesitated.
"Aaron, she's my girlfriend." That sentence agitated me. No she's not you damn girlfriend. I thought. I really shouldn't be getting this agitated but...

"I don't think I should tell you." He didn't look to impressed. Jamie leaned for ward in his chair. "Come on mate, tell me."
"Jamie, you really don't want to hear it. Trust me." I warned him. I think he began to believe me because his face went from frustrated to maybe afraid. "Why?"

"Mate, you don't want to know. I'm telling you, this is between me and her." He backed off and became more relaxed in his seat.
"Okay." He agreed. Relief came over me and I sat on the wooden floor of his bedroom
Even I didn't have the heart to tell him that Maddy never liked him and that she isn't actually interested in him, but maybe I owed it to him to tell him. But again - he'd never believe me, he'd think that I was fibbing because I was jealous or something. There is nothing to be jealous I think. Why would I want to date a hearie who didn't care at all about me. It would be like a human dating a lizard, that lizard doesn't give a toss about the human and it's wrong.

Jamie went back to his tex book for another hour and then we went to the living room. His mother had laid out two sleeping bags on the couch for us. We did what any teenager does when they're board, they go on their phones
My phone had about 10 notifications. 8 of them were just game notifications which was a disappointment but I saw that two of the ten of them were actually from Maddy.

Fear spiked over me and anticipation. I regretted it when my finger landed on the button to look at the Facebook message.

Madeline: Aaron please don't tell Jamie anything.
Madeline: this is my mess and I need to fix it, I'm really sorry Aaron

No she wasn't, she was just sorry she got caught. I rolled my eyes and turned my phone off and fell asleep.