Blind Voices (g/t)

Three

Elias had to leave just after. His father wanted him to go do his homeschooling. But, for the first time, he was excited. Instead of drawing out the work he had to do over a long period of time, he did it quickly. His Braille reading? Done. His audio history lessons? He actually listened. Everything that he needed to do was done in a matter of minutes, so quickly that he was done by one o' clock.

All of it was in excitement to talk to his new friend. Despite their differences, he hoped they could be friends. There was no way she'd try to do things for him, or help him when he was fully capable. She was intangible! And who would she talk behind his back with? She had just about as many friends as he did. Which was one. Maybe.

So, as soon as he was done with his work, he snagged an apple from the kitchen and raced upstairs.

Aerin was absolutely shocked. She'd talked to a human. Now they were going to be what, friends? She'd never had friends. She had no social skills! Not to mention, their friendship was a lie. She wasn't some crazy little voice thing living in his walls! She was a living, breathing person! And where did the stupid fib even come from? It was ludicrous, and even more so that he believed it. But what other explanation would he come up with?

No, he probably accepted it so quickly because he didn't care. He seemed so depressed, so alone and bitter; she was a welcome distraction. A new form of entertainment; friendship.

She heard his pounding footsteps long before she saw him. He munched on an apple, feeling for his desk chair and then bringing it over to the shelf. He sat in front of her, the shelf she lived on being at his eye level when he sat. Her heart beat loud and fast, still being afraid of the giant boy. She wasn't sure if that fear would ever go away completely.

"S-so." She started timidly, leaning against the "doorway" of her house. She wanted to speak before he could ask her anything. "You like loud music..?" It was all she could think of to talk about without maybe making him sad.

His face got red with embarrassment. "Oh! Yeah.. it's one thing that can distract me from everything." He smiled sheepishly. "Do you want to hear some?"

There was almost nothing she wanted to do less than that. But would he be mad? Was it a good idea to turn him down? And would it hurt his feelings..? Despite her fear of him, she really didn't want to drive away her only chance at having a friend.

"Sure.. but maybe something quieter..?" She said with a hopeful smile. He nodded, grinning, and fumbled for the remote on his nightstand. Once he found it, he was sure to turn it down before flipping through his playlist and settling on a song.

Small, electric-sounding noises hummed and danced around their ears in a dreamy way. The singer caught Aerin in a trance as she leaned, closed her eyes, and listened. It was a song about fireflies, and how they couldn't stay or something like that. It made her a little sad, but happy at the same time. She'd never listened to his music at a decent volume... It was nice.

After the song ended, he paused the stereo so it wouldn't continue.

"So, did you like it? It's an older song, I'll admit. But.. I still really like it. It's called Fireflies, from Owl City I think."

Aerin slowly opened her eyes, meeting them with his huge ones. He couldn't see her, but for some reason, making eye contact felt nice.

"Yeah." She said quietly. "I really liked it." She paused before continuing. "C-could we listen to more maybe..?"

He grinned wider than he had all day. "Yeah, of course." He chose another song quickly.

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