Silent {g.m}

Chapter 5

  "So, what do you think of Bella?" Dana asks Gabe as they drive back to Cole's house. The other three are behind them, driving the black van their manager rented for them. Gabe's car was transported with him from Los Angeles, so he never drives the van. 

  "She's okay, I guess," Gabe mumbles in return, stopping at a red light. When Dana doesn't say anything in return, Gabe looks over at him. He's staring out the window with his forehead pressed against the glass, and his eyebrows knitted together. "Dude, what's up with you?" 

  "How do you think she does it? Live with being deaf, I mean. It sounds impossible." Gabe sighs and pulls forwards when the light turns green. 

  "I don't know. And you remember when Tasha told us Bella was deaf? She wasn't exactly kind about it." Gabe rolls his eyes as he remembers Tasha explaining to the five of them how much of a 'freak' Bella is because she can't hear anything. That made him so mad that he left the room mid sentence, leaving Tasha confused and the other four thinking of doing the same thing. 

  "Shoot," Dana sighs, sitting up and moving away from the window. When Gabe looks at him expectantly, he explains, "Paparazzi." With a sigh, Gabe curses under his breath and pulls into a turning lane. The other three pull up beside them, and Dalton rolls down the window. Dana does the same. 

  "There's about three of them," Dalton says, annoyed. "What do we do?" Next to him, Cole is on the phone with his mom and in the back, Will is lounging across the front seat with his back against the window and his ankles crossed. His music is blasting loudly through his silver Dre beats, and his head was bobbing back and forth with the beat of the music. 

  "Drive around until you lose them," Dana says, leaning his head back against the seat and pushing his hat down to cover his eyes. All he wants is to go home and sleep. Dalton nods and takes off down the road. Gabe rolls up the tinted window. A few seconds later, another black van speeds past them, chasing after Dalton. Gabe turns left, heading for open land and rolling hills. 

  "I hate paparazzi," Dana whines. Gabe chuckles. 

  "Maybe they're after us because they want to know about you and Annabelle." He glares at his friend, then groans. 

  "You know, if I would've guess this would've happened I would have never gone to the beach with her… No matter how hot she looks in a bikini." Gabe laughs and shakes his head. 

  "You and I both know you still would've." Dana is silent for a few seconds, thinking over Gabe's words. Then, he cracks a smile and nods, agreeing. Then, he looks in the rear view mirror and sees the black van behind them in now gone. 

  "Hey," he asked, squinting at the mirror, "where'd they go?" As if on cue, the black van pulls up beside them. One man is driving, while the one closest to them is snapping pictures. 

  "Dana! What's going on with you and Annabelle?" the man yells. Gabe smirks.

  "Told you…"

 Meanwhile, Dalton is trying to lose the other one. He's sure to be breaking the speed limit, but the law isn't crossing his mind. Cole is dialing Dana's number to check on them, and Will is aware of the situation, but he hasn't taken off his headphones or lowered the volume level. 

  "How the hell did they find us?" Dalton asks angrily, glaring at the side mirror at the black van behind him. Cole sighs and presses the phone against his ear.