Silent {g.m}

Chapter 7

 Later that day, when we're at the community center, we split off into our regular groups. The old men and women of my group greet me with warm smiles, which I return. One of the men, Alvin, waves his hand left to right, silently saying "Hello." 

  For the next thirty minutes, I basically speak with the elders about their lives and how their days were. They even began asking me about my life. When I'm in the middle of explaining my favorite flavor of cake, I feel a hand light press against the small of my back. I turn nd see Gabe standing by my side, looking down at me. 

  "Hi," he says, looking a bit shy. I smile up at him. 

  "Hey, Gabe. Is something wrong?" He shakes his head.

  "No, I just wanted to… Come see how you're doing over here." I nod and gesture to the seat next to me. He walks around the chair and sits. I look back at the small group of elders and smile. 

  "This is Gabe," I explain to them, while doing the hand motions. "He's a friend of mine." They wave at him. He waves back in return. I ask, "What are you really doing over here, Gabe?" 

  He's silent for a few moments, looking around the small building. Finally, he admits with a small smile, "I wanna learn sign language." His answer doesn't shock the other elders, they don't seem surprised at all. Then again, he didn't spill his drink down their shirt when they first met. However, there is something different about Gabe, and i think I like it. 

  "O-Okay," I stutter, turning towards him. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Alvin begin to sign something. We turn our heads to look at him. He's signing so fast that Gabe can't keep up. He's watching Alvin with a baffled expression. 

  "He says, 'Teach the boy the basics first'," I translate. "The basics are really simple, are you ready?" I look back at Gabe, who nods eagerly. I giggle. "Okay, so this means yes." I make a fist and bent it forwards and back, like I'm knowing on a door. Gabe mimics me.  "Good! Now, this means no." I hold my middle and index finger together and press the tips against my thumb. I repeat the action, and Gabe repeats what I do. 

  "This is to easy," he says, "do something harder." I laugh and nod my head. 

  "Okay, okay. You ready?" He grins and nods. 

-----

  Mandy and Dalton watch their friends' interaction with smiles. With Mandy working behind the desk, Dalton leans against the front counter with his ankles crossed. 

  "They're so cute together," Mandy cooes.

  Dalton chuckles. "Yeah… I just can't get over the fact that he's doing this again." Mandy frowns and looks at the blond haired boy. 

  "What do you mean? Doing what again?"

  With a sigh, Dalton explains, "Letting a girl in. We didn't take a break from tour and come here for nothing, you know. After what happened in LA, seeing this is a miracle." He grimaces as he remembers Gabe's emotional state after the breakup. 

  "Breakup?" Mandy guesses. 

  Dalton nods. "He though she loved him back, and when he found out she didn't…" He shakes his head to remove the flashbacks that began to replay in his mind. 

  Mandy looks from him to her best friend and Gabe. She sees how Gabe's eyes light up when Bella shows him a new sign. Dalton's worried about his friend falling in love again, but little does he know, Gabe's already falling. 

  "She wouldn't hurt him like that, you know," Mandy mutters.

  "I know," he replied softly. 

----

  "That was actually easier than I thought," Gabe happily says as we walk towards our cars. I giggle. 

  "That's good, then. I couldn't imagine it being hard for you." Gabe smiles at me. 

  "You're a pretty good teacher, you know."

  I shrug. "I'm okay."

  "Liar!" Mandy accuses, spinning around to grin at me. "You're the one who taught me sign language!" 

  "Can I be your next student?" Dalton jokes, a hint of seriousness behind his voice. He nudges my rib gently with his elbow, and I laugh.

  "Sure," I answer, "but it'll cost you." He stops and stands in front of me with a thoughtful expression. 

  "I'll give you a pack of gum." I cross my arms over my chest and shake my head. We reach our cars and climb inside. Waving goodbye to the boys, Mandy starts the car. She pulls out of the parking lot. 

  "You two are cute," she says after a few minutes. 

  I shake my head. "Gabe and me? Nah."

  "It'll happen… Eventually." I shrug. Even though I want Gabe to be more than just my friend, that just isn't happening right now. He obviously doesn't see me as nothing more, nothing less. No big deal. Right?

-------------------------

Another short chapter. I am sorry. The next one will be super long, I promise! So, if anyone was wondering, which you probably weren't, the boys' celebrity status will be mentioned in the next few chapters. And Bella will get a taste of the famous life for a little while. 

So um yeah! Sorry again this was so short, next one will be longer Yay! :D

Bye!