All Of You

[1] S P E A K - T O - M E

A X E L

If the world were to end now, what would I do?

The world would probably be in chaos, so I could easily walk inside a mansion, live there for about five months, and then the world would end. Everyone would die, I would die, Earth would be covered with water or the sun probably just came to close and burned us alive. 

But oh-fucking-well.

When I had first laid my eyes on Tempest Rose, which was about eighteen years ago, when we were both in our sixth grade, I thought that she was a beauty and then I began to notice that she didn't talk. At all. You'd see her mouth move once in a while, but that was only when she would talk to her best friend, Lina. 

Of course, I made no move to associate with her and I really didn't want to. To me, she was just another girl who could break someone's heart just as easily someone can tie their shoes or chant the ABCs, or count 123s, or some shit like that.

I was very wrong about that. Completely, utterly, and foolishly wrong. I continued to see her in the halls throughout the six years of school we went through. Then came twelfth grade where my parents decided, "Oh, David, dear, I'm bored. Let's go to Mexico and leave our son here!" 

And that's what they did. They went to Mexico and made me live with a couple that seemed to be good friends with them. Apparently, they had a daughter, but I could not guess who the hell it was and I ended up assuming it was a girl who was about 7 years old. 

My parents are very vague when it comes to details. No last names, no first names, no ages, not when they met, not how they met. Just a dumb address and that they were old friends. But this is all when it happened. This is basically the start of my story.

---

I clutched both of my bags, angrily and rang the doorbell with my head, seeing as how my hands were full and occupied. By the time I lifted my head, the door was opened and I met the old eyes of a nice-looking woman who would be in her early forties. I assumed she was the wife of the family.

"You must be Alex," she smiled, her eyes crinkling at the end. "Am I right? David's and Diane's kid. I didn't expect you to be the tall and handsome,"

"Uh, thank you, but it's actually Axel. The X and the L switch," I coughed, awkwardly, "but yeah, my dad is David and Diane is my mom. Nice to meet you. Mom didn't really tell me your names, sooo...."

"Oh! Diana," the woman giggled. "That girl is always forgetting to include important stuff, I swear. My name is Leah and my husband's name is Nick. Come in, come in, it's freezing cold outside!"

"Oh, thanks," I smiled, walking in. God, I just want to get this over with. 

"Nick! Come down here! Axel is here!" Leah shouted, cupping her thin, chapped lips with her hands. "Get our daughter down here, too!" Leah turned back to me and grinned. "My daughter's a bit shy, but she's a real sweetheart when she opens up,"

"I see," I drawled.

"She's actually in the same grade as you and goes to Silver Hallows High with you," Leah stated. "You must know her. She's a real beauty, that one. You can't miss her. I just wish she would talk more often,"

"What's her name?" I asked as my curiosity grew even larger. Before Leah could even open her mouth to say any words, a glimpse of blonde caught my eyes and I stared at the staircase, where the famous Tempest Rose stood alongside her father. "Yup, I know her," I muttered, not taking my eyes off. 

She was a bit surprised to see me, too, but eventually, her shock disappeared and was replaced by a kind smile. Her father and her matched smile to smile as they walked towards me. Nick gratefully took my hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Axel," Nick said. "I hope you can find it at home here. As you can see, our house is quite big, but I'm sure Tempest would be happy to give you a tour. Right, Tempest?"

She nodded and muttered something I couldn't even hear, but her father seemed to understand because he nodded his head in approval. "Good," he said. "I've got to get to the building in about fifteen minutes, so I have to get going. Leah, Tempest? Don't scare dear Axel off,"

"Yes, have a good day at work, darling," Leah smiled, pecking him on the lips despite his very large mustache. Seriously. I have never seen a mustache that big. Anyway, he left and I was left with Leah and Tempest Rose. "Tempest, why don't you go show him around?" Leah looked at her with pleading eyes and Tempest who looked hesitant to do or say anything, she nodded and motioned for me to come on. 

I expected her to say something, but she didn't. In fact, the entire tour was just hand gestures, nods, smiling, and showing me rooms. It didn't matter because I could perfectly well identify what the hell a kitchen was. Although, I was really curious as to how her voice sounded. 

Did she hide it because it was deep? Or is she just so shy she doesn't even know how to speak? Is English her native language? I mean, it has to be. She grew up with Leah and David. Or did she? I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. 

"Thanks for the tour," I mumbled, halfheartedly. "Can you show me to my room, again? I kinda forgot where it was," Tempest nodded and pointed to the door behind me. Oh. Oops. "Thanks again," I shot a grin at her and headed inside. 

"I wanted to paint your room blue and put some posters in your room, but your mom insisted that you wouldn't want that," Leah said from behind me. 

"Holy shi-- shoot!" I shouted, turning around and backing up into my dresser. Where the hell did she come from? 

"Oh, no need to hide your profanity, Axel," Leah chuckled. "I've been trying Tempest to swear since she was eight. It was no use, though, she'd always refuse. Maybe with your influence, she could start!"

I scrunched up my eyebrows and shook my head, confused. 

"Anyway, I wrote down Nick's number, Tempest's number, and my number and I set it down on the tall dresser you just backed up into," Leah stated. "Don't be afraid to call us if you have an emergency. Oh, but, if you want to call Tempest, it's better if you text her first. You know how she doesn't talk much,"

"Yeah, has she always been like that?" I asked, putting my bags down. 

"The most she's done is cry, but yes, she's been quiet ever since she knew how to talk," Leah explained, "but don't talk it in the wrong way. My little baby is such a big sweetheart, I wonder where she gets it from," 

"Oh," I said, not knowing what else to say.

"I guess I'll leave you alone, now. You need to unpack," Leah smiled. I nodded and proceeded to do so, watching her leave. Tempest appeared at the door, clutching the arm of a mini teddy bear as if she were afraid. 

"Do you need something?" I asked, turning to put my clothes messily into the drawer.

She suddenly took a deep breath. "I.."

My head jerked upwards, my eyes meeting hers, surprised. 

"I hope... I hope you find yo.. yourself... at home," Tempest said, softly before turning to walk away. I stared, dumbfounded at the empty space where she used to stand. Slowly, I felt my face burning up. Why the hell am I blushing? 

I shook my head and returned to the drawers.