The Ebb & The Flow (Boy x Boy)

Chapter 2: The Ebb

A/N: Wyatt perspectives will be interesting. I mean he doesn't speak. Though i'll be delving deeper into selective mutism as I experienced it. But anyways, lets get into it~!

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Wyatt's pov:

      I had just finished changing into my gym clothes, wondering if I should wait for River. He was a strange boy. Perhaps a little lonely? When me and my sister Sherri left chemistry, she told me about some of the bullying he went through in earlier years of highschool. So I figured i'd look out for him when I saw Braden pull him aside. Braden was someone I didn't trust. And hoped River wouldn't fall into bad company. The boy was sociopathic. The things he said to me back when we were in middle school cruel for someone so young; all because I never spoke. Though he's never had the guts to physically hurt me since my younger sister has always been my shadow. And she was the crush of many boys in our small town. And harming me would put them on her bad side.

     And despite her pretty looks she was pretty fierce. I often joked about how I wanted to be like her when I grew up. She was honestly the person to push me to talking more. Though I was still always super anxious when it came to speaking to others. But as of lately I've been able to speak to my teachers and coach in private without the threat of panic attack. I wanted so badly to be able to speak freely like my peers. But whenever I tried my voice would just lock itself away. When I was younger I would go so long without speaking i'd forget what my own voice sounded like at times. I exited the lockeroom, finding the strange looks I got a bit annoying. I should just swear loudly and suddenly; but alas the prospect was out of reach.

     I busied myself stretching, feeling this would be a decent warmup for practice today since I hadn't been on a run in about two weeks. Right as I was in the middle of a stretch, I looked up and saw a pair of hairy legs in front of me. I looked up further, nearly falling forward as I realized it was River, awkwardly standing before me while fidgeting with the hem of his t-shirt. Perhaps he was in his awkward teen phase, though I don't recall having one.

"Do you mind if I run with you?" River asked shyly.

     I shrugged and waved over my sister Sherri who was also in my class. Meaning we'd also have the same lunch, which made me happy. Sitting with random people was always awkward as they'd sometimes expect me to speak. I took out my notepad, as I always traded in my notebook for something more compact when doing something active. 

"Do you know anyone in this class?" I asked, showing him my note.

     He looked thoughtful for a moment. I mean sure he seemed a little on the weird side. But surely he has to have some friends?

"I have one friend. But he's not here I think." He shrugged, offering a weak smile.

     And me being the emotional softy I was didn't want him to be alone.

"What's up?" My sister asked as she walked up to us.

     I wanted to speak. But I still didn't feel quite comfortable around River. I had only met him today after all. I took out my notepad and jotted down a few symbols that me and my sister recognized as words. It was much faster than writing out full words and it was like a language me and my sister created when we were younger.

"Well lets get going. Coach says we start now." She replied.

"We'll both have to keep up with Wyatt here. He's co-captain on the cross-country team. So he's like a sports car compared to us normal people." My sister explained with a chuckle, flustering me.

      I jotted down a quick note to defend myself.

"I just have endurance. I'm not really fast." I protested through writing, River and my sister sharing a chuckle.