Vibrations // l.s.

1

Harry

A strong vibration from my phone is what woke me up this morning, well every morning in fact, and it was the beginning of another week. I stretched my arms above my head, letting out a groan that I'm sure was loud to any of my hearing roommates. Reaching over to my nightstand, I placed my hearing aids in my ears.

I was young whenever I lost my hearing so this routine for me was nothing out of the ordinary. When I was three years old I contracted meningitis that progressed to a point where I lost my hearing. I am completely deaf without my hearing aids but when I put them in, I have more environmental awareness around me.

Once I was finished with my morning routine and dressing for work, I went to the kitchen and saw one of my roommate's Liam making bacon and eggs. My stomach churned and my mouth watered at the delicious smell of frying bacon. Liam must of heard my crying stomach because he turned and smiled at me, signing a good morning. I replied with a smile and started the coffee pot next to the stove. I felt a short vibration under my feet and turned to see Niall, my other roommate, trying to get my attention by stomping his foot on the floor.

"Make sure to save some for me this time, Styles. You don't want to face the wrath of the irishman this morning!" Niall signed theatrically which made me roll my eyes and mock him when he turned around. Liam shook his head at our immaturity and kept his attention on the eggs he was scrambling.

After the food was made and the coffee was brewed, we all sat around our small dining table, digging in like we hadn't eaten in years. I saw Liam waving his hand, getting my attention, before signing.

"Remember, the other day, when I told you about that cool singer that was performing in LA for a charity event? The one for the American Society for Deaf Children?" I nodded.

"Well, I got us all tickets to go see him perform! It's this Saturday and I heard there was going to be a lot of interesting things to check out around the event." Liam looked very excited about his news and I could tell Niall was interested as well.

"That sounds awesome!" I looked at my watch and saw that I needed to head to work or I would be late. "Just text me all the information later, I have to head off to work boys." I grabbed my plate and placed it into the sink along with my rainbow coffee mug. Gathering my phone, wallet, and satchel, I headed for the door. Signing 'see you later's' to the boys.

Dropping down in my car with a huff, I started my journey to work. I have been working at the California School for the Deaf for three years now and it has been the best time of my life. Learning about the lives of the kids and watching as they learn different skills to go out in the world is a gift every single day.

I pulled into a parking space that was marked for faculty after my 20 minute commute from home. Collecting my things, I walked quickly toward my classroom. I waved and said my hello's to some of the students before I reached my classroom door. Struggling a little bit with the lock, I finally managed to open the troublesome door.

I knew I had about 10 minutes before the students would start piling in so I got ready for my day of teaching. I am an English and ASL teacher for the high school students in the school. I enjoy these subjects because I teach a wide variety of students with varying levels of hearing loss.

The light above my door flashed, indicating that the students were to get to class. I ambled my way to the front of the classroom, writing assignments for the students on the large white board covering the wall. I could feel chairs scratching the floor beneath my feet as I wiggled the marker into the pocket of my tight fitting black jeans. I waved my arms in order for everyone to turn their attention to me and started with the first lesson of the day.

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Once the work day was over, I started back toward the rental house my roommates and I called home. My feet were exhausted from standing all day but that could be resolved with a warm bath and relaxing on the couch.

Walking in the front door of our home though, I knew my night of relaxation wasn't going to be what I had wished for. I was first hit with the smell of burning food so I hurried into the kitchen, pulling a highly burnt lasagna out of the oven and retrieving a dish towel in order to waft the smoke away from the smoke detectors.

Once that was resolved, I made my way into the living room and saw Liam on the couch. He was rubbing at his temples in what looked like annoyance and I was about to ask him what's wrong but I soon got my answer.

Niall and his short term girlfriend Andrea came storming into the living room with red faces. I saw their lips moving at an incredible speed as they were yelling profusely at each other. I now know why Liam was rubbing his temples, he must have a headache from all the noise. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an object being picked up from the worn looking coffee table. I turned just in time to see Andrea throw a glass cup at Niall's head. Niall ducking just in time for the glass to miss his head and shatter on the wall behind him.

I saw Niall's jaw drop at this action and I'm sure my jaw was slack also. I read Niall's lips as he yelled "are you crazy?!" This obviously was not the right thing to say to her because she was on the attack now. Throwing anything she could get her hands on. I rushed to intervene and got in between Andrea and Niall, putting my hands up in a surrender motion.

Andrea stopped and I could tell she had told me to move but I stood my ground. Liam came up to her and gently took her shoulders in his hands, trying to improve the situation at hand. After talking her down for a few minutes, Andrea left but not before slapping Niall and slamming the front door.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and started to pick up the objects Andrea had thrown at Niall's head. The boys chipped in and we eventually were all sitting on the couch with cold beers. Niall was explaining what happened and how she had found text messages from one of his female coworkers on his phone. The messages were flirtatious but one sided.

"All you can do now is let her cool off and then try to explain the situation without the hostile environment. It was obviously a work of jealousy and misunderstanding." I patted Niall on the shoulder and he agreed with my advice.

I finally got my relaxing bath after another hour of talking to the boys. Feeling the warm water against my aching feet and tense back muscles was enough to put me to sleep. Once out of the bath, I threw on some briefs and flopped down on my queen sized bed.

I decided to research more about this charity event Liam purchased tickets for, simply because I was excited for it. I read that there were going to be multiple informational booths with areas to donate and restaurants run by members of the deaf community selling food.

I was curious about the pop star that was performing at the event and how he was connected to the deaf community. Being the nosy person I am, I did some digging. I first saw some pictures of the man and oh my god was he gorgeous. He looked to be around my age and those blue eyes were just ravishing. I went past the pictures and read an article about his little brother. Apparently his little brother is hard of hearing and he was so moved by his little brother's strength that he made it his mission to provide for anyone he could in the deaf community.

I was in love with the man before even listening to his music. I wanted to play some now but it was getting too late to blare music. I'm sure my roommates would murder me if I suddenly blasted music while they were trying to sleep. I decided that I would listen to his music on the way to work tomorrow and made myself comfortable in bed.

Falling asleep was easy when I could dream of a good looking pop star with a big heart.

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