mute [r. tozier]

eight

"may! come to my place after school?" richie asked, jogging up to the girl who stood by her locker. she flushed at the question.

she hadn't been to a boys house besides patricks. ever. may grabbed her journal from her locker before quietly pushing it shut.
she would have to ask permission, which might set her brother the wrong way.

henry hated when may hung out with boys he didn't know well. he didn't want her to grow up so soon. but henry couldn't control that may was 17, or the way boys looked at her. he didn't want them to toy with her innocence.

may shrugged her shoulders a little while scuffing her sneakers on the ground. richie frowned.

"please? you'll get to see me play!"

richie was in a band with bev, bill and eddie. eddie shared vocals with richie, but eddie was the main singer. bev played bass, bill played guitar and richie was on the drums. they called themselves floating downward.

"are you scared to ask or something?" richie asked, leaning up against a locker next to may. may shyly nodded her head. richie chuckled and grabbed a hold of mays hand.
he pulled her away from her locker and down the hallway. may was dragged behind the boy, her legs were much shorter than his.

richie was pushing six foot two, and may was shorter that's the average female. his hip came up to mays waist. so it was quite hard for her to keep up with him.

the two found themselves outside in the fall breeze. richie looked down at may. "where does your brother hang out during lunch?"

may was now the one pulling richie. she tugged at his hand as she walked down the edge of the school. she rounded a large corner that lead to the back parking lot. senior only parking. if any underclassmen were caught parking there, they'd be walking home.

may's dress rippled in the wind as she marched straight toward the furthest parking spot from the school building. the blue car became more clear as she got closer.
henry sat hanging out of the window with a cigarette sticking out his mouth. his eyes were closed as belch played music. patrick and vic stood leaning against the hood of the car, talking about something.

mays footsteps were quiet as she finally reached the parking spot. patrick was the first to notice her presence. he smiled, then followed her hand that was still connected with richies. his eyebrows furrowed, making may quickly let go of richies hand. "hey babes."

may smiled and waved. she walked over to the window and ruffled henry's hair. he fluttered his eyes opened to see may. henry smiled. "hey may!" he was quick to get out of the car and hug her. his smiled dropped as he noticed the boy behind may. "uh— hey toizer."
henry tried his best to be nice to the kid since may was right in front of him. he took one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it to the grown to burn out. "whatcha doing here?"

"well, i had asked may if she wanted to hang out with me and my friends after school— but i knew i needed to ask you first," richie said, confidence leaking off of his tongue. he stuck his hands in his front pockets as we waited for an answer. patrick walked up to where henry and may were standing, hoping to get a say in the decision.

may stood in front of the two boys, fidgeting with the ends of her hair. she stood on the sides on her sneakers as she waited for them to talk. "babes you know what i said about him—" patrick spoke up first. may sighed, nodding her head. he looked at henry, who seemed deep in thought.

"have you met his friends?" henry asked, folding his arms across his chest. may nodded quickly. "are they nice to you?" again she nodded, this time with a smile on her lips.

"and him— has he done anything to make you uncomfortable?" patrick chimed in, pointing to richie. may gasped and frantically shook her head no. "you promise?"
may smiled and linked her small pinkie with patrick's larger one.

the two boys whispered to each other, every so often looking at richie then looking at may. patrick leaned against the car door as henry leaned down to his sister's height.

"well... since it is friday, and you seem to really like these friends of yours," henry started off, and watched may's eyes brighten. she happily bit down on her bottom lip. "it's fine with me."

may jumped up and down, then hugged henry. he chuckled at her actions before wrapping his arms around her. may pulled away and hugged patrick. "be safe babes," he whispered, and watched the girl nod.

she smiled brightly at the two before running back over to richie. he mouthed a thank you before they walked off back toward the building.

"oh, and toizer?" henry yelled before getting back into the car. the younger boy turned around to face him. "if you do anything to my baby sister, i will castrate you."

"i know!" richie yelled back, a cheeky smile pulling at his lips. may giggled as she felt his hand slip back into hers.