mute [r. tozier]

fourteen

may sat silently at her desk in the back of the class. english had yet to start but may didn't feel like being bothered.
a few days had past since patrick had told her that richie he cheated. her heart ached and her eyes were sore from crying. she hadn't felt like talking since the news either.

"may?" a voice called from the doorway of the classroom. may stayed still for a while before forcing herself to turn her neck. beverly was leaning against the frame before walking into the room. "i haven't seen you ina while."

"yeah.." may nodded, dropping her eyes to the floor. she heard beverly walk further into the classroom. bev carried herself confidently down the isle way with her hands in her front jean pockets.

"why is that?" she asked as she gently sat in the desk next to may. "I liked it when you were around."

"me too," may mumbled under her breath and rolled her eyes. bev looked at her with slight confusion.

"then come back," beverly chuckled. may squinted her eyes back at the red head. she parted her lips lightly and tried to speak. though her breath got caught in her throat for a moment.

"do you—" she started, keeping her gaze away from bev, "do you not know?"

confusion fell across beverlys face. she cocked her eyebrow at the girl. beverly shook her head as an answer.
may let out a shaky sigh. she had yet been able to think or talk about richie without crying. may scratched the back of her neck softly as her eyes darted around the floor tiles.

"richie and i..." may took a break to breath and focus on what she wanted to say. "arent together."

"what?" beverly gasped. the sentence made the ginger snap her eyes up right away.
richie had brought around a lot of girls since the two had become friends, but may had been the only girl beverly had liked. she thought may would be good for richie. she even thought she had noticed a change in the boy. he was kinder, and more gentle with people.

"you guys broke up?"

"n-not exactly..." may mumbled into the sleeve of her sweater. she hadn't seen richie a lot, but when she did, may would turn around and walk away. she didn't know what would happen if he saw her. she didn't think richie knew that she knew what he had done. may thought ignoring him was the best thing she could do.

may looked up at beverly. she saw how confused she looked. until she connected the pieces. may noticed the moment beverly had figured out. her cheeks flushed pink and she took a deep breath. her tongue poked the side of her mouth as she exhaled heavily.

"he cheated on you?" beverly snarled. may looked down before gently nodding. beverly stood abruptly from the chair, causing it to squeak loudly. may flinched at the sudden sound.
bev placed her hand over her mouth as she thought about what to do. she stood with her left hip cocked out for a moment before grabbing mays hand. she pulled may to her feet and the two started to walk out of the dark classroom.

"w-where are we going?" may asked quietly. she had a sicken feeling in the pit of her stomach. may tried her best to keep up with beverlys stomping feet.

"we're skipping," beverly guided may out the front doors of the school.

the two quickly maneuvered through the grassy field and to the very back of the football field. there was an abandoned dugout that no one ever checked.

"why are we skipping?"

beverly ignored the question as she continued to pull on mays hand.
they finally reached the dugout. beverly placed her ear to the side of the dugout, listening for a moment. she snapped her head back after she heard what she was looking for. a familiar deep voice and the distant coughing due to smoke in their lungs.

beverly let go of mays hand, and looked at the side of the dugout. then she brought her foot back and harshly kicked the middle of the wall. the action made mays skin tense up.

"ow! what the fuck?"

after a few short moments of shuffling around from inside of the dugout, everything fell silent. footsteps in the gravel echoed the empty field. a person twisted around the corner of the dugout with a glare plastered on their face.
but it wasn't a stranger like may had hoped. she prayed it wasn't who she thought it was but may knew that voice well.

"bev what the hell?" richie growled as he rubbed the middle of his back. the boy was angry, but not as fuming at the red head in front of him. richies eyes drifted from beverly to the quiet girl next to her.

"may?"