Me and the Gretchen Boys

Chapter 27: Justin's Secret

"I'm deaf Carmen."

As soon as those words escape his mouth, my mind goes blank. Justin is deaf? It just doesn't make any sense.

"Y-you're deaf? How were you able to understand me-,"

"I can read lips pretty well." He answers shortly.

It all makes sense. From the time we went for a jog, the "ignoring me", and to the party where it seemed her heard me perfectly. We always did talk face to face and whenever we didn't, he never seemed to respond. How did I not catch this?

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask looking into his eyes.

"Because whenever I tell people they treat differently. Some people baby me and it kind of scares away others..."He says the last part in a hushed tone. "So I prefer not to tell anyone."

"Do people at school know?"

"No. I wear my hearing aids at school but there so small no one really notices. Only the faculty know. People don't really pay attention to small details."

Before I can even stop the liquid from leaving my eyes it's too late. One tear rolls down my cheek and then another and another until I'm full-blown crying. I envelop Justin in a tight hug, a hug so tight I'm probably squeezing the life out of him. But I want him to know that I'm here for him.

"J-Justin," I hiccup, "I'll never treat you any differently. Y-you're till the same Justin whom I deeply care for."

I can feel Justin's breath hitch and his hands ball into a fist. It's not long until he begins to cry.

"Thank you, Carmen. Thank you so much."

   We hold each other and cry until our hearts are content. Justin pulls away and takes a deep breath.

   "I'm sorry. It's not really manly of me to cry."

   "Don't you dare apologize! Crying is a normals thing that everyone does." I say as I wipe a stray tear from his face.

   When my hand makes contact with his face, I can feel these faint tingles. It's like I'm gravitating to him. I don't want to move my hand because I like this tingly sensation. I like being close to him. I like the feel of his soft skin underneath my fingertips.

   Carmen, what in the world are you talking about?! You don't feel tingles and you're just being dumb. Snap out of it.

   My negative thoughts snap me back into reality faster than the speed of light. I draw back my hand but Justin catches it. He pulls it back to his face and nuzzles into it almost like some puppy.

"Just for a couple more seconds please." Justin looks up at me with those cute hazelnut eyes of his.

Not being able to refuse I give him a small nod. Butterflies in my stomach best frantically to the point I can hear the pounding in my throat. I press my lips into a tight line to make sure nothing awkward or embarrassing escapes my mouth.

What is wrong with me?

I stare at him completely frozen, not moving a single inch. Justin throws his head back and lets out a gut-busting laugh that catches me off guard. I practically jump out of my skin at the sound of his loud laugh.

"W-what's so funny?" I stutter, not finding anything remotely humorous.

"It's the face you were making. It was so cute." Justin says through short breaths. His laughter showed no sign of slowing down whatsoever.

I muster the meanest glare I can to get him to stop laughing. He looks me dead in my eyes and continues to laugh. He doesn't take me seriously at all.

   "What happened to the Justin who was afraid to come to my room at night because it was 'indecent'?" I sharply ask, putting air quotes around the word indecent. I laugh remembering that night. Now the roles are reversed, in the one laughing at him.

   "Truce. I just can't win against you, Carmen, can't I?"

    "That's because I'm a winner. Just ask Dontae and Christian." I laugh again.

   My laughter abruptly stops as something catches my eye. I stare intensely at the item that is by Justin's side. I climb over him and pick it up. It's a hearing aid. I pick it up and when I do Justin flinches back.

   "Justin don't fret over this. There is no need to be embarrassed nor ashamed. You're still the same Justin that's my most trusted ally. It's us against everyone!"

   I scoot closer to him. I'm so close I can feel our noses practically touch. I can feel his body heat radiating on my skin. I play with a strand of his soft hair for a little before gently tucking it behind his air. I clip the hearing aids on and scoot back, my eyes still trained on him. Justin is as still as a tree. He doesn't move an inch.

   Why is he doing that-oh.

   Since Justin never really had his hearing aids in, he's never really heard my voice. It's so crazy to think about it. He's probably heard snips and bits here and there, but we never had a full-on conversation with his hearing aids on.

   "You look spectacular if I do say so myself." I eventually say. His eyes widen at the sound of my voice and his eyebrows slight rise up. "Does my voice sound that bad?"

   "No, not at all. It's quite the opposite. It's very lovely." Justin quickly responds.

   "Good! This is the voice you're going to be hearing for a long time!" I dramatically announce it. "This might even be the voice I haunt you with!" I add laughing at the idea.

   He laughs along with me and responds with, "Well, I am ok with it. Let's just hope I don't do anything to make you haunt me."

    The room gets quiet and we just stare at each other. The silence feels nonexistent though. It's enough for me to just be with Justin in this moment. Not another word needs to be said because us two.

    It's me and Justin.

•••
A/N:

Sorry for the short chapter! I blame school!! I'll try to post another on this week. So how do you guys feel about Justin? What's your ranking for the boys? That's all folks, have a great day.