Let me take you home! (Chris/open)

[Priscilla "Peg" Spring]

Peg smiled to herself as she stepped past the academy boundaries and made her way toward town. Summer was approaching, which, for New Hampshire at least, meant a lovely mild temperature. It was perfect for a Saturday stroll to town.

Her first stop would be The Spinning Wheel to pick up some stationary. She'd used up the last of her stock writing a lengthy letter to her parents, venting her disapproval at the way the other students treated her. There was simply no one else like her, let alone anyone that understood her, at the school. Her parents' advice was to just tough it out and transfer the following year if she so chose. That had led to a very long temper tantrum in her dorm room while her roommates were out.

She picked out a very pretty packet of stationary, pastel green and spattered with little shamrocks. After paying the cashier, she made her way over to Fantasia and picked up the sheet music she'd ordered the week before. It was another Yiruma composition, whom she'd grown recently fond of.

The position of the sun told Peg she still had a few hours before she needed to be back at the Academy, so she decided to explore, traveling from store to store and browsing, occasionally buying a knick knack here and there. But she naturally saved the best stop for last: the pet store.

She loved Friend Like Me. While she could never afford to purchase a pet with the meager allowances her parents sent with their letters, she could spend hours sitting on the floor near the small mammal cages, watching hamsters run in their wheels or little hedgehogs bumble around in their shavings. She even found the rats endearing, with their bright red eyes and furry little bodies.

The owners, who now knew her by name, waved as she walked inside, making a beeline for the kennels. They'd adopted out the akita she'd grown so fond of lately, but in its place was a yappy little charcoal-colored Pomeranian. She scratched its ear fondly then wandered over to the small mammals section. They had a new litter of ferrets that Peg was instantly infatuated with. She dropped to the floor and crossed her legs, feeding her fingers through the bars in the cage and letting the long-bodied animals sniff at her. She smiled at made face at the animals while they bounced and chittered about their cage.

[Chris Heldig]

Chris walked into the pet shop with his usual smile on his face. This smile showed in the brightness of his eyes and the gleam that seemed to radiate from his face. Chris was in one of his happiest places, surrounded by animals. They all loved and had emotions and needed a home and a family but they couldn't talk to people as well. He loved being with them because even though they never understood him, they came over and cuddled in his arms or would let him play games with them, all without his saying a word or struggling to be understood. They didn't judge, just loved you.

Chris had a pet lizard back in his dorm and so part of the reason he was here was to pick up some lizard food pellets for it. Although this was a necessity, it was also an excuse for him to visit the fluffy animals, his silent friends. Just as he was about to walk over to visit the rabbits he saw that the new ferrets had been born and so he decided to change his course and visit the long, skinny, fur balls. He knelt down in front of the cages and realized that there was a girl doing the same thing.

Chris instantly removed his fingers from the bars of the cage and turned to face the girl. She was delicate and lovely, just like a flower. Chris's heart was skipping beats when he had a sinking realization. He had no shot with this girl. She was probably like everyone else, a hearing person who would struggle to communicate with Chris and would find it a challenge to have anything to do with him. This made his smile waver ever so slightly. Nonetheless, he decided to introduce himself.

And so Chris moved closer to the girl and put his hand through the bars in the cage right next to where hers was until his fingers brushed hers. An "accident" of course. He than pulled his fingers back once he felt she would notice and turned to face her. He slowly signed an apology and than introduced himself. His hands moved gracefully in front of his torso as his eyes scanned this lovely girl's innocent features. She looked like the slightest wind would break her and yet like she could be the one flower standing after a long storm. Sorry... My name is Chris...Hi/

Chris smiled as his hands finally stopped moving and fell to his sides. She was so beautiful and something seemed so different about her but Chris couldn't place it. And so he just smiled and kneeled on the floor looking at this blue haired angel before him, the silence carrying on and yet somehow so ordinary it was like he was talking to an old friend. It was odd but this new sensation only gave Chris more hope than he ever admitted. Maybe he would stand a chance and make a friend. Either than or he would go cuddle with the rabbits. Either way he would enjoy his trip to the pet store and the chance to meet this beautiful stranger in only once.

[Priscilla "Peg" Spring]

Peg's fingers wiggled through the bars of the cage, enticing the furry little creatures to come near her. She had already picked out her favorite: a sleek little panda ferret who was constantly causing mischief. Twice it jumped on a white ferret sleeping in a hammock and threw food pellets everywhere in its mad dash for freedom. Peg's body convulsed in silent giggles as she watched the silly little animal, and a small smile played at her lips as the panda ferret wandered to the edge of the cage and sniffed at her fingers before darting back to the opposite side and scampering up the little stairs in the cage.

Peg was content to let her fingers hang limp while she watched the ferrets. Another one, white with a brown patch on its forehead, had mosied over and what nuzzling her fingers. Her eyebrows raised in surprise when another hand reached through the bars, its fingers brushing against hers. Her eyes followed the hand to its attached arm, then to the face a little higher up. The face was staring back at her, and she gaped like a beached fish, her mouth producing nothing but silence.

His face was charming and gentle. Bright brown eyes were accentuated by the permanent ghost of a smile against his lips. It was Hester reincarnate. Heat rushed to Peg's cheeks, and she found it hard to keep his gaze and not avert her eyes. She pulled her hand back and shyly tucked a strand of cerulean hair behind her ear, where it promptly fell back in front of her face. Her heart had become a caged bird, fluttering so loudly in her chest that there was no way he didn't hear it.

How desperately she wished she could speak. To say something other than the noiseless words her mouth was emitting.

Peg's eyes widened in pure shock as the boy began signing, and she leaned back a little. Impossible. No way this boy was like her. He couldn't be what she had prayed for for so long: another Hester. All she could do was stare as she watched the boy deftly create the signs and symbols only one of their kind could interpret. It was so surreal that for a moment she wondered if this was some sort of trick devised by the school bullies to torment her.

Slowly, she managed to re-hinge her jaw and close her mouth. Then slowly, still not sure if Ashton Kutcher was going to jump out and tell her she'd been Punk'd, she signed back. Her hands flew in front of her face, shaking as she replied.

Hi, Chris. I'm Peg.

Feeling somewhat stupid and still a little baffled, she blushed again and let her arms fall lamely to her sides and leaned back on her knees, still appraising this strange boy who she already felt she had more in common with than any person on earth.

[Chris Heldig]

Chris was in shock as he saw the girl sign back. He had managed to find someone like him in a world of noise, a very small world of noise. His eyes lit up with a new spark of joy and his smile grew wider, almost painfully so. He didn't care though. This was one of the happiest moments he had had in ages and he would suffer any minor pain if it meant finding someone he could communicate with and maybe have a relationship with... if he was lucky.

Chris hesitated for a moment before beginning signing again, thinking long and hard about what he wanted to say. I've never seen you in here before. Do you go to the school in town? I do Chris held his breath, hoping beyond hope that she would say yes. He was so overjoyed and excited that it didn't cross his mind that it was the only high school in town and he was ultimately asking a silly question. He wasn't thinking straight as all of his thoughts were now on her. Peg, what a lovely name for such a unique flower.

Chris thought for a bit and realized what she reminded him of, a forget me not. Such a delicate and lovely flower yet it held so much meaning if you took the time to notice it. Peg was a forget me not and he would treasure this moment forever, never forgotten just as the flower's name asked.

[Priscilla "Peg" Spring]

Peg's eyes followed the boy's hands like they were some precious treasure that would disappear from sight if she so much as blinked. She wanted to reach out and touch them, to make sure this person wasn't some illusion conjured up by her dreamy freshman mind, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the words spoken so eloquently by his hands.

He was asking if she local high school. Wasn't it the only one? She stifled a laugh a signed back, moving her hands in delicate, graceful motions while keeping her face perfectly expressionless. It was a trick she usually played on people who couldn't sign, as they had no clue what she was "saying" and couldn't rely on countenance for hints. But it would be interesting to see how he responded.

I do. I transferred here a few weeks ago. What grade are you in?

What she really wanted to ask was if he was a mute like her or suffered from some other limiting factor that prevented speech. Or maybe he just took up American Sign Language in his spare time. But asking seemed rude, and she didn't want to chase off the only person whom she'd had a real "conversation" with since her friend Hester had died.

So, Chris, what exactly are you doing here? she signed with that same blank expression. But her eyes brightly hinted at a smile.

[Chris Heldig]

Chris's smile widened a bit as she replied that she did go to Yen Sid Academy. There was someone else on campus JUST LIKE HIM! Maybe he wouldn't have to be alone anymore with his thoughts. He could actually talk to someone without writing out every single word (oh how tiresome it could get). He waited a moment for her to finish signing and than thought for a moment before replying, trying to keep his hands from giving away his excitement and joy too much.

I am a sophomore there. It is a great school although some of the students are quite odd. He paused for a moment as he thought of a good way to explain why he was here. In all truth he was here because he was mostly alone on campus and he was lonely and liked the company of the animals that didn't need him to talk to like him. But that seemed so pitiful he didn't want to tell Peg this and so he finally began signing, trying to make his reason seem a little more noble, or at the very least normal. I like animals and I had some free time. I come whenever I have free time and visit the animals and look at them. I wish i had one but I can at least visit them and have some fun. And what brings you here?

Chris knew this seemed a but bold and cocky but she had opened the can of worms and maybe if she was here for the same reason he was really here he would open up about the whole reason why he was here. There was safety in numbers, or so he had been told. He had always been wary of this logic because when you were on the short end of that pool you sure as hell didn't feel safe and as Chris was quite often on the smaller side, a feeling of safety was a luxury he always desired.

Chris finally let his hands drop to his sides as he watched the girl, trying to read her face. She was smiling although she tried to hide it. This gave him hope. At least he wasn't bothering her or boring her. She hadn't run away yet and she seemed interested in getting to know him. He did wonder how she came to be like him but he knew it was a touchy subject and he didn't want to give her a reason to run from him. He didn't want to mess this up and lose the only potentially close friend he had had in ages (and maybe, with time and patience the only relationship he had hopes for in even he didn't know how long). He knew he was horrible at hiding his delight but at least he was trying as he slowly caught little things that showed him she cared. She cared!!! That was all that mattered- she cared and she stayed.

[Priscilla "Peg" Spring]

Peg's eyes darted about in their sockets as she followed the intricate movements of Chris's hands, hanging on to his every "word." It was as if she'd stepped into a fantasy world when she exited the academy doors. The odds of finding a boy around her age, in her grade, attending the same school as her, and having the inability to talk was maybe one in a thousand. But here he was, sitting hardly a foot away from her. She had to resist the urge to reach out and touch him, to assure herself that he wasn't an illusion.

She giggled silently and signed back quickly. For you to call other kids odd is a little ironic, wouldn't you say? It was times like these that made her wish she could speak. Her hands simply couldn't move fast enough to convey all she had to "say." And the silence of her hands gave away no emotion; expressing her feelings was only feasible through her facial expressions, which was difficult when all she could do was stare at her hands and smile. It was very trying not to have the convenience of speech sometimes.

Peg gave the boy a rueful look when he gave her a typical guy answer as to why he was there. And she could sense in that unique way of hers that he was not only not a typical guy, but that he was lying to her about his reasons for being in that particular store. Shrugging her narrow shoulders, she began signing away, taking great care in making her movements as delicate and fluid as possible.

I come here pretty regularly. Sometimes it's just easier to escape a world of noise for a little while and enter the world of silence. The animals here are no different than you or I. They have as much difficulty communicating with people as us. So it's refreshing to visit a place where wordless communication is the norm.

She let her hands fall lamely to her lap and her eyes followed, staring at the pale veins on the backs of her hands. She sounded like some pothead "save the trees, let the animals vote" hippie. And if Chris wasn't lying about his motives for being at the pet store, than she would look all the more stupid. Her cheeks burned a furious crimson at the thought of chasing him away with her melodramatic way of thinking.