Chapter Text
xXxX Joseph's P.O.V. XxXx
"You sure you wanna do this, Joey?"
I just smile, nodding up at the building in front of us.
"I know you said you lived a sheltered life, but you're actually choosing to go to school? Dude! Most people spend their time wishing they could get out of it."
I pat him on the back with a reassuring smile; I didn't expect Beast Boy to understand. Despite being green, the young changeling had had a pretty normal childhood. Well, as normal as the stepson of one of the richest men in America could hope to have.
But I'd lived on my own, on top of a mountain, for the last five years. I could vaguely remember being home-schooled by my mom, but this was my chance to finally have a normal life.
"If Jericho wants to go to a boarding school, then it's his choice. Besides, the school is almost exactly in-between Steel and Jump, so he can still be an active member of the Titans."
Robin, ever the logical one, even as Dick Grayson. I can't help but roll my eyes as I move my duffle bag onto the crook of my elbow, so that my hands are free to 'talk'.
'J-o-s-e-p-h. W-i-l-s-o-n.' I remind him, slightly worried that our leader would blow my secret identity. Out of all the current Titans, I was one of the only ones who insisted upon keeping up a dual identity.
"Right, sorry about that…"
xXxX Much later on that day XxXx
It was almost two hours before I was fully enrolled and on my way to my dormitory. Unfortunately for me, the principal didn't understand any sign language, so naturally Dick had stepped in to translate everything I said.
He and Beast Boy had just left to let me find my dorm room. BB was worse than my mother - he kept telling me to call if I needed anything, and that I could come home whenever I wanted to.
I wandered around for another hour before admitting to my self that I was lost.
I stopped a pretty, dark-haired girl to ask for directions, putting my bag on the floor to sign.
"Oh! Are you new here?" She gave me a warm smile, quickly glancing at my clothes and bag.
I nodded, smiling slightly and quickly signing where I was trying to go.
"…You're deaf?" She suddenly looked panicked, not knowing what to say or do. "Um…"
I smiled and shook my head, holding up my hands to tell her to wait a second.
'Why is it that if someone can't talk, people always assume they're deaf?'
I dug around in my coat pockets until I felt what I had been looking for: a pen and the small notepad that Beast Boy had given me.
'Guess I'm going to have to get used to this'
I'm mute. Do you know how to get to B9?
"Sorry, I thought… Yeah, B9's over there." Her face was red with embarrassment, but she pointed somewhere behind me.
I turned around to try and see which building she was pointing at, but all of them looked the same to me. I must have looked confused when I turned back to her, because she started laughing and asked if I wanted help.
'Thank you'
I stuffed the notepad back into my pocket, picking up my bag and following her back in the direction I'd just come from.
"I'm gonna assume that means 'thanks'." She smiled back at me brightly.
I nodded again, grinning sheepishly and taking note that the building we were approaching had 'B9' plainly painted on the side.
'Oh, that makes me look even more of a newbie. Great.'
"Do you know which room you're in?"
I fumbled around in my pockets again, pulling out the keys I'd been given to show her the key ring.
"Room ten? So you're sharing with Elliot?"
I shrugged. I knew that I'd be sharing a dorm with someone, but I hadn't met him yet.
"Guess that makes sense and all… Oh, well room ten is on the second floor. Second to the right, I think. It should be easy enough to…" She trailed off, grabbing for the beeping phone in her back pocket. "Shoot! I'm late for class. It was nice to meet you…" She evidently realized that we hadn't been introduced, but when her phone beeped again she smiled apologetically before running off to her next class.
The room was easy enough to find, on the second floor just like she'd said, except that room ten was the last door on the left.
'Not second to the right,' I grinned. 'Guess I'm not the only directionally challenged kid around after all...'
Every door had been decorated, whether it was just a sign saying whose room it was, or in some cases the door was covered from top to bottom in posters and stickers. Every door, that is, except this one. The only thing on this door was a small built-in plaque that simply read '10'.
I stood there for maybe a minute, staring at the door and wondering what to do next.
'I have a key, but should I knock first? It would be rude to just walk in, but it technically is my room aswell…'
Eventually I decided to knock - better safe then sorry - but there wasn't an answer, so I assumed that my roommate was in lessons and just walked in.
The first impression I got was that my roommate was a vampire.
The windows had been covered by thick, black quilts, throwing the room almost completely into darkness. My roommate obviously hadn't expected to be sharing the dorm, because both sides of the room had been painted black and decorated. Clothes and books were strewn all around the room, almost making Beast Boy's room look tidy… Almost.
I assumed that the left-hand bed was mine - it was still made, and relatively tidy. The covers of the right-hand bed were messed up, with a mess of black, grey and white blankets pooled by the headboard.
I fumbled for the light switch for a few seconds before flicking it on. Surprisingly, nothing happened.
'Either this school needs major repairs, or my vampire roommate vandalized it to avoid being turned to ashes… Hmm. Who'd have thought that light-bulbs can work instead of sunlight?'
I dropped my bag onto my bed before walking over to one of the blacked-out windows. I reached out to uncover the glass, but my wrist was suddenly caught in a vice grip.
I fell backwards as my wrist was released; realizing with a start that what I had assumed was a heap of blankets on my roommate's bed was actually my roommate.
I knew it was rude, but I couldn't help staring. Suddenly my vampire theory seemed plausible.
His skin was paper-white, practically glowing in the blackness of the room. His scarlet eyes looked me up and down, as if deciding what to do with me.
'The same way a predator observes its prey…'
I was frozen, wondering what exactly I had got myself into.
His short, black, messy hair was almost invisible against the dark walls. He was wearing a dark grey t-shirt and black skinny jeans.
'Like camouflage. No wonder I missed him! …Maybe he catches his victims unawares by blending into the night - wait, what am I thinking? And why's he staring at me like that?'
After what seemed like an eternity he gave a quiet grunt of approval, returning to his previous position on the bed. He picked up one of the books next to him and started to read, not paying any attention to me at all.
Getting over my initial shock, I started to think things through more clearly.
'Vampires aren't real.'
I wouldn't exactly have been surprised if this kid did turn out to be a vampire, though. After all, hadn't I just become part of a team that included a green shape-shifter, a Cyborg, an alien and a half-demon?
But I refused to believe in vampires until I had proof. Grant had terrified me with vampire stories too much in my childhood for me to admit my worst fears were real.
My roommate evidently didn't like sunlight, that much was true. It meant that he was probably an albino, which made much more sense than a vampire, and also explained his eyes.
I decided to try and apologize to him. I waved my hands elaborately, trying to gain his attention, but he was either too engrossed in his book to notice or downright ignoring me.
'Well, I thought he was a vampire at first. Better give him the benefit of the doubt this time and just assume he's too busy reading.'
I dug my notebook out of my pocket and scribbled down my message, tearing out the page and pushing it into the middle of his book.
My first impression of him had been that he was a vampire; I suddenly wonder what he thought of me.
xXxX Elliot's P.O.V. XxXx
'My new roommate is a freaking hippy!'
I stole another glance at him over the top of my book.
His curly blond hair tightly framed his face. No, he had 'mutton-chop' sideburns. I rolled my eyes, fully taking in his appearance.
His sea-green eyes were impossibly bright. I felt as if they were burning into my soul, trying to read my thoughts before I even thought them. I shifted uncomfortably at his unwavering gaze.
'I've never had a roommate for as long as I've been here. I tend to not get along with other people. And now they stick me with a freaking hippy?'
He was wearing a plain white, short-sleeved T-shirt with a high neck, and a pair of dark blue jeans. Both were splattered lightly with dried paint, and he had an acoustic guitar strapped to his back.
'Great. He's an artistic hippy.'
I wondered how good a guitar player he is.
'Whether I'm going to let him play in our room or not depends on how he plays…'
I shook my head slightly; apparently I'd spaced out for a second there. When I looked back at my book I found that the words had changed.
I guess I'm your new roommate. My name is Joseph Wilson.
I picked up the note, briefly looking up at the writer before grabbing a pencil and adding my own message, wondering why we were writing notes instead of talking.
That is, why he wasn't talking. I knew perfectly well that I couldn't talk.
I passed the note back to him, putting my book down, losing interest in it in favour of studying my new roommate.
xXxX Joseph's P.O.V. XxXx
I was surprised when he started writing back to me. I thought he would have just told me his name and continued to ignore me.
I read the note as soon as he passed it back. It should have been difficult to read because of the darkness of the room - but thanks to my father, my senses were sharper than a normal person's.
That's obvious. My name is Elliot Kidd.
'Elliot Kidd… I wonder how he's reading so well in here?'
I smiled, adding even more writing to the piece of paper.
It's nice to meet you, Elliot.
He grunted again when he read it, and placed it on the table beside the bed. Apparently he didn't want to write any more. I sighed and waited for him to speak.
'Here it comes. He'll start talking to me, then realize that I'm not talking back.'
But to my surprise he didn't start talking. He seemed to stare at me, as if trying to work out what I was thinking. Why wasn't he talking?
I picked up the notebook, deciding to try and keep a conversation going.
Why doesn't the light switch work?
He pointed up to the ceiling, and I saw that the light bulb had been removed.
'Well, at least it's not smashed or anything. Maybe there was something in that theory, though… he sure hates light.'
I gave him a questioning look and he starting writing.
I like the dark.
I nodded, but gestured to the quilts over the windows, wondering if my suspicions were correct. He added a single word to the paper.
Albino
I was right! I suddenly felt embarrassed about thinking that he was a vampire.
xXxX Elliot's P.O.V. XxXx
Okay, so the hippy wasn't going to talk? I growled slightly, quickly getting annoyed with the blond boy's questioning. And what was with the silence? Was he taking the mick out of the fact that I couldn't talk? Maybe he didn't know?
I quickly grabbed the notebook and scribbled down my message, deciding to be perfectly blunt with him.
'I'm mute. Why aren't YOU talking?' I threw it over to him.
I watched him re-read it several times before he broke into a grin, bursting out laughing as he re-read it once more.
My hands clenched into fists. 'So he was mocking me!'
I was about to punch him for laughing at me, but I stopped myself before I made a mistake.
Even though he was laughing, he wasn't making any noise at all - he was completely silent. My eyes widened, as realization suddenly hit me.
He was also a mute?
I felt my mouth twitch into a smile. This explained the notebook, and why the school suddenly decided that I could do with a roommate.
I lifted both my hands to talk this time. If he was also a mute, then he must know sign language.
J-o-s-e-p-h? I'll just sign 'J'
He started to fumble with the notebook before putting it down. He was staring at my hands, his large green eyes seemed to widen even more. He looked panicked. And when he started to sign back, I realized why.
E-l-l-i-o-t?
He was signing all the letters with one hand.
I sighed and shook my head, I couldn't understand him. I think he was signing my name, but I wasn't sure.
'I should have seen this coming: I'm in America now, of course he'd speak A.S.L. not B.S.L.'
I found the notebook back in his hand, and he quickly wrote down his question.
British?
I nodded, picking up the pencil again.
Do you speak B.S.L?
He nodded quickly, then stopped and held his forefinger just above his thumb.
A little bit
Then he pointed at me and I returned the gesture. I could speak a little A.S.L., but not much.
He scribbled on the notepad again, grinning as he passed it back.
I finally meet another mute, and there's still a language barrier.
There was a smiley face drawn next to his sentence. That actually made me laugh. I hadn't laughed in so long that I'd forgotten what it was like. A strangled type of gasp was coming from my throat. I noticed Joseph tilting his head curiously. I remembered that he had been completely silent when he had laughed.
I wrote down my next question, but hesitated before handing it over. It was a very personal question, especially since we'd known each other for less then an hour.
You weren't born mute, were you?
He took his time reading my message, biting his lip slightly as he tried to think of what to say. His right hand rose to the collar of his shirt. He settled for just shaking his head, fingering the edge of his collar for a second before starting to roll it down to reveal his neck.
Even with my good eyesight, I couldn't see what he was showing me in the dark. I leant forward, catching a glimpse of a long thin mark across his neck.
I ended up having to sit next to him, on his bed, to see what it was.
I could feel my eyes widen as I realized what it was: a thick white scar ran across his neck. Thicker - deeper - on one side and thinner on the other. My heart sank with the realization.
Someone had cursed him to silence. His voice had actually been cut out of him. He was rendered mute on purpose!
My hand automatically reached forward to trace the line of the scar. Joseph flinched as my fingers briefly made contact with his neck, before his hand gripped my pale wrist tightly, pushing my hand away.
I jerked my hand out of his grip, rubbing my wrist; it was slightly pink from the pressure of his grip. Rolling up his collar, his eyes connected with mine. Somehow I knew what that look meant.
He was sorry that he'd hurt me, but he didn't want to be touched. I got the impression that touching his neck brought back the memories of how he'd got that scar. I shivered involuntarily. Just thinking about it made me feel sick. The fact that someone could do that to a child, especially the young hippy beside me…
'If thinking about it makes me feel sick, then how the hell must Joseph feel? To have actually lived through that…'
I'd only met Joseph about an hour ago, but somehow he made me feel like I'd been his friend for years.
I placed my hand on his shoulder, letting him know that I understood. But I knew that I never would. Something like that was so painful that no one could understand it unless they'd lived though it.
He gave me a weak smile before picking up the notebook again. I couldn't help but smile at how much of the page we had filled, my untidy scrawl and his artistic curly writing almost filled the page entirely. But he still managed to find a space on the page to write on.
I'm tired. I'll see you in the morning.
And with that he started to move the few books that I'd left on his bed onto the table. I watched as he delicately placed his guitar next to his bed and rummaged around in his bag for something to sleep in.
Seeing that I'd evidently blown any chance of a longer conversation, I got up from his bed and shut the door. How had I not noticed that he'd left it open?
I heard Joseph stop moving. The room had got even darker now and I realized that he probably couldn't see anything.
I walked over to his side of the room and switched on a lamp for him. He nodded slightly in thanks before continuing to get ready for bed.
I did the same, changing into a grey pair of pajama bottoms before slipping into bed. I didn't fall asleep for a long time after Joseph turned the lamp off, wondering just how much a roommate was going to change my school life. Especially a roommate like Joseph.
One thing was for sure: my 'personal life' just got a lot more interesting.