Hello lovelies,

i became addicted to Switched at Birth over the summer, and surprisingly just ventured into ff about it, in the past couple of weeks. Nothing screams "use me to procrastinate on your homework" more than SaB and fanfiction. I do not own any of it. I'm filling up the time before it comes back in January (22 episodes, yes please!) I began this as a slight prompted fic, using The Airborne Toxic Event's "Sometime Around Midnight" (youtube if you don't know it, you will not regret it!) anyway, as i began writing, Bay and Emmett began to take me in some different directions. So, there are some references. :)

Emmett's dialogue will look the same as anybody else's, because its still a very effective way of communicating. Just not what the conventional way is.

Hope you enjoy!

I thought it was appropriate of Wilke to have a birthday party in a karaoke bar. As soon as I walked in, I thought about leaving. But since I was here, I would have to talk to Wilke and Toby. I wasn't sure why I had gone either, Wilke and I hadn't really spoken since 1) I had left Guitar Face, and 2) he and Daphne had had a rocky breakup just under two years ago. I thought about what to say when Daphne asked about my day. Since, she was most definitely not going to be here tonight. Especially, since she had refused to see/speak to Wilke since they had broken up.

So, I had come by myself. I was mostly observing everybody and having a drink, while doing so. And there would be times when Toby would swing by and we would chat a little meaninglessly, since he would scurry away to chat up some girl in a short skirt.

I thought back to when Toby was learning to sign. He had always been a little bit all over the place, a bit inconsistent, but he had improved a lot. We were (mostly) able to carry on a conversation without interruption. He wasn't as good as Bay, but nobody was like Bay.

Alright, so maybe I did have an ulterior motive for showing up to this thing. Bay. But it was around midnight and I hadn't seen her yet. I am starting to think that maybe she blew this off, like Daphne did. But then I see her. I take a drink of my whiskey, and not my best moment, but I allow some people to stand in front of me, so she won't see me right away. But I can still see her fine.

Bay Kennish looks exactly the same at twenty two as she did at sixteen, although from here, her face looks a bit leaner and she looks thinner than usual. She is wearing a white dress, and a fat red belt sits on her waist, and I look down and see combat boots. I can't help but chuckle. That is classic Bay, looking beautiful and classy and then shaking it up. Although, I think that she pulls off the look very well. She was beautiful, that much hadn't changed.

Her dark hair is falling over her shoulders in waves. Just by being in the same building memories from our relationship are coming back, although, they were buried in a shallow grave, Bay is never far from my mind and never mind.

Some forgotten things are coming back up stronger than I realized. I realize that she has spotted me, I wave, and she acknowledges me by raising her arm, a glass tumbler in her hand. And then the arm returns to almost cross her chest, a protective gesture. I see her laugh at something. Then she starts making her way over to me. As she approaches, the world seems to have stopped and I can smell her perfume, jasmine and vanilla. The smell is dizzying and I remember the way it clung to my sheets for days after she would stay over, and the days we would spend curled up in bed, pretending that the world outside didn't exist.

Wilke was turning twenty four, which just seemed ridiculous because I was twenty two and so was Daphne. Toby was twenty three. This party at a bar, was still humorous, but considerably less raucous than his 21st birthday. This almost seemed like a non-event in comparison.

Truthfully, I didn't want to come, not because I bear any ill-will towards Wilke, (well not any more than the usual amount- a slight amount). But because of the effort Toby was making to get me here.

I could read my big bro like a book, as soon as he started bothering me. (I feel like he should know better by now- that I know all his tactics) I knew Emmett was going to be here. Emmett, I had worked so hard to separate myself from this community and had spent about a two years away from home, in Europe, meeting Angelo's side of the family and exploring myself, and my artistic desires. I had only been back for a couple of weeks. And consequently, I hadn't seen him.

However, I did spot him as soon as I walked into the room, Emmett with his blue eyes, reddish blonde hair, and a smile that could just make me go weak in the knees immediately, ugh. And he was wearing a leather jacket. From the distance, I didn't recognize it, it must have been a new one.

I squared my shoulders, pretended not to see him (not my most courageous move), and immediately engaged in conversation with somebody that I vaguely remembered from Buckner. He offered to get me a drink, I replied with a 'vodka tonic' and he went off.

Simone Jenkins, (my old best friend, and consistent alibi whenever I snuck out) walked by. She made a scene, I winced. "BAY, HOW ARE YOU?" she screeched. Fortunately for me, avoiding Emmett, that he couldn't hear that. I tried to replicate the enthusiasm, but found I just couldn't. After high school, we'd sort of split apart even further. We'd started drifting apart in high school, when she wanted to do all sorts of things, like cheerleading, and field hockey. Which I just couldn't get into, I liked art, photography and music.

My vaguely-familiar friend came back with my drink and I thanked him. The three of us, chatted for a bit. Simone got bored and left. Leaving me with a guy, I sort of knew. Me and this fellow were getting along swimmingly, until the music changed and the bare notes of a piano came through the speaker. "Oh, this was me and my ex's song. We just broke up." OH, BOY. Was I done with this guy. I was not going to be a rebound, or anything with this guy, totally hung up on his ex.

I excused myself, and on the way to the bathroom, I ran into Wilke. Wishing him a happy birthday, and he introduced me to his fiancée, who had appeared out of nowhere, seemingly. Fiancée (crazy!), well that was unexpected. I congratulated him and Sophie, she added. I made a joke about the whole thing (alright, a bad joke), there was a beat (albeit, a really terrible and awkward one), then Sophie laughed, good-naturedly. But I wanted to leave this social situation ASAP. I congratulated them again, and went off to find the bathroom. I darted past the bar to get there. I don't think he saw me.

Once in the bathroom, I straightened out my dress. And tried to find something to fix. To delay the inevitable. But nothing really was wrong. I sighed and went back out to the bar area. I went to go talk to Emmett, but the cowardly part of me kept walking. I mingled with some more Buckner alums, and as I did so, I became acutely aware of somebody watching me. No questions who that could be, I turned around to look, saw Emmett and his piercing blue eyes. I made eye contact, and raised my hand holding the vodka tonic, in an acknowledgement and immediately pulled the arm back to my chest.

I had put it off for long enough. I took a sip of my drink and began to walk over to him. He smiled at me, and on the inside which was already full of butterflies, began to twitter nervously.

"How are you?" I spoke and signed.

"I'm pretty good, and you?" he replied.

Out of habit, we were standing close together, and I could practically feel the tension between us, and the history that we were leaving buried at the moment. It was the seeming guise of not being able to hear each other speak, at least orally. I'd had just enough to drink, that I chuckled at the thought. I suppressed it, Emmett looked confused.

"Nothing" I told him

I've been typing the whole thing, out, and unlike most of the fics i've written in the past, this one has more than just the first part written. :D

Please review! :)