Did you guys know there's a big difference between Deaf and deaf? And it's not just the lettering. I started taking American Sign Language at my high school about six months ago and I love it. As a requirement, they make us go to Deaf events and talk to other deaf people using the signs we learned. I went to a Deaf coffee and I met lots of people and even took pictures with some of them. It was amazing and I encourage people to learn ASL and try one of these Deaf events. If you get a little lost, don't worry! There are lots of people who can hear who attend these events as well! Even if you don't know any its a good opportunity to met new people. The people there are very open and will help you out even if you have no signing experience!

Wow that was long. I guess that's just how much I loved it!

I apologize to anyone if they are offended with my story. If so, please PM me about it so I may remove it. Thank you for reading.

I don't own the characters. I attach strings to them and shout, "Dance marionettes! Dance for my pleasure!"

I can't describe what it's like to be Deaf. I just am. Could someone describe what it is like to eat or think or rise with the sun? It just comes naturally. To me at least.

Normal humans have five senses. I only have four. I can See. Touch. Taste. And Smell. But I can't Hear.

That is because I am Deaf.

Everyone's life is a whole canvas, painted with cheerful light colors of our happiness and the dark colors of the sadness inside of us. Some of us have all white. Some us have all black. Most of us always end up with gray.

When we are young our canvas is white with innocence. This is because the darkness hasn't had a chance to taint our hearts.

When I was young I saw people's mouths moving. I wondered, "Why are they doing that?"

My mother explained to me that they used their mouths to communicate. I saw her look wistfully at me and then at them. Even as an eight year old I knew she didn't want me to be different. She wanted me to hear, like her.

When I tried to speak she began to cry. She clutched me closely to her chest and sobbed on my shoulder in the middle of a parking lot. I couldn't hear them, but her sobs made her shiver and cough and choke and she tightened her hold on me even more.

My canvas became dark for the first time.

Both of my parents passed away in a car accident when I was in middle school. One minute I was sitting in the backseat, watching my parents move their mouths to each other. It was both scary and fascinating for me, who could not understand what they were saying. I felt a bit miffed that I was being left out of the conversation but I knew it was natural that they would talk like they were born to do.

The next moment I saw a bright light and my canvas became splattered with red and black.

It was at the funeral that I became grateful that God had at least left me other senses to live with.

There were red camellias everywhere. My mother had loved red camellias since she was a little girl and she had asked in her will that there be camellias at her funeral. I didn't like the harsh crimson color. They reminded me of the accident.

I was tired from standing up all day to receive apologies from my parents peers. The shoes I was wearing were small and tight on my feet. People were coming up to me left and right and I almost couldn't hold back my nausea. People surrounding me, combined with the heavy smell of camellias, was making me dizzy. For the first time ever I regretted having a sense of smell.

With a small cry I quickly ran out into the gardens, not hearing the surprised call of the guests and my relatives.

My parents were never going to smell again. Nor were they ever going to feel, hear, see or taste ever again. They were never going to sign to me "I love you" ever again.

They would never live again.

I thanked God or whatever mighty being up There that allowed me to have the rest of my senses.

I had always loved the garden in our backyard. Mother's best hobby was horticulture and she looked after the flowers as if they were her other children. She had always told me that flowers make people's lives a hundred times better.

But why did flowers not have the power to cure my loneliness? I wondered this as I cried and vomited all night in the corner of my mother's gardens, right next to the roses.

Black and red: My new colors of life.

When I went to high school I lost all my friends and went to a school for the Deaf. No one from my old school contacted me. The few friends I had before my parents died never talked to me or tried to contact me again. I was too shy and miserable to make new friends. To cope with my loneliness Uncle suggested I try getting a hobby. Something to take my mind off of my parents.

It took me forever to find it too.

I'm not very athletic so no sports clubs. I'm average in grades, so Advanced Chem or Signing French wasn't really to my taste. I talked to a teacher about this and he said to try the Art club.

I did.

There was only one person in the club. All the others had graduated last year. They kept it open because they never had a reason to shut it down. The club president was a girl named Sapphire. She was legendary in our school. She almost died during an animal attack when she was little. She lost her childhood friend, Wally, and her hearing. So she paints her loneliness away into amazing creations.

She didn't sign anything when I asked to join. She only nodded and motioned to a blank canvas with paints beside it.

So I painted.

And created.

And for the first time since my parents funeral, I cried.

Black. Red.

I had been in the club for a month when I was asked to put up one of my paintings in the cafeteria.

I was surprised. I didn't think I was that good. My paintings were mostly symbolic, with lots of odd colors clashing together. They never took on any shape and when they did, it was always a camellia or a black rose. I never painted anything else.

I didn't think it would cause that much of a ruckus so I simply handed the canvas to the teacher and left. It was one of my more depressing ones with a red camellia on a white surface with black liquid dripping from the petals.

The next week, the school was surrounded by reporters looking for me. When I asked the teacher about it (after I somehow managed to lose the paparazzi) he said that the painting was so good he donated it to an art contest and it won first place.

Oh dear lord.

After that it was mob after mob of paparazzi trying to get an interview with me about my painting. I didn't want to. In fact, I took back the painting and hid it in my room. The director cried and the teachers begged me to reconsider.

I never told a soul why I took back the painting. Instead I hung it on my door and covered it with a cloth.

Covering my life canvas with a black blanket.

A few months later I met a boy named Red.

I was painting again. I don't know why though. Since the incident I didn't paint as much anymore. But I felt I had to that day. Inspiration was just pouring out of my fingertips. Before I knew it there was already a black camellia over a glossy red surface. Hints of a darker red spread about on the canvas like a blood-colored mist.

The painting reminded me of my parents.

I started to cry. I cried and cursed God for leaving me alone. For taking away the most important people I my life away from me. For making me remember what it was like to be alone in this world.

That was how he found me.

I felt a tap on my shoulders and looked up to gaze upon the most beautiful boy I had ever seen.

His hair could be compared to glossy black paint and his eyes were a deep red color. They themselves were like a work of art. I could have gazed at them for the rest of my life. He was tall, or at least tall enough that he had to bend over to look at me. His mouth started to move. I vaguely wondered why. This was a school for the Deaf. Moving your mouth had no effect here unless you knew how to read lips and it was one of the skills I wasn't particularly good at.

He began to wave his arms around wildly, like I was some animal and he was trying to attract my attention. I raised a brow and turned away. I didn't need some Hearing idiot bothering me when I was feeling down. I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, about to curse at him for bothering me, when I came face to face with the art teacher, Erica.

"Hello Yellow." She signed. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I would like to introduce you to someone. This," She gestured to the boy. "is Red. He is very interested in your art and would like to talk to you. Do you mind?"

"Yes." I signed back. "I don't want to talk to anyone about my art. It's...personal. I'm sorry Ms. Erica."

I think she sighed. "Please Yellow? Just let him ask you some questions. He has been very inspired by your art."

It was my turn to sigh. "Fine. Only a few questions."

She nodded and signaled him to ask his questions. His mouth moved, but of course I couldn't understand. "He asked when you started painting."

"When I got to high school." She interpreted.

"What is the basis of your paintings?"

"Memories of my parents." She interpreted again.

"Your parents are dead?"

I did not want to go there. "Any other questions?"

He nodded. "Will you go out–" Ms. Erica paused on that one. She turned to me. "He's trying to ask you out."

"What?"

Ms. Erica nodded and from the look of her shaking shoulders she was laughing. "It's true. He's asking you for a date."

I exhaled. "Tell him I'm not interested in dating a boy who can't even understand me. Not just in language, but in art. Tell him to not show his face around here again."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

To my surprise he was back the next day. He waved and said something. I guess it was a greeting

I frowned and asked Sapphire why she let him in. She shrugged and signed, "He wasn't bothering me, so I figured I would let him stay. He hasn't got an interpreter, so you'll have a hell of a time communicating with him." She winked. "Good luck."

"When the heck did you get this cheeky?"

"When you joined." She went back to her water color.

I sighed and got out my sketchbook and started to write, Why did you come back? before giving it to him.

He looked surprised but wrote something down before handing it back to me. It said, I had to see you again.

I frowned. Why?

To convince you that I really do like you and that I want to get to know you better.

I shook my head. It would never work out.

He looked confused. Why?

Because we can't communicate.

We're communicating now.

I don't date Hearing people.

He frowned. Do you have something against hearing people?

They don't understand me. You wouldn't understand me the way a Deaf boy would. When you asked me out the first time did you even consider learning sign language for me?

It took him awhile to write back. No.

Then there you go. Why should I accept you when you won't even try to learn about my culture or who I am?

I know all I need to know about you. I know you're beautiful, you're talented, and you're Deaf. What else do I need to know?

Do you know anything about Deaf culture?

I can learn. I can learn sign language. I can learn art. I can learn it all if you want if you to give me a chance.

..Are you really that desperate for a date?

I think he laughed. No. When I saw your painting at the gallery a few weeks ago, something tugged at my heart. It was like you were crying for something. He shrugged. It made me want to get to know you better.

I blew away a piece of my bangs as I thought it over, and suddenly a genius idea struck me. I quickly wrote down, You really want a date that badly?

Yes.

Tell you what; I'll give you a week to learn as many signs as you can. Then, next Saturday, take me out to somewhere you think I'll have fun at. If I enjoy the evening I'll go out with you. If I don't, you have to stay away from me and never come near me again.

He bit his lip, but quickly scribbled down, Alright then. Meet me at Rose Gardens in front of the clock tower at noon.

I nodded. Alright. At noon. But if you make me wait past half an hour I leave.

After he left Sapphire asked for the sketchbook and looked at our conversation. "Did you really tell him to do that?"

I nodded. "Yes. He'll never be able to pull it off."

Sapphire rolled her eyes before handing me back the book. "I don't think you should underestimate him. He seemed really...smitten with you."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Smitten?"

"You know what I mean."

I shook my head and went back to my painting.

There was no way Red would do it. That, at least, I was positive of.

It was with glee that I donned a nice blouse and my paint-covered ripped shorts. It was a toss up between the high heeled sandals and my Toms, but then I decided that if I was going to wait and just go home I might as well be comfy.

Rose Gardens was a park with jungle-gyms and tiny cafes along a paved road with small stones embedded in the concrete. I was especially partial to the small cakes they served. It was like being in France without the view of the Eiffel Tower.

I sat down on a bench and checked my watch. Noon on the dot. Surprisingly it was only ten minutes before I saw him.

"Hey!" He signed. "How are you?"

My eyes widened. "How?"

He smiled. "I signed up for classes at the Viridian Community," He fingerspelled it. "College. They offer," He did the sign for bought, but I got it. "classes on ASL for beginners. What do you think?"

"Impressive," I had to admit it was certainly a shock. I've never had a guy so desperate to date me. "but can you keep up?"

He smirked. "I can try."

He took me on a picnic.

He guided me to a small slope of grass that had a wonderful view of the lake. Asking me to move over, he spread out a large red blanket and set down his bag. Inside were containers from all sorts of different restaurants. I snorted and signed, "You can't cook?"

He smiled sheepishly. Or laughed, I couldn't tell. "Yeah, but I'm learning. It's not good enough for a first," He paused and fingerspelled date. "I don't want to kill you."

I smiled. He was trying so hard it was a little humiliating. Here I had always thought that a Hearing boy wouldn't try hard enough to actually learn for me. I had always assumed a Deaf boy would be the one to make me feel special. Yet Red was making me feel things I had never felt before, for anyone.

"I like this." I signed after we finished eating. "You did a good job."

He grinned. "Told you I could do it." He suddenly turned serious. "Why wouldn't you give me a," He paused and fingerspelled chance.

I bit my lip. Could I really tell him? I admit while we were eating he had kind of grown on me. He was smart and willing to at least look like he understood my fast signing, even if he didn't. He didn't ask about my parents or my past of if I had always been Deaf.

Could I trust him with my heart?

Suddenly he turned away from me and waved to someone. I turned my head to see a few people approaching us; two girls and four boys. The first girl had her blue hair in pigtails and bright blue eyes. She looked like she was arguing with a boy with black hair and gold eyes. The second girl was moving her lips in Red's direction. The blond boy behind her was talking to another boy behind her, who hid his black hair with a red beret. The last boy looked a little like Red with black hair and red eyes, but he covered his hair with a red and white hat. They stopped in front of us before plopping themselves down in front of our towel. They started to talk to me, not realizing I couldn't hear them.

Suddenly red flashed before my eyes. I saw headlights and even thought I didn't hear I could feel the screams of my parent's final moments. I felt dizzy and nauseous and I wanted to go home.

I turned to Red. "I need-" I realized Red had his attention on the other girl. The girl said something that caused his whole body to quake with laughter.

I had never wanted to hear as badly as I did now.

I shook my head and stood up. I knew he couldn't do it. He was too stuck in the Hearing world. There was no place for me in his life.

Grabbing my purse and my shoes, I quickly slipped them on and ran off.

I quickly rushed inside my home, slamming the door behind me and then leaning against it, trying to catch my breath. I imagined my huffs filled the tiny house that was my home.

"I knew it." I couldn't help but think. "I knew there was no place for me in the Hearing world. What was I thinking, letting a Hearing person in?" I shook my head. "That can only end in misery. I learned that the hard way." I rushed to the bathroom and remained there all afternoon.

My uncle had to tap me on the shoulder to get my attention as we ate that night. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I learned the hard way that I still have a lot to learn about boys." At least it was a half truth.

He nodded sympathetically. "I understand. I myself was a boy once–"

"You were never this boy." I signed before I realized what I signed. I sighed and shook my head. "Forget it. It's nothing important anyways."

He suddenly put down his fork and knife and covered my hand with his. "Yellow," He signed. "I will always think of you as important, no matter if you are Deaf or Hearing. You can't keep blaming yourself for their deaths. It was not your fault." He removed his hand from mine. "Now finish dinner and go take a bath before you start your homework. I know you have a report due this week."

I smiled and dug in to my dinner again. I could always count on Uncle to make me feel better.

I groaned when I saw who was in front of my school that morning. He was in some sort of uniform with black slacks, a thin red tie and a white button down shirt. He had a black jacket in his arms and his bag looked more like a briefcase than a backpack. He was leaning against the wall beside the gate of my school.

I knew I was going to be late.

I saw Sapphire walking and walked up to her. "Hey." I signed. "I need you to do me a favor."

"And a hello to you too." She signed back sarcastically. "If I give you a favor will you publish another painting for a contest coming up?"

I winced. "Do I have to?"

"Not if you don't want me to do you a favor."

"Fine, alright. I need you to tell my homeroom teacher I might be late."

"Why?" She followed my glare and smiled a smile that could only be described as evil. "Oh I see. You want time with little lover-boy huh?"

I flushed. "Heck no! He abandoned me to talk to his little Hearing friends! I want to hit him, but I don't want the teachers to see."

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say. Just be quick."

"Trust me, as soon as I punch his pretty face I'll be off like a light." She walked away and I took a deep breath. I could deal with the stupid Hearing boy.

He noticed me as I walked closer and smiled. "Hey. I was worried about you."

"You shouldn't have been." I frowned. "Not after the way you abandoned me for your friends."

He frowned. "Is that how it looked like?"

"I tried to get your attention! You either ignored me or you were too concentrated on that girl to notice. I gave you a week and you lost Red. You need to go back to your Hearing school and Hearing friends before a teacher comes and gets me in trouble."

He looked at me blankly. I sighed and repeated it slower. His eyes widened. "I didn't abandon you for my friends!"

"Did you see me trying to tell you I was uncomfortable? Did you see that they tried to talk to me and I felt scared?"

"...No, I didn't."

I left him by the gate, trying to run as fast as I could and managing to not cry.

I gritted my teeth as I tried to finish my painting. I had been having trouble with this particular painting. Sapphire had talked to the supervisor of the art club, the teacher who had published my art without my permission, and he was urging me to complete another piece as soon as I could. The trouble is that I had never been under pressure to create and I didn't like it one bit. Who knew good and respected artists had it so rough?

My teacher tapped me on the shoulder before pointing in the direction of the window. "There's a man out there. He keeps looking at this window, specifically in your direction. You know him?"

I looked out the window to see that, indeed, a man looking at me. He wasn't Red though. His green eyes and spiky brown hair looked nothing like Red.

He saw me and waved. I sighed and put down my paintbrushes. "I need to take care of something."

"I can ask him to leave!" The teacher signed quickly. "This is more important!"

I shook my head. "No thanks. It's just something I need to take care of. Not to mention I need a break."

With a reserved sigh I walked outside to meet the stranger who somehow knew me.

"Hey." He greeted me in sign language. "Are you Yellow Amarillo?"

I nodded. "Yes. Are you here about my next art competition?"

"No." He smiled. "I'm a friend of Red's."

I rolled my eyes. "Look I don't know how you know Red, but if you could tell him to stop sending his friends as a way to apologize I would really appreciate that."

He smiled wider. "I'm afraid you misunderstand. I'm not only his friend, I'm his teacher."

My brows furrowed. "From his school?"

"From Viridian Community College."

I nodded in understanding. "You're the one who taught Red how to sign. I don't understand why you came to see me."

He smiled again, this time with understanding in his eyes. "Why don't we take a walk?"

"So," He started. "why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

I frowned. "Are you sure you're not from the media or something?"

Judging by the way he shook his shoulders, I'd say he laughed. "No no, I'm a simple teacher I promise. I'd just like to know the girl who caught Red's attention." I blushed, but didn't sign anything. "You know, I've been a teacher for over ten years and I've never seen a more dedicated student than Red."

"What do you mean?"

"When he first signed up he was already several months behind our class. I had to quickly teach him finger-spelling, classifiers, how important facial expressions were. Add to all his normal classes and the fact that he goes to a private school, if I was him I would have just quit. If it was anyone else they would have caved under all that pressure. But when I saw how dedicated he was and how much he was willing to learn I just couldn't turn him away." He looked at me. "He told me the story you know. I wasn't about to let him into my class if he was just messing around and trying to get credit from an easy class. When he explained to me that he had found the girl of his dreams," I blushed even harder. "and she refused to have anything to do with him if he didn't learn all the signs he could in a week, I just couldn't say no. He was so dedicated, Yellow, I thought he was going to hurt himself if he didn't slow down. I saw the bags under his eyes, but they couldn't block out the dedication he had in his heart that showed clearly through his eyes. He cares about you, Yellow, and I'm asking you to give him another chance."

I bit my lip. Red...cared? He cared, even though he had never met me before my teacher published that painting. He...cared? I shook my head. "I...I don't know-"

"I know what Red did wrong," He quickly signed. "and I explained it to him. Judging by your reaction to his friends, I'd say you haven't been around Hearing people much right?"

I shook my head. "No, my parents were Hearing. I went to a mainstream school before my parents died in a car accident. I...I think being around Hearing people reminds me of my parents and I'm scared that if I get too close, I'll loose them again. It's why I try to avoid my Hearing uncle in my own home."

He nodded. "I'm sorry about your parents. Yellow, you weren't the cause of that accident were you?"

"I don't think so, no."

"Then why are you worrying about it? You being Deaf didn't cause that accident."

My lip wobbled. "How do you know?"

"Because you being Deaf is a gift. A gift that you should use to your advantage. You can see, smell, taste and touch more than me, even differently. You make up for not being able to hear in so many ways that I can't. Don't be ashamed of your Deafness Yellow, because no one should be ashamed of being who they are. Especially not you."

"...Thank you."

...What was I doing? I had never been to a Hearing school without an interpreter. All of the people were moving their mouths, yet no sound was coming out. I didn't have to deal with this when I went to my school. All the pressed and clean uniforms made me long for the free dress code of my school. The manicured lawns and polished campus made me feel that my brown leather jacket, paint-splattered t-shirt and jeans and my monogrammed Converse made me stand out more than any rose bush could. Not to mention all the weird stares everyone was giving me.

I winced. With the sun beaming down on me it all was making me dizzy.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. Instead of Red an...expensive-looking man was scowling down at me. He moved his lips. Like an idiot, I just stood there dumbly and tried to read his lips. It was something like, "Who is mama's chicken?"

I already said lip reading wasn't one of my talents.

Before I could do anything he suddenly grabbed one of my arms and twisted it painfully. I don't know if I screamed out in pain or what but suddenly he was pushed off of me and I fell to the ground, landing on my shoulder painfully. Above me Red was moving his lips rapidly. I saw the man pale and run away. Red shook his head before turning to me. "Yellow," He signed. "you okay?"

I nodded and winced. "A bit bruised, but I'm fine."

He nodded and suddenly scooped me up, making my arms cling to his shoulders. "Stop!" I tried to sign. He shook his head and started walking towards a building. I could feel everyone's eyes on us and I squirmed a little. He simply heaved his shoulders and gripped my bad shoulder tighter. I let out a small whimper and he hurried into the building.

He apparently brought me to the nurses office, if the woman in a white labcoat was any indication. Her face was surprised and she motioned for him to place me on a white bed. She rotated her shoulders a bit before surprising me and signing, "What happened to you?"

My eyes widened. "You know sign language?" I winced as I moved my shoulder.

She grinned and pushed her long brown hair away from her ear to reveal a tiny machine on the side of her head. "Yes. I'm Deaf too." She frowned. "We'll have time for explanations later. Right now I need to look at you to see if your shoulder is dislocated."

"Will she be okay Blue?" Red signed.

She nodded. "I'm pretty sure she's going walk out of here without a scratch." He raised an eyebrow and she realized she had signed too fast. "Sorry. Yes, she is going to be fine."

"How do you do it?" I asked later when we were alone. Red volunteered to get us some drinks and I wanted to talk to Blue alone. Blue had just finished patching my shoulder when I asked her a question. "How can you be in a Hearing school, surrounded by Hearing people who don't understand you the way Deaf people would?"

She sighed. "Sometimes, Yellow, you just have to look beyond the fact that they can Hear and you can't. I almost didn't get my Nursing Degree because I was Deaf. I had to work harder than others, pay attention to how people's lips moved and just try and stand out more than all the Hearing students. I knew they mocked me behind my back. I asked my interpreter to tell me what they said every time he heard someone insult me because I was Deaf. He was angry, but it just inspired me to make them even angrier that they lost to a poor Deaf girl." She smirked. "It was satisfying when I got my diploma. I dismissed my interpreter and missed half of what the Dean said at the graduation ceremony. The one thing I didn't miss was my name. I received my diploma and then signed, 'Take that fuckers!' " She threw back her head and laughed. I wished I could hear it, but I settled for giggling along with her. "You should have seen their faces! They knew I was insulting them, but they didn't know what I was signing!" She took some more deep breaths and wiped away a tear. "The point is Yellow, most Hearing people don't consider us people. To some of them we are the unfortunate people who were born without Hearing or we lost it somehow. They pity us, consider us stupid, and generally don't know how to react to us. But there are people like Red who would learn for us because they don't consider us stupid. They consider us special. They consider our Deafness a gift."

Now where had I heard that before? "You know Green?"

She smiled and held up her left hand, showing off her wedding ring. "I was the once who introduced Red to Green. He was the interpreter I was talking about. He hated it when Hearing people insulted me when they knew I couldn't hear it. He also said I was one of the smartest people he knew. After I got my degree and started looking for a job, we just couldn't stay away from each other. He proposed after our third date. I was twenty five and had never dated before in my life, but I said yes anyways. He stood up for me when he didn't have to. He cared about me and called my Deafness a gift. He was heaven sent to me. I even got a cochlear implant for him." From the way her shoulders shook, I'd say she giggled. "My mom was pissed. She said I should never have to change who I am simply for a guy. But I knew he wasn't just some guy." She smiled. "I see the way Red looks at you Yellow. It's the same way Green looked at me when we went on dates. He really loves you Yellow."

I blushed. "I don't know him!"

"Sometimes not knowing people is what makes relationships so great. Every time you learn something new about each other, you feel accomplished. You feel like you know something new that makes you love him even more and just when you think you know everything about him, you find out something new. No relationship is going be perfect Yellow. You are going to find things that make you dislike him, and he you. The point of a relationship is to look past someone's faults and still love them. You understand?"

I knew what she was saying, but I'm not sure I did. Would he really still love me once he knew what I was like? What I had been through?

Blue snapped her head up and mouthed something. I turned to feel something cold touch my face. I jumped and looked up to see a laughing Red.

"Sorry." He signed. "I just couldn't..." He paused and fingerspelled resist. Blue jumped in and signed it for him. "Thanks. Anyways, how are you?"

"She has a sprained shoulder." She had to fingerspell sprained for him. "Other than that she's okay." She turned to me. "Don't do anything strenuous for a week. Monday, if you have time, come and see me and I'll see if you need a better diagnosis from me."

"Thanks for helping me."

She waved away my thanks. "It's my job as a nurse. But," She winked. "as a thanks, remember what I said."

Red insisted on walking me home. "You may be used to you walking home alone," He pointed out. "but I'm still not and it makes me uncomfortable."

"Because I'm Deaf?"

"Because you're a girl."

I flushed angrily. "I've walked myself home alone for five years! What difference is another day going to make?"

"Please?" He begged me. "Humor me?" He said funny my, but I got it.

As I had no reason for him to not walk me home (me being mad at him was debatable by this point), I allowed him to be sexist and walk me home.

There was silence. A painful, painful silence. And I'm Deaf. I sighed and clapped my hands as hard as I could (ow!). He looked at me, startled. "I came to your school to give you another chance to talk. You have from now until we reach my house to talk."

He nodded seriously. "I'll be honest, I welcomed," He fingerspelled it. "my friends on our date because I was..." He paused and fingerspelled nervous. "I had learned all the signs I could, adding to a lot of the signs Blue taught me on the side. I told them to slow down for you, but they said that they didn't believe me when I told them you were Deaf. They thought I was making you up because I talk about you so much."

"You talk about me?"

"Everything I say is true!" He protested. "I told them you were an interesting person, very artistic, and the most beautiful girl I had ever seen." I blushed. I still wasn't used to him complementing me so casually. "They would like to meet you, you know, and apologize. They really didn't mean to," He fingerspelled overwhelm. "you. Like I said, I talk so much about you that they thought everything I told them must be made up, Deafness included."

"You didn't notice me being scared?"

He shrugged. "One of the things I'll always regret about that day. I promise Yellow, if I had known you were going to react like that I swear I would have made them back off and left us alone." He stopped me. "Hurting you was never my," He fingerspelled intention. "I," He fingerspelled honestly. "wanted you to have fun and enjoy yourself on that date." He picked up one hand and tried to sign with the other. "Will you give me another chance?" I tried not to laugh at his bad signing and failed miserably. "I'm trying here!"

I giggled. "Okay okay." I sighed. "Promise not to mess up this time?"

He smiled. "I'll do my best so long as you promise to not be late."

"Promise."

He asked me to meet him a the Rose Gardens again and I had no idea what to wear.

"Damn it!" I thought as I looked at every article of clothing I own strewn across my bed. "It wasn't this hard the last time! I knew I was going to be comfortable because I had to run, but now that its an actual date date I have no idea what to do!" I sighed. Suddenly my lamp blinked three times. That meant someone was at the door. Ignoring the fact that I was in my grittiest sweats I rushed downstairs and opened the door to see Blue grinning sheepishly, holding a bag from a brand I didn't recognize.

"Hey." She signed. "I had a feeling you would be needing this."

Startled, I took the bag and brought out the contents. It was a white dress, and the kind you only saw in commercials and magazines. My mouth dropped open. "How did you afford this?"

She winked. "I work at a private school. It's pretty good pay."

I shook my head. "I can't accept this."

"Why not?"

"Because it was probably worth more than my entire closet!"

She rolled her eyes and pushed me inside before closing the door behind me, grabbing my shoulders and rushing me upstairs. "What you need is a fashion consultant." She winked. "Not to mention it kinda sucks to have a fashion-impaired husband. I have to dress him every morning or he'll go out in mismatched clothing." She shivered. "When I think about what that man would do if he didn't have me or his sister, it makes me shiver. Now, where is your room?"

I gave up and pointed to the last door down the hallway. "Just don't over do it."

I gulped as Blue pushed me out the door. "I think I changed my mind. I should have just done it myself."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm insulted."

"I can barely move!"

"Just be thankful I put you in those flat sandals instead of the Jimmy Choos."

"I would have broken an ankle in those shoes!"

"Yeah well, what would you have done without me and my wonderful makeup skills?"

"...Gone out like I usually do?"

"And that is okay to you?"

"...Yes?"

She rolled her eyes and muttered things to the sky. "Why do I even try?"

You know how the human body is made up of 80% of water? I must have been sweating at least 99% of that before Red showed up.

I had never been this nervous before. Not even when my parents died or when I tried to attend a speech therapy session for the first time. So why was a boy of all things making me like this?

A tap on the shoulder brought me out of my worrying. I turned to see Red smiling at me. "You ready?"

I smiled. "Surprise me."

He grinned even wider. "I intend to do more than just surprise you. Today Yellow, I intend to dazzle you."

I smiled. "You certainly turned on the charm."

"Only for today. And only for you."

I rolled my eyes as he took my hand and started to lead me down the path we took before. It was different somehow. I don't know why, but the sky just seemed...bluer. Delicious smells permeated the air and relaxed me. Everything in my sight seemed more beautiful.

He led me to the same spot we were before. The same patch of grass overlooking the beautiful lake. He tried to sign while he set the blanket and stuff down. I shook my head and smiled. "Try and do one thing at a time."

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." He placed the rest of the stuff down. "I wanted to try and do everything over again, this time with better results. This time now that I have an idea about what you like, I promise to make this the most," I giggled as he fingerspelled spectacular. "afternoon you've ever had thanks to the power of take-out."

I smiled wider. He was trying to hard. I felt so relaxed it was impossible to not be in a good mood. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For trying to make me feel comfortable." He looked at me blankly at the last word, so I fingerspelled it for him. "No Hearing person except my uncle has really tried."

He smiled. "Well I'm glad I'm the first."

I don't know why, but I took his hand with mine. "Again, thank you."

He smiled again and kissed the back of my hand before suddenly letting it go "Do you think it would be selfish of me to ask about you?" He suddenly turned serious. "I want to know more about you. Your thoughts, your fears. I want to know."

I sighed. "Fine. I like the color red."

"Same."

I fought back a smile and failed miserably. "I like mice."

"Really? Same!"

I took a deep breath. "My parents are dead."

It was like everything just stopped. His face was expressionless and I could have sworn I saw his shoulders tense. Finally, he blew out his breath and leaned back. "I guess I knew that."

"From my paintings?"

He nodded. "When I first saw your painting I heard some sort of scream. I looked around, but all I saw were people who were looking at me weirdly. I looked at it again and I heard that cry, but no one else seemed to hear it. I realized that the screaming was coming from the painting."

"How did you hear it coming from a painting?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. When I saw your name and knew I had to meet you. It was this..." He signed want. "I had to meet you. Know this girl who seemed like she needed someone to talk to. I didn't know you were Deaf. If I had known, I would have gone to Blue, learned all I could from her, and then gone to see you. Then I wouldn't have looked like an idiot."

I giggled. "You did look kind of stupid. What did you think waving your arms would do?"

"Get your attention? The point is, I wasn't prepared for a beautiful girl who took my breath away with her tears. I tried to ask if you were okay but you didn't seem to hear me, so I waved my arms. When you finally looked at me and started talking to me, Ms. Erica told me that you and everyone in the room were Deaf." He paused. "I wanted you to know that I could be there for you whenever you needed. I didn't want you to be like me. So after I talked to you the second time, I went home and asked Blue to introduce me to someone who would teach me about Deaf culture and language. She told me about Green and the rest is history."

"You told Green that I was the girl of your dreams."

He blushed so hard it looked like his cheeks were tomatoes. "How do you know that?"

"Part of the reason I gave you a second chance was because he asked me to. Green is a very nice man and he likes having you as a student."

He smiled. "Really?"

I nodded and paused. "What did you mean when you said you didn't want me to be like you?"

He looked a little embarrassed. "I signed that?" I nodded. "Well, the truth is...I'm...adopted? I think thats how you say it."

My eyes widened. "You're adopted?"

He signed yes. "My parents went missing when I was a kid. I lived in an," He fingerspelled orphanage. "for the first few years of my life. None of the kids would talk to me and the teachers didn't pay us any mind. I grew up very lonely until I was adopted. My foster parents are well off so I'm not unhappy. "

"You never told me."

He smiled. "I didn't want you to feel sorry for me. I see now it wasn't," He fingerspelled necessary.

"I never would have pitied you."

"I didn't know that then."

"Well now you do. Pity is something I'm kind of sick of."

"Same. I," He fingerspelled hope. "I get to know you better."

"I promise," He looked a little lost so I fingerspelled it. "to teach you more words. You will get used to it the more you sign."

He suddenly grinned. "Does that mean you'll stick around?"

For the first time in a long time, I smiled and meant it. "If someone can," I fingerspelled convince "me to stick around, then maybe."

He kissed my cheek. "I can try."

He was my date to the art exhibit. I also asked him to invite his friends.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" He signed when I first asked him. "They may be excited to meet you, but can you handle it?"

I nodded. "I think I can. So long as I think that, I know I'll be okay."

So he agreed and asked his friends to come.

"I'm so sore." I complained to Blue after I submitted my painting. She came to my house to help me with my dress and makeup. "And I still have to look good for the judges. How do people do this every night?"

"Well don't worry. After tonight, Red won't be able to keep his eyes off you." Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Maybe even his hands."

I flushed. "Blue!"

"You've got to admit you do look smoking in that dress."

I glanced at myself in the mirror and self-consciously blushed. My dress was short, red with a black belt around my hips and strapless. Add to the four inch black heels Blue forced me to wear, the fact that the hem of the dress came to the middle of my thighs, and a metallic necklace wrapped around my neck and dipped into my cleavage and I think my uncle would have had a heart attack if he saw me! My hair had been taken out of its usual ponytail and had been blow-dried and straightened within an inch of its life. She was right: I did look good.

Blue twirled around and jumped up with joy. She wasn't looking bad herself. She had on this flowing pastel green dress and modest sandal heels that looked like they were made of wood. Her hair was wavy and full of glitter.

Suddenly the lamp on my bedside table went off three times. I gulped. He was here.

"Deep breaths." Blue assured me. "He's just your date. It's not like you two are getting married. The night will be over before you know it."

I nodded. "Right. You're right."

Blue smiled and took my hand. "Come on. We don't want to keep the boys waiting."

I gulped, but allowed her to lead me downstairs.

He was with a small mob of people, but I could have spotted him in the middle of downtown New York if I had to. As soon as he heard me and my loud shoes, he looked up and smiled. "You look beautiful."

I blushed and smiled. "Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself."

Suddenly, the girl with the beautiful silver eyes I had seen with Red came up to me and shook my hand. "Hi! I'm Platina." She clumsily signed. "My friends call me Missy."

I nodded. "Hi. Nice to meet you."

She smiled and said something. Being the awesome lip reader I was, I read it as, "Do you want to go skinny-dipping with me?"

Yes, I am brilliant. So I turned to Red.

He smiled and signed. "She said she is sorry that she isn't able to sign very good, but she does want to say she's sorry for the last time you met her. She really wants to be your friend."

I turned to her. "Thank you."

Another boy came up behind her. "Hey. I'm Ruby. You're Yellow right?" I nodded, surprised by his good signing. "Nice to meet you."

"Hi! I'm Cryspat." She shook her head in exasperation and gently hit her forehead. "Sorry. Not right. I'm Crystal! Nice to meet you."

"I'm Diamond. My friends tell me Dia."

"Hi! I'm Pearl!

"Gold's my name!"

I bit my lip and tried to hold back the nausea. They were starting to surround me. Red suddenly said something that made everyone back away a bit. I turned a grateful smile in his direction.

Green must have gotten our attention somehow their attention because suddenly all Hearing eyes were on him. "Well? Come on." He winked as he spoke and signed. "The limo is waiting and we don't have all night."

I wasn't just nervous when I arrived. I was freaking terrified.

All of the older men were looking at me through squinted eyes, trying to evaluate whether or not I was good enough to be considered a threat. The older women turned their noses up at me and pretended I didn't exist. The boys my age stared at me like I was a piece of meat they just couldn't wait to devour and the girls my age glared at me like they wished I would jump in a lake of fire.

I sucked in a breath as I tried to walk confidently. Red could feel my body tensing and gave my hand a gentle squeeze as we walked down to the entryway and into an auditorium. Green told me they were going to announce the winner there.

Blue managed to snag us some seats at the very front. I sighed and tried to relax as I sank down into the hard folding chair. "I'm so nervous."

"Same."

"Why?"

"Because I'm here with the best looking girl in the world and I think every guy in here has it out for me."

I giggled. "I'm not the most gorgeous girl here. You must be thinking of someone else."

He smiled and gently kissed my head. "Not from where I'm sitting."

Blue tapped Red on the shoulder and smiled sweetly. "If you mess up her hair, forget about coming to the nurses office when you have a bad rash or a broken bone." I don't think he got all of that, but the murderous aura around Blue made him twitch.

Red tapped my shoulder and pointed to where Sapphire stood frozen, looking at someone from our group. She shook her head, probably snapping herself out of it, and ran over to hug me. "Are you excited?"

"Am I excited? Are you okay is the question. What happened? I've never seen someone so pale! You looked like Bella Swan from that stupid vampire movie."

"One, don't insult me like that." We shared a giggled. "Two, I'm fine. I just see someone I know."

"Why did you pale like that if it's someone you know?"

She frowned and glanced towards Red's friends. "Because it's someone I despise."

Before I could ask who, the lights dimmed and an impressive man came up to the podium on stage. "Welcome." Green translated for Sapphire, Blue and I. "This is an honor to have so many upcoming artists here today. I am the founder of this competition, Wallace. Never before have I seen so many wonderful paintings in one place. I admit, I wanted to give you all first place. However rules are rules, so I shall call up the the stand third place winner..." I took a deep breath as a young man walked up on stage. "In second place we have..." A girl a little older than me walked up as well. I took a deep breath again as Red squeezed my hand and Sapphire patted me on the shoulder. "In first place...Yellow Amarillo!"

I blinked. Did he really just call me up there?

I didn't even have time to react when Green pulled me to my feet and escorted me up to the podium to receive my award. I nearly went blind from all the flashes of the cameras. I could already tell there was going to be more paparazzi in front of my school.

Wallace tapped my shoulder and said something. I turned to Green. "What did he say?"

"He asked if you would like to make a speech."

I shook my head. "I just want to get my painting back and go home." He interpreted. Wallace frowned but shrugged. Suddenly, the girl from second place walked up to me and started shouting in my face. I could tell she was shouting because spit was flying out of her mouth and she looked red as a beet. I saw Green go pale and Wallace frown even harder. Red was suddenly behind me and trying to coax me away from the hysterical girl.

I turned away from him and asked Green, "What is she saying?"

He shook his head. "You don't want to know."

"Oh yes I do! Tell me."

He heaved his shoulders. "She's shouting at you that the reason you won was because the judges took pity on you because you are Deaf. She's saying that she shouldn't have to deal with something as stupid as a Deaf person winning a competition out of pity."

I flushed and turned to the girl. "You understand what I'm saying?" The girl looked blankly at me. I think Green interpreted for me because she nodded. "No you don't. You don't understand me and you will never understand the pain I went through because I'm Deaf. I get nauseous around Hearing people because I'm afraid of them. I used to hate them too, because they took away my parents. Then someone opened my eyes and I realized that no matter who you are, Deaf or Hearing, it shouldn't define who you are. I had to go through a lot to understand that. I realize now that being different, being Deaf, is all okay. So what if I'm Deaf? It's better than being than being you any time." The girl flushed and started to shout things again. I turned to Wallace and accepted my medal. "Thank you."

He shook his head and said something. I turned to Green and he signed. "He said he's sorry."

"What for? Its not his fault."

"He says he's sorry that you had to deal with this."

I smiled and turned to Wallace. "Its all part of being Deaf. I've learned to love it.

Took me forever to finish this.

For those of you who were confused on the fingerspelling part, fingerspelling is like spelling out a word. Most things have a sign for them, but brands, peoples names and other stuff don't. When Red fingerspelled, he basically didn't know the sign for that word. Hope that cleared up some confusion.