A/N: Hello again. So, please don't hate me, but I've started a new chapter fic. I know I Love Me to work on, but this was in my head and it just had to be written! As for how many chapters, I have no idea. As for when this will be updated, again I have no idea. I'll probably make a writing cycle so maybe an update a week? Sometimes more? We'll see.
Anyways I did do a lot of research for this one, for obvious reasons, so I'm sorry if I got any of the info wrong! I am trying my best! And of course a thank you to my lovely and amazing beta Pavarotti.
Disclaimer: I do not own glee, I probably never will. I did recent buy a Warbler tie though.
Now without further ado, here is what I like to call...
In My Eyes
"Hey, why not?" Sebastian asked, his minty fresh breath hot in Jeff's ear.
"Because, I'm going home this weekend," the blond shot back, glaring at his friend.
His tone prompted Sebastian to slink back into his own seat beside Jeff, this time, however, crossing his arms firmly over his chest. "Fine, Sterling. Blainey and I will go to Scandals without you."
Jeff gave the taller boy a sickly sweet smile, shaking his head along with Blaine once Sebastian's eyes were back on their teacher. This was usually how the three friends spent their history class. Sebastian would attempt to flirt or get them to go to the local gay bar, while Jeff and Blaine would play along in the way only close friends could. Personally, the blond didn't mind Scandals, he actually enjoyed the dancing and the music; he just simply wasn't a huge fan of getting wasted for the night and then later getting fucked by a random stranger. Jeff preferred real relationships with love. Blaine, on the other hand, only let his dapper exterior go if he had alcohol pumping in his blood. Mainly, the two went to keep a watchful eye on Sebastian, who had a knack for running off with an older, and usually hot, stranger for the night.
The three had been fast friends when Sebastian had transferred to Dalton from a French reform school. Considering his background, the housing dean thought it would be best to room him with Blaine Anderson; star Warbler, straight A student, and an all around good student. Being the protective guy Blaine was, he wanted to make sure that the new kid never had to return to the reform school again.
RING, RING.
The phone going off in the front of the classroom made Jeff's head snap back to face the front, where his teacher was currently shuffling over to answer it.
Mr. Kowitz answered, humming into the black phone a few times before hanging up. "Jeffrey Sterling?" he bellowed, his eyes falling on the boy who was seated in the back row of the class.
"Yes?" Jeff asked, staring right back at the older man.
"Principal Meacham wants to see you, immediately."
The statement was followed by a chorus of 'Ooo's', accompanied with a loud wolf whistle from Sebastian. Jeff stood, his face gaining color as he stuffed his notebook into his navy blue messenger bag and dragged his feet awkwardly out of the classroom.
'Why would Meacham want to see me?' Jeff thought as he slowly made his way down the deserted halls. He had always felt small with the grand and elaborate archways and paintings that occupied the inside of Dalton, but with the hallways this empty and the butterflies in his stomach, he felt so much smaller.
"Jeffrey, there you are," Mrs. Crowther, the main secretary, said, immediately ushering the teen inside.
The principal was seated in front of his large mahogany desk, and a woman was settled in a chair across from him. "Jeffrey, please sit."
The blond took a seat in an expensive looking chair beside the identical one that was occupied by the other woman, whom he had no recognition of.
"This is Danica Halling. She's an interpreter," explained Principal Meacham promptly, noticing the confused look on his student's face.
"Hi," Danica replied, smiling politely at Jeff. She looked young; probably not over twenty-five, but she had some wrinkles, most likely coming from stress.
Jeff nodded at her, though his face still showed his confusion. "It's nice to meet you, but why am I here to meet with an interpreter?"
"Because," replied the aging man, "you will be getting a new roommate."
"That still doesn't explain…"
"Miss Halling will explain the rest to you during your lunch break. You two are excused," Principal Meacham said sharply, ignoring the fact that Jeff was still very much lost as to why he was called down at all. People were given new roommates all the time, and usually the new guy would simply show up. So why was Jeff called down to the office, and why was there an interpreter? In fact, he was more than just confused on the matter, he was perplexed.
Not even ten minutes later, Jeff found himself stripped of his blazer and seated on one of the benches in Dalton's rose garden. Danica was seated beside him, her own cardigan shed; it was unseasonably warm for early March.
"So, what do you want to know?" she asked, a sweet and seemingly innocent smile upon her face.
"What's his name seems like a logical place to start," muttered Jeff irritably. It was Friday and instead of handing out with his friends and going to Scandals he was already forced to go home, so he had thought that the least he could do was spend the short hour for lunch with the boys he considered to be his brothers. But, of course, he couldn't even have that. Alternately he had to spend his time with some girl he didn't even know, for reasons he couldn't even explain. Although a lot, okay some, of the guys at the all boys academy would have been thrilled to spend alone time with a pretty girl – or any girl for that matter – but Jeff was gay, so it wasn't a big treat for him.
"His name is Nicholas Duval," she clarified. "But he prefers to be called Nick."
Jeff watched as she signed the last part with her hands moving quickly, or at least that's what he presumed she did, considering he was a stranger to the language. "Why are you doing that?" he asked.
"That's the main thing I have to tell you. Nick is deaf."
The blond stopped, staring at the woman beside him. "Wait, what?" he quizzed, astonished at the new things he was learning about the boy whom he would be living with for the next few months.
"Nick, he's deaf. He can't hear." Danica continued, her tone changing completely from incredibly sweet and understanding to borderline bitchy.
"I got that, thanks," Jeff shot back, rolling his eyes in annoyance. He was starting to get very sick of this girl very fast. "You'd think Meacham could have let slip that minor detail."
Danica groaned, most likely from frustration, but Jeff couldn't tell. "It is a minor detail. He's a regular guy that's been through hell and back." She paused, taking a deep almost yoga like breath, aiming to calm herself down. "Look, if you're not okay with it, fine. We'll find Nick another roommate. Principal Meacham just said that with your past being what it is, you would not only be understanding and completely accommodating, but that you'd help him, befriend him."
"I-I will," Jeff stammered, not expecting his past, especially with his family, to be brought up. "It's just a shock, something that I was not expecting at all, you know?"
"Yeah," Danica agreed with a shrug, visibly relaxing now that she had dispersed her temper. "He really is a great kid."
The blond smiled slightly, only a corner of his mouth raising, as he replied, "Really? Will you tell me about him?"
She sighed, fixing herself to sit more comfortably. "He's a nice guy. A reader, most certainly; it's all he does. He loves music, especially piano."
"Wait, he plays piano? How?" Jeff interrupted, suddenly much more interested in learning about Nick Duval.
"He can see the keys and the music, so he plays," she replied, smiling softly as if remembering the sweet tunes the deaf boy would play. "He's good, too."
Jeff nodded, a bit of a musician himself. "But how? It must be so difficult for him without being able to hear what he was playing."
"Yeah, but he's a special case," Danica began to explain, speaking slower, and waiting to continue until Jeff nodded in an urge for her to keep talking. "There was an accident when he was a baby, well four-years-old. His older brother, who was almost thirteen at the time, dropped him off the balcony above their staircase." Jeff gasped, wanting to ask why, but deciding it was best not to pry. "He had a skull fracture, which he has since fully recovered from. The only major complication was his completely and irreversible hearing loss in both ears."
'Wow' was all Jeff could think. When he was told he would be rooming with someone new, he was more or less excited, it did mean a new friend after all. But this, Nick, was more than he had bargained for to say the least.
"Where do you come in, then?" he asked, a wondering tone laced through his voice.
Danica chuckled softly at him; there had been a long pause before he had asked that. "I'm Nick's interpreter, have been since he was ten. I sign for him what you, or anybody for that matter, says. Then he signs it back to me, and I say it aloud," she paused, knowing his next question. "He's excellent at reading lips, but he still signs his replies, so I'll be rooming with the two of you, at least for the time being. The Principal said you have a pull out couch, right?"
"Yeah…" Jeff replied tentatively. He wasn't too keen on the idea of a girl rooming with him, nor listening intently on everything he said. This was all going to be a huge adjustment.
"Well, then that's where I'll sleep," Danica stated. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to Nick. He's been alone for a while, and I'm sure his parents are getting frustrated."
Jeff nodded as she stood, calling after her before she left the garden completely. "Wait, when do I get to meet him?"
"Starting on Monday, you have two new roommates."
** 36 **
"Jeff! There you are," Blaine hollered, running up beside the taller boy. "Where were you? Seb and I were looking for you during lunch."
Jeff shrugged, sliding down into his seat. It was last period on Friday and finally Jeff would be able to spend it like he usually would – chatting with Blaine. Or so he thought, but of course that couldn't happen either. The blond was too wrapped up and lost in his own thoughts. Though the hour with Danica had answered a lot of questions, mostly ones he didn't even have, he still had many more that just led to a circle of confusion. 'Will Nick like me? Is he gay? Will he care that I'm gay? How will Sebastian treat him?' were only a few of his concerns about his new roommate.
"I had a meeting," he mumbled in reply, not even caring about his fib.
Blaine, on the other hand, knew he was lying. "C'mon Jeff, you can tell me. I won't tell Sebastian if that's what you'd prefer."
Jeff shrugged, slouching down in his seat. "I'm just getting a new roommate, that's all."
"Really? That's awesome! We need some new guys around here." Blaine stopped talking when his friend raised his hand. "What?"
"He's deaf," the blond added. "He has a girl, Danica who I met with, who signs for him. She's rooming with me, too."
Blaine's eyes widened, processing what Jeff was saying. "Oh."
"Yeah. That's like all I know about the dude," he said tiredly, threading a hand through his hair. "And I missed lunch with you guys."
"It wasn't anything special, we just talked about the weekend and Warblers and stuff," the shorter boy replied, trying his dandiest to cheer up his best friend, who was usually so full of life. "I know you won't like what you'll have to do for this guy, but I'm sure it will mean a lot to him. Plus, with Ju~"
"Stop," Jeff said sternly, his eyes piercing through Blaine. "I am not talking about…that now," was the final words he had said on the subject before the bell rang, dismissing the students until Monday. "My family will be here to pick me up soon, later Blaine."
And with that, Jeff was out the door, his bag over his shoulder and his mind pounding, close to tears. He did not need this, that or anything. And now he was going to have to do precisely the thing that would make him feel so much worse right now, if that was possible. He had to spend the weekend with his family.
A/N: I'd love to know what you guys think about this one, it would definitely determine if I update this first or Love Me. I love you all no matter what! Thanks!
~ Bea
