Disclaimer: I do not own "Wonder"; R.J. Palacio does.

Hope you guys enjoy! Tangentially, a song I really like for this story is "I See You" by Leona Lewis.

X-Ray Vision

Eighth grade was a good year for August Pullman. Slowly but surely, everyone had gotten used to his appearance and began to accept him for the nice, funny person he was on the inside. August was a Sour Patch kid, a little puckered on the outside, but sugary sweet on the inside.

I knew I should be happy for August. He had tons of friends now, and our "summer table" had expanded from just August, Jack, and me to a table so full that kids had shared seats just to squeeze in. I remembered fifth grade, where, for the majority of the year, it was just August and me. I knew it was mean, but sometimes I wished kids still shunned August so that I could have him to myself.

"Hi, Summer," August said, sitting down across from me and opening his lunch box, "What's up?"

"Not much," I replied, smiling. I really enjoyed the first couple of minutes of lunch, when all the other kids, who bought their lunches, weren't crowded around our lunch table. August was all mine.

"So," August said, leaning in to whisper to me conspiratorially, "I just got a special Collector's Edition Star Wars disk set, and I'm really excited to watch it. Do you think I should invite someone to come watch it with me this weekend?"

I grinned. I wasn't particularly a huge fan of Star Wars (I couldn't sit through ten minutes without falling asleep), but I would do anything for some time alone with August. "That's a great idea," I said, "But, um, who are you going to invite?"

"Macey Leeman,"

"Why, thanks August, I'd love to- wait what?"

"You know, Macey, the new girl. She's cute,"

Cute was an understatement. Macey was beautiful. She had moved to Beecher Prep two weeks ago from a flashy private school in Los Angeles, and she was a California girl all around. She had perfect golden curls, blue eyes the size of saucers, and the long legs of a giraffe. I had never spoken to her before, but immediately I hated her.

"So," August asked, "Do you think I should ask her?"

"I- uh, yeah sure..."

"Cool beans." He got up and smiled at me, "Thanks, Summer. You're really a good friend."

Well, obviously not a good enough friend to watch Star Wars with.

I watched August as he walked to Macey's table, sat down and began talking to her earnestly. Her table was only one down from where I was sitting, so I could hear everything they were saying.

"Hi, I'm August,"

Macey turned around. I guess it was the first time she has seen August because she gasped. Really loudly.

I could see the corners of August's mouth turn dow slightly and I knew he was upset. It was hard to tell with August because his facial features were so different, but I had learned a couple of tells over the years.

August, nonetheless, continued, "I was, uh, wondering if you would like to come to watch a movie with me on Saturday."

Macey was hanging out with people in the "popular crowd", the group that Julian used to lead. But it appeared that, unlike Julian, Macey had no intention of expressing her hatred covertly, "Ew," she shrieked loudly, "Are you kidding me? The only movies you should watch are horror movies! Like, what is wrong with your face? Ugh, get away from me, you creep!" She stood up quickly, grabbed her stuff and scurried away. The rest of the table was quick to follow.

August didn't start crying until I got there. I could feel my heart breaking as the tears rolled down his face. "August, August, it's okay," I said. It was a stupid thing to say, because I mean, obviously it wasn't.

He stared at me for a long time before he finally said, "I forgot what it felt like,"

"Forgot what what felt like?"

"What it felt like to be hated,"

I sighed, wrapping my arms around him as he sobbed and shook. "Shh, August, come on. It's just one dumb girl,"

"No, it's not," he replied, "It's everyone. Everywhere I go, I'm going to be different. Everyone I meet is going to think I'm some sort of freak. Everybody hates me."

"Come on, August, that's not true. Everyone doesn't hate you. I love you," I winced inwardly. Did I really just say that out loud? Maybe he didn't notice?

August looked at me, quirking a side of his mouth, "Geez, Summer, why are you so awesome?"

"Well", I grinned, "I possess a very special trait. It's very rare. Only three people in the world have it: you, me, and Jawa. It's called X-Ray vision. I'm the only one who can see how big your heart is."

August laughed, "Okay, Jawa does not have X-Ray vision!"

I laughed back, "I believe you're mistaken, August."

"No, I'm not," he laughed louder," Come watch the collection with me on Saturday and I'll prove it to you!"

I giggled, hoping he wasn't training his X-Ray vision on my heart. Because if he had, he would have seen it explode with happiness.

A/N: Hi guys, hope you enjoyed. If you did, please let me know by favoriting, following, and commenting! If you didn't, constructive criticism is always welcome! :). Have a fantastic day!