I Wake Up, I'm Afraid

2004

Adrian's got to admit, for an 18 year old, life is pretty good. He's traveling the world doing what he loves: wrestling. He doesn't care if he's not in the, so called, "big leagues" of wrestling, because he is perfectly content where he's at. Performing in gyms and small arenas of 50 to 100 people felt to him like Madison Square Garden. Holding a cheap plastic championship felt like he was holding one made of solid gold. And though he wasn't making much money, he was making enough to survive.

As long as he got to wrestle, that was more than enough for him.

Adrian stands in the hallway waiting to be cued to head to the ring. Tonights match wasn't anything special; just a singles match against a guy that was new to the company. He typically main evented any wrestling event he was booked in, but he always enjoyed working with the new guys as well. Because as far as he knew, he could be facing off against the next big thing.

His music hits and the ring announcer calls his name, so Adrian heads out past the cheap curtains and into the ring.

The match, so far, is going pretty well. They hadn't planned any amazing spots or anything, but they also made sure to put on a good show for the fans. And a good show it has been. The fans are chanting Adrian's name, and god if that isn't music to the Brit's ears. He could get high off of the sensation, he swears.

As soon as the fans seem to be at the peak of their excitement, Adrian decides that its time to take the match home. When he has the newbie in position, he jumps onto the top rope to set up his finishing maneuver, The Red Arrow. He takes one last look at the crowd, soaking up all of their energy. He has to smile, because he can't imagine doing anything else with his life. He can't imagine anything making him happier. He can't imagine his life being any more perfect. So with that, he raises his hands, takes a deep breath.

And he jumps.

…

When Adrian opens his eyes, he immediately regrets it. There's this bright white light shining directly into his eyes. His first instinct is to raise a hand over his face to block out some of the light, but… there's something… in his arm?

What's going on?

He looks around, his eyes trying to adjust and take everything in. He's confused at first, but when it hits him, it hits him like a ton of bricks.

He's in a hospital bed.

What happened?

He's so confused, and admittedly, a little scared. Why cant he remember anything?

"Hello?" He calls out, but he can't hear himself. Has he lost his voice?

A few moments later, a doctor comes into the room. Adrian looks up at him, and he can clearly see his lips moving, but… why can't he hear what he's saying?

"Wh-why can't I hear you?"

The expression on the doctor's face goes from relief (probably because of Adrian's waking up) to worry. Deep, deep worry. And Adrian doesn't like that.

"What? What's wrong? What's happening?"

As he speaks, Adrian begins to realize that his voice isn't lost. He can hear the vibrations of his words rippling through his throat. He can feel the hum of his words in his head. He just cant… He cant…

"Why can't I hear anything?"

He feels stupid for asking, because as the doctor attempts to answer, Adrian can't hear a word coming out of his mouth. He tries to read his lips, but he's just talking so fast.

Sensing Adrian's panic, the doctor pulls his notepad out of his back pocket and scribbles a note onto it. He hands it to Adrian, and they simultaneously notice how badly Adrian's hand shakes when he reaches out for it.

You had an accident. I wasn't able to determine the extent of your head injury until you woke up, and now that you have, it appears that the accident has caused a loss of hearing.

Adrian's eyes blow wide. Of course, he could have determined that for himself, but hearing it from your doctor was something else entirely. He looks up at him, trying with everything he has not to cry.

"I-Is it p-per..." He can't even bring himself to say the word. It scared him to his core.

The doctor contemplates taking back the notepad and writing another note. Explaining Adrian's condition in big doctor words that would make it seem better. Less scary. But he knew that there was no dulling this. There was no dancing around the ugly truth. So instead, he takes a deep breath and nods.

Adrian cant hold his tears anymore.

…

He really tried to isolate himself from the world, )because he didn't really know how to face the world when he couldn't hear it) but his best friend, Finn Balor, wasn't going to let that happen.

Now, if you asked Finn how he was able to get into Adrian's apartment, he would tell you that he scaled the side of Adrian's 6 story apartment complex and punched his window in, because that's just how much his best friend means to him.

But in reality, Adrian had given him a spare key when he first moved in.

"Adrian!" Finn calls when he enters the apartment, but he scolds himself seconds after when he remembers that Adrian's… Not even Finn wants to say the word. Not even to himself. Not even inside his own mind.

He focuses, instead, on the fact that there is some kind of blaring noise coming from down the hall.

He heads into Adrian's bedroom. Bingo, there he is. He's sitting on his bed with a tub of ice cream staring at the tv. Bingo again, it's the tv that's so loud. He looks at his best friend, who doesn't even look back.

"I just wanna hear it." He yells over the tv.

It breaks Finn's heart.

He walks to the tv and turns it off, and much to his relief, Adrian doesn't argue. He does, however, finally allow himself to look at Finn. If nothing else than to at least try and know what he's saying by reading his lips while he talks.

"How are you, mate?"

He knows it's a dumb question. He really does, but he doesn't know what else to say. What can you say when your best friend is going through something as traumatic as this?

"I… don't know." Adrian admits.

Adrian wants to be mad, but he knows that it will get him nowhere. You always hear about victims of trauma being angry at the world, at their friends, at their family, but Adrian knew that it was useless. Being mad and ignoring everyone wouldn't being his hearing back.

"What did the doctor say? Any luck?" Finn asks.

Adrian had gone to see the same doctor who's wing he woke up in. He knew that he told him that his hearing loss was permanent, but he had to know that there were no other options before he believed that. Maybe there was some kind of surgery he could undergo, some kind of medication he could take. Anything.

But there wasn't, and maybe deep down, Adrian knew that. So he just shakes his head.

Finn sighs, shaking his head as well. "I'm so, so sorry Adrian. I can't believe this happened."

"That reminds me," Adrian says. "What did happen? I can't remember anything."

Finn gives Adrian a look that reads, Are you sure you want to know? And, of course, Adrian nods. Finn has to give it to him, Adrian Neville is one brave kid.

"I was watching your match from the hallway. You were setting up the Red Arrow, and I'm pretty sure you were setting up to end the match, but the kid you were wrestling… I dont think he knew that." Finn pauses, trying to think back to the match. It all seemed to happen so fast.

"He countered when you came down. Got the knees up, you know? He wasnt wearing any knee pads, and your head hit right on the top of one of his knees. Knocked you out cold. I think that, for a while, everyone thought that that was what was supposed to happen, because everyone kept cheering. But then you started bleeding." Finn pauses again, but he doesn't want to remember anymore. Now, he's just trying to forget.

"You were bleeding so much that everyone started to realize that something was seriously wrong. So the docs headed into the ring and started trying to wake you up. When they saw how bad of shape you were in, they got you off to the hospital."

"How long was I in the hospital for?" Adrian asks. Now that he thinks about it, he hadn't looked at the date in a while.

"Lets see… The match was on a Friday, and I brought you home last Tuesday. So that's..." He counts it on his fingers. "4 days?"

Adrian's eyes widen. "I was knocked out for 4 days?"

"And you've been locked up here in your apartment for 6, so come on, lets go out and do something!" Finn says, standing up and tugging on Adrian's arm.

But Adrian's really in no mood to go anywhere, so he politely tugs his arm away and lays it in his lap.

"Finn, I'm not in the mood to go anywhere. Please dont force me."

"But what's so good about staying here?"

"Actually," Adrian says, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. "Haven't you noticed how good I've become at lip reading? It's because of all the tv I've been watching."

Finn rolls his eyes. Even though it's a pretty good point. A great point.

"Alright fine, you've convinced me." He says, causing Adrian to laugh. "But promise me that I'll be able to get you out of here sometime before next year?"

Adrian lets out another laugh. Its a weak one, but it's a laugh.

It's a step.

A/N: Title from the song Afraid by The Neighbourhood

So yeah, Adrian is deaf. Now, I know that I personally have read so many fics where one of the characters is deaf, and I've always wanted to write a story like that of my own, so here I am. If you see any similarities between this and another fic you may have read where a character is deaf, just know that I am not intentionally trying to copy anyone.