Thank you to talltwin18 and Bonnie Sveen Fan for reviewing, I love hearing your feedback and suggestions :)
This chapter prompted by guest- Jason is deaf, he and Freddie are really close, Freddie protects Jason when someone messes with him
The speech in italics is what the characters are signing as well as saying, will be used when any character is speaking to Jason
Chapter 45- I'll be your eyes and ears:
It was no secret the Roscoes were protective of Jason. Everyone knew it. Even they did. But not everyone knew the reason why. They were all protective of each other, they were that kind of family, but more Jason because he was different.
Jason was deaf. In both ears and had been since as long as any of them could remember. He had no hearing, not even sounds or vibrations. This meant Jason saw and heard the world differently to his brothers. And it was that difference that made them so protective.
It had been only 2 months since the family had moved to Hollyoaks and Sandy was already at her wits end. The family garage had been successful thievery her boys seemed to be like a magnet for trouble; it followed them around everywhere they went.
She couldn't keep track of where Freddie was and what bed Ziggy had ended up on. The twins had had a rocky start to the high school and things didn't seem to be getting any better. It seemed the school wasn't too accepting towards a deaf pupil, meaning Jason missed most of his lessons and was falling behind in class.
However that wasn't her biggest concern; herself and Joe could help Jason with school work at home. Robbie was her biggest concern. After only two months at the school, Robbie had been permanently excluded.
Sandy didn't know what she was going to do now. Robbie had just thrown what chance he had of a future down the drain and Jason wouldn't be able to cope in school without Robbie. What Sandy didn't know was that even with Robbie, Jason couldn't cope in school.
"Jase, you alright?" Freddie asked as he joined his younger brother at the table. Out of all the brothers, Freddie and Jason had the closest bond. He didn't know why though. He guessed it was because he never made a big deal out of Jason being deaf and he was always there to pick up with the pieces when Robbie messed up.
Jason nodded slowly, but didn't make any movement with his hands to sign. Unfortunately that was another problem the family had to deal with on a daily basis, Jason had lost most of his ability to speak but even then the words he could say he didn't because he couldn't hear himself.
Freddie tapped Jason's arm to get his attention before signing again. "You sure?" Jason offered Freddie a small smile and nodded before getting back to his breakfast. Freddie frowned but let his bad feelings pass, Jason would be alright. .
Jason knew there was no point in trying to explain to Freddie what was really going on. He wouldn't understand. It wasn't like Jason could hear what they were saying to him, he could only see their dirty looks as he walked past them.
"Whats wrong with him?" Sandy asked she entered the kitchen to see Jason's miserable face. She didn't like talking about her son as if he wasn't there but sometimes it was necessary. Jason didn't tell them when something was wrong and often left it for the family to work out for themselves.
Freddie just shrugged and went to speak however was interrupted by Sandy before he could. "Is that the time?" Sandy questioned before turning to face Jason and get his attention. "Jase, you need to go to school" Sandy said and she didn't miss the upset look on Jason's face.
Now something was definitely wrong.
Jason just nodded and tried to hide his feelings of fear and upset from his family. He couldn't deal with their questions, especially as he found it so hard to explain himself. He hated school and any opportunity he had to avoid going, he would take; that's why he had a plan.
Sandy and Freddie exchanged looks, both silently agreeing that Freddie would walk with Jason to make sure he got to school alright. Freddie stood up from the table and went to grab his coat from the hall while Jason grabbed his school bag.
"Where are you going?" Jason asked. "I'm coming with you, to keep you company" Freddie said, casting his youngest brother a smile. He was also going because he was the only brother available to make sure Jason made it to school safely.
The walk to school was something Freddie had never experienced before. Normally Jason would have a conversation with him and tell him everything that was going to through his head; normally he had some pretty creative ideas. However today he never interacted with Freddie once.
As the neared the school gates, Jason was on the lookout. He knew where they usually hung out and wanted to avoid them as much as possible, especially as Freddie was with him. He spotted them on the wall by the main entrance and decided to take a diversion.
But before he could, he felt a hand on his arm. "Why aren't you going in that door?" Freddie asked, confused by his brothers actions. "I'm going in through the side entrance, it's closer to where I need to be" Jason replied.
"Okay well have a good day alright, I'll see you later" Freddie said before leaving Jason and walking in the direction back home. Jason watched Freddie walk down the road and round the corner until he was out of sight. Then Jason walked in the other direction away from school; he couldn't be there.
Freddie sighed as he walked back home, thinking over the way Jason had been acting in his head. He was worried about Jason just like Joe was worried about Robbie. Also, Freddie didn't miss Jason's face when he saw some group of teenagers near the main entrance; something else was definitely going on.
Over the week things only got worse for Jason. The bullies at school only got worse; they would block him in the corridors, push him around, talk about him behind his back but obviously he had no idea what they were saying.
To make matters worse, his family and found out he was bunking school. Every night he'd night he'd get concerned looks from his family whether he'd been to school or the school had phoned saying he wasn't there; he was sick of it.
He'd just ignore them whenever they tried to interact with him. Especially Robbie. Jason couldn't help but feel betrayed by Robbie, he'd left him at school and now got to spend his days in the company of his brothers at the garage, all the while Jason had to suffer.
Monday morning came round again and Jason really didn't want to go school. He couldn't bunk anymore; Freddie would walk with him to school and watch him go inside and he couldn't face another day in that hell hole.
He'd thought about faking sick, but then he wasn't very good at that and his Mum could also read him like a book when he was lying. Then he realised he could just refuse to go to school and stay in his room all day. That's what he would do.
Freddie sighed as he looked at the time and made his way upstairs. Jason was late for school and as far as he knew his youngest brother hadn't even got out of bed. The scene that Freddie was met with when he walked into the twin's room was as expected; Jason still in bed.
Freddie shook his brother gently before kneeling down to face him. Freddie waited until Jason's eyes were open before he began signing. "Why aren't you getting up?" Freddie ask as. Jason just shrugged but that answer didn't satisfy Freddie.
"No, I want an answer. Why aren't you getting up?" Freddie asked again, remembering from when Jason was younger, repeating yourself often worked. Jason sighed. "I don't want to go to school" Jason said. "Why's that?" Freddie asked, feeling like he was getting somewhere. Jason looked down and picked at his bed sheets. Freddie lightly shook Jason's shoulder to prompt him.
"It's just some boys at school" Jason signed, his eyes beginning to fill with tears. Freddie frowned. "What have they done?" However once Freddie had asked him, everything became clear.
"It was them!" Freddie shouted. He looked at Jason's confused face and realised he had forgot to sign what he was saying. "What did they do to you?" Jason bowed his head, sadness etched across all his features; he couldn't get out of this now.
Jason took a deep breath before beginning to sign. "They block me in the corridors, push me around, mock me using sign language and call me names but obviously I have no idea what they're saying."
Freddie felt the rage grow in him with every word Jason said and be couldn't control it any longer. "Stay here" Freddie instructed before he stood up and bounded down the stairs, grappling his jacket and storming out the house, slamming the door behind him.
Jason lay back on his bed and sighed. He was so done for now.
Freddie made it down to the school in record time and spotted the group of boys Jason had been talking about. "Oi!" Freddie yelled as he marched through the gates and into the yard. The group turned to face and one of them, obviously the leader, laughed.
"You talking to us?" The boy asked in a cocky tone. "You think it's funny to bully a deaf kid!" Freddie screamed as his fist collided with this cocky boy's face. "Ah!" The boy exclaimed falling backwards from the force.
"Not so big are you lot now eh!" Freddie yelled, watching as the rest of the gang backed away. "How stupid can you lot be? Bullying a deaf kid. You could be ashamed of yourselves!" Freddie shouted, feeling the rage that had built up be released.
"What's going on?" Patrick asked as he exited the building. "These thugs are bullies and other don't know why you've got them in your school!" Freddie shouted. "Mr Roscoe please calm down" Patrick pleaded.
"Do not tell me to calm down, not when this lot have been bullying my brother! My deaf brother!" Freddie yelled. Patrick flinched at that comment and could understand why Freddie was so angry. "Mr Roscoe if you'd like to come inside-"
"No! We're finished here but you've just lost yourself a pupil, Jason will never come back here" Freddie said as he turned to walk out the school gates. "I'm gonna press charges!" The boy who Freddie had punched earlier shouted.
Freddie turned round. "Go for it mate, I'm sure everyone would love to know how you've been bullying a deaf kid!" Freddie shouted back. The boys silence was all Freddie needed before he turned and walked out the gates, feeling satisfied.
When Freddie for home he found Jason on the sofa, with a blanket over him and the smell of chicken soup coming from the kitchen. That meant Sandy had arrived home and Jason had managed to convince her he was actually ill.
Freddie walked into front of his brother to grab his attention. "There you go, it's all sorted" Freddie said. "What's all sorted?" Sandy asked, bringing in a bowl full of soup and placing it down in front of Jason.
"Jason's never going back to that school" Freddie said and Sandy frowned. "I'll explain later" Freddie whispered. "You'll explain now" Sandy demanded hastily walking out the room. Freddie turned the follow her before turning around and facing Jason.
"Thank you" Jason signed. Freddie smiled back at his youngest brother and saluted him, before walking off after to Sandy to explain everything.
I'm not that happy with this but I hope it's okay
Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed, please review and let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions feel free to leave them :)
Next chapter prompted by Guest- set after Darren finds out that Sandy is his Mum he doesn't trust them, thinks they are a joke and all bad news until he sees how they act around each other. The way they care and get protective over Jason when he collapses, the way they listen to Ziggy talk about his latest one night stand, the way they help Robbie stay in college and then he realises that he thought wrong about his half brothers