quiet girl

“Excuse me?” Zander asked, clearing his throat to make sure he caught the other person’s attention. “You’re technically on private property right now, and a far distance from the hiking trails… Are you lost? Or looking for something in particular that I can help you with?” Under his job requirements, he was supposed to escort anyone in these parts of the forest back to the public areas - but Zander was a big believer in the Earth being shared by everyone, so if this person was truly after something he’d do his best to help them find it. After all, it’s not like he really has a boss, he was technically an employee of the King and it’s not like he came around these parts to check in very often.

Saoirse turned at the sound of the mans deep voice. She was in her spot, facing the waterfall she loved so much, and felt her heart racing. “Please don’t make me leave.” She said softly. So softly that she wasn’t sure if he heard her. Scrambling for her whiteboard she began writing a message to him, “This is the only spot that I can just sit and think. I would like to stay. Please.”

– “oh! oh yeah. i’ve had this for a few weeks now. you never noticed?” rapunzel held up her arm, twisting her forearm to face the other person. the moon that had been tattooed in her skin seemed to shimmer thanks to the bit of lotion she kept applying to it. it may have been weeks but she refused to let it dry out. “flynn has a sun on his arm. i know it’s cheezy to get matching tattoos but i’ve always wanted one and why not get one that means something special?”

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“I can’t decide if I want to buy Christmas decorations now or later. It’s so hard because I don’t know if dressing up in my cute Christmas outfits will make me a social outcast or not…” She pouted at her peppermint mocha and looked back up at the person she was speaking to. “I love Christmas. It’s my favorite. Because of the snow and all of the baking. But like….I don’t want to look like a loser so….I don’t know. What do you think?”

Saoirse smiled fondly at the younger girl. She remembered worrying over things like enjoying Christmas too early. “I know my opinion might not mean anything,” She scribbled, “But I think you should enjoy what you want to enjoy. If others mock you for liking Christmas too early then make it cool! Make it fashionable to like Christmas and celebrate it in November!” Saoirse held up the board to face Candi.

“Okay, so like…Are you good with American Lit, because I think I’ve read this paragraph like seventy times and I have no idea what’s happening.” Part of that could have something to do with the fact that Dash hadn’t read a single word of the book before this paragraph, but whatever. English assignments shouldn’t be this hard.

“I used to be.” Saoirse wrote on her whiteboard, holding it up for the other to look at. She was getting better at verbal communication but some days were worse than others. “Help?” Saoirse asked softly, gesturing to the book in front of the boy. “I can help.” 

“Oh!” she breathes as she felt a small tug of someone stepped on the bottom of her dress. Pulling the material gently out from under the other’s foot, Layla shook the ends out - letting the excess fabric flow around to remove any dirty that may have gotten caught on it. “I am so sorry. This dress is beautiful but it seems to keep getting in the way of everyone. That’s what I get for going for the dramatics instead of something simple.” A small chuckle accompanies her words as she smiles sheepishly, slightly embarrassed to have made what was in her eyes quite the scene.

Saoirse jumped back with a gasp and held a hand to her heart. “I’m sorry.” She whispered. Saoirse felt awful. It seemed she was just too distracted by everything going on around her. Her heart felt like it was about to leap right out of her chest but this was a distraction. Welcome or not... “You look beautiful. It’s my fault.” Saoirse signed wildly, not sure if the other would understand it. 

Angelo raised an eyebrow at the signing. He wasn’t exactly good at it, but he’d learned enough to work with some of the people who came through the gym, and enough to entertain him when he’d been bored. Got him through swearing out his boss, at least. “Costume? It’s a suit and a mask,” he replied, clearly unimpressed with the thought of it, because what he was wearing was stupid. Just like this whole thing. And the fact the answer he got wasn’t a good sign. “Ah, shit, probably not, then.” Fuck.

Saoirse smiled slightly when she saw that he had sort of understood her signing. There weren’t many on the island. Thankfully, she was carrying her whiteboard around which definitely made things easier. “Used to hide your identity correct? Isn’t that the definition of a costume?” Saoirse wrote and then held up inquisitively. She could continue to sense the tension rolling off of the man but attempted to ignore it. “I could look around, though. I’m very good at being sneaky.” She’d lived silently her whole life.

Poppy’s grin only grew wider at her friend’s words, the pride she felt for the other brunette nearly bursting out of her. It meant so much to her that Saoirse felt comfortable enough around her to practice and use her voice - and though it may seem like a bit of overkill she was ready to celebrate every little step in her journey. Stepping closer, Poppy placed both of her hands onto her friend’s hips and began to sway - it wasn’t much in terms of dancing, but it left Saoirse’s hands free to sign so they could still talk with one another. “You look amazing tonight. Like you’ve stepped right out of a fairy tale.”

Saoirse began giggling as the other placed her hands on her waist. It was a bit awkward for a moment with the baby bump. Saoirse placed her arms around Poppys neck and gave her a quick hug. “Thank you.” The brunette whispered to her friend. She wasn’t the confident sort of girl everyone expected her to be but on nights like this she felt like maybe she could be as proud as the other women on the island. That she could be confident in every single part of herself. Saoirse pulled away with a grin, “You look so beautiful.” She signed, “I’m glad you decided to come.”

Being bumped into at one of these parties didn’t phase Belle too much. She was sure she was bound to bump into someone herself if she hadn’t been careful. But alas, that was not the case. She didn’t hear the woman’s apology but she did hear the other thing. She smiled at her. “You look absolutely lovely,” she shouted above the music. “Just gotta be a little careful. Do you want a dancing partner?”

Saoirse found herself blushing. It wasn’t everyday she got complimented by another beautiful person. Saoirse placed her hands on her heated cheeks and gave a quick nod. “Please,” She said softly. Dancing was one of the greatest pleasures in life. Why would she ever give up a chance to dance with another? 

Angelo hated this shit. He hated his stupid fucking red suit and his stupid fucking domino mask and his stupid fucking hands and their bandages making it obvious who he was, if you knew him. He hated that he’d been talked into another stupid event after having to dress up like Yellow Colonel Colonizer. And all of that was basically nothing compared to the fact he’d finished off his drink way too quickly. Barely paying attention, he had one question to ask whoever made the bad choice to be next to him right now. “Please tell me they’ve got something stronger or I am gonna flip shit.”

Saoirse could sense the tension from the other across the room. But, ignoring all the signs that pointed to leaving him alone, she was curious. Curious as to why someone who was so obviously not into parties would come to a party. “I enjoy your costume,” Saoirse signed. She had her whiteboard at the ready if the other couldn’t understand sign language. She scribbled it down quickly, “I cannot say if they have anything stronger. I’m a lightweight so anything is strong to me.” She held up the board with a small smile. 

With her tell-tale baby bump, there wasn’t much point in trying to keep her identity a disguise, but that didn’t mean Poppy wasn’t going to take advantage of everyone else being unknown to her. The mystery and dramatics of it all was so enthralling to her, she was practically shaking in her excitement. After spending the past few days locked away in her room after her little run in with Creek - Poppy was beyond ready to get back to her usual self. And what better way to do that than by dancing with a total stranger? Spinning around, she went up to the first person she saw, holding out her hands and offering a large smile. “May I please have this dance?” 

Saoirse hadn’t seen Poppy in quite a long time. If there was an event she’d show up at then it had to be a masquerade and, thankfully, her baby bump gave her away without Saoirse having to make a fool of herself. It seemed Poppy had the same idea as Saoirse did because just as the other signed about having this dance with her, the other girl held out her hand and said it aloud. Laughing silently, Saoirse placed her hand in her friends and nodded wildly. “Yes!” She said as loud as she could which was mostly a normal volume for others. She was strengthening her chords every week but it’d take time. 

Ariel simply giggled as the older girl ran into them, reaching out to steady the other. “It’s okay!” they easily brushed the run-in off. “Thank you! You look pretty as well! Stunning, really.” Even without the mask, Ariel wasn’t sure if they would recognize the woman, but with it on they had absolutely no clue who she was. But that wasn’t about to stop them from making the most of this little interaction. “Would you like to dance with me? Maybe together we could keep out of the way of everyone else?”

Saoirse found herself giggling some more. She now understood what they meant when they called someone a lightweight. She’d never drank before in her life and it seemed one chute of champagne hit her in seconds. “Really?” Saoirse gasped. In her drunken state (she’d had maybe three chutes of champagne at this fault) she found compliments like this overwhelmingly sweet. Her eyes began to water. “Thank you.” She whispered. Small phrases were getting easier and easier for her although the alcohol did make her enunciation sloppy. Saoirse didn’t have her whiteboard readily on her so instead, in response, she gave a soft nod. She’d love to dance. Especially after seeing Mason with the woman she knew he was destined to wind up with.