Ashlyn had gotten used to hearing things she wasn't supposed to hear. It wasn't something she talked about. She realized a long time ago that there wasn't much point.
Explaining that a conversation happening two classrooms away could sound just as clear as someone standing beside her usually resulted in the same reactions: disbelief, curiosity, or people asking her to prove it. She hated all three.
The worst part wasn't even the volume. It was the fact that people forgot she could hear them. They said things when they thought they were alone. They whispered when they thought she was too far away. And most of the time, those whispers weren't exactly kind. She grew listening to cruel words said behind her back, that she practically expected them at every turn.
So when she walked into school that morning and caught a few words from a group of students near the entrance, she didn't even have to look to know what was happening.
"—always looks like she's about to kill someone." A laugh followed.
Ashlyn kept walking. She had learned a long time ago that reacting only made things worse.
Besides, it wasn't like she hadn't heard it before. Cold. Weird. Intimidating. People had a lot of ways to describe her when they thought she wasn't listening.
She adjusted her backpack strap and continued down the hallway, already deciding she wasn't going to let it bother her. "It's just a normal day." She thought.
She was halfway to her locker when Tyler's voice carried from the other side of the hall.
"I still think that teacher is trying to kill us with those assignments."
Ashlyn barely paid attention. That sounded like Tyler.
"You say that about every assignment," Logan replied.
"Because every assignment is suspicious." There was a pause that followed.
Then Logan said, "You know Ashlyn would finish it in an hour, just ask her. "
Ashlyn slowed down before she could stop herself. She wasn't trying to listen. She really wasn't. But her hearing didn't care about her intentions.
Tyler sighed. "Yeah, because Ashlyn is terrifying."
She almost kept walking.Then Tyler continued.
"Like, who looks at a problem and immediately notices seventeen things wrong with it? That's not normal."
Logan hummed. "It's useful."
"Yeah, I know." The conversation moved on before Ashlyn could hear anything else.
She stood there for a second longer than she should have.
The word useful rang through her mind.
It wasn't exactly a compliment. Not really. But it wasn't an insult either. And somehow that bothered her more.
By lunch, Ashlyn had almost forgotten about it.
The problem was that once she noticed something, she couldn't stop noticing it. That was how her hearing worked. She couldn't just turn it off.
She was sitting away from the busiest part of the cafeteria when she heard Taylor talking nearby.
"I don't think she realizes just how amazing her hair is."
Ashlyn looked up. Taylor was talking to Logan. Her first instinct was to leave. She always felt uncomfortable listening to conversations about her, and after this morning, she wasn't sure she was ready to hear more.
But before she could leave, Logan answered. "She probably uses hair products to help."
Ashlyn frowned. I mean no she didn't use products on her hair because she thought they were a waste of time and money, but why was that important?
Taylor sighed softly. "No Logan, I have been through her stuff, she doesn't own an ounce of anything" she said waving her hands in the air. " Like that is god-given Logan I'm telling you--"
Before Taylor could finish her sentence, the warning bell rang, signaling to get to class.
The rest of the day continued like that. Not constantly. Not enough that it felt fake.
She once caught Aiden complaining that she was impossible to surprise because she always caught onto things before everyone else.
"I wanted to scare her, and then give her a that flavor of tea that she likes 'cause she has that ballet performance that she has tomorrow, but she caught me before I even turned the corner! She mentioned that she usually drinks that flavor."
"Give it to her after-school" Tyler had said, "She's gonna want it."
"Yeah I will, but how do you think she does that? She's like, crazy talented, man. I mean I'm lucky if I even pay attention for five minutes."
Ben had signed something to Aiden and Tyler laughed.
"He's right idiot. You should be praying that Ashlyn can hear you from a mile away, otherwise she'd punch you into the sun."
Ashlyn didn't hear every word. That almost made it worse. Because the pieces she did hear were enough. She wasn't used to people talking about her like she was someone worth noticing. Usually, when she overheard people, she learned what they disliked. Today, she was learning what they appreciated. And she had no idea what to do with that.
Of course Ashyln could never suffer in peace because Aiden noticed something was wrong before anyone else did.
They were walking after school after getting off from the bus stop, the others having already split off toward their own homes, when he glanced over at her.
Ashlyn looked ahead. "I'm usually quiet."
"Yeah, but usually you're quiet while judging everyone."
"The one where you're pretending you don't know what I'm talking about."
Ashlyn looked away. Aiden smiled slightly, but it faded after a moment.
"Seriously. What's going on?"
She hesitated. It felt ridiculous saying it out loud."I heard people talking about me today."
Aiden's eyebrows knitted together in concern,"Bad?"
That seemed to surprise him more than if she had said yes.
"Then why do you look like someone told you the world is ending?"
Ashlyn was quiet. Because she didn't know how to explain it. How did she tell someone that hearing kindness felt stranger than hearing cruelty?
"I just..." She stopped and tried again. "I didn't know people thought those things about me."
Aiden tilted his head. "What things?"
She looked at the sidewalk."That I'm helpful. Or that they trust me. Or that they..."She trailed off.
Aiden was quiet for a moment.
Then he said, "Ashlyn." The way he said her name made her look up.
"Did you actually think we didn't?"
She didn't answer. She didn't need to. Aiden let out a small breath and shook his head.
"You know you're really bad at noticing things when they're about you, right?"
She frowned, "That's not true."
That made her stop. Because she couldn't argue with that.
Aiden looked ahead as they kept walking,"You always know when one of us is upset. You know when something feels wrong. You know when something's about to happen." He shrugged. "But when it comes to you, you somehow miss everything."
Ashlyn didn't respond. The strange thing was, she wasn't embarrassed. Not exactly. She was just trying to understand.
All this time, she had assumed people saw the same things she saw.The distance and the awkwardness. The parts of herself she struggled with. She never considered that other people might see something else.
Aiden nudged her shoulder lightly.
"For the record, you're still weird."
"But," he added, "you're our weird."
He immediately looked away."What?"
"That sounded suspicious."
But for once, she didn't argue.
"Uhm- anyway this is for you," he tossed her a pack of teabags. "You mentioned that you usually drink that flavor for a special occasion or something and I thought the ballet competition would be special enough. Good luck!" Aiden waved to her and hurried to his house.
And for once Ashlyn smiled.
Yeah, the world was still loud. She still heard things she didn't want to hear. That probably wouldn't ever change.
But maybe she had been wrong about one thing. Maybe not every voice was waiting to tear her down. Maybe some of them had been on her side the entire time.
OKAY I THINK I DID IT. @lynette0404 I hope this met your satisfaction, I did my best 😅
