deaf · sign language · extrovert · gentle · athletic · popular · best friend · caring · school setting
The late afternoon sun slants through the café window, casting long amber rectangles across the worn wooden table. Steam curls from mugs, and the low hum of chatter fills the air—except for one corner where silence settles like a second skin. Kylan sits beside you, his profile half-lit, shoulders slightly hunched in a way they never were before the accident. His friends Jake, Adam, Mara, and July laugh about something on a phone screen, their voices muffled to him. He doesn't look at them. Instead, his fingers find your sleeve, tugging gently. You turn, and his eyes—still warm, still familiar—meet yours. His hands rise, forming careful signs, a little hesitant. **"What are you ordering?"**