The Loudest Silence

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BadonKaDank

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Late nights between 11pm and 2am and/or during the day between 12pm and 3pm.
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  1. Give-No-Fucks
  2. Intermediate
  3. Adept
  4. Advanced
  5. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Nonbinary
  4. Transgender
  5. No Preferences
Genres
Slice-of-life, Drama, Sci-fi, Futuristic, Dystopian, Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic, Romance,
Modern fantasy, Adventure, Modern, Steampunk-esque, Some Supernatural, Light psychological horror, Crime, Pacific Rim, King Arthur
Evelyn Halwood is just a freakishly tall nine year old with a big heart and an even bigger mouth.

Aaron Messor is just your average short antisocial eight year old with a love for literature, music, and intelligent conversation.

The world would say they were too different to get along, but those two have other ideas.

When Evelyn and Aaron met on a playground in third grade, nobody expected them to even notice the other, much less become friends. Of course it didn't happen over night. It happened due to hard work and one-sided stubbornness.

Evelyn and Aaron were two kids nobody ever thought would stay together for so long. They were the kids people would look at and think: What an odd pair. They were the kids who beat the odds and held onto each other through the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. The kids who fought every day but never broke up; the kids not even distance could keep apart forever; the kids that got through it all, even when it didn't seem possible.

Evelyn and Aaron were just two strangers, looking for someone to be their friend, and instead found someone to be their home.

Cast:
Evelyn Danielle Halwood

Aaron Messor

Miranda Messor


Mr. and Mrs. Messor

Mr. and Mrs. Halwood

Kevin Halwood
 
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The idea had been scary at first, going to a new school and knowing she wouldn't know anybody there nor the things she would be learning. Of course her parents had told her not to worry because with a great personality like her's she would make friends in no time. But when nobody spoke to her after the first two classes, Evelyn was seriously starting to doubt her parent's words.

It was bad enough that she was the tallest one in the entire school, making her look like a fifth grader instead of the third she really was, but nobody would even approach her. To say it hurt the little girl's feelings would have been an understatement. Her mom had made sure to dress her in her best outfit -a purple dress with brown sandals- and put her long brown hair into pigtails to make her look extra cute and friendly. Evelyn even made a point to smile big at anyone who looked her way, so why nobody even said hi, she didn't understand.

By the time recess hit Evelyn was feeling especially blue. When the brunette went to play on the swings she found them occupied by some boys, and despite her polite request to have a turn on one, they refused to share. Evelyn decided to let them be and went over to another group of children playing some card game called Yu-Gi-Oh, but when she asked to play, they told her to get lost.

That was how the nine year old found herself walking around the playground aimlessly, looking for something fun to do to pass the short amount of time she had outside. It took maybe three minutes before the girl spotted a large oak tree closer to the fence and her spirits lifted just a little bit. Evelyn had always enjoyed climbing things, even as a baby, so seeing the thick bark and long branches made her smile to herself and sprint over to the giant plant. The girl wasted no time clambering up the trunk and settling herself in between to sturdy branches.

Evelyn didn't know how long she sat there, just watching all the other kids play with their friends, but she did notice when a boy -a very small boy- came to sit himself under her tree. The brunette noticed he was holding a book, and the child peered through the leaves to see the cover. "To Kill A Mockingbird" it read and Evelyn felt her heart jump in excitement.

She knew that book! She hadn't thought anyone else her age would read such a thing, but there he was, proving her wrong. Evelyn didn't know who he was, and she couldn't see what he looked like, but his hair was really dark, a bit darker than hers, actually. That was cool.

Evelyn leaned further out of the tree to check what page he'd opened to, but never actually got to see because her footing on the branches slipped, causing the girl to gasp loudly and flail her hands. Evelyn didn't realize she'd managed to catch herself until the pounding in her ears had quieted and the brunette realized she was dangling by her arms. Upon looking down she saw her feet were inches from hitting the other kid's head, which, in her eyes, wasn't good. After all, she didn't want to fall and hurt the boy. So, in an attempt to keep from scaring him, Evelyn decided to announce her presence by cheerily shouting, "Hey!"
 
For a while now To Kill A Mockingbird had just been sitting on his shelf, collecting dust as long as Miranda wouldn't stumble in and pretend to be a mountain climber. The last time she did that she had almost pulled the thing down on her. Aaron knew their mother would have freaked if she saw that.

Today Aaron had just decided to bring the book to school. Knowing his class, this would probably be the last book he could intentionally read for a while. Literature circles were starting next month and the book choices were either Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Charlotte's Web. While they both sounded interesting, Aaron had to admit that reading about some girl and apparently some sort of court thing or something happening in the old days appealed more to his liking. Besides, he had just finished reading the latest Harry Potter book and before that it was a Magic Treehouse story. He could use a little break from fantasy right now.

The other kids run past him with yells of delight. Aaron, the quiet kid in class, never could make that many friends, so he didn't really care that nobody was inviting him to play soccer or jump rope with them. All of that "Just be yourself!" talk was easier said than done. It was why he now found himself sitting contently in front of the many oak trees.

As he opens the book and begins reading, a few leaves rustle above his head before ailing down onto his lap. Aaron brushes them away and his finger creeps up to the corner of the page to turn it until--

"AH!"

Aaron hit his head on the tree with house fast he tries to leap back from the suddenly foot in front of his face. Had he been leaning any further that thing could have given him a bloody nose.

Speaking of which, his book lays on the dusty ground while he gapes up at the kid dangling right in front of him.

"Hey!" The girl wears a sort of creepily-happy look on her face, like the kind that those creepy old ladies who are secretly witches wear.

Aaron scoots away from her.

"Uh . . . hi?"

Was this how other kids made their friends? If so, then Aaron never wants to make any friends if all they'll do is give him a heart attack and almost kick him in the face.

"What're you doing?" he asked. "We're not allowed to climb the trees!"

Urgency had replaced the hesitance in his voice. As he turns his head towards one of the PE teachers, Aaron feels a temporary relief when he sees they're occupied with some other kids sword-fighting with sticks.

He turns back to the girl.

"Hurry up and get down! You're gonna get in trouble!"
 
Evelyn tried very had not to laugh at the bewildered and slightly alarmed look on the boy's face as she continued to dangle from the tree despite his warnings to get down. Nobody had told her climbing the trees was against the rules, so why should she listen to this kid just because he thought she might get in trouble?

However after a second longer of staring down at the boy Evelyn realized since she was wearing a dress it was likely he could see her underwear. That got the brunette dropping out of the branches fairly quickly and she dusted herself off quickly before grinning again. The fact that this guy continued to look at her like she was weird didn't even bother Evelyn since she'd grown used to the looks over the years.

"I like that book too!" She pointed at the hardcover in the boy's hands to let him know what she meant in case he didn't quite understand. Of course, he did look a little smarter than the other boys she had seen around the playground -and that had nothing to do with his choice of read- but in case appearances were deceiving Evelyn wanted to make sure he got it.

Plus the way he was dressed -black shirt, dark jeans- immediately interested the girl. She'd yet to see such a plainly dressed kid and it reminded her of the clothes she liked to wear but never got to because her parents thought they weren't feminine enough.

It took Evelyn maybe a second after she stated her fondness for To Kill A Mockingbird to realize she hadn't introduced herself -something her dad had helped her to learn how to do properly- and she quickly thrust her hand out, keeping that easy, playful grin on. "I'm Evelyn Halwood by the way."
 
"Um . . . " Aaron, unsure on how to feel, just stared at the girl. "Aaron."

Now that he thought about it, he felt like he would have remembered seeing a girl like Evelyn: tall, brown hair, and he's only known her for five seconds and he could already tell she had a different personality from the other girls.

"I'm gonna go over here now." Aaron turned away from the girl, feeling a bit awkward, and took a few paces away from her to another tree where he could find the page in his book and continue reading it. Hopefully he wouldn't have to deal with anymore girls almost kicking him in the face.
 
Evelyn tried not to look disappointed when the boy, Aaron, walked away but was pretty sure she failed miserably. The girl went to go back up her tree when she realized that Aaron hadn't been telling her to go away, but informing her where he was going. Did that mean he didn't care if she followed?

Evelyn decided it did and she perked up, skipping over to the smaller kid and sitting beside him. It didn't take much effort for Evelyn to be able to peer over Aaron's shoulder to read his book with him, shoving her large glasses up her nose as she did, but when the brunette saw the chapter he was on she bit her lip and glanced down at the kid. The next two chapters were a few of her favorites and she wanted to let Aaron know, but part of her thought it would be best if she kept quiet; Aaron looked pretty focused on the book after all.

Eventually Evelyn couldn't keep her mouth shut and the girl quickly and excitedly spoke to Aaron. "I really like this next part! One of the things the characters say is really cool. I think it's the best part of the book..."
 
Aaron looked up when Evelyn spoke to him again. He hadn't expected her to be peering over his shoulder and onto his page.

"Oh, okay," he said plainly. How was he even supposed to respond? Act all excited and thank her for telling him a cool part was coming up?

After reading a few more lines Aaron just shut his book and set it down in his lap.

"So, uh, are you just gonna watch me the whole time?"

Really, Evelyn wasn't doing any harm. Aaron just felt like he should do something with her if she was going to be by his side the whole time. Simply reading and not talking to her made it seem like he was just ignoring her. That would be rude, as his parents would say.

"If you wanna play with some of the other kids you can go." Was he trying to tell her to leave? Maybe. Did he not care whether she did? Again, maybe.
 
Evelyn waited patiently for Aaron to get to the part she'd mentioned and was disappointed when after only a few more seconds he closed the book. Too bad he hadn't read further, it would have been fun to see his reaction. Oh well, you can't win all the time, as he brother often told her.

The girl shrugged when Aaron spoke again and refrained from rolling her eyes. Honestly, if she'd wanted to go play with the other kids she wouldn't have waited to get his permission. Not that he knew that, of course, for all Evelyn knew, Aaron thought she was one of those girls that clung to the nearest person and wasn't sure when they could leave.

But no, Evelyn was independent; she didn't need anyone telling her what to do or how to do it. It was something she prided herself on, but something her mother wasn't sure was a good thing. Too bad her brother and father only assured the brunette that it was great she was her own person at such a young age.

Evelyn stretched her arms above her head and yawned quietly before answering. "Nah, I like it over here. Do you wanna play, or do ya wanna read some more."
 
"I dunno," Aaron replied with a shrug. He actually did want to stay by the tree and read, but just not with some random girl staring at him strangely over his shoulder.

"Do you want to read with me?" Maybe reading the pages together will help dilute the awkwardness he felt sprung her right now. Then again, he read faster than the usual kids in his grade. Aaron had a feeling he would be waiting for Evelyn to finish a page three minutes after he had.

"I don't really know you," he finally said, meaning no harm. It was just that, well, Aaron really didn't know Evelyn that well. "We just met and . . . I dunno."

By now he was just praying for the teachers to blow their whistle and call for everyone to go back inside. Then he could go back to his class without Evelyn in it, and not have to think about her until tomorrow.
 
Evelyn barely heard anything Aaron said after his offer for her to read along with him. That sounded like a ton of fun- even if most her peers might not think so- but she was slightly concerned that she would be finished reading long before he was, as she was an avid reader and had been since the age of three. The girl didn't like bragging, but she was the fastest reader she knew -granted she didn't know many people- and she didn't want Aaron to feel bad for not being able to keep up.

He was the first kid to actually hold a conversation with her all day. It didn't really matter that his answers were short and practically spoken under the breath- she had great hearing so it didn't bother her too much. Still, Evelyn supposed even if she did finish the pages long before him, as long as she said nothing and let him think they read at the same pace it would be fine and she wouldn't be offending him.

"Yeah, that would be fun." Evelyn thought for a moment that Aaron might not want her around after all when she saw the cautious way he was eyeing her, but then she remembered her own parents' speech on "stranger danger" and figured that's all that was bothering him. Well, she wouldn't want him continually worrying about that. "Oh, and I'm not dangerous or anything, so you don't have to be scared of me."
 
"Why would I be scared of you?" Aaron asked. As far as he could tell, this was elementary school. Everything he's read in books or seen on TV told him that the dangerous people don't really come into the picture until high school. And middle school was supposedly about relationships or something like that. That's what some of the other kids who have older siblings say.

Besides, Eve didn't seem like the type of person to hurt him. What would she do? Other than swing from a tree and kick him in the face, of course.

Then again, maybe she was like on of those playground bullies that would come out of nowhere, kick you int he shin and assert their dominance, and then leave. Aaron hated those type of people. They always made his legs hurt in first grade.

"The PE teachers mostly talk about kids who sword fight with sticks," he said. "But as long as you don't go around and make big piles of them, I think you'll be fine."
 
Evelyn covered her mouth as a laughed bubbled in her throat. This kid was so weird, it was hilarious! Where had the sticks comment even come from? It was a good thing to know, she guessed, but didn't really have anything to do with what she'd said. Perhaps he wasn't that great at making conversation then? Well, that was fine, Evelyn was more than capable of talking enough for the both of them. Not that she wanted to talk to much and scare Aaron off though...

"I don't really play with sticks, so it's okay." The girl flipped some of her chestnut colored hair behind her shoulder before dropping her hand, the smile still fixed on her face. "So, you wanna read or..."

Evelyn trailed off, not really sure what else to offer without possibly sounding annoying. The girl supposed part of her was worried Aaron would tell her to get lost, but another part was just hoping Aaron would actually find her different nature interesting. It was likely a vain hope, but nonetheless the child could not help herself keeping the desire in the area of "it might happen" of her mind.
 
Aaron looked back down at his book. He stared blankly at its cover for a minute in thought until looking back at Eve.

"I guess we can go play on the playground instead." He had a feeling she would enjoy doing that more than peering over his shoulder. It would make Aaron feel less uncomfortable, too.

"We can go on the slide or something." His head turned to the general area, dark eyes surveying the equipment that wasn't swarming with other kids. "There's also the ladder thingy; the baby slide; those balance beams, or whatever they're called; and there's also the monkey . . . bars." The his tone trailed into a short pause.

"I've never been on the monkey bars."

Surprisingly, the metal bars hanging a couple of feet from the ground did not have too many kids swinging on them playing chicken fights until the PE teacher ran over to them to lecture them about the dangers of trying to kick someone off. In fact, the area around the monkey bars was mostly surrounded with a few girls playing tag at one end, and on the other end a few boys were pretending to be pirates with the giant, toy wheels on one of the pieces of equipment.
 
At first mention of the playground Evelyn wasn't entirely certain she wanted to, but upon hearing that Aaron had never played on the monkey bars the girl gasped quietly and changed her mind. There was absolutely no way she could allow someone so friendly to remain in the dark when it came to something as fun as monkey bars. Without hesitation the brunette reached down and caught Aaron's hand with her own to begin dragging the boy off in the direction of the mentioned play thing.

"No, you've gotta try them! They're soooo fun!" Evelyn grinned at the dark haired kid and took him up the small stairs until they were in front of the bars. "Just do it like me!"

The girl was quick to hop from the safety of the platform and latch onto one of the metal rung. These things were never as fun as trees, but they were still enjoyable and Evelyn was going to show Aaron that. Or rather, she wanted to show Aaron that, but it was all too apparent that her height wouldn't allow for that when her feet hit the ground before she could even get a proper swing in to the next rung.

Evelyn let out a dissatisfied huff when she released her hold on the play structure and turned to face Aaron. He was a lot shorter than her, so the brunette had no doubt in her mind that he could do it even if she couldn't, so Evelyn smiled encouragingly at him and gestured for him to go. "Well, come on! I'll catch you if you fall."
 
Out of all of the boys in his class, Aaron was unfortunately the shortest. Even most of the girls were taller than him. His small stature is what made peering over the edge of the platform look so scary.

"Uhh . . ." How was Evelyn not intimidated by how high the bars were? Then again, she was the one who climbed tress for fun.

"I think I'm fine on this end right here," Aaron said timidly. Another kid pushed him aside and before he knew it, that other kid was swinging from the bars with a grin until dropping down on the other side. Were you supposed to have really strong arms to swing like that?

"Actually, I think I might just take the stairs."

A tap on his shoulder made him turn around. Three girls stood behind him in a line, all of them starting to look impatient.

Oh no.

There was no going back now. His only method of retreating was now blocked and if Aaron were to just let them all cut in front of him he would look silly.

He gulped and turned back around to face the rungs. His eyes unfocused and the bars seemed a mile away now. Another nudge from behind indicated that the other kids were likely to push him if he didn't go. Aaron had no choice now.

One hand reached for the second rung. It was all that his little legs allowed him to extend to from the platform. Soon enough, his feet went off the edge and Aaron was now hanging from the second rung of the monkey bars.

"How do I move without falling?" he called to Evelyn, trying his best to hide the slight amount of panic in his voice. "Do you think you can come help?"

Aaron learned best through examples. That's how it always was. But seeing Evelyn swing like a monkey across the bars didn't give him enough time to actually learn from it. And if Evelyn were to hold his legs while he tried crossing the bars, well, Aaron has seen enough of those shows on TV to know that it could result in his pants being pulled down, and if that happened then he would probably die of embarrassment.
 
Evelyn waited with equal amounts patience and amusement as Aaron seemed to try and decide a good time to use the bars. What surprised her and had her choking down a laugh though, was his request for her help. Did he really not know how to move across? The girl had always thought that knowledge was second nature for most people, but apparently she was either wrong or Aaron just wasn't most people.

Whatever the reason, Aaron really did look like he need some help and the girls waiting behind him looked to be getting a little annoyed by his slow pace, so Evelyn quickly went over and put her hands under the dark haired boy's feet and pushed up to try and give him some leverage. "There you go!"

in all honesty the brunette had no idea if the small boost did anything to help Aaron, but she was hoping it did, since she'd always heard of bad things happening when one grabbed the ankles or higher while another was hanging. She really didn't want to embarrass or hurt Aaron in front of people- not that she ever wanted to hurt him!

"You've just gotta swing a little bit and grab the next bar." Evelyn instructed the boy carefully, adjusting her grip on his feet so that when he started to swing his body she wouldn't get kicked.
 
Aaron swallowed back a tiny whimper. Why was he so afraid of letting go? Everyone else in his grade could swing from the monkey bars. Heck, some people were even okay with dangling upside down from them. So why was it so difficult?

Evelyn's grasp on his shoes was reassuring. At least he wouldn't accidentally kick her in the face.

"I'm gonna try letting go now," he called down to her. Already one of the girls behind him was swinging from the first bar. Aaron felt a little pair of shoes giving him a slight kick to get going.

Before he could stop himself, Aaron let go of the bar with one hand and reached out to the next. It was too bad he never made it.

The little kick given to his backside at the exact same moment had to be a sad, surprising coincidence.

Aaron yelped when he was suddenly falling forward. His hands had nothing to grab onto but the air. Evelyn had his feet.
 
Evelyn would have given Aaron a thumbs up had she not been holding onto him, but she figured the little cheer that came from her mouth was close enough. Was it odd that she felt kinda proud of the kid for actually doing it? Then again, so what if it was; she took pride in her oddness.

"Good job Aar-" Evelyn saw it before it actually happened, the girl behind Aaron swinging just a little to hard, and the brunette instinctively ducked her head to avoid having the other girl's feet collide with her skull. Unfortunately that meant Evelyn had left Aaron vulnerable and the girl winced when the blonde kid's feet made contact with Aaron's backside. Under normal circumstances she was sure it wouldn't have been so bad, but given that the boy had only been holding onto the structure with one hand, it meant disaster. Evelyn yelped loudly when Aaron went tumbling face-first into the red mulch and she, forgetting to release his feet, was pulled into the bark right after him, jarring her elbows harshly.

Of course the brunette barely payed any attention to her own injuries because she figured Aaron's would be far worse. The girl leaped to her feet and ran around Aaron in order to better assess his injuries. "Aaron! Are you okay?"

Evelyn looked up to make a brief mental note of the face of the girl that had kicked her friend so she knew who to look for later. Seriously, Evelyn wasn't the most patient of people but even she knew it was dangerous to play on something if another person was on it, and anyone who didn't share that caution was just plain rude and careless and obviously needed a stern talking to.
 
This was why he never played on the playground with the other kids. They were rude, they were impatient, and if you got a face full of mulch no one seemed to notice unless you screamed and made a big deal about it. But Aaron was not the one to burst into tears in front of everyone. Boys weren't supposed to do that kind of thing unless they were okay with the other boys making fun of him; those were the rules on the playground. Only the girls were allowed to cry.

"Oww . . ." Aaron's right eye remained closed while he rubbed at his nose. When he blinked his eyes it felt like there was at least one piece of dirt in there, turning his right eye red the more it agitated him.

"I don't like the monkey bars," he said upon looking at Evelyn. Why didn't she keep him from falling? Wasn't that the one job she was supposed to be doing?

Aaron spat on the ground a few times to get the taste of dirt out of his mouth. Meanwhile, the other kids were swinging above his and Evelyn's heads as if nothing had happened.

This is exactly why he preferred to just sit by a tree and read. It was a lot safer. That is, it's safer if random girls aren't there to make you feel awkward about reading by yourself.

Speaking of said girl . . .

Aaron held his right eye closed and frowned at Evelyn's arms.

"You're all scratched up."

It was mostly the girl's forearms that were skinned the worse. Mulch stuck to her elbows but the red and pink blotches on her arms looked like something that would sting if the nurse were to spray that white medicine thing on it to clean it. Aaron had always hated that spray thing; all it did was make things hurt even worse.

"I think we gotta go to the nurse's."
 
Even if his injuries weren't as bad as Evelyn had feared the girl still grimaced until her face hurt and went to help Aaron up. He didn't look to hurt- although one of his cheeks was scraped a little and the eye on the opposite side was red and Aaron kept scrubbing at it. Evelyn was pretty sure if he hadn't been wearing pants the damage would have been a lot worse. Of course it still seemed painful enough for the brunette to feel extremely guilty. Evelyn expected Aaron wouldn't want to talk to her again after this, which was why when he mentioned her own injuries the girl looked at him in surprise before looking at her own arms.

It was funny how she hadn't even realized she'd skinned her elbows until Aaron pointed it out. She knew she'd hit them pretty hard but until attention was drawn to the injuries Evelyn hadn't noticed the stinging sensation running up and down her arms. It was enough pain to warrant tears or a whine but it still hurt a little and Evelyn nodded in agreement with Aaron's suggestion that they see the nurse even while she kept staring at the boy with curiosity. He was either more forgiving than she thought or he was just getting patched up before he decided to yell at her.

By the time they got to the nurses' office Evelyn could feel the warm throb in her arms more predominantly than before, but every single time she went to hiss or mutter about the hurt she remembered she was the reason for Aaron's scraped face and shut up. The girl knew she had to apologize, of course, because her mother always said if you hurt someone either by accident or on purpose you always say sorry, but Evelyn figured she would wait until after they got help.
 
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