"YO! Wake the fuck up!" I opened my eyes, blinking a few times to see Wade staring down at me. I groaned, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. "You sleep like a bitch," He commented. I gave him a confused look. "You sleep all curled up and you cuddle a part of your blanket... like a bitch."

I didn't know sign language. But I do know one universal symbol for "fuck you".

I flipped him off.

"Fuck you too, you mute!" He spat, walking out of the room.

I shook my head, getting out of bed with a yawn. "Finally, my brain will let me speak," I said quietly to myself, knowing there was no one else in the room. "Stupid trauma... anxiety... bullshit. Why won't you let me talk?" I asked myself.

Suddenly I felt filthy. I looked at my hands and saw dirt stains all over, with cuts and bruises along my arms from ramming into chunks of buildings during the tsunami. My hair was super greasy from not showering recently, and I reeked. I realized that I've been wearing the same clothes from the past two days, and I don't have any of my old clothes to change that.

I grumbled, walking out of our room. Out in the hallway between all the rooms on this floor, I saw Wade talking to a girl in flirtatious pose. Leaning on the wall and hovering towards her, smirking.

I rolled my eyes and began to walk away until I heard someone call for me. "Hey! Peter right?" It was a strange accent. I turned and saw that the girl Wade was previously flirting with had started walking towards me. "You're the mute, right?" She asked. I nodded, since it was easier than trying to explain selective mutism without talking. "Oh, I'm Shuri," She introduced herself, holding out her hand for me to shake.

I shook it, flashing her a smile. "Just one quick question." She cleared her throat. "What are those!?" She exclaimed, pointing at my shoes. I laughed and showed her the brand. "Oh, vans, nice. I prefer converse though," She told me casually.

At this point Wade was looking upset. No... he looked jealous. I smiled to myself, knowing I just stole his girl. He ended up storming off into our room.

Shuri turned around, and once he was gone, she turned back to me. "Thank God he left, he was annoying me with his alpha male personality," She told me. "Although you can't talk, I like you better than him. Not talking is better than saying the words he's saying. I'd rather him be mute."

I smiled again.

She sighed. "But it feels like I'm talking to myself. Oh! Come here," She gestured for me to follow her, so I did, walking into her room right behind her. Her room had one queen sized bed, which I was a bit jealous of. I would give anything to have a room to myself and not share it with Wade.

"Sit right there," Shuri ordered me, patting a spot on her bed. I sat down, watching her grab a whiteboard from under the bed. "I found this under here last night, asked Steve for a dry erase marker. I've been messing with it recently since they haven't given us phones yet," She informed me, handing me the board.

I smiled when I received it, popping the cap off of the marker and began writing.

I turned the board around so she could see it. "Oh! I know what that is, I study psychology at my high school. Or... I used to," Shuri informed me. "Damn, it's pretty uncommon in teens though. That must suck man. Hopefully if we hangout enough you'll start being able to talk to me," She said with a smile. "Supposedly you can talk to people you're familiar with."

I nodded. I started to write again.

Shuri beamed. "I'm deaf in one ear! We're ear buddies!" She exclaimed.

I smiled, then began writing again.

Luckily I remembered what Aunt May was wearing.

"Oh, no.. I'm sorry. Is that someone you know?" Shuri questioned, scooting close to my side of the bed.

Shuri frowned. "That sucks, Peter. Hopefully the Avengers find her, they're going on another search today."

We both sat there frowning for a minute.

Suddenly Shuri looked up. "So, do you know any vines?"

My eyes lit up, and I started to nod excitedly.

"WAIT, I'm going to test you," Shuri replied, clearing her throat. "Road work ahead?"

I began writing immediately.

Shuri laughed and gave me a high five.