AU: Amy, having been a mute since her early teens after witnessing a traumatic event, struggles to maintain a social life. She constantly forgoes going out with friends, choosing to stay in and research her almost-boyfriend’s confusing case. Her two closest friends aren’t the biggest fans of her “obsession.”
Tony was a high school dropout, heading nowhere super fast. He met Neil when he was a kid, having been friends with him ever since. When Tony started to fall down a path of minor criminal activity, Neil followed him. Somewhere down the line, Neil got more involved than Tony, but Tony still somehow found himself in the middle of it all.
She was young, and hadn’t spoken a word to anyone in almost three years, as well as not having shown any interest in communicating in general. Amy’s escape was the library, or walking around down the main street of her town. She had no idea that the young man who bumped into her on her way into the coffee shop, the young man who was in more than a rush, that she barely caught a glimpse of, would end up being the person she fell in love with.
He remembers cursing, and can recall the sound of the gun as it went off. It all happened so fast, and then he was running out the door. He didn’t know it was going to be a robbery, and he all but crashes into someone as he’s leaving. Some kind of flower. That’s what she smelled like. Not that he had time to enjoy it, as he was gone just as quickly as he ran into her.
Amy can’t really explain it when she takes an interest in law. There’s a place inside her mind, a place where she feels safe and secure, that she’s a lawyer. The irony doesn’t escape her when she befriends a known town criminal one day. Maybe it was a little weird to trust the older guy who said, “Whatever your shampoo is, or conditioner, or you know? It smells nice.” She just thought it was cute, that’s all.
They ate at the diner’s weekly “Fryday Fries” together.
Tony’s got it all planned out. He’s never really asked someone out before. He’s had friends who were girls, and guys. He’s had a lot of them, but he’s never had to ask any of them out. So, he did his research, and he’s got it planned out. He hears the doorbell, but he knows Charlie, his kid sister, will get it. He double checks his pocket; yes, good, his gift for her is there. Charlie’s yelling his name, so he leaves the bedroom. When he gets downstairs, there’s two cops at the door, and they aren’t there for a random check-in.
For the first time in a long time, she feels as though she can breathe again. No sound comes from her, aside from the sound of her breathing (which could be argued is without sound as well some days), but she always feels that smile tug at the corners of her lips when she’s around Tony. He doesn’t try to get her to talk, or ask her to write down all of her thoughts. He’s soft, and focuses on her facial expressions, on how her body speaks.
Then he’s gone.
Amy spends the next ten years working toward becoming a lawyer - something she didn’t think she could do as a mute, but she could. Having befriended some of her professors, making connections and networking at school and social events, she found herself able to have an unlimited source of information in regards to figuring out Tony’s case. Ultimately, her goal is to find the best person to re-try the case. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Tony was set up by Neil - his parents and their money, as well as their influence, make him untouchable.
Now she just needs to get him out of there before he does something stupid.
