You slowly paced along the tile floors of the store, parents ignoring you as always. They bounded down aisles like children, leaving you to walk, forgotten, several paces behind. It wasn't your fault that you acted much older than you actually were, you just functioned differently. Or at least that's what you told yourself when you found yourself friendless and disconnected from your family. People from your classes were immature and self-absorbed; they teased you for being so quiet and cold. In the festering wounds of your own self-pity, a hate for the people who had harmed you had grown. When your mind went into that infinite death-spiral people call "depression", your family and old friends called you a freak. Now you had learned that being alone was far better than whatever people could give you. Subconsciously, you found yourself talking to no one in particular just to get feelings and thoughts out of your head, creating the appearance of having finally lost it. But you just didn't care anymore, pushing people out had become easier and easier.
"Oi! _!" a voice called bringing you back from thought. This was not the voice of a family member but that of another familiar face. You knew immediately who it was without turning around; it was Arthur whom you knew from school. "_! Is that you?" he called again. Sighing, you turned to face the blonde-haired boy yelling at you.
"Hullo Arthur," you mumbled, walking to meet him. He grinned, not something normal for him,
"I thought that was you, are you here alone?" You look around for your family but they seem to have disappeared,
"I was here with my family but they seem to have forgotten me again…" Arthur looks at you sympathetically,
"I'm sorry…"
"I don't need your pity Mr.-student-council-president. Everyone else already fakes it…"
"I wasn't faking it," Arthur replies grumpily, "I saw you and came to ask if you would care to have some dinner and wander around outside with me." Your eyes widened, the only sign you cared at all,
"O-oh! I'm sorry! Yes that would be nice; I don't think my parents would mind…" Arthur nodded kindly,
"Even if they don't care, I will. Where would you like to eat?"
"Umm…" you stuttered, you had issues with food. "Err y-you see, I uh, get sick when I eat and err…"
"No need love, I get it. Can you drink?" he said walking out of the store.
"Not legally," you mumbled sarcastically. He rolled his eyes,
"I meant soda and coffee and normal things." You paused,
"Yes, I prefer tea though…"
"You're in luck then," your new, handsome blonde-haired companion said holding open the door to a little tea shop. The shelves of the warm little store were lined with thick old books and exotic brands of tea. Arthur ordered two cups of earl grey and a scone. The two of you quietly sipped your drinks and walked down the busy winter sidewalks.
"Why are you talking to me?" you asked, it wasn't often anyone spoke to an undesirable. Arthur looked at you quizzically,
"Why wouldn't I? You're a pretty, quiet girl from my classes, we're both ap and honors students." You shrugged,
"I'm kind of an outcast, I'm suicidal, and I don't 'play well with others'. People tend to avoid anyone with that image." Arthur slouched to match your body-language,
"It makes you all the more intriguing." You sighed and looked up at the drizzly sky, the sunset was casting a faded crimson glare on the cloudy roof. Your companion's emerald eyes studied your figure carefully,
"What's going on behind that cold expression? Even your eyes refuse to betray your secrets." The faint traces of what could once be called a smile touched your lips,
"You forced some emotion out of me, congratulations. I'm just- ehh I don't know, spiraling again I suppose…" Arthur cocked his head to one side,
"Spiraling? Do you need me to slap you?" The echo of emotion caught you again; "happiness" was so foreign that laughing would probably kill you,
"No, I just need to talk."
"Well that's what you're doing right now." You thought for a moment,
"Different kind of talking, coping talking. I usually just talk to the air. So, I won't bore you with my stupid issues." Arthur stopped dead, placed his drink on a convenient ledge, and roughly grabbed your shoulders, "Your issues are not stupid. You probably have it worst of any of us at school. Even if you have nothing to talk about I'll listen." You turned away,
"Thank you… Really, no one was ever been this kind to the schizo, dead girl…" Then you felt an arm rest on your shoulders and pull you close,
"So what is bothering you?" You looked up into the bright green orbs that stared down at you curiously.
"Nothing," you mumble, hoping for just a second that he was as stupid as the rest to believe that.
"Now love, do you really expect me to believe that?" he asks.
"No," you reply, sounding like a disobedient child being told off.
"Well start by telling me when this began, your-"
"Sulky, childish response to things not going my way? You sound like a shrink." Arthur sighed,
"I suppose so, I just want to help you. Since you usually talk to the air, pretend I'm not here." You rolled your eyes,
"I'll try, I just feel unappreciated, like no one wants me. If just one person cared I would be happy, right now I just feel misunderstood. People stopped noticing I was there when I got quiet and they talked 'behind my back'. When other people who like to care for brownie points asked what was wrong with me, people assumed that I was depressed and pissed. Then my family keeps giving me all this crap about why I'm not good enough or why I HAVE to do well in school otherwise my life is ruined, the same way I ruined theirs. I guess it was when 'no friends' became my excuse that I stopped eating. I would starve myself before eating anything and even then I felt sick, when 'happy-o's' started coming back at me I stopped eating all together. Now the pressure, and being crazy and friendless has caught up with me and my will to live is simply 'it only gets worse before it gets better' but I just come across as weak and whiny…" You could already feel tears bubbling up in your eyes, rubbing them away; you take a sip of tea. "I-I'm sorry- *hic*," tears were streaming down your face now. Arthur calmly embraced you,
"Shhh… shhh… It's alright…" You sobbed into his coat, attempting to muffle the pathetic noise. A gentle hand ran through your hair, this felt so wrong but you did nothing.
"_!" You heard your parents call from down the street. They tore you away from Arthur, "Where were you? Who is this? We're going home now!" You looked back sadly at Arthur, waving as you were dragged away.
