Opening the bag of birdseed I fill the small cup before emptying it into my cockatoo's cage. He watches my every movement until I pull my hand from his cage and close the little gate. Only then does he hop to his feeding tray and peck cautiously at the seeds.

He may still be trying to get used to his new home, but I'd be lying if I said I couldn't relate to his nervousness. I've always been hesitant and preferred to keep to myself rather than getting too close to others. People are unpredictable. They lure you in with the promise of friendship but without warning, they are mocking your dress, your hair, making fun of your dads. And you are expected to laugh it off like a funny joke or be called 'too sensitive' if you admit it actually hurt.

This bird is me. I know this feeling all too well. So, I prefer animals and books over people. Especially after what happened recently. I guess I handled it fairly well.

I suppose I should tell you about that. I don't particularly like talking about it, but it's also something that needs to be told. Maybe I could write a book about it someday. Add to the collection of young adult novels out there. For now, though, I'll tell you about it here.

Another Monday. Another fresh week of high school. I take a few deep breaths, readying myself for the day and only then do I start dressing. Mostly black but with a red plaid skirt. I like black since it draws the least amount of attention, but I still need a little colour. It's both a blessing and a curse this school doesn't have a uniform. I'm glad I can wear clothes I feel comfortable in, but now, people have something else to mock.

Grabbing my school bag, I head downstairs and quietly slip out the front door. As it closes I hear one of my fathers call my name. I don't normally sneak out, but I can't keep pretending I have friends, and school is fun. I don't want to see them wrinkle their brows and look sad: they know I'm lying.

I walk to school in silence, running over all the possible outcomes for today in my head. Sometimes even I think maybe it's silly, but I need to be ready for any situation.

I'm lost in thought when someone runs into me from behind, and I drop my bag. I rub my arm, and before I realise it, my bag is handed to me.

"Sorry 'bout that. I didn't see you."

I look up to see a boy I know. Well, maybe 'know' is a strong word. I don't actually know him, but I do recognize him from some of my classes. I take the bag and mutter a small "thank you."

I start to leave when he speaks again.

"Not seen you around before. You new?"

"I, um, no – no, I'm not new. We, we have a class together. Biology?"

His eyes briefly widen seeming surprized. The shock melts into a grin as he pushes his glasses up.

"No shit, really? Huh. Where do you sit?"

I shift from one foot to the other. This is the longest I've talked to anyone in my school outside of group assignments. I don't hate it, I just don't know what to do. I don't want to mess up. "In the back, by the window. Three rows over from Hannah and her boyfriend."

His smile only widens, and a stream of laughs falls out. "How do you hear anything Smith says over all their bad romance-novel flirting?"

I shrug. "I manage."

He shakes his head, still chuckling. "Well, you just gotta swap near me." Before I can say anything he thrusts an open hand in my face, snorting when it makes me jump. "Martin, but you can call me Marty. All my friends do."

My eyes dart from his hand to his face, wide. "We're … friends?"

He nods. "'Course."

I tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear. I didn't want to mess up a chance to finally have a friend again. I shake his hand. "I'm Madison, but you can call me Maddie."

Walking to school with someone is strange. It's nice, but it also scares me, makes me feel like I'll do something foolish and lose this new friendship before it even has time to start. I stay quiet, my face heating up any time Marty glances at me.

As we walk, Marty suddenly nudges me. I turn to look at him and see him smirking and pointing to the left. My eyes follow his finger to a small and rundown house. The yard is unkempt with brown and weedy grass and a partially flattened fence. The paint is scorched, most windows are missing with the remaining ones cracked.

I raise an eyebrow and open my mouth: Marty beats me to my question. This being said, he appears as though he's about to say one thing, shakes his head, hesitates, then says: "I'd sure hate to be the person living there."

Confused, I keep walking. "It doesn't seem like anyone lives there," I say quietly.

Marty half jogs to catch up. "Yeah, probably not. Think it's haunted?" I wince. Marty seems to notice, grinning at me. "What's wrong?"

I don't understand why he finds this funny, though I pass it off as just him being a boy. I haven't had a male friend before and marketing does always depict them as weird. Not wanting to tell him about my phobias, I've only just met him, I shrug. "It's nothing. Never mind."

Letting it drop, we continue to school in silence.

Once we arrive I head to class and take my new seat next to Marty.

"No one else sits here, right?"

Marty shrugs. "Doesn't matter, they'll move if they see you sitting there. If not I can always tell 'em to piss off."

I take my seat, but I don't want him to be rude on my behalf.

The class proceeds as normal. Sometimes, Marty slips me a note checking up on how I'm doing; making sure I'm not getting lost in the speedy lecture. I smile at him and nod. It feels nice sitting next to someone who seems to care about my existence.

Marty and I have different schedules. After biology, we split up for separate lessons.

Before long it's lunchtime. Entering the cafeteria I scan the room for an empty table. I prefer to find a place to sit before getting food.

Marty's waving hand catches my attention. There are a few other people sitting at the table, but he seems to be waving me over to an empty seat.

I hesitate, but soon join him at the table. No one's saved me a seat like this before.

"I was wondering when you'd be allowed out for lunch. There was pizza available for a while. Saved you a slice."

My mouth falls involuntarily open as I accept the slice. "Thank you."

"So these are some of my other friends." He points to each one as he gives their names. "That's Eren, Connie, Sasha, and Armin. Guys, this is Madison. The girl I was telling you I met."

"So you've finally got a girlfriend. Well done!"

"Shut the fuck up, Connie. She's my friend. And you're one to talk."

I'm not paying much attention to the conversation, just looking around the table at the small group. I want to have friends, but the more people you trust the more likely you are to mess something up.

I stay quiet and pick at the pizza slice from Marty. I think until I can build up more confidence, I'd prefer to stick to one good friend and only after a while add a few more. That being said, I don't want to come off as rude. I just don't want to be rejected.

"Madison, right?"

My attention snaps up at my name. It's the other girl, Sasha. "I, um, yes?"

"You have really pretty hair. Girls don't normally pull off a side-undercut, but it looks really nice on you."

She was smiling, but I couldn't tell if she meant it or not. It sounded genuine, but I'm terrible at reading the true meaning behind other people's words.

I run a hand through the light brown strands not tied back, wishing she didn't bring up my hair at all. Now I'm going to overthink it. "Um, thank you." I should compliment her too, otherwise I might come off as rude. "I like your hair too, the reddish-brown is pretty."

"Thanks!" She then returns to her food.

The blond, I think Armin? has a small narrow-eyed glare fixed on Marty. He's not necessarily angry, but more annoyed or frustrated. I'm not sure why. Marty's being loud, but not doing anything wrong. I might stay away from that one.

Gradually the cafeteria begins to empty as students file back to their classes. When Marty stands up to leave so do I. I'm nervous to be left alone with his friends.

We head to class, but on the way Marty speaks up. "You're so quiet."

"I just, I didn't know what to say." I don't want to lose my new friend already. "Sorry."

Marty waves a hand dismissively. "Nah it's cool." And he leaves it at that.

Luckily, we have a class together again. Instead of going to the back row I take a seat next to Marty who grins with approval.

I'm only half listening to Ms Zoe. As much as I'm trying to stay focused, my mind keeps drifting back to what happened at lunch. It was weird, but I did truly want more lunches like that. Maybe I could ask Marty for help from always fearing the worst.

"Psst."

I blink back into the classroom and turn to my right. Marty tilts a note towards me. It says there is something on the side of my shirt.

Dread rises in my chest. I probably spilled something during lunch and looked like a fool walking in the halls. I raise my arm to look up and down the side of my shirt.

"Yes, Miss Summers. What's the answer?"

Wide eyes shoot to the front of the class where the teacher is waiting for my response. I lower my arm as I freeze momentarily. I've not been paying attention and don't know what's being discussed. My eyes dart to Marty for help.

On his desk he's holding three fingers out.

"U-um, three?"

Ms Zoe raises an eyebrow. "Thedifferences between differential and integralcalculusis… three?"

I pale as I realise what's happened. A few others in the room, including Marty, snicker. I sink lower in my chair.

"Please do try to pay attention, Madison," Ms Zoe states, before calling on someone else.

I want to cry. No one will take me seriously in this class anymore. I'll just be branded as the girl who doesn't listen.

Marty tries to pass notes, still chuckling slightly. I ignore him. It wasn't his fault I wasn't listening in class, but why did he get me to raise my hand and then give me that silly answer?

I ignore Marty for the rest of the lesson.

Once we're dismissed, I pack up my things and hurry out of the room. Marty grabs his bag and jogs after me.

"Hey Maddie, wait up!"

I don't want to. But I do anyway. Once he catches up I turn to face him. "Why did you do that?"

Marty shrugs. "Aw c'mon Mads, I was just messing around."

I'm not sure I like him calling me 'Mads'. That's a nickname only my dads use.

Marty just snorts. "Aw c'mon, don't look at me like that, it was all in harmless fun." His giggles finally stop. "Alright, alright. How about I make it up to you. You looked really scared back there. How 'bout I help you toughen up a little." That is something I really want, but I'm not so sure I trust him. "C'mon, lemme make it up to you. I don't want our friendship to fall apart from a joke." I hesitate before finally sighing and nodding. "Great! Meet me outside before heading home."

I reluctantly agree and he leaves for his next class. Still unsure, I head to my own.

I sit on a bench right outside the main campus building, waiting for Marty. After thinking about it, I do want to give him one more chance. Maybe it was just a harmless prank and I overreacted.

Marty soon jogs up. "Hey. Sorry I'm late."

"It's ok."

"So, c'mon, I have an idea on how to help."

Nodding, I stand and follow him.

He's quiet while leading me and I wonder what he could be planning. Before I get a chance to ask, he suddenly stops. I look around and feel uneasy by the sight of that rundown house from before.

"Uh…"

"Ok, hear me out. This house creeps a lot of people out, but it's just a house."

I look from him to the house and back. "I don't follow."

"We'll go in together. You'll be safe since I'll be there. Grown men are creeped out by this house but if you can do this, there will be less things to be afraid of."

How does these even remotely link to what happened today in class?

"I'm not sure."

"The more fearless things you do, the easier it is to push away any fear." I'm not sure how much I believe that, but then his expression turns sad. "Please Madison? I want to make it up to you."

I cringe at the house before sighing. "Fine, but we'll only go in for a few minutes, ok?"

Marty cheers up suspiciously fast. "Yes of course! C'mon!" He grabs my hand and pulls me into the house, kicking the door open as we go.

Despite most windows being broken, it's dark inside the house. Dark and cold.

I stay close to Marty as we creak across the floorboards. Marty screeches open a door and peeks inside. "Woah! Look at that?" Curious I tiptoe closer to look over his shoulder. "It's you!" Marty moves an arm behind my back and shoves me through the door, shutting it behind me before I can react. I hear the click of a lock.

Turning around I bang on the splintered wood. "Marty! Let me out!"

"Don't worry, this'll help!" I can hear him cackling through the door. "I'll come back in a couple hours!"

"Marty, please!" As I bang on the door I hear his footsteps get further and further away.

I turn, lean on a nearby wall, slide down and hug my knees to my chest. It's not long until the tears start.

"Hey, are you alright?"

I startle, looking around. Digging into my pocket I pull out my house keys and click on the keychain light. My eyes fall on a pale boy with freckles sitting in the shadows. He looks a little like Marty but not enough to actually be him. Plus I can't see his full face, half is hidden in shadow. "Who're you?"

The boy smiles, though he moves to stay in the shadows. "I'm Marco, you?"

"I uh, M-Madison." There's something off about him. "How did you get in? Is there another way out?" I find him with my little light again, but he moves out of it once more.

"Please don't do that. I don't…" He trails off before continuing: "It's bright." Not wanting to be in total darkness again I keep my light on, though I bring the keys closer to myself and away from him. "Thank you. As for your question, I've been here for a while. I don't think my way in is still there. I woke up when I heard someone crying."

"No longer there?" That makes no sense, doorways can't just vanish. "Maybe we can help each other out of the house?" I suggest. Marco doesn't respond. An idea occurs to me: "Are you hurt?"

"Not exactly." He falls silent. Before I can speak again he continues. "How did you get in?"

It's dark, but still cast my eyes down despite not being able to see anything. "My friend – I guess ex-friend now – Marty tricked me."

"Marty? Does he have dark hair, freckles and glasses?"

I turn to the direction of Marco's voice. "Yeah, do you know him?"

"I, heh, yeah. Yeah I do." After a pause he adds, "He uh, he's my brother."

I narrow my eyes at this. "I didn't know he had one." Listening, I can only hear my own various sounds, and our conversation. I can't even hear Marco breathing. An uneasy feeling travels down my spine.

Marco is quiet again but before I can say anything else he speaks up. A new tone is in his voice. He's less unsure.

"Do you know what happened in this house?"

I shake my head before realising it would be too dark to see. "No. I moved here only a few months ago and it was already like this. Why?"

Marco hesitates. "Ok. I'm going to move forward and you can shine your light. It'll help me explain. But please don't scream, I promise I won't hurt you."

This statement doesn't comfort me, but I do it anyway. I can't hear Marco moving but I still flash my light around. It soon falls on him, and he is much closer. Marco is facing me, though glancing away, as if ashamed. Then my light passes over the rest of his face. Or, I should say, where the rest of his face should be. Instead there's … nothing. Half of him is missing until his mid-section. Then he's colourless but at least whole. I gasp and cover my mouth before I can scream.

I stare at him with wide eyes while he speaks. "This is why I can't leave. I don't know how it works. I just know I'm unable to leave."

"How did this happen?"

Marco turns away for a moment, as if deciding, and then turns back. "It's dangerous in here so I'll explain while leading you out. Now: This is very important. I can't physically help. There is debris everywhere and holes leading to the basement. I can't catch you if you fall. You can't see in the dark – you have a flashlight - but it's small. I can see in the dark. You will need to follow my voice and if I tell you to stop or to duck under something, you must, ok?"

I nod. "Yes of course." I stand, checking to make sure I still have my school-bag, and then shine the faint beam of light ahead of me.

Marco disappears, then reappears by my side. I jump.

He cringes. "Sorry. This hallway is alright. Be careful of low-hanging debris but otherwise it's fine." Once I nod and start carefully picking my way around chunks of wood, he continues: "Our parents were away for a week. Their anniversary."

My light catches a low-hanging support beam and I duck under it.

"Marty … they, they like to smoke-"

"I'm sorry, they?"

"Marty's genderfluid. Or at least that's what I remember anyway."

"Oh."

I can't see where Marco is, but I can still hear him, he sounds somewhere right above me.

"I always tell – told – Marty never to smoke in the house. They'd never listen to me though. Say I was just being too careful or uptight. When our parents went out of town, Marty immediately started smoking in the house. Normally I – Madison stop, please!" I stop moving instantly.

Shining my keychain ahead, Marco is floating a few feet in front of me.

"There's a tunnel of collapsed stuff directly to your right. Test it first, if it seems sturdy enough, crawl through – carefully. If not I'll find another way."

I flash my keychain to the right, and see two collapsed bookcases leaning, tent-like, over a blackened desk. I shake one bookcase, and push on the desk. It's all a charred mess but not shaky. I take a deep breath, and wriggle under the desk, coming out in a wider space.

"We're in the kitchen, there should be a door on the other side of this room." Marco trails off. I shine my thin yellow beam around until I spot him in a blackened corner, frowning at a section of wall.

"What is it?" I ask, tilting my head slightly.

Marco shakes his head, snapping out of it. "Sorry, just thinking. I don't remember much of that day. I told Marty not to smoke, and then I find them smoking in the kitchen. I smell gas. I ask them how they lit the cigarette since I normally take their lighters away while inside and they say they've used the stove. I remember shoving them out of the room and then … nothing." Marco shakes his head again and runs a hand through his hair. I wonder if that's a habit from life that he still does on instinct. "C'mon. Let's get you out to safety."

With Marco's guidance and my dim key-light I navigate around the room, stepping over rubble or ducking under support beams.

As I finally reach and push open the door, Marco speaks up again. "Madison, you said Marty was the reason you were stuck in here… do they pick on you?"

I turn back to Marco with a wince, thinking over the day's events. "Well he – I mean they - started off nice, saying we were friends but then… he's kind of an asshole, he made me look like a fool in calculus."

Marco frowns. "Tell them to come here. Say you found something – a picture." He tries to snap his fingers. "Of them, you've never met me, it's a picture of them. It was weird that it's here and they need to come take a look at it."

I nod. Although I'm not sure how well it'll work I will try. "Thank you, Marco." He nods with a smile, drifting away, back into the darkness.

I run for home, taking one last glance at the house before facing forward again.

So that's my story. It's just me and my bird, I don't really trust others. I kind of trust the ghost – Marco – but the house is too dangerous for me to go and visit him. So I'm stuck where I was before, not having any real friends. I wonder if Marty was lured back and, if he went, I sometimes find myself hoping he – they – had a horrible fright. Sometimes I think about cleaning up that house so I can safely visit Marco. In the end, I guess Marty did help. Now, I have a friend: of sorts.