A/N: This was just stuck in my mind (preventing me from writing other things) so I adapted it from my life into a fanfic. If you all want I can write and post stuff with this AU, before and after stuff for this one-shot. I promise I will get my two ongoing stories updated as soon as I can!
BTW sorry, Lloyd. You're just the main torture character along with the most like me according to the personality tests.
Lloyd curled himself tighter, pinching his arms as hard as he could. This had to be the third time that week. He tried but just could not hold himself together anymore; it had been bad enough when it was the rare occasion in the halls, but it seemed the more he avoided this guy the more he ran into him. Not that the frequency mattered.
Pathetic. His father had died defending him and his mother from a murderer, and Lloyd was terrified of a random schoolmate who liked to startle him.
Every thought stabbed, pushing him back to the ledge he had crawled away from long ago. The one he had sat next to, leaning over, when Garmadon had died. He could hardly breathe, hot tears streaming down his flushed face.
A hand gently landed on his shoulder. Lloyd flinched away, blindly cowering next to the leg of his desk. "Lloyd, are you okay?"
Nodding, he barely managed to rasp "'M fn."
What was it about his face or body language that made it so funny to scare him? Did it have something to do with how he freaked out: every, single, time? 'It's too easy!' Which was worse? 'You better run!' Both statements just emphasized how stupid and pathetic Lloyd was.
How sensitive and worthless could someone be? Very, but only if that someone were him, apparently. He did not deserve some yet-to-manifest-itself magical power, or knowledge of the dying art of spinjitzu. He was a nobody, a worthless piece of trash that was just a waste of space.
"Lloyd." There was a tugging on his arm. "Please come out. I can't just leave you like this and continue the lesson."
Desperately, he wiped at his eyes. "Im Fine."
"You're not 'fine', come on." The class watched as their chemistry teacher heaved the quietly sobbing freshman out from under the desk and walked him from the room.
Lloyd wanted to curl back into a ball, not stand on his feet; but he had to admit it was kind of nice to lean on someone for once. Sure, any of his friends would gladly offer a shoulder, but they all had their own stuff and did not need to be weighed down by his insignificant problems.
The pair entered the councilor's office, the door creaking slightly. "How may I help-" her voice died out as she got a good look at them.
Gently, he lowered Lloyd into one of the seats. "Just, thought I'd bring him here."
The silence lasted long after the soft click of the door.
"Hey, Lloyd. Good to see you. You want to talk about what's wrong, or do you just need a shoulder?"
He opened his mouth to respond but after no words came out he shook his head. Words were always hard.
"Does this have anything to do with that boy who's been bullying you?"
Lloyd remembered picking out the face of his tormentor - if you can even be called a tormentor when all you do is jump scares - just a week before. Seeing a kid in his English class called down and realizing his mistake. He had been wrong before, chances were he would fail again and get some other random person in trouble over nothing. What was the point in saying anything if it just wasted everybody's time over some stupid thing like that?
"N-no. I just… didn't get enough sleep last night. And got startled. By a chair. I'm fine."