Just A Fan ~ (Michael Clifford)

1. Finding A Friend.

Staring straight ahead at the metal gates which were approaching fast, I let out a not-so-quiet sigh. School. Hell. Whatever you want to call it, it was somewhere I certainly didn't want to be. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if I had friends, but I had no-one here. Not one single person wanted to speak to me, and the few people who did talk to me were my bullies. I was subject to every type of bullying possible, from physical and verbal to cyber bullying which forced me to delete all my social media accounts. I walked through the tall gates, and headed straight for the school library, the only place I felt safe. I could get lost in a book and forget every problem I had for a while. But I had to cross a hallway first. A hallway where the bullies always stood. A hallway where harsh words were thrown at me daily, and I had to pretend everything was okay until I could be alone. As soon as I opened the door, three figures stood there. Katie, Farah and Autumn. "Here she comes, Violet the Elephant," Katie piped up, the other two girls erupting into laughter behind her. "You can feel the floor shake as she walks, FATASS." Farah chipped in to the abuse. I walked straight past them, hoping that was all they were going to say to me. But boy, I was so wrong. A sharp tug on my backpack from one of the girls pulled me back to them, just when I thought I had gotten away. "Do you really think we're gonna let you go? Aren't you forgetting something?" I let out a quiet sigh. Fishing deep into my pocket, I pulled out the money I had for my lunch and handed it to Farah. This was a daily routine, they would call me names, take my lunch money and then usually let me go. "Good girl, your life would be so much easier if you just did what you were told. Now get out of my sight." Autumn snarled at me. Quickly turning to leave, I hurried along the corridor to the safe haven of the library. I walked through the door, and I had only been there about 3.5 seconds before the librarian Mrs Tomlinson pulled me over to one side. "Good morning Violet, my love," she smiled at me. Mrs Tomlinson was a kind hearted lady, always willing to help if you needed it but didn't interfere with people's lives unless they asked. "Morning," I smiled back at her. Quickly glancing across the almost empty room, I noticed a girl sitting alone who I had never seen before. She had her head in a book, clearly lost in a world of fictional characters. I could tell by the expression on her face, it was an expression I wore everyday of my life. "Who's that?" I asked Mrs Tomlinson, puzzled. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about actually. Her name is Kayla, she's just started here today," the old-ish lady explained. "She doesn't know anyone yet, and I thought maybe you could introduce yourself, maybe you guys could become friends?" I sighed. I longed for a friend, someone to share my secrets with, someone to have sleepovers and laugh with. But I have anxiety, which ruins everything. I hate talking to people unless they talk to me first, I struggle to make phone calls even to my parents and I struggle with being alone in crowded spaces, even though I'm always alone. Mrs Tomlinson looked at me with a hopeful smile, and I let out a small sigh. "Sure no problem." I walked over to Kayla, and took a deep breath. "May I sit here?" I asked shakily, suggesting I sit on the chair beside her. "Of course!" she smiled cheerily back at me. "I'm Kayla, I'm new around here." I breathed a sigh of relief as she was starting the conversation. "I'm Violet," was all I could think to say. "I love your name! My grandmother had the same name, it's always been a favourite of mine." She seemed so happy, so full of life. I admired her personality, happy and willing to give everyone a chance. "Do you want to listen to music with me?" she asked me, carefully unravelling her earphones and plugging them into her iPod. "Who's that?" I asked her, looking at the 4 boys on her lock screen picture as she handed me a earphone. "It's 5 Seconds Of Summer, they're an Australian band, I'll play you some of their music!" Kayla giggled, clicking a song called Wherever You Are. A soft guitar began to play, and I instantly relaxed. I don't know what it was but something about the way the guitar was being played made me feel safe, like nothing could touch me. Then an angelic voice began to sing, and I instantly fell in love. His voice was deep, yet nurturing. "What are they called? And what do they do in the band?" I asked Kayla, anxious to know who's beautiful voice I was hearing. "Well that's Luke, he's the lead singer and guitarist. That's Ashton, he's the drummer, that's Calum, he's the bassist and that's Michael, he's a guitarist," she explained, pointing to the boys she was describing. "Ashton's pretty hot right?" She smirked, admiring the curly haired boy in the bandana. "Yeah he is," I replied. "So come on, who do you think is the better looking one?" I paused, taking another look at the photo. "That one." I pointed to the purple haired boy who had his tongue sticking out. "It's almost impossible to find Michael girls, he doesn't get the credit he deserves," Kayla sighed, clearly saddened. "Well I think he's just perfect." She flashed me a smile, and that's when it finally hit me. I think I had made a friend.