I'm Glad I Met You

Chapter 15

I don't know a lot about Asperger's, so I'm really sorry if I get any details wrong or anything like that, I don't mean to offend anyone with the character though so please tell me if I should change anything.

"I feel like we should talk about it." Ray announces, breaking the awkward silence of my room.

"Is there anything to talk about?" I ask, not really wanting to fully open up to them.

"Of course there is Gina! We can't just ignore the fact that you have Asperger's, that wouldn't be right on you." Mikey justifies.

"Okay." I sigh, knowing that they're right, that I can't keep ignoring it. "I was always an... odd child, but my parents refused to believe that anything was wrong till my old therapist suggested that there is a strong possibility I could have Asperger's or something very similar." I pause to gather my thoughts, "after I was diagnosed I became even more dependent on TV shows and movies to help me relate to others and understand behavior better, not only that but TV always helped me escape from reality, where I am messed up and go to a place where that doesn't matter."

"How old were you?" Frank softly asks, his voice so quiet that if the room wasn't silent I probably wouldn't be able to hear him.

"I was 8 or 9 when I was first diagnosed."

"You were seeing a therapist at that age?" Mikey points out, clearly shocked.

"For my anxiety." I answer, trying to look anywhere but them.

"Should we... like, is there anything we should do?" Gerard asks, obviously trying to choose his words carefully.

"Just act how you normally would... please?" My voice cracks, making it sound more desperate than I wished it would.

***

During lunch the next day Mikey walks up to us, a girl shyly walking behind him."Is it okay if Lainey sits with us? She's new." I look at the petite girl standing behind Mikey, she makes eye contact with me and smiles sightly.

"Of course" Ray smiles, quick to greet her.

"What grade are you in?" Frank asks.

"Year 10, so I'm 16."

"So you like the younger ones Mikey?" Frank asks, making Mikey punch his shoulder.

"I apologise in advance for everything they say" Ray shakes his head, looking slightly disappointed.

Lainey waves him off, "I'm sure they'll be fine."

While they're talking I study Lainey's appearance, she's quite thin and small, with extremely short black/dark brown hair. I notice her small septum piercing and can't help but feel slightly glad I took mine out last night. As they start talking about comics I notice how Lainey looks at Mikey and I feel a small wave of jealousy surge over me, there's no way I could compete with her, she'll be over to win over Mikey without even saying anything.

"We're going to the cafe by the comic store this afternoon, you guys coming?" Ray asks Mikey and Lainey, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Lainey looks at Mikey, giving him slight puppy dog eyes, "I actually promised Lainey I'd show her around." Mikey says, barely being able to finish his sentence before the bell goes.

***

"What do you guys think of Lainey?" Ray asks as we make our way to a table at the back of the cafe.

"She seems nice" I say, trying to put aside my jealousy.

"Is it just me, or was she flirting with Mikey?" Gerard asks, looking at me cautiously.