Me Too *Mcpriceley*

Chapter 14 - Lectures

TW: If you get triggered by skin picking or hair pulling, feel free to skip this chapter and read the A/N at the end. <!>

Neeley fidgeted with his tie nervously as his parents argued in hushed yells a few feet away. He couldn't quite make out any words, but he was doing his best not to anyways. Instead, he just focused on his tie. His head was itching and burning like crazy, but he just focused on his tie. His hands started shaking as he tensed them, doing everything in his power to just focus on the tie instead of on the overwhelming sensation on his head. He clenched his jaw and just stared down at his tie.

"Attention, folks! I will be starting on the presentations on the things that some of your kids are going through. If your child suffers from a BFRB disorder, or you want to learn more about them, please follow me to the schoolhouse right outside." Dr. Kimbe announced, taking Neeley's attention off his tie and hair, giving him immediate relief. He turned to his parents and motioned to them to go follow Dr. Kimbe.

"Oh, is that what BGRF is?" His father asked, a little confused. Neeley nodded, rolling his eyes and followed his parents and little sister outside and into the schoolhouse. Davis and his parents were right behind them and Neeley slowed his pace so that he was walking next to him.

"How goes it so far?" He whispered, careful not to let their parents hear. Davis looked up from wringing his hands to look at his best friend.

"So far, they still think I'm crazy and are pretty pissed at the moment. How about you?" Davis casually explained as if it were what he expected.

"Pretty much the same. My little sister has gotten pretty quiet, but I don't think it helps that my parents have been ignoring her all day to argue. They tried to take my fucking beanie," Neeley told him. Davis muttered a swear under his breath and Neeley hummed an agreement.

The group arrived in the schoolhouse, which was rearranged so that there was a large whiteboard in the front of the room and a bunch of fold-out chairs set up in the back of the room. Davis and Neeley sat next to each other, fully prepared to whisper their parent's reactions to each other. Neeley noticed that Kevin and Connor had taken seats in the back of the room but their parents were nowhere to be seen. He shrugged and turned to the front of the room where Dr. Kimbe had slides projected onto the whiteboard.

"Welcome children and families. This short presentation on BFRB disorders will just give you an insight into what you or your child is going through." She started with a smile. Neeley glanced over at his parents to see a skeptical look harboring on both of their faces. He sighed, realizing that this was going to be a long lecture if he kept focusing on his parents. "BFRB stands for 'body-focused repetitive behavior and most commonly refers to trichotillomania, hair pulling, trichophagia, the pulling and consumption of hair, dermatillomania, skin picking, and dermaphagia, the picking and consumption of skin." Neeley perked up a little bit. He had sessions weekly with Dr. Kimbe, but it was always nice to hear the word 'trichotillomania' out loud. It gave him a feeling of being understood. He noticed Davis sit up straighter in his chair as well, probably for the same reason.

"Trichotillomania is caused by the release rather than the retraction of dopamine, the pleasure chemical, in the brain when hair is pulled. This means that when someone with trich pulls out their hair, it feels good instead of hurts. It becomes something that the person can't control, most often pulling without even realizing it or making a conscious effort to pull. It becomes similar to an addiction, often compared to smoking, but it isn't quite the same. Dermatillomania is quite similar to trichotillomania as far as the brain science goes, but instead of the pulling of hair releasing the dopamine, it is the picking of skin. For the time being, there is no proven way to cure either of these mental issues, but there are many ways that have been found by those with them that tends to help. The best solution that has been found is the use of fidget toys such as a tangle toy or a fidget cube. While there is no medication that has been proven to help, research has been picking up on these issues and researchers are expecting to find a permanent solution in the next five years or so." Dr. Kimbe closed, switching to a slide asking for questions. Neeley was shocked when his father called out to the front of the room.

"The trik- tich- the hair pulling one. Is it just on the head? Like, body hair isn't included, right?" Neeley smiled a little bit to himself to see his parents actually interested in learning about it after years of him going through it alone.

"That's an excellent question, thank you so much for asking! Every sufferer is different. Some pull from all over, their body hair, eyelashes, eyebrows, facial hair, and scalp. However, most sufferers only focus on one area such as only body hair, only facial hair, or only scalp. Usually, it's a combination."

That's when Davis' mother shouted out asking if the same thing went for dermatillomania and Dr. Kimbe confirmed that it was the same case.

Both pairs of parents asked a few more questions before the room finally went silent.

"Thank you all for coming, I'm glad that-" Dr. Kimbe started but was cut off by a small voice calling out gently.

"Will my brodder be ok?" Neeley looked to where the voice was coming from to see his little sister standing on her chair playing with the ruffles on her blue dress. He could feel tears start to form in his eyes, gently trickling down his cheek as he gazed at his sister.

"Yes, sweetie. Your brother is perfectly safe and okay," Dr. Kimbe smiled, clearly touched by the question as well. His sister nodded and plopped back down in her seat, continuing to distract herself with her dress.

"If that is all, thank you all for coming and taking time to learn about your children. If you have any questions throughout the day, feel free to find me or, if you're at home and have a question, go to BFRB.org. Thank you," She closed, turning off her slides. Neeley wiped his cheek and turned to Davis, who was staring dumbfounded at his parents who were now talking to Dr. Kimbe and receiving a pamphlet.

"Oh my god," He whispered. Neeley nodded.

"I know what you mean. I've never seen my parents actually put in an effort..." He smiled.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Kevin. "Hey, if you ever want to talk, I want you to remember that I'm here," He offered with a smile, shifting his eyes between Neeley and Davis. "This sounds pretty rough and I don't want you guys going through it alone."

Davis smiled back at Kevin. "Thank you, Kevin."

"Thank you, that honestly means a lot," Neeley added. Kevin simply smiled and walked back outside, probably to go see his family again, Neeley assumed.

Hey guys, Ares here! Thank you so much if you read this chapter all the way through, and if not, that's okay too! I wanted to include this chapter because these are some lesser known disorders and I really wanted to portray them well in this book. This was basically just an educational filler chapter from Neeley's perspective, so I totally understand if you just skipped it and it won't affect your further reading experience. If you did read this all the way through, though, thank you! Until next chapter~

(Also, I just thought the part with his sister was absolutely adorable and would add some more personality to the chapter. It melted my heart and I hope it did yours too. )