𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐲𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧

◈ one ◈

[real life]

ella littleton walked along the sidewalk on a cool and breezy autumn evening. she was on her way to the support group that her mother had signed her up for the week before. it was a last resort, considering the fact that one on one therapy was unsuccessful and ella's depression has been increasing at a rapid pace.

ella used to feel like she was drowning in her negative thoughts but she soon realized that she wasn't drowning anymore. instead, she started sinking. she figured out that drowning means you are fighting to float and sinking means you have lost all hope.

the brunette girl approached the large building that was made of acid washed bricks, some more faded than the others. she grasped the handle to the glass door as she pulled it open before walking in the room and letting it swing shut behind herself.

she made her way to the therapy room, which had nine other teenagers, ranging from the ages seventeen to nineteen. all except for the counselor, liam, who appeared to be in his mid thirties. she took a seat in the only empty seat, which was between a girl with dirty blonde hair and a boy with royal blue eyes. she recognized the entire group from school, which wasn't surprising to her since they were all from the same area.

"welcome to brighter visions support group. our goal here is to lay a foundation created from mutual trust within this room of people and build a safe place where you guys can lean on each other," liam leaned in a little closer, his facial expression more serious than before, "because the thing is, at the end of the day, you're all in the same boat; just riding different waves."

the boy with the blonde hair cleared his throat, "uh, with all due respect, this sounds like a bunch of bullshit."

the others snickered as ella bit her bottom lip, holding back a smile and redirecting her attention down to her hands as she studied her chipped black nail polish. 

"language, please." liam clasped his hands together as he let out a small sigh. "anyway, let's all introduce ourselves, shall we?"

the girl sitting across from ella raised her hand as her face lit up with excitement, "i'll go first! i'm nova, i'm seventeen, and i'm here because life has given me some lemons lately."

next up was the boy beside her, "uh, hi. i'm jonah, i'm eighteen, and i'm here because i get a little lonely sometimes."

"hey. i'm kamilla, i'm seventeen, and i'm here because life sorta sucks right now, not gonna lie." kamilla laughed, turning to the girl next to her.

"bonjour. hola. guten tag. i'm fayre but everyone calls me fay, i'm eighteen, and i'm here because the universe has been coming at me." fayre bobbed a shoulder, gesturing for the next person to speak up.

"hi, guys. i'm daniel, i'm seventeen, and i'm here because i have a lot of time on my hands so bring it on."

ella gulped, "hello. i'm ella, i'm seventeen, and i'm here because i get kinda sad i guess." she locked eyes with the moody blonde boy for a split second before he ran his hand through his hair and looked away.

"um, hey. i'm alana, i'm eighteen, and i'm here because i think it will help me stay on a positive track." the meek girl smiled sheepishly.

"what's up? i'm jack, i'm eighteen, and i'm here because i'm a ramen addict." the curly haired boy piped in, flashing the rest of the group a million dollar smile.

"hi, everyone. i'm zach, i'm seventeen, and i'm here because my dog passed away last month and that shit hit me hard." this response gained a look from liam. "oh, right. pardon my potty mouth."

"hi. i'm corbyn, i'm nineteen, and i don't know why the hell i'm even here." corbyn muttered, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.

"it's okay to be vulnerable, corbyn. everything that is said here stays in this room." liam explained.

corbyn just shrugged in response. he wasn't in the mood to be there, let alone carry on a conversation with anybody in that room. especially the counselor.

he remained quiet for the rest of the session. however, he did catch himself glancing at the brunette girl with the kind eyes and sweet smile quite a few times. he hoped she didn't notice.

the meeting lasted around an hour and the group all shared things about themselves and their life. that is, all except for corbyn who sat there with his arms crossed the entire time.

as nightfall crept up on them, it was time to go home. liam suggested that they should all exchange their phone numbers and social media, along with whatever else kids do in todays world, according to him.

each member of the support group exited the building, parting ways with no clue what the future holds for them. little did they know, this was just the very beginning of something different; something none of them could have ever predicted.

sky speaks!

i have tons planned out for this and i can't wait omg