My Best "Friend"

Episode 1

My name is Melissa, but people call me "Lissa" for short. For my entire life, I've been an outcast. I had developed an anxiety disorder at the age of 6, so making friends had always been a struggle for me. People thought I was stuck up and aloof because I kept to myself all the time, when in reality, I'd look like I'd just run a marathon if someone said two words to me. People avoided me for that and many other reasons, but they never said why. They'd glare at me while walking past me, talk about me while giggling, and would trip me in the halls.

Things started to look up for me when my parents and I moved from America to England when I was 9. It was hard to adjust to at first, but I got used to it as time went on. The other children there weren't any better than the ones at my old school, but I managed to ignore them. When I reached year 6, things got much worse... My classmates would lock me in the stalls and dump their trash onto me, they'd pull my hair... The rest is a blur now, but I do remember that feeling of pure fear whenever I stepped foot within 10 feet of the school. I genuinely didn't think my parents would care, so I kept my mouth shut. I didn't do anything about it, so it continued. Until, we got a transfer student from a different primary school. I'll never forget him. He had dark skin and jet black hair, with square, black glasses. He wore a black and white striped beanie, a rusty-red jumper, and ripped jeans. Nothing about him stood out, other than his piercing blue eyes. I thought it was strange to see people like him with blue eyes, so I was fascinated with this boy.
He introduced himself as Colton, and something about his calm voice and polite mannerisms made my cheeks sting red. After that class, I thought to introduce myself to him. When I did, for the first time in years, I wasn't afraid to talk to someone. Colton was sweet and friendly, and we shared a lot of the same interests, like cooking, sweets, and football. We started spending more time together, and quickly became fast friends. And then she came...