Sad boy / Michael Clifford

Michael Clifford was a sad boy. Even though if you walk pass him at school he will have this huge grin on his face with some of his many friends. But when I looked in his eyes, I could tell that he was sad. Depressed. Broken. How was the rest of the school so damn oblivious to his sadness? Everyone saw him as a popular, hot, rich kid. One with a happy life, family, mind, happy anything!
I saw his sadness, but I never confronted him about it. Way too shy and awkward for that.

So when Michael tries to commit suicide and is put into the same therapy group as me and was seated next to me, I kinda freaked, because my mind overthought everything. What if he laughs at me? What if he thinks I'm ugly? I was comfortable with everyone in this room but a new person hasn't been here for months! What if he tells the school bad things about me? I remember having to leave the room, coming back 15 minutes later and ignoring the sympathetic looks people were giving me. I remember Michael not giving me that look. I remember Michael giving me an understanding look.

Him being seated next to me lead to us having assignments together. Which lead us to knowing more about each other. Which lead us to being, wait for it, friends.

People were shocked, to say the least, about Michael and I being friends.

Because who knew that Kaia Jones, the sad girl who overthinks and is known to have anxiety attacks on a regular basis, who hasn't let herself have a friend in three years, would be sitting at the same table, laughing with the most popular freak in school.

I sure didn't.