Talyn was playing with their multicolored, short hair nervously, facing away from me, sitting on the floor. When I reached them, I tapped them on the shoulder. They whipped their head around, terrified. But, when they realized it was me, their gaze softened and a small smile played on their lips. "Hey, Virgil!" They said, but to me mouthed because I still had my headphones on. They patted the ground next to them, implying that I should sit down. I swung my backpack off my shoulder and sat as I moved my headphones down to my neck.

"Hey, Talyn. How's it going?" I asked because I had noticed they were a little more nervous than usual.

They sighed. "My grandparents are coming to town next week." they said, as if that explained their unusual behavior. I lifted my eyebrows, implying that they should continue.

"And, their homophobic..." Talyn finished after a second. My eyes widened.

"Oh no. I am so sorry" I responded, pulling them into a hug.

"I'm scared, V." Talyn whispered into my jacket just barely loud enough for me to hear after a couple moments.

"You'll be okay, you're strong." I responded, reassuringly.

They nodded into my jacket as the bell rang. "I've got to go to class." I said as we broke our embrace. They nodded, gave me a weak smile and walked off. Their black outfit contrasted the gray fog of the morning as they stalked away.

I turned the other way because my locker was on the other side of the school. 'Why does the world hate me? Why can't I just have a locker near my friend?' I thought as I walked towards my light blue, peeling locker on which bad things had been written on multiple times. I got my English book, put away my lunch, and walked towards my first period.

A/N Yeah sorry it took so long to get this out. I was getting a bit of writers block and didn't have any motivation and all that good stuff. I hope you all have a good...whatever time it is. Bye, bye!