"I'm very disappointed in you, young lady. Attacking another student like that? That's not like you." The principal said in a disappointed tone, sitting in his desk chair with Millie sitting on the other side of the desk.

"Look, he was bothering me first. Blame me all you want. He was messing with me while I was dealing with a lot of stuff. It was just too soon for him to be making fun of me like that. I'm sorry." Millie explained.

The principal sat there, taking it all in. He sighed. "Alright. I'm going to let you off easy this time since I believe you, but please try and restrain yourself next time." Millie nodded. "Of course. Thank you."

"Have a nice day." The principal said. Millie nodded and walked out of the room. She went back to class and continued her day like nothing happened.

At lunch, she looked around for Dylan again. Thankfully, they had the same lunch, so that at least made it easier for her to find him. It didn't, however, make it easier for her to avoid the people she despised.

The popular girls still whispered and snickered as she walked past them. The group of jockeys was sitting at one of the tables. She locked eyes with the jockey she hit. He didn't say anything. His right cheek was still red from this morning's incident. That made her smile faintly. That should teach him not to mess with someone having a bad day.

At long last, there he was, in all his red-haired glory, there was Dylan. She slowed her pace. She felt incredibly nervous. There would be no announcement to call her away this time. She needed to do this now. She might not get another chance.

Dylan looked at her and maintained a neutral expression. "Can... can I sit here?" Millie asked, awkwardly.

"Sorry. My imaginary friend is sitting there." Dylan said with a smirk. Millie immediately got the joke. It was the same sarcastic response she gave him when they first met. She was surprised to know that he remembered that moment.

Regardless of the importance of that sentence, she took that as a sign that she was somewhat welcome.

Millie sat down, twiddling her thumbs, thinking of how to tell him that she was sorry. Dylan looked concerned. "Uh, Millie? Is-"

"I'm sorry Dylan!" Millie blurted out. Dylan's eyes widened slightly but still kept a calm expression.

"I... I-I thought about what you said... and you were right. I am a hypocrite, a big hypocrite. I just..." Millie began to tear up.

"I don't have any friends, Dylan. I was so excited when someone finally talked to me. Let alone, sat at the same table as me. And you're a boy, and I just... I got carried away. I didn't think that you just wanted to be friends. When I saw you with Brooke... I just got so mad. The truth is... I get teased by blonde, basic girls every day. I get teased by everyone. Even my best friend that I've known since kindergarten left me to go join the popular girls. Brooke... Brooke never made fun of me. She just sat there and minded her own business, and I judged her when I didn't even know her just because she was with you." Millie said. Dylan was stunned. He sat there and listened intently.

"I'm sick of being alone. I don't want to get in the way of the love that you and Brooke clearly have for each other... but I would really like it if we could just... start over." Millie continued.

After a minute, Dylan spoke.
"I... I don't know what to say. You really don't have any friends? Not even online or outside of school?" He asked. Millie shook her head.

"I... I'm sorry, Millie. I was upset with you because you were judging people without any evidence to say they were what you thought they were. But if you had told me what was going on in your life, I... I could've gone easier on you. I could've helped you." Dylan said with regret. Millie put her hand on his.

"No. I'm grateful for how you reacted to what I said. It helped me find clarity. I'm trying to be better. I really am." Millie said.

Dylan smiled, showing off his braces. "Well, maybe starting over isn't such a bad idea." Dylan then held out his hand. "I'm Dylan." He said. Millie smiled and shook his hand.
"Millie."

They let go and sat at their table for another few minutes.
"So... maybe I can help you find some more friends. I know a few people who would definitely be happy to know you." Dylan suggested.

"That's really not necessary. You don't have to do that." Millie said, surprised by the gesture.

"I insist. If you're really trying to be better, then I will be there for you. I promise. For now, I can talk to Brooke about the three of us hanging out sometime if that's more your speed." Dylan said.

Millie smiled. Dylan really was a nice person. She felt even more regret knowing how easily she could have apologized sooner. She regretted even arguing with him in the first place. The negative feelings were coming back.

No. She needed to stop thinking about the bad thoughts and focus on the progress she's making now. She didn't know why, but ever since Funtime Freddy attacked her, Millie had been feeling emotions a lot more strongly. Not just her own, but sometimes, she could feel her grandpa's happiness whenever she was near him. Did the creepy murder bot somehow turn her into an empath?

At this point, she didn't care. It certainly improved her mood. Right now, she certainly felt Dylan's happiness. It felt like he was sad before, but her apology made him happier. It "healed" him for lack of a better word. His happiness made her happy.

***

"Now, I know she's not exactly dark and mysterious. Seriously, there isn't a single thing she'll keep from you, but she's really nice." Dylan said as they approached Brooke's house.

"She's a gamer too, so there's that." Dylan said. Millie didn't really like video games. They just weren't for her.

Dylan knocked on the door and after a minute or so, a middle aged man, who Millie assumed was Brooke's dad, answered the door. His face fell when he looked at Dylan. He probably didn't like him. To be fair, he was dating his daughter.

"What do you want, boy?" The man asked, gruffly.

"Hey, Mr. Harrison! I was just going to introduce a friend of mine to Brooke." Dylan said with a happy tone. The man raised an eyebrow at Millie.

"Not another one." Millie heard the man mutter under his breath. Yeah, he definitely doesn't like Dylan, Millie thought. She hoped there wasn't going to be any problems. Maybe this was a horrible idea. Maybe she shouldn't be doing this. She wanted to leave.

Suddenly, a woman around the same age as the man arrived at the door. She must be Brooke's mom.

"Oh! Hi, Dylan! What are you doing here?" She said, politely. She so far seemed to be nicer than Brooke's dad.

"We were just going to hang out with Brooke for a bit. I have a friend that I wanted to introduce her to." Dylan replied kindly.

The woman looked at Millie and smiled. "Well, what's your name?" She asked.

"Millie." Millie responded.

"Millie... what a wonderful name! Come on in! She's just upstairs in her room. She already has a few guests over." She said.

If Brooke's mom was this cheerful, then she expected Brooke to be either the same or twice as cheerful. "That's perfect. Thank you, Mrs. Harrison." Dylan said.

More people? This already seemed like a bad idea. Millie and Dylan walked inside of the house. Millie looked around. The place was... cute. Very homey. After months of living in her grandpa's cluttered and junk filled house, it was good to have some breathing room.

Dylan led her upstairs, but heard the parents talking about something, so she decided to eavesdrop a little. She figured there would be no harm.

"First, Brooke starts dating that... fire-haired vampire, then he brings one of his goth friends? This is unacceptable!" The dad argued.

"That is just rude! They're kids, not the Addams family!" The mom protested.

"Well, she already has several guests over! Now that her boyfriend shows up out of the blue, I don't know what they're planning! They could be having an orgy for all we know!" The dad argued.

"Oh, you know that our daughter would never do anything like that! You're just being paranoid!" The mom said.

Eww. Maybe she should stop eavesdropping. Millie continued following Dylan down the hallway to Brooke's bedroom.

He opened the door and Millie walked in first. She saw the blonde haired girl that Millie had been stressing over for weeks, the girl who she'd been so jealous of, in a chair, playing video games.

It looked like she was playing that one game that everyone was talking about nowadays. She heard it was called "Fortnite?" She also seemed to be pretty good at the game.

There were also five other people watching her and cheering her on as she played. They were all about their age. Millie also thought she recognized them from school. One was a boy with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a green hoodie and jeans.

There was also a boy with short ginger red hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a red shirt and casual pants. There was a dark-skinned boy with curly black hair. He was wearing a gray hoodie and black sweat pants. There was a boy with brown, slicked back hair with blue eyes. He was wearing a blue jacket and jeans.

Finally, there was a girl with brown hair and freckles. She had hazel eyes. The girl was wearing a T-shirt with the Freddy Fazbear's pizza logo on it. She must be a fan. They were all encouraging Brooke until they saw Dylan and Millie walk into the room.

"Hey, Dylan! You made it just in time dude!" The red-haired boy said. He walked over and him and Dylan did some kind of weird secret handshake.

"Hey, man! We didn't think you'd be here!" The dark-skinned boy said. "Well, I wasn't expecting you guys to be here either." Dylan responded.

"Why? You and Brooke got plans? Should we get going while we're at it?" The red-haired boy said while raising his eyebrows. Brooke turned around in her chair and lightly hit the boy in the shoulder. "Hey!" The boy said.

"That's for what you said and for making me lose, little shit!" Brooke complained, jokingly. Brooke got out of her chair and gave Dylan a sloppy kiss on the cheek. She then looked at Millie and gasped slightly.

"Oh! Who's your friend?" Brooke asked, still surprised about Millie's unexpected appearance.

"This is Millie. She's a friend. I'm helping her make some new friends." Dylan answered.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Millie! I'm Brooke! That's Oscar, Isaac, Raj, that's Oswald, and that's Mandy!" Brooke said, pointing at the respective teenagers.

Millie tried to keep up with her. The girl was surprisingly hyper. She was like an overexcited puppy. Millie could literally feel Brooke's happiness. It felt like she was going to burst at the seams from joy.

"It's umm... it's nice to meet you all." Millie said, sheepishly.

"Hey, it's nice to meet you! Ignore Brooke. She's still a little energetic after that last game. It's like soda for her, you know?" The boy, apparently named Oswald, said.

"Oh, knock it off!" Brooke teased.

Millie had to hide a smile. These people seemed like such good friends with each other. So far, they even seemed to accept her among them.

"Excuse me, I-I just need some air." Millie said anxiously, stepping out of the room, leaving a group of very concerned and confused people in the room.

"She's just having a hard time right now. People liking her isn't exactly a trait of hers." Dylan said.

The others instantly understood. Little did Millie know that every single person in that room had their own experiences with bullies. They were all outcasts in their own way. That's why they're such good friends.

"That's horrible. Why would they hate her?" Oswald asked.

"Isn't it obvious? People at the high school aren't exactly fans of dark, mysterious people." Isaac said. He was incredibly blunt sometimes, but he meant well.

"I swear, the nerve of some people." Mandy said with irritation. "Let's give her some space. Let her come back when she's ready." Oscar suggested. "Good idea." Dylan said.

Millie felt so embarrassed. "Shit... shit. Why the hell did I do that? God, I'm such an idiot!" Millie said.

Maybe this was a bad idea, Millie thought. She didn't feel like she belonged with these people. What if they were just going to make fun of her? What if they were going to leave her like Hannah did... but what if they weren't? Millie took a deep breath and opened the door to the bedroom. She had to put aside her insecurities. She needed help, and even though she didn't know whether or not these people could actually help her, it was worth a shot. She was sick of being alone. They all looked at her with concern.

"Are you okay?" Oswald asked. "Y-yeah... sorry about that." Millie said sheepishly.

"I'm not used to... this." Millie gestured to the group. The group looked so understanding and empathetic. "Dylan told us what was going on. If you don't want to be here, we understand." Brooke said.

"No! It's not that! I guess it's been a while since I've had this much attention in a positive way." Millie said.

"Well, don't worry, because we're gonna send a lot of positive attention your way." Mandy said with a smile.

"I know we don't know you that well, but we would certainly like to get to know you." Brooke said.

Millie didn't want to show it, but she could tell she somewhat failed at containing the utter happiness she was feeling. It all made her feel good inside and it made her wound tingle. Wait, tingle? That's weird, Millie thought. Her wound never tingled before. It was a strange feeling, but she ignored it for now. Right now, Dylan's friends were offering Millie a seat to watch Brooke play video games.

"You know, Brooke, you really should let us have a turn on the games." Oscar joked.

"Right. Like you'd last five minutes." Brooke teased.

"Oh, it's on!" Oscar declared. Millie didn't want to do anything else. She just wanted to sit down and enjoy this feeling, a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time.

END OF CHAPTER IV