Worthless. Ugly. Pathetic. The voice pried its way through my mind - a primordial scream reverberating in my ears.

My phone vibrated, just another notification in a stream of hundreds. I didn't bother checking. It would just be more insults, more words for the voice to taunt me with.

My hands clutched my ears, as if that would stop the terrible anthem inside my head. Sometimes it helped, other times, like now, it made it worse. But I couldn't remove them, couldn't give up control.

"Ryan?" My name cut through the dystopia, silencing the jeers.

I raised my head so that I could see my friend- the one person in the world who seemed to tolerate me. My hands slipped off my ears and found their way to my soaked cheeks.

"Hi." I'd meant to say it  confidently, but it came out as a hoarse whisper.

She joined me on the hard ground. For a school, the building had nice tiling. It was marbled like flooring you'd see in an art studio, but probably a knock-off.

Just something ugly made to look pretty, the voice taunted. Just like you. No matter how you look, you'll always be trash.

I let out an almost incoherent squeak, but it didn't go unnoticed. She gave me a compassionate look and then glanced at the phone beneath my bent knees.

"It started again." It wasn't a question. She already knew the answer, but she wanted a confirmation - a confirmation she received from my silence.

She reached under my legs and picked up the phone, scrolling for what seemed like eternity. When she was finished, she returned my gaze. "You need to tell somebody. Last time..." she trailed off.

I knew exactly what had happened last time. I had been so close. So close to letting them get to me. So close to giving up. So close to leaving the torment forever.

I'd almost welcome it now, if I had nothing to leave behind. But even if I forgot it sometimes, there were people there for me; my best friend, my teachers, my family, and even the classmates I hardly knew. No, that wasn't an option, but there wasn't anything I could do.

"I can't. It would only get worse."

The sympathy cleared from her face.

"You can't let them win. Every one of these insults is one more they'll turn on somebody else. Even if you want to give up, I'm here to say that you can't. You can't give up on preventing this from happening to others. You can't give up on teaching those jerks a lesson. And you certainly can't give up on yourself. Rise above it. Right here, right now, this is your chance, and you're going to take it."

There was a silence. An infinite silence that fell between us, and I was teetering over the edge, an inch from falling in. But I didn't. Because she was right, I couldn't give in.

"Together?"

"Together."