She relaxed into the regular bustle of millions of teenage torsos. In the last few days she had grown to love the bustle of these people, it helped to keep the thoughts blooming in her mind at bay.

“Hey,” Kyle said, biting into a steaming muffin.

“You seem happy today,” she laughed, pinching a piece of his muffin.

He swatted her hand away and the cradled the muffin protectively in his arms causing her to laugh even harder. “I am,” he finally explained. “The lunch lady saw me pass by the kitchen this morning and gave me a muffin... for free.”

At the last word his eyes widened.

“It could be poisonous,” she frowned suddenly.” the lunch lady isn’t exactly the nicest person on this planet.”

It was his turn to laugh, “Well I guess we are dying together then.”

“I only had a pinch, I can still be cured. But you, I mean you’re a greedy pig... I apologize but there is no hope left for you.”

She bumped him just so he lost his balance enough for her to enter the class before him. The day was hot, hotter than normal. She was starting to regret her sleeves but she couldn’t exactly push them up and expose her scars. She could feel the sweat building up beneath her armpits; she made a mental note not to lift her arms. She took her place and Kyle took his behind her. As the class started she could feel his pen digging into her neck. Every time, she thought as she reached back to grab the pen but then remembering her armpits she lowered them again. She leaned her head into her hands trying to erase the black dots edging into her sight. This heat was oppressive. Every cell in her body screamed that she pull her sleeves but she couldn’t. Still the darkness crept closer into her sight. She only barely registered the teacher saying her name before everything turned to darkness.

*
He’s leg hopped furiously as people in scrubs uniforms ran up and down the hall. Across him Jackie lay unconscious still. She had fainted in History a mere few minutes after class had started, they had rushed her to the hospital, and he had asked special permission to join her as her only friend. When they arrived at the hospital the nurses almost immediately cut the jersey from her arms. Why they cut it and didn’t simply take it off no one knows. It took a moment for everyone to absorb what exactly Jackie kept hidden behind the curtains of her sleeves but when they did it was more than slap in their faces and by their I mean specifically Kyle’s. What first seemed like regular scars, self-inflicted and painful, he later noticed that they were thousands of tiny pictures etched into her soft skin. They immediately called her mom and he just sat there, he sat there thinking of all the times he heard people making fun of her scar on her face, he thought about the first day he saw her in the class and felt pity for her. Anger rose like bile in him. She didn’t need pity and gossiping, someone as brave as her, someone who concealed more than one scar. Hours flew by as he waited for her mom and finally a flurry of distress and anger raced through the halls to the bed he had been watching. His presence was unknown as her mom bent down and with watering eyes kissed Jackie’s forehead. He had never seen her mom come close to tears, in fact he had never even seen his mom come close to tears, but not they were running unashamedly down her cheeks.

“How long has she been here?” she managed to croak.

Kyle glanced up to the clock, “About two hours now.”

“How long have you been here?”

“About two hours.”

“You should go home, or school or where you need to be. I’ll wait here with her.”

He nodded absently and just before he disappeared behind the doors he turned, “Will she be ok?”

Her mom’s eyes met his and he noticed now more clearly that the tears might be running down her cheeks without her even knowing, “She’s the strongest person I know.”