The party started to blur around me. _It’s his birthday. _My heart sped faster. _I must stay._ My head was pounding. _For him. _My muscles were growing more tense by the second. _I can’t disappoint him… _

I felt someone push me towards the corner. It was only a light bump, and they certainly hadn’t meant it, but it was enough to send me spiraling into the next dimension. I pushed myself the rest of the way into the corner and collapsed to the ground.

He found me rocking back and forth, my arms locked tightly around my knees. I was cursing myself for not bringing my headphones. I tried to keep my eyes closed so that I couldn’t see the gaggle of humans charging around the room like buffalo, but every little noise would scare them open again. 

“This was supposed to be fun,” I whispered to him. “I’m sorry I ruined your big day.” He tried to put a comforting arm around me, but I couldn’t stand the feeling. I immediately pushed his arm away. _I’m not in the mood for that right now, _is what I wanted to say. Unfortunately, all that came out was a tense “no.” I curled up even tighter and was now rocking like a ship in a dreadful gale.

“I’m sorry. Do you need anything, dear?” He unthinkingly reached to touch my shoulder again, but remembered that he shouldn’t when I’m feeling like this. “Do you want me to take you outside for a bit?”

I paused my rocking briefly to look up into my boyfriend’s eyes. I knew that he would never understand exactly how it feels to be me, but he was starting to learn what to do when this happened. “Y-y-you…” 

“I’m not going to leave you, don’t worry.” His eyes softened like butter and he started to stand up. I was still shaking, but I managed to raise myself up to his eye level. He offered his arm for stability, and this time I was able to accept. My legs were so weak that I could barely hold myself up. 

“Th-thank…” I leaned my head onto his shoulder gratefully. Together, we abandoned the storm. Together, we walked alone. Together, we brought me back together.