💕You’re Not Alone💞 (Day 2 of titling a story after an Owl City song)

“Hi, Cory! Do you wanna play with us today?”

The fourth grade boy hesitated, then shook his head and mumbled, “No, thanks. I’d.. rather not.”

“Are you sure?” the girl standing before him asked hopefully. “You’re always by yourself. Don’t you wanna hang out with us sometime? We’re really fun, I promise!” The three kids behind her nodded as if in confirmation.

“I…” Cory swallowed as he stared into her bright blue eyes. They were so earnest and friendly, holding no trace of scorn or mistrust, but still… how could he know for sure? What if it was all some trick, and she and her friends were only planning to torment him once he was alone with them? It had happened once, it could happen again, it WOULD happen again, he still had that scar on his arm from those terrifying bullies in second grade… he couldn’t trust her, he couldn’t trust any of them…

“Cory?” the girl asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He blinked, avoiding her gaze. “It’s okay. Really. I’m… fine with being by myself.”

“Well… okay, if you say so,” the girl responded lightly. She led the other kids towards the playground and Cory started to turn when he heard one of their voices remark dryly, “I told you he’d say no. I don’t know why you even wanted him to join us in the first place.”

“I just thought he could use a friend,” the girl answered with a shrug. “I don’t think he has any.”

“If he wanted friends, then maybe he’d stop acting so weird all the time,” one of the other girls replied disdainfully.

“Jasmine! That’s so rude!”

“Well, it’s true! He’s always spacing out during class and acting scared whenever someone talks to him.”

“Both of his parent died when he was eight, remember? You shouldn’t judge him, you should feel bad for him.”

Cory didn’t hear the rest, because as soon as his parents had been mentioned he’d instantly begun running, desperately racing to the one place in school he knew he’d feel safe.

The library was mostly empty today, and as soon as Cory entered he immediately made for the tiny, secluded corner on the far right side of the building, concealed almost entirely by rows upon rows of shelves. There would be a soft orange beanbag he could lie on as always, maybe even a couple of stuffed animals he could clutch if no one was watching.

But when he arrived at the spot, he found that it was already occupied by a short, brown-haired girl. She was younger than him, he could tell- a third grader, probably. In her hands was a fantasy novel of some kind but it seemed that her mind was already filled with other thoughts, because tears were streaming down her face as she wept softly.

Cory looked down at her for a few moments, his gaze unreadable. “Why are you crying?” he asked quietly. Then he immediately regretted it, because he knew that whatever her answer would be would probably only make him hate her. It was wrong of him, he knew, but he just couldn’t stand it, he couldn’t stand seeing anyone cry over stupid, trivial things like bad grades or scraped knees, they had nothing to be sad about because their problems would never, ever compare to watching both your parents die protecting you from a shooter just a second before the police arrived.

The girl sniffed, wiping one eye as she looked up at him. “I’m scared,” she whimpered.

“Of what?”

“The…” More tears welled up in her eyes. “The Kcattacinap Monster.”

A flare of anger rose in Cory’s chest. “There’s no stupid monster. That’s just something you made up.” Why create a fake fear for yourself when there’s enough suffering to experience in the real world? he wondered resentfully.

But her answer surprised him. “I know- I know it’s not real, but I’m still scared. My mommy always told me to be brave. And when I couldn’t be brave, she pretended to protect me from it, and then I felt better. But now she’s… gone.”

Cory’s breath caught slightly. “Oh… you mean she’s…?”

The brown-haired girl nodded, removing her round black glasses and wiping them on her shirt. “She was sick. And now she can’t protect me from the monster anymore.”

Cory hesitated, then carefully sat down in front of her and crossed his legs. “Well… I’m not afraid of any monster. I can protect you.”

“Really?” The girl blinked, gazing at him in awe. “But the monster is so scary- it attacks me when I don’t expect it, and follows me whenever I try to get away from it.”

“Ah,” Cory answered softly. “You know, I… think I’ve seen this monster before, too. But- that means I can still protect you, since I’ve fought it before.”

“Wow,” she whispered, managing a smile as she wiped her tears. “You’re so brave.”

“Brave?” Cory echoed, looking away. “I’m not brave. I’m scared of a lot of things.”

“Like what?”

He drew in a deep breath, and for the first time voiced out loud all the fears that had been hidden in his heart. “Being judged. Being lied to. People thinking I’m weird. People thinking they have to feel sorry for me all the time. Never having any real friends. The rest of my family disappearing. Being…” He swallowed, suddenly feeling more afraid than he ever had. “… alone.”

“Hm.” The girl looked up at him thoughtfully as if in a new light as she wiped away the last of her tears. “Well… I’m not scared of any of those things. So, that means I can protect you from them, the way you’ll protect me from the monster- right?”

An unexpected feeling of warmth rushed through Cory and for the first time in a long while, he allowed himself a small smile. “Yeah… I guess so.”

Perhaps he wouldn’t have to be alone in the world after all.