A bit different

Ten

From the age ten to right before they left their childhood home and their parents behind, Peyton had a speech therapist. He would work in a one to one with someone, learning him how to communicate effectively.

How to handle and recognise different emotions and how to express his own.

He went to group therapy besides it but had a meltdown when one of the other kids stole his favourite teddy in the group session. So his parents pulled him out of it at age eleven and decided its best for him to just continue his one to one.

Thats the thing, he was never good at expressing his feelings or showing it properly.

So his therapist told his parents to download games on an ipad for him, learning games. Connect the word to the facial expression. The word 'sad' for a frowning face and happy for a big cheerful smile.

Pretty simple for most people right?

It helped him recognise expressions as good as he could, it helped to show him when his parents were mad with him, or when the students in his class were sad.

He's learnt the best he could, but yet he's never fully learned how to express the way he felt, mostly how to read other people. His emotions confused him the most, out of everything. Emotions, thoughts and feelings were hard for him to express.

How does he tell his brother when he's feeling down, or wants time to himself. What about when his friend, his... the person he thought was his friend, what happens if he kisses him?

And he runs away.

He doesn't even know why he ran away himself, he just knew everything got too much, all the emotions. And the thought of ruining a friendship, he thought it was that. Just a friendship, clearly it was forming into something else because friends don't kiss.

It was a nice kiss nether the less, he liked it. But he didn't know what that meant for him, he'd never kissed anyone else before. Never dated anyone, never even thought about girls let alone guys.

So what does this mean? He's going to think about boys now not girls, he didn't think that was an option for him. He never thought of it, people always expect a young boy to form a crush on a girl or vice verser. You're not brought into the world seeing the same sex in kids shows, or Disney movies.

So he never thought about it before, but now. After kissing Cole- his friend he felt something else, realised something else. Maybe the reason why he never had a crush on a girl before, because it was always about boys for him.

Or maybe its just Cole because that kiss made him feel new emotions, emotions he wants to feel again.

Currently he is curled up under his cover on his bed, trying to calm his thoughts. It felt like an MRI scan, where the thumping is constant and just getting louder and louder.

It was painful, he tried covering his ears with hands but it didn't work. So he just sat in silence staring at the ceiling, thinking about everything.

How he wishes to just be 'normal', to have a relationship, to express his thoughts and feelings instead of running away. To tell his brother how grateful he is and how much he loves him for everything he's ever done.

But no. Instead, all the thoughts are kept inside. Eating away at his brain.

Speaking of his brother, Kai opens the door with a creak and peeked his head through. Normally he would be happy to see his brother, even if its so early in the morning. But currently he's grumpy and Kai doesn't look too pleased. His forehead creased and his eyes slightly narrowed.

See, Peyton is good at this.

Just not with his own emotions. He peeks his head fully out the covers and gives his brother a questioning look for barging in, Kai just comes into the room by swinging the door open fully.