broken but kicking it

a condition and it's terminal

Once the bell rang he grabbed his notebook and pencil case and stuffed it into his leather bag. He tried to hurry to get out of the room and away from everybody as quick and silent as possible. But outside the door Bella and a tall, dark skinned guy with a head of impressive, dark locks waited for him. They put him in the middle and dragged him off into a random direction. Way noticed even though Bella wore a white sundress and yellow sandals, the guy was dressed in all black. Even his bag was black. And he was almost a head taller than him.

Way himself only measured 170 cm, which wasn't tall considering he was the shortest of his family for decades. His father, towering at 193 cm and his mother, towering at 184 cm had hoped he'd be taller. Mrs Anabeth Carter used to be a model, now a manager to younger models. And Mister Arthur Carter was an overall handsome businessman. They showered their 'midget' son in gifts and money to make up for the disappointment they felt of him. He was an only kid, had no siblings or pets whatsoever growing up and his parents didn't care for their artistic, short son. It had been very clear very early that he wouldn't meet their expectations and both sides treated each other with clear dislike and distrust. Way was met with harsh words and insults by his mother, paired with his father's disinterest in him and both their attention on other things, Way spiraled soon into depression. He, on the other hand started to insult his parents whenever he could, stopped eating just to make them angry, got his first tattoo at the age of 15 and started smoking and drinking alcohol just a year later. He was barely able to finish school, graduated just barely and immediately stopped caring for his future. He started drinking all day, smoked too much, self medicated with pills and started to show suicidal behaviour. His parents didn't care and eventually he hanged himself. The cleaning lady found him, called an ambulance and eventually saved his life. His parents put him into a clinic to deal with his issues where he met Tony Rossi, the guitar of the local band 'Shot in the Driveway'. They were both released around the same time both because their time ran out. Tony just didn't have the money to keep paying for the place and Ways' parents cut him off because he actually got worse in the clinic. Way moved in with Tony, met his bandmates (Dior Driver - singer, Michael 'Micky' King - lead guitar, Joseph 'Joe WRLD' Jeffries - bass, Pete 'Smiles' Daniels- drums) and joined them for the time being. He learned to play the guitar with Micky and Tony, sang with Dior and learned a lot about songwriting with all of them. Way didn't even bother to try and relapsed immediately. But SitD took off, they organised their first tour and had to leave him behind. None had the money for him to accompany them. So Way stayed behind in Tonys' flat and tried not to kill himself. He self medicated again and it just got out of control. He would spend days almost motionless on Tonys' sofa, or had big gaping holes in his memory. He rapidly lost weight because he just wouldn't eat and in the end he tried to kill himself again. Only this time he cut his wrists. He was saved, again, by Tonys' sister. She got him into a hospital and called his family only after he had jumped off Monica im a desperate attempf to end his life. He was restrained to his bed with broken legs and concussion. After that his parents put him into a clinic and recovery centre, where he went cold turkey and had therapy for his depression, suicidal behaviour, eating disorder and self harm. He was given permission to go to school after almost ¾ a year of staying in that place.

These suicide scars on his wrists were now hidden by a black hoodie he pulled over his hands. His black dyed hair was hidden under the hood and his skinny legs stuck in black skinny jeans and black doc martens. His parents may pay for his recovery, but they still didn't love him. With all these thoughts running in his head he didn't notice Bella and the guy pushing him into the courtyard onto a bench far away from the larger crowd. "I'm Max", the squeaky voice didn't fit the tall guy in front of him and Way swallowed a giggle. "I'm Way, nice to meet you", he looked up to the guy who was smiling at him. A dark haired girl ran to his side and they kissed. "I'm Ariana, nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Max?", she asked, her icy blue eyes sparked joyous and she hugged Way without asking. "I'm new here", he answered. "I recognise you! You jumped off Monica!", she sat down next to him and grabbed his hands. "I'm so sorry, I hope you got through these hard times", she squeezed his hands and pulled him into a hug. "Ari, don't. Leave him some space", Max pulled her away from him and sat down in between them. He pulled Ari into his lap and held out his hand for Way. "Sorry. She's just being nice. I hope you can forgive her", Max seemed nice and he had a calming presence. Way shook his hand and decided it would be fine to stay with these weirdos. Bella sat down next to them and pulled out a thermos bottle. "This morning Cy even thought about my coffee! He's fitting in just nicely at his new school and I'm really glad our parents let me take care of him. He's got it much better with me and his new school's got a no-bullying policy", she took a sip from the bottle and offered it to Way. "You drink coffee?", she asked. Way nodded and took the bottle. Coffee was his life. He couldn't get out of bed without a cup of coffee, and the nurses loved drinking coffee with him. They said he'd make the best coffee in the whole station. Coffee seemed to be the only thing he'd share with the other patients, but Way didn't go there to make friends. He planned on leaving as soon as possible. "I live for coffee. Sadly I'm not allowed to bring a flask", he gave back her bottle and tried to smile. "How old's your brother?", he asked before they could catch on. "Uh, he's two years younger, just 17. Why aren't you allowed to bring a flask?", she asked. "Shit. I'm not allowed to own anything made of hard plastic or metal", Way blushed and fiddled with his hands in his lap. "It's okay, I won't ask. Actually, you'd like him. He's just as shy and awkward as you are. Just less adorable", she pinched his face and got up. "You should come to my place sometimes. We could catch a movie", she held out her hand. Way still fiddled with his hands. "I can't. And I shouldn't", he got up and pushed her aside.