Saving Him • editing/rewriting

five-with ears to see and eyes to hear

"Hunter!" Ross warned, stunned at his harsh words.

Uncontrollable tears streamed down my face, "No, you're the one who doesn't understand me!" I screamed at him, any trace of fake happiness dissipating into thin air. "I have put up with their bullshit for years because without them, I would be completely alone! I surrounded myself with countless people I didn't give a shit about the so I wouldn't be alone.

"Do you know how hard it is to come back to an empty house every day? To know that your dad doesn't give a flying fuck about you? To know that your friends aren't actually friends? To hold a fucking flame to your skin and still not feel a single thing? Don't you dare say that I'm just making fun of you guys because, you know what? Believe it or not I actually care" And at that point I couldn't take it anymore and stormed out of the room.

I had just spilled all of my worst secrets that I have never told a single soul to a room full of people who hate me but I decided to freak out about that later. Right now, I was just full of emotions, mostly anger. Something about Hunter and his sharp words cut a wound deeper than what Georgia and the group could ever say to me.

I ran out of the hospital and out onto the streets. I found the garden area where patients came out to have a breath of fresh air. I found a bench and sat down, gasping for breath. I folded my knees and rested my forehead on them. A muffled sob came out as I let myself cry for a few minutes more but I froze when I heard footsteps.

"Katie." I heard Hunter's voice say. He was the worst person to come running after me. I wanted the ground to swallow me up.

"Go away." I said, my voice muffled since I kept my head down on my knees. I heard him sigh as I felt him take a seat next to me. He put a hand on my shoulder and I flinched. He removed his hand.

"I'm sorry." He muttered quietly. I looked up at him, surprised. He looked embarrassed and guilty. And I swear he was blushing. I'm guessing he wasn't used to apologising to people. "I went too far. But you gotta understand, I was just really pissed off."

I sighed and nodded, "I shouldn't have done that to you guys that day." I admitted. "And I definitely should've stood up for Tom."

There was a silence that passed between us and I noticed Hunter fiddling with the strings on his hoodie.

"Was everything you said true?" He asked quietly, looking me properly in the eye for the first time in ages.

I bit my lip nervously, "Yeah. I wasn't meant to say all that to you guys though."

Hunter stopped fiddling with his hoodie, "Fuck them all." He said. I was completely lost.

"Wait what?" I asked him. He looked off into the distance.

"Your dad, your so called friends, people who make you feel like shit." He said. "Fuck them all."

And that's when I laughed. A genuine laugh. Something I hadn't been able to do in a long time. I was so surprised for a second that I stopped. But then I felt so happy that I started laughing again. Hunter gave me a weird look but then laughed with me.

+++

After Hunter brought me back, for the second time that day, I apologised to Ross and everyone else for behaving like that. But Ross just smiled and told me to keep it up because I managed to 'express my true inner feelings'.

After our weekly session, Lauren suggested that we go get dinner at McDonald's. We all agreed. It would be nice to have dinner with someone for once.

"So tell me, why the fuck do you still hang out with those crazy bitches and assholes?" Tom asked, taking a big bite of his burger. "I mean, considering you would rather be friends with us."

I nodded, "You guys are like angels from up above compared to them." I joked. But there was truth in it to some extent. He laughed. "I guess...I thought if I was popular then I would have a lot of people around me all the time while I was at school."

"And that's true but I think there's more to it than that." Lola said, offering me a gentle smile. And she was right. I just couldn't really put it into words.

"I mean it all started when Georgia let me into their group when I was a loner but then I started feeling sad all the time and they didn't seem to enjoy that side of me so I masked it up with a fake smile." I tried to explain. "After that, I never let anyone see myself anything but happy because I thought I would end up alone. So when I let my act slip in front of you guys, I..." I trailed off, lost in my own thoughts.

"You were afraid to leave your current group for us in case we decided that we didn't like your 'true self' and then you would end up with no one." Hunter finished off for me. I nodded, surprised that he understood my feelings better than me.

"One thing is for sure, we are not leaving you for a reason like that." Lauren reassured me. "We like you just the way you are."

I felt tears sting my eyes because that was the first time anyone has ever said that to me.

A/N
Helloooo
The picture on the side/top is of Mike. Goddamn he's hot.

Who would be your favourite character so far?