Group Therapy

21 - Normal Human Stuff.

"Assholes!" Alex curses as he and Eli sit down in front of us with their food.

Blair and l exchange glances and laugh.

"You were too caught up in your little gay wonderland, we just didn't want to ruin that." l chuckle.

Alex kicks my foot underneath the table which only makes me laugh harder.

Then slowly everything goes silent, the sound of the chatter coming from the people in the food court being the only thing audible.

I start bouncing my leg up and down, something I tend to do when l get anxious.

"So do you guys go to the same school as Alex and l?" l ask, trying to disturb the silence.

"Yeah actually, we're both in the same grade too." Blair replies.

"Yep, we just have different classes. I've seen you guys a few times in the hallways before we actually met." Eli continues.

"Alright, we should hang out at school more then." i mumble and continue eating.

He nods in response.

As the atmosphere is filled with silence once more, l start bouncing my leg again, Ryder's words coming back to me.

Someone like you.

l can't help feeling this way, I hate being the sensitive one, but it seems like the more I try not to be the more everything seems to get to my head. I shouldn't even be upset about it, I'll admit I was a bit rude to him when I snapped at group therapy but it still doesn't make it hurt any less. For once I wish I could just take insults into one ear and out the other instead of crying about it like a child.

"Laynie." someone calls, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" l answer.

"You okay?" Alex asks.

No I'm not.

I feel the tears start to fill up my eyes, so l just smile and nod before excusing myself to go to the bathroom.

I swing the bathroom door open and get into a stall locking the door behind me.

I push the toilet cover down and sit on it with my knees pressed up against my chest and my head buried in my hands.

I feel a few tears run down my face as i try my hardest to stay quiet, in case anyone comes in, even if l don't know them, l don't want them to know someone is crying in here.

I hear the bathroom door swing open and someone walk in, l quickly wipe my tears away with my sleeve and sit there for a few moments making sure l don't look or sound like l was crying.

"Laynie..?" l hear a familiar voice speak.

Blair.

"Yeah?" l reply, making sure my voice sounds completely normal.

"You okay..?" she asks.

"Yeah... why wouldn't I be? Just emptying my bladder you know, normal human stuff."

I hear her lightly chuckle before saying "Alright then, do your thing, I'll be with the boys where you left us."

"Sure." l let out a fake chuckle.

I hear the bathroom door swing open before the sound of Blair's footsteps slowly fades away.

I open the stall door and walk over to the sink turning it on.

As soon as the cold water slplashes against my face l feel a bit better.

I turn the water off and wipe my face with tissue paper  before looking at myself in the mirror.

Making sure l don't look like I was crying, l step outside of the bathroom.

"Why are you all looking at me like that..?" I sit back down in my seat and start eating again.

"Nothing.. We we're just worried about you." Alex replies.

"I'm sorry I worried you by feeling the need to take a shit?"

"She's being sarcastic, she's okay guys." Alex chuckles and caries on with the conversation he was having before I came.

° ° ° °

"That was fun." Eli sighs after singing along to the last lyric of Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance.

"Very fun." Blair replies with a look of pure horror on her face.

I chuckle at her reaction as she parks in front of Alex's house.

We thank her for the ride and say our goodbyes to her and Eli before hopping out of the car.

"That wasn't actually as bad as l thought it would be!" l smile as l slip my feet out of black converse.

Alex grins "See? I told you it wouldn't be so bad."

"Yeah Eli and blair are coo-" l stop when l spot the lights in my mother's house switched on through a window.