She slowly walked towards her locker: it was supposed to be the same as it's always been. Everyone stared, but she didn't give a shit. Their opinions didn't matter to her.
James spotted her at her locker, and jogged over. "Euphoria!" He called, stopping at her locker.
Euphoria simply glanced at him, the bags under her eyes reflecting tiredness. "Hi, James. I guess."
He stopped, looking at her. "It's been a while." He said softly.
"Yeah." She said it simply and quietly. She didn't really feel like interacting with others at the moment.
James looked over at her. She's changed a lot…
"Look… Why do you still insist to be my friend? Get out of rehab and you text me non-stop. Why bother with me?"
He blinked. "Because…why not? Because I care about you? It's what friends do?" He replied, slightly confused by her question. Why wouldn't he care about his friend?
"Yeah but I'm a lost cause. No one else cares for me. I don't even care for me." Euphoria let out a sigh.
James shrugged. "Nobody is that lost." He replied.
She looked at him with sad eyes. "It seems you don't know me that well after all."
"That or you're just being dramatic." James said cheerfully. He was a rather…emotionally blind person, and had a difficult time reading social cues. Then he sobered a little. "Er…I'll help you as much as I can, Euphoria."
"I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's help, James. I've been surviving on my own for 4 years, I can handle myself."
"Well no, you don't need my help." He agreed, then leaned against the locker. "Buuuuttt I'll still help you.' he said with a smile.
"And I can just ignore you. You can give me help, but I don't have to accept it. Sooner or later, you'll have to accept that." She closed her locker and started to walk away.
James caught up with her. "Euphoria…" He sighed. Come on. I missed you." He said, looking at her.
She glanced at him, then looked away. "I have to get to class." She continued to walk.
James frowned, stopping. "O…kay?" He said softly.
"Why are you saying that like it's a question? It's first period. Why is that anything different to daily school?"
"Well yeah, I know, but you're acting like that's an excuse to not talk to me. We still have like ten minutes before the bell." James replied.
"So what if it is an excuse? You don't know where my first class is. You don't know my schedule."
James shrugged. "Nope. But i can follow you." He said cheerfully, keeping pace with her.
"Like a creepo?" Euphoria sighed. She was sick of this. She just wanted to be left alone. "Can you just leave me be?"
"Im not a creep, im your friend." He replied. "And nope."
"If you were in my place, I would leave you alone if you asked me. So why aren't you doing the same for me?"
"Uhm… because I'm socially clueless and less grumpy?" James suggested with a shrug and a grin.
"If you really want to be my friend, leave me alone." She walked up the flight of stairs onto the next level, hoping James wouldn't follow her.
"That's not how friends work." James said, but he watched her go and didn't follow her.
Euphoria quickly ran into a toilet cubicle. She dumped her bag on the floor and sat on the closed toilet lid, her head in her hands.
James sighed softly, and headed to his first period class.
