As soon as she entered her house, she kicked off her shoes and ran up the stairs, her heart beating frantically.

"How was your—" her mom's voice was cut off by the slamming of the bedroom door.

She leaned against the door and slid to the floor, her hands covering her face as she chocked back her sobs.

It shouldn't matter that she was different, right?!

...Right...?

"Why do they hate me?" She moaned quietly. The bullies were relentless, all because she didn't fit in. She never had, why start now?

She brought her legs up against her chest, hugged them and rocked herself back and forth. She attempted to still her sobs, but it wasn't working very well.

Now that she was away from other people, she finally allowed herself to cry. She refused to let anyone else see her in such a pitiful state. Her parents would pity her-well, her dad would think she was doing  this for attention-and the bullying would only get worse.

No... Keeping this a secret was for the best.

Once her crying had slowed down, she shakily stood up. She tossed her backpack onto her bed. She could do her homework later.

The girl stumbled towards her dresser, kneeled in front of it and opened her shirt drawer. She tossed her shirts to the side until she found it: a kitchen knife sitting at the bottom.

She stood up and collapsed on her bed, it sagging underneath her.

She gripped the knife tightly.

"Nobody cares..." she sniffled, wiping away any tears with her free hand.

She placed the knife beside her and rolled up her t-shirt sleeve, revealing her shoulder.

She picked up the knife again and pressed the blade into her shoulder, not deep enough to make her bleed, but enough for her to feel the sting of the blade. "Well," a broken smile came across her face. "There's a first time for everything."

She sighed, frowning and put the knife down. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her iPod. She unlocked it and went into the music app. She pressed shuffle, and Horrible Kids by Set It Off came on.

https://youtu.be/g9KIYYJJ0v0

Watch your step around these words cause,
They're gonna get you,
They're gonna get you in the end,
I swear it's not a disease it's just a game of pretend,
A game of pretend,
Why is it me they're after,
Couldn't they pick another one,
Some day I'll spit their laughter,
And bite their tongue.

She giggled softly. Why was it her that the bullies were after? What did she do the them to deserve the bullies' wrath?

Horrible Kids,
Would you looked what you did,
It was your ignorance,
That formed a beast with your wit.

She wouldn't call it a beast inside her, but maybe a little longer and that's what she would become.

Horrible Kids, Horrible Kids, Horrible Kids,
Look what you did!

They made her cry before she even reached her room.

What makes this target grow,
Is it when his feelings show?
Hold a gun to his head and you'll know,
You've pushed him down as low as he can go,
Go! Get away from me,
Leave me be,
I beg you please,
I'm on the floor on bended knee.
Maybe then I'll keep my sanity.

She would be a lot saner-never considering cutting herself-if they just left her be. She hadn't considered suicide before, but she felt that she was at her lowest point.

And I can't stand this pain they cause me,
This puzzle will solve itself,
And maybe I just can't seem to put this together yet.

She struggled to find out why they hated her so much, but she knew it was a question she would never understand the answer to.

Horrible Kids,
Would you looked what you did,
It was your ignorance,
That formed a beast with your wit.

Horrible Kids, Horrible Kids, Horrible Kids,
Look what you did!

Horrible Kids, Horrible Kids, Horrible Kids,
Look what you did!

Picture this he was just a kid,
Not knowing where to begin,
He wore all the wrong clothes followed all the wrong trends,
Persecuted for the things he did.
Picture this he was all alone,
Without a friend to call his own so he sat on his bed,
With the thought in his head,
With wishes that they all were dead.
But then he saw the light,
Gained the will to fight,
Saw that victory was in sight,
But soon they all will see.

She scoffed. What light? What light gives somebody the will to fight? That light doesn't exist.

Persecuted for the things he did? Without a friend to call his own? She definitely was able to relate to those lines of the song.

Horrible Kids,
Would you looked what you did,
It was your ignorance,
That formed a beast with your wit.

Horrible Kids,
Would you looked what you did,
It was your ignorance,
That formed a beast with your wit.

She picked the knife up.

Horrible Kids, Horrible Kids, Horrible Kids,
Look what we did!

She pressed it against her skin, somewhere that would hide the scar.

Horrible Kids, Horrible Kids, Horrible Kids,
Look what you did!

As the blade dug into her skin, and the blood dripped down her arm, she couldn't help but smile.

After all, this was the happiest she had ever been.