Blue, an air Dranda. She wasn't new to Golden Oak High, a high school on Leafly, but she had noticed someone new. She was upset by the fact that she was sitting alone at lunch. Nobody had even tried to approach her. After about 10 minutes, Blue had to say something to her. She didn't exactly have a friend group either. Perhaps she was shy?

    As she got closer to the water Dranda, she took notice of some other details. She was rather attractive, fit-looking, attractive coloring, all that. Her body was light blue, mostly covered by a dark blue jacket and loose blue jeans, but the tail flicking behind her had royal blue rings and a dark blue tip. Her wings had similar coloring, webbed with three segments, a rather rare trait, most webbed wings had two segments, but the top and bottom webbing patch had royal blue with the middle being dark blue. Her cheek fins, as Blue got her attention with a little 'Hey' was now able to see, had the same coloring pattern with the three segments. She raised an eyebrow, which Blue noticed were pale gold,

    "Yeah?" She asked.

    "I-I uh, I noticed you were new here! A-and I just wanted to ask why you were sitting alone... M-my name's Ammolite, but you can call me Blue!" She said. The water Dranda sighed annoyedly,

    "I don't really like other elementals..."

    "M-maybe I could help you change your mind? N-not like that, I mean, as friends!" Blue started panicking slightly, which seemed to amuse the water Dranda to some degree.

    "I'm... Not looking for friends..." She said, hiding her paws near her stomach. Blue was suspicious of the water Dranda, not in a bad way, more... Concerned for her. Hiding wrists was usually a thing that elementals did after cutting themselves, generally with their own claws.

    "A-are you okay...?" Blue asked.

    "Why do you care?" She growled. Blue looked shocked, but only for a moment, before regaining her composure to some degree.

    "I care because... I don't think there's any good reason to self-harm..." She said.

    "I... I don't want to talk to you."

    "D-did I do something wrong?"

    "Take a guess." She got up and started to walk away, going outside. Blue waited a moment, trying to decide if she should follow or report her self-harm to the counselor. She very quickly decided to follow. She had a better chance of not pissing her off by talking to her herself than having a school counselor talk to her. She was a nice lady, absolutely, Blue talked to her from time to time for her own issues, but... She knew that most preferred to talk to someone they know personally, and not people who are basically paid to pretend to care.

    She found the other Dranda sitting outside under a tree in the courtyard, laying back near a small pond they had. Blue smiled slightly. Water elementals generally have an attachment to water. She went over to her again, a little nervous as her ear flicked and her content smile turned to an annoyed scowl, even with her eyes closed.

    "Look, I-I get it. You don't want to talk to anyone. I... I used to feel like that. I don't expect your full life story, but... I'd like to help..." Blue said quietly.

    "I don't think you really do."

    "Really? Anyone who didn't would've left you alone, or not mentioned your wrists... I want to help you... Could you at least tell me your name?"

    "I'm Lapis, I was in an abusive relationship with a fire Droggon at the age of fourteen to very recently, my uncle sexually assaulted me when I was five, and finally, I was bullied all throughout elementary and middle school and I'm damn sure it won't stop here. There, ya happy?"

    "... I... I'm so sorry..." Blue said, tearing up.

    "Don't be. Nobody else has cared..."

    "I'm sorry... Can I hug you?"

    "Of course not."

    "Okay... Uhh... Do you have a phone? C-could I text you after class?"

    "We could hang out after school, my mom doesn't give a shit. Maybe I'll make a friend."

    "Have you had any real friends before?"

    "I thought so. I found out that all of them back in Aquarip just wanted to manipulate me. I got a text from one of them yesterday, basically confessing how they were looking for someone to manipulate and how they were going to cut contact with me."

    "I'm so sorry, Lapis! I... I've had people like that before..."

    "Not as bad as me..." Lapis said. That really hurt, but Blue tried to ignore it.

    "I... I know... I'm just trying to be nice... I want you to know you're not alone..."

    "I want to be alone. I want to be dead. I'm useless, worthless! Why do you even care about me?! What do you see in me?!"

    "I see someone who's been hurt all her life and deserves a friend..." Blue said softly, trying her hardest to fight the tears. She didn't do too well. Lapis sighed, putting her paws over her face.

    "I'm... I'm sorry... I just... Like I said before, not used to genuine kindness..."

    "I-I know, it's okay... Do you really want to hang out after school...?"

    "Sure..." Lapis said. She felt like she kind of had to now. Give her a chance, why not? if she put up any more than two red flags she was out of there.

    "Thank you...! I-I uh... I think lunch is almost over. What's your next class...?"

    "Health and Safety."

    "Fun... It's mine too..." Blue said.

    The lunch bell went off. Lapis got up and started walking away, Blue following closely behind. She heard whispering, and she could see Lapis growing angrier and angrier as they walked. Her tail had slowly begun to get higher off the ground, about a foot in the air, her ears folded back and her wings twitching. Blue felt bad, and walked up next to Lapis, gently grabbing her paw. This was a mistake, as Lapis quickly yanked her paw back and glared at her.

    "Sorry..." Blue said, staring down at the ground as they walked. Lapis was given a seat next to Blue, and the rest of the day was relatively uneventful. They had to split up after Health and Safety to go to different classes, but at the end of the day they met up outside the school.

    "I've already texted my mom, she's okay with me hanging out with a friend after school. I wasn't specific, I figured you'd like privacy." Blue said as they started walking towards town.

    "Thank you..." Lapis said quietly, looking down as they walked.

    "Lapis... Can I ask you some personal questions?"

    "As long as I'm allowed to not answer all of them..."

    "Of course, I don't want you to be too uncomfortable. First one, uh... What did you use to cut yourself?"

    "I... I used my claws..."

    "Great... Uh, next one! Do you remember when you first did it?"

    "... I'll tell you if we manage to get closer..."

    "Of course, so for the next one... Do you like reading?"

    "I actually write in my spare time... I don't post anywhere, but I keep it saved on my computer at home. It's... Mostly not safe for work..."

    "Is it fanfiction or original work?"

    "Mostly original work, but... I do have a couple of fandoms... I'd rather not share them right now..."

    "What kind of not safe for work are we talking about here? Like... Smut? Or stuff about murder...?"

    "Both..."

    "Is it for vents?"

    "Usually, yes... I... I like to torment my characters... I'd never hurt anyone in real life, of course not, but I kind of like taking it out on them... Knowing they don't actually feel anything... It makes me feel better without consequence... Like other things..." She put her paws over her wrists, and Blue gently put her paw on Lapis' shoulder.

    "Hey, it's okay. We all make mistakes. The most we can do is try to make up for them. I think you could do that, if you wanted to, of course. I'd be happy to help you, Lapis. I-I'll give you my phone number! Feel free to call or text anytime, even if you think I'm asleep!" She stopped, turning to Lapis with a small smile.

    "Are you sure? I really don't want to mess up your sleep schedule, I know how bad that can be..."

    "Lapis, my sleep for a couple of nights is far less important to me than your safety. Nobody should be hurting themselves, especially not someone like you."

    "Thank you..." Lapis scanned Blue's phone code so she was in her contacts, and Blue's phone went off with a text from her mother.

    "Oh... Oh no, Lapis, I gotta go home."

    "Oh, okay... Text me when you're done with whatever?"

    "Of course! My house is up in town, but I've gotta fly to get there as soon as I can! I-I'll see you, okay?"

    "Okay..." Lapis said. Blue took off running, before jumping into the sky, flying off.

    Lapis got home soon after. Her mother was, as usual, passed out on the couch, so Lapis went and hid in her room for the next hour. Blue did eventually text her, and they spent the rest of the day talking about Lapis' writing.