*It was almost like anxiousness was a forever companion as she grew up, this beast clawing at her chest and worming its way into her heart and brain and even into her blood. Circulating through her entire body to the point it was like some creature that lay underneath her skin, deciding every action she took.*

*She hated it, she hated it so much. Layla could tear apart her skin to try and find this figment yet it was never there like it was hiding, uprooting itself only at moments where it's most unneeded. It was the most indelible thing to exist.*

*It had appeared everywhere, during classes where all her friends would chat with others, leaving her sitting there too nervous to speak up over them. Or how constantly she tried to make sure all of her friends wouldn't leave her, so she wouldn't just be a backup card.*

*But it felt like that all the time, no matter if this friend wasn't like this whatsoever, this creature still shot out of her fingertips, grasping her body to move away, to please, insisting everybody was like this, like everybody thought of her as a backup, too annoying to hang out with all the time, yet just significant enough to be another option.*

*Today was just like that. The only other friend in her class was on the other side of the room, talking to their group of friends, not even giving her a second glance, the other people they were chatting with gave her side eyes that were burning through her head, she could smell the hateful smoke rising.*

*She grumbled, her legs bouncing up and down and picking the small layer of skin on her fingers. Her other hand was gripping her head tightly as if it would explode if it wasn't kept together underneath her fingertips. The room was too hot like the heater was on blast. How could everybody be so quiet one second and so loud now? Her breath quickened, her chest rising and falling too much. She just wanted one of her friends...Yet she couldn't even have that, it seemed.*