Axel p.o.v. 4 years ago:
The day we met . . .
We were at the bus stop in the winter of fifth grade, waiting patiently for the bus as our fingers froze and noses turned bright red from the ice cold breeze.The neighborhood so quiet because everybody was still with sleep in their eyes.The crumpled leaves on the ground had frozen icicles, the grass with the winter touch that made their tips as white as snow.
The birds were singing their morning songs and a girl standing next to me was humming along. As if it was a song she memorized.

I was really curious of what type of bird it was, so I did what any self-assured fifth grader would do. I asked.“ What type of bird’s song is that?”

The reaction on her face seemed like she didn’t know anybody could hear her humming. But I could, and I was not the type who would let things go that I found interesting.This facial expression was there for only a split second then she returned to just ignoring me. She turned her face like I hadn’t even spoke.

“Sooo. What type of bird call is that?”. I was hoping that maybe if I repeated myself that she would answer me.

She didn’t answer me so my plan failed. This felt like one of those moments when you would not know what to do so I decided to fill the thin air with an excessive amount of talking.

“Do you like the winter? I DO NOT ! I hate the cold ! When I grow up I am going to live in the hottest place in the world, FLORIDA!” I blurted. Back then I didn’t really know about other places but now I do because, I get curious.

I talked so much .

The bus came and I felt an extreme amount of relief. Then, I became fully aware that I was going to school and that realization left me despondent.

The school bus squeaked to a halt and gasped out a puff of dark air as  the doors opened. The kids playing on the playground dashed through the open plain of grass to the bus as if their life depended on it. Their shoes crunching on the frozen ground as they embarked on their journey to the bus stop.

As I walked on the bus I heard a voice behind me,“Northern Cardinal”.

I turned my head realizing she was talking to me. “What?” I puzzled wondering if she was speaking to me. The words had escaped from the girl as if they had no real destination.
“The bird who sings that song was a Northern Cardinal,” She repeated flatly in a matter of fact sort of way, her eyes completely devoid of emotion and her face bearing no specific expression.

”Is that the red bird that comes in winter? I was kinda lost,” I inquired hoping to keep the conversation alive.

“ Yes it is,’’ she responded in the same flat tone as before.

“Thanks,” I replied. My cheeks were a little red because I was embarrassed by not knowing the bird type. “What is your name? Mine is Axel.” I continued. I wasn’t ready to let this conversation end, because I wasn’t sure if I had enough information in my head to be the only one speaking the whole bus ride to school.

“ Hello Axel, my name is Rayna Nicole Greer and I am in the fifth grade,”  was her reply. The blank stare still felt a little weird , but I knew she definitely was going to be my friend.
Friends Still ?
Axel’s p.o.v present day: Second month of school

“HEY RAY!!” I was shouting at the top of my lungs. She was walking down the hall during passing time and something about her felt melancholy.I knew she heard me but she didn’t reply because I called her Ray. “RAYNA!”. She finally turned around.  The sorrow in her face showed it all. She had her notebooks and her apricot orange binder in her hand. Everything of hers was neat. Her curly brown hair was slicked back  into a high ponytail . Her elastic band matched her outfit and her shoes were not even discolored from age. Everything looked normal until you saw the expression on her face; it looked like she was going to cry. Like a sea of salt-water was churning into a hurricane. Her tears  run down her face like  the big wave of a tsunami. It’s not normal. Nothing about her crying is normal.When she cried it was like my heart was being pulled out of  my chest. My head started to spin. Suddenly, the old run down school had disappeared; all I could see was her and every other thing was a blur.
“Who?” I asked her actually wondering because it was always somebody who brought these tears about, but it was never the same person. The sounds of lockers slamming and exceedingly loud conversation was unnerving.

   “Everyone,”  she replied as if I should have know

“By everyone do you mean everyone?” I asked her this because everything she usually says is literal , so I tried to make a joke to cheer her up.

“NO! Because that is impossible for the whole world population to  judge me in anyway for being whatever that I am,” She retorted this with pure seriousness. Not joking at all.

“ You know people will warm up to you. You just have to be yourself.” It was my attempt at reassuring her.

“ They don’t like me because of who I am. Don’t you see that is the PROBLEM!” Rayna tears flow calmly. It is strange because she was so full of emotion, but when she tries to let it out the result was  barely anything.
Rayna’s p.o.v.:
Seven weeks later:

“Things might not be perfect in your eyes but still, it is perfect” My mom always told me this. Sometimes I believe it myself, and sometimes  because of days like today, I wish she had never told me that.  Today everybody was treating me really harsh  acting like I didn’t understand what they were saying or  like I couldn’t hear! I bursted into tears. It felt like crying was the only thing I have been doing this past year.

“It’s okay Rayna. I am here so that you can tell someone about this and feel comfortable.” My therapist replied to my outburst in her office so calmly and caring that it felt like she was my second mom. She was sitting on her chevron lounge chair taking notes on everything I said. “ Do you have someone else to tell this . . . it would help with building friendship,” she continued.

“ Only one friend. He used to be my best, but we broke up,” I explained through my tears. I was starting to gather myself and regain my composure.

My therapist scooted to the edge of her seat with the most hurt expression on her face. Her eyebrows closed in near each other, her  bottom  lip starting to quiver. . It was personal to her, like I was talking about her life. She is so concerned that sometimes I couldn’t tell if she is faking it or not. “What happened between you guys?”  She requested as she tried to keep her voice steady.

“ He  was getting  into the  crowd. He became a follower, and just never listened to what I had to say. It was like his new friends were  always right even if he knew they were wrong. It's like when he's with them I'm just autistic.  The last four years we've been together as best friends has been thrown away, has been burned into ashes.’’ I retorted.

“Wow Rayna you have really expressed today and just in time because our meeting is over. I will see you next Wednesday again and maybe we can continue this discussion.” She finished as she checked her clock and closed her notebook.

I responded shyly and with uncertainty,  “ Okay  I guess I'll see you next week umm . . . I don't know many things I guess,well based on emotions but I do know that if I have anything that I want to discuss that I will come to you.  You  are the only one I can really trust right now with my feelings, with what I can feel.’’

“ That means a lot to me. Hopefully we can get you and your friend back together and you'll have somebody else you can talk to.  Oh your mom just  texted she  is here. See you next week Rayna’’
To be honest I did not  want to go home, I wanted to stay there with Aubrey and talk with her more. She doesn't want me to stay talking with her because she knows if I'm still  seeing her then I need more help becoming normal. In my opinion it shouldn't be hard to be normal and I don't know why people think I'm not normal. Sometimes I might not get jokes, might not be able to tell when you're lying,  but it makes it easier to not see when you're bullying me.

I can hide behind being autistic because in some cases I don't understand  and sometimes I won't ever understand, but it helps me when people attack me verbally.When people attack me I can see the characteristics of that. Then when it happens again hopefully, I’ll know.

I'm sorry :
Axel’s P. O. V.

I never meant to hurt her I just thought I had a chance to be popular. I knew having more friends would make it easier to not get bullied. Well, at least friends beside her, different than her. So, I thought that  if I became friends with the people who are making  fun of her then they would not want to make fun of me.

I just now realized that not the way that it works. They don't listen to me. They just want me there to do their homework. They were never really interested in being my real friend, just in using me.
I was very wrong to be mean to her and, well , just leave her on her own.  I became friends with our enemies and thought of myself instead of thinking maybe we can fight through this together. It took me too long to realize that I didn’t just leave her on  her own, but in the end, I was left without anyone else.  I hope I didn't hurt her too bad because tomorrow I'm going to try to make it out there and I'm going to try to make sure that  we stay together.
I’ll try:
Rayna and Axel’s p.o.v  the next day:

AXEL
I see Rayna  in the halls  of our school,  I can see the locks of brown hair falling down her back. Her hair  bounces off of her shoulders like the waves of the ocean lap at the shore.  I call out her name,  just the sound of it brings back memories.

RAYNA

I hear Axel  in the distance and when I turn around I'm surprised that it's actually him. I'm actually happy that it's  him. Hopefully,  he's not with his new friends or trying to prank me for them. I can't believe that after 4 years I feel so hurt by him that I'm even nervous to think about talking to him. Wondering if he’s only talking to me  to make a joke  and it's just to go against me. I didn't know why he left. I don't even know why we were even friends in the first place. I bet to him I was just a waste of time, a waste of space, of air . Or maybe to him we were really friends. It’s hard to tell. Because of my autism, I often misunderstand or can’t read other people’s emotions properly.

  Sometimes, especially last year , he would  be very giggly, like everything I  was saying was the funniest thing he ever heard in his life. That is when times were the best between us. I wanted things to be that way again. I wanted things to be easy between us again.

When I finally slowed so he could approach me, he spoke with kindness, the way he did before he left me to be with the others. He  actually ended up coming to me and telling me how sorry he was, how he felt sorry for how he had been treating me this year.  His apology  didn't really affect me. All the words he was saying were coming  into  one ear  and going  out the other.

AXEL

I was very worried that she wasn't going to listen to me or  that my apology was going to be enough. I bet it wasn't. I shouldn't have expected her to forgive me after five  minutes of passing time in our school to forgive me; to forget what I did to her and how wrong it was to leave her by herself after  four years of friendship.

“Rayna  please listen to me. I know it's not worth listening to and I know you really don't want to hear this and you have something to do but I'd rather be friends with you and know it's real then be friends with somebody else and no you're getting hurt.’’

“ Then why did you leave. My  mom thought I was so affected by this that she sent me to a therapist and I go to her every Wednesday to forget. You might not think that's a lot because it's only been, what a month? Almost two actually! The thing is all my therapist wanted me to do would become friends with you again she said it'll help me in the real world, and I need you 4 things but I'm having trouble with somebody to talk to is that true I need you ?’’

“I promise you  can trust me.’’
Okay…
Two weeks later:

RAYNA

These past two weeks mostly I've been back to normal however, for those times where Axel’s  old buddies come up to us end question our friendship. he has been loyal. the way it used to be. We meet in the halls before lunch to ask teacher’s weird stupid questions. Well actually I asked the weird stupid questions and I guess they're supposed to be jokes and Axel thinks they are really funny.  I on the other hand don't get them at all that's why at lunch  he explains it.

AXEL

I feel like I can express myself when I am with Rayna . When my mom found out what I did, she told me that I shouldn’t give up what I have for what I don’t have, because what I have is not worth giving up. Especially not my red bird.