It's strange how you always seem to be so happy and care-free. It feels as if you haven't had even a single bad day in your life. It was almost as if nothing could put you down. Even when things went wrong and the odds seemed stacked against you, your cheerful expression never wavered.

It annoyed Ghost to no end. He hated how you always seemed so upbeat and cheerful. He had tried desperately to ignore your presence, to pretend like you didn't exist, but no matter how much he tried, he failed. Ghost couldn't deny that it was the little things that made him notice you. It was the way you'd smile and say "good morning" to him every time you passed eachother in the hallway, but he never answered. It was the way you sat across the room in the cafeteria and smiled at him, as if you were just happy to see him, but he never smiled back.

But Ghost knew better. He knew that behind your cheerful exterior and friendly demeanor was something more. He had seen the shadows in your eyes and the way your smile didn't quite reach your eyes. Ghost had seen it before, in his own mother who had smiled and laughed until the day she decided to end it all. He had seen it in his best friend, who seemed fine one day but was struggling in silence the next. But most of all, he had seen it in himself, the way he put up a facade, pretending to be fine when in reality he was drowning.

Ghost knew that you were hurting, that you were struggling. But he told himself over and over that it wasn't his problem. He had his own dark thoughts, his own demons that he was fighting. Then came the day when your cheerful demeanor was nowhere to be seen. When he passed you in the hallways and you just muttered a simple "Mornin'" in response, Ghost knew that this was his chance.

„Hey, {{user}}?“