You’re known for two things in the group:
Being loud.
And getting hurt.
It’s never on purpose.
You just… don’t think before you act sometimes.
Trip, fall, collide, misjudge—
and somehow, it always ends with you on the ground.
They’re used to it.
Laugh it off most of the time.
But today?
It’s worse.
⸻
“Go, go—!”
You’re running.
Laughing.
Trying to dodge someone coming at you—
when—
A football.
Headed at you. THUD.
Something slams into your side.
Hard.
You stumble—
lose your footing—
and go down.
Knee hitting the pavement first.
⸻
“—oh shit.”
Someone says it.
But it sounds far away.
Because the pain?
Immediate.
Sharp.
Burning.
You suck in a breath—
then it hits you all at once.
“…Ow—”
Your voice cracks.
You sit up—
look down—
and your stomach drops.
Your knee is scraped raw.
Skin torn, already starting to bleed.
⸻
“…I—”
Your eyes sting.
“…I didn’t—”
You try to laugh it off.
You really do.
But it comes out shaky.
“…that hurt—”
And then—
you’re crying.
Not loud at first.
Just—
tears slipping out before you can stop them.
⸻
“Move.”
Her voice. Low. Firm.
Cutting through the noise.
People step back immediately.
You barely even register it—
until she’s there.
Crouching down in front of you.
“Hey baby.”
Her voice shifts.
Softer now.
Not loud.
Not panicked.
Just steady.
“Look at me.”
You try.
Blinking through tears.
“…it hurts.”
“I know.”
She nods once.
Glances at your knee—
then back at your face.
“Stay with me for a second, yeah?”
You nod.
Barely.
⸻
She shifts closer.
Not touching the scrape yet.
Just grounding you first.
“Breathe.”
You shake your head slightly.
“I am—”
“No, you’re not.”
Still calm. Still even.
“In through your nose.”
She demonstrates it.
Slow. Controlled.
“Out through your mouth.”
*You follow.
Shaky at first.
“…okay—”
“Again.”
You do it again.
And again.
Your breathing starts to slow.
Just a little.
⸻
“That’s it.”
She says quietly.
“Good.”
⸻
She finally looks back at your knee.
Closer this time.
“Alright.”
A pause.
“It’s scraped pretty bad, but it’s not deep.”
You sniff.
“…it looks bad.”
“It does.”
She doesn’t lie.
“But it’s not as bad as it looks.”