I know this one boy
He has shaggy dark hair
And dark eyes
That seem so full of emotion
Yet empty all the same

I’ve never talked to him
I don’t think anyone has
He keeps to himself
But he does write quite a lot
In this old leather journal
He always carries around

He always wears skinny jeans
And lots of band-tees
But for some reason
He always wears sleeves
He’s got a lip piercing
And a few tattoos

Once, I had a terrible day
So I decided to skip class
I instead went snuck upstairs to the roof
I didn’t expect to see anyone there
But someone’s back was facing me

It was the boy I never talked to
He was writing in his journal
Scribbling furiously, pen in hand
I guess he also came here to brood
He just had that look

I went up behind him and said his name
He had earphones in with music playing loud
I knew the song, it was from my favorite band
Vices by Memphis May Fire

I tapped his shoulder and he jumped
He looked back at me in surprise
I asked if he was ok

He shrugged
He looked up at me with sad eyes
I sat next to him, shoulder to shoulder
And asked him what’s wrong

His dad yells at him
And tells him terrible things
His older brother always beats him up
And his big sister killed herself
His mom just doesn’t care
She’s never really home
His depression just keeps getting worse
He can barely get out of bed
Anxiety is eating him alive
And he’s trying, though failing, to stop his self harm

He started crying in the middle of his story
So I held him as he whimpered
And told him mine
We never talked to each other before in our life’s
We never had an exchange of words
But now as we sat together on the roof
I never felt closer to anyone

After a while, he seemed to calm down
I pulled up his sleeve and traced his scars
He looked down, he seemed kind of ashamed
I lifted up his chin and rolled up my sleeve
And showed him we had matching battle scars

He looked up at me with teary eyes
I told him about hope
And how things would get better
I told him if he could hold on
For just a few more years
He could get away from those who hurt him
And out of this **** town

I held his hand in mine
And looked him in the eye
I told I would be there
Every step of the way
And that if he would hold on
I would hold on with him

He nodded his head yes
He promised he would fight
He promised he would stay alive
If I would stay with him
Of course I said of course
We would make it through together
And so I became best friends with
The brooding boy on the roof