I’ll Be There
(I lost the pictures whoops..)
CHAPTER 3: PINKY PROMISE
The school playground was loud in the way only kids can make it too many voices at once, too many running feet, too much everything.
Michael Jackson stood slightly behind me, fingers curled tightly around the strap of his small backpack. He wasn’t playing yet.
He was just watching.
Watching the other kids like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to belong there. Every time someone laughed too loudly, his shoulders jumped. Every time someone ran too close, he stepped back. Not because he was scared of them. Because he didn’t want to bother them. I noticed immediately. I always did.
“Come on,” I said, grabbing his hand. “We’re playing tag.”
“I don’t think they want me to—” he started.
“They do,” I interrupted without hesitation.
Before he could argue again, I pulled him forward into the group. The other kids paused when they saw him. A few whispers started right away. A boy squinted at him
. “Why does he just stand there all the time?”
Michael froze.
His grip tightened around my hand. That small squeeze told me everything. I want to leave now. Something in my chest snapped. I stepped in front of him.
“Because he’s playing with me,” I said.
The boy shrugged.
“He doesn’t even talk much.”
I tilted my head slightly, just enough so Michael stayed behind me but was still close.
“That doesn’t matter.”
A girl nearby added,
“He’s kind of weird.”
That word hit harder than it should have. I felt Michael shift behind me, like he was trying to disappear. Like he believed it. I turned back toward him. His eyes were down. Not angry. Not sad. Just small.
“Hey,”
I said softly.
He didn’t answer.
“Hey,” I tried again.
Slowly, his eyes lifted a little. Not all the way. Just enough.
“You’re not weird,” I said firmly.
“I just… don’t talk a lot,”
he murmured.
“That’s not the same thing.”
The other kids were still watching, waiting for something entertaining. But I didn’t give them that. Instead, I squeezed his hand.
“Tell them you’re playing,” I whispered.
“I can’t,”
he said quickly.
“Yes, you can.”
A pause. Then, barely audible:
“I’m… playing.”
It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t confident. But it was real. I turned back to the others.
“See?”
One of the boys rolled his eyes and ran off, losing interest. The moment broke apart. But it didn’t feel small. Not to me.
Later at recess, Michael tried to sit on a bench near the other kids. His hands were folded neatly in his lap, posture careful, almost like he was trying to take up less space. But no one sat next to him. They chose the ground instead. Farther away. Not openly cruel. Just distant. I saw his face change before he said anything. He was pulling inward again. Quietly. I walked over immediately. “Come sit with me,”
I said.
“I’m fine here,”
he answered quickly.
“No, you’re not.”
He looked up, slightly startled. I grabbed his wrist gently and pulled him off the bench. Not hard. Just enough that he followed. Because he always did. I sat him down beside me on the grass.
“There,” I said.
He stared at the spot like it didn’t belong to him. Then slowly sat. The silence stretched. After a moment, he spoke quietly.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Do what?”
“Defend me.”
I frowned.
“Why not?” He hesitated.
“Because they’ll get tired of you.”
That made something in my stomach twist. I turned toward him fully.
“Then they’re wrong.”
He blinked at me.
“I don’t get tired of you.”
A pause.
“…Even when I’m quiet?”
he asked softly.
“Especially when you’re quiet.”
He didn’t respond right away. His fingers moved slightly in the grass, unsure. Like he was trying to understand how that could be real. Finally, he nodded.
Slowly. Carefully. Like he was memorizing it.
When the bell rang, kids started running back inside. Michael didn’t move at first. Neither did I. “You stayed with me,”
he said quietly.
“Yes,”
I answered.
“Why?”
I looked at him like it was obvious.
“Because you’re my best friend.” That word—best—stayed with him.
“…Only best friend?”
he asked. “Yes,” I said. “Only.”
A pause. Then he nodded. But this time, there was a small smile. Shy. Real.
“Okay,”
he said. “Only us.”
And when we walked back inside, he stayed just a little closer to me than before. Like the world had tried to pull him away. And failed.
I managed to sneak him out and into my place that wasn’t as much either but somewhere free.
We both laid on the bed and laughed until we couldn’t breathe. I looked over at him and he looked over at me at the same time. Making us both grin and laugh again before we quieted down.
Then I saw his eyes drop and his smile vanished.
“I’m scared..” He said quietly like he wished I didn’t hear it.
“Of what Michael?”
“I’m scared that we won’t stay together..”
“We always will..I promise.”
“You will?”
“Pinky promise..”
I smiled and wrapped my pinky with his.
A second after he rested his head on my shoulder and I did the same.