#2 A Loner should not be left alone

Gerald, finally out of that potion class, sighed as he finally found a spot where he thought he was alone. Sitting on a step on one of the staircases in the Entrance hall, he opened to the last page of his textbook, revealing a hidden comic book. Gerald had hidden one in each of his textbooks but was glad no one had found them yet. It would be incredibly embarrassing if they did.

He breathed in, much calmer away from Snape and his questions, beginning to read through the comic book. This one was about a war between powerful beings, over the protection of a once-turned ally. He's read it, but it was an exciting read. Plus Gerald liked the idea that even if he betrayed his friends in a low moment, they'd still be there for him.

It did make him wonder though, did Dani and Ryan see him as their friend, or was he that weird guy they keep sitting next to? Gerald sighed again. He had to be more confident or something like that.

Maybe the Dare challenge thing was made for people like him? make them more confident? He already knew he didn't want to do most of the Dares. Maybe though...

He looked around, hoping that nobody could see him, and desperately wishing the Paintings told no one, before he closed his comic book and tried to climb onto a rail.

The biggest problem for him was jumping onto the rail. He didn't want to jump over it entirely, so even with two hands on the rail and jumping, his weak jumps took ages to actually get onto it.

The second biggest was the moment he was on there, he held on for dear life. With his hands wrapped around the railing and his knees pressed together, he wasn't going anywhere. "Okay, Gerald. You can do this. Imagine it's a slide. Just slide down now" Closing his eyes now, he slowly loosened his grip, and they grew warm as he intermittently stopped and began moving.