[ WP ] Your best friend is shooting up your middle school , and hands you a gun , without your prior knowledge to the event .

He handed me the gun as we were standing outside. I looked at him befuddled as he brandished his own gun in his hand, spinning it around evilly. 
 
 `` What the hell, Matt?!'' I said upset. 
 
 Matt was my best friend since the 5th grade, at least until recently. We were both outcasts and were bullied but we handled it much differently. I drowned myself in my own activities while he kept to himself. What I did n't know was that he was plotting for weeks to do this. We had n't talked for months, but he started talking with me again this past week, which was strange. Little did I know... 
 
 We were heading back inside after a fire drill when Matt stopped me just outside the door. He told me he had a surprise for me and reached into his bag. That was when he handed me the gun. 
 
 `` I ca n't do this alone... this was the surprise I had for you'' he said grinning `` Finally we'll take our revenge on everyone who picked on us. Tommy. Sharon. Hunter. Madison. All of them. We can finally make our vengeance be known!'' 
 
 `` You've got the wrong girl'' I said trying to hand the gun back 
 
 `` You ca n't back out now....'' he said as he pushed the gun back towards me. `` I gave you this gun because I trusted you. I trusted that you'd have my back like you did last year at the playground'' 
 
 `` That was different. I was just punching Tommy so that he'd leave you alone. He may be a jerk, but I do n't want him to die or anything. Besides, his little sister Mabel is pretty cool.'' 
 
 `` But do n't you remember what he called you last week in gym class? Said that you were a freak and teased you because you did n't have your period yet. Oh and do n't forget his girlfriend who calls you a lesbo everytime she sees you'' 
 
 `` She wishes. She talks about tits in the locker room more than most dudes'' I said sardonically `` But that does n't mean that I want to kill them. Look, Matt, this is n't the right answer.'' 
 
 `` Then what is?'' And it was at that moment when I realized that this was n't Matt anymore. This was a stranger who had taken over Matt's body. He had become so consumed with his negative thoughts that he had become someone else entirely 
 
 `` You're such a fucking bleeding heart coward... Looks like I have no choice.'' He said coldly 
 
 My hands were getting sweaty as the gun weighed down on me. Matt looked at me with sympathy and soon raised his gun up at me, ready to shoot. By this time, students from neighboring classes had made their way towards any available window to see what was going on. Teachers were cautiously heading towards the door where Matt and I were outside of. Matt's eyes were steely as he pointed the gun at me. 
 
 `` Matt... please...'' I pleaded 
 
 `` It's the only way'' he said as he started to pull the trigger. 
 
 Suddenly, I saw a look flicker onto his face. It was like his real self had managed to bust out through all the mental illness, the angst, and hate that had made him the intimidating stranger that stood before me. He looked at me with those grayish green eyes as tears began to form in his eyes. His face looked conflicted as he stared at me. He mouthed'No....' before I shut my eyes and bowed my head to the ground 
 
 I dropped the gun that had still been in my hand all this time. I was ready to meet my fate. If this was how it was going to be, I was going to face it with dignity. Just as the male teachers took off outside to intervene, I heard the gunshot ring out in the air. My eyes are still closed, as I wondered where the bullet went into my body. As the sound of the gunshot dissipates into thin air, I can barely hear the screams of my fellow classmates. Moments pass and yet, I ca n't feel a thing. 
 
 I feel my history teacher's hand on my shoulder as he tries to bring me back down to earth. I fluttered my eyes open and realize that I am alive. I then looked up and saw Matt's body crumpled onto the ground, laying in a pool of his own blood and other body parts I'd rather not think about. When I snapped back to reality I was shaking uncontrollably. My history teacher asked me if I was okay and the only thing I could say was `` I wan na go home'' 
 
 In the coming weeks, I was lauded as a hero. They all said if it was n't for me, the shooting could've been worse. If it was n't for my reasoning, he would've rushed in without hesitation and killed a ton of people. From then on, I was never picked on again. I suppose that was n't so bad. Years have passed and it still lives on through legend in the hallways. I was known as the Pintsize Pacifist ( I had n't gone through my growth spurt at the time ). 
 
 Everybody thinks of Matt as a psycho loser, a statistic, or yet another PSA about mental health and gun control, but I do n't think of him like that. He was my best friend before the dark thoughts consumed him and changed him into a stranger. That stranger may have tried to kill me, but it was Matt who gave me a chance at life at the expense of his own. And for that, I owe him my life.
