Maybe it is. But is there something wrong with being like them? If anything it's only made me stronger.
[Kid's breath speeds up and he can't bring himself to move away. There's a mix of thoughts running through his head, and somewhere between some misplaced need to show he isn't afraid and a strange liking of the position, he ends up even closer. Not so close that there's any contact, but close enough that any passerby would think the opposite.]