Disclaimer: I own nothing.

This is a short one shot (practically a drabble) and an angsty character study about Milo.

Also, in this story, Milo met Melissa in 6th grade instead of first.

Title: Cool Kids

Summary: Milo's smile was a shield that protected a vulnerable heart from a cruel world. If only people knew how much it truly hurt him when they turned away. Short character study on Milo Murphy

"I wish that I could be like the cool kids 'cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in." –'Cool Kids' by Echosmith

Milo wasn't always considered a jinx.

He was born with Murphy's Law, yes, but it took a while before anyone noticed that bad things happened around Milo.

In Kindergarten and first and second grade, Milo and his classmates were too young to notice that when disaster crashed into them, Milo was always a few feet away from it. At that age, they actually thought the chaos and the mayhem was cool and exciting.

When they entered the third grade, a classmate of Milo's received a broken arm when things went wrong, as usual, around Milo, and kids started to suspect that Milo was cursed.

Milo never told them, but he heard the rumors.

"Maybe he was cursed as a baby, like his parents did something bad, so an evil witch cursed Milo!"

"Maybe you're right. Just to be on the safe side, we should all stay a few feet away from Milo."

"Yeah. His bad luck can't get you if you're not standing next to him."

In fourth grade, Milo still had friends but they became more distant with each passing day. They would invite him to the movies or a baseball game or to play kickball at the park, only to cancel at the last minute, but later on, Milo would get on Instagram and see photographs of his so called friends going without him.

He never told them he saw the pictures. His friendships were crumbling as it was, and he was scared if he told them he knew they were having fun without him, the few friends he had left would completely abandon him. Loose friendships were better than no friends at all, right?

In fifth grade, they stopped inviting him all together.

Fifth grade was lonely, but he plastered a smile on his face and pretended like nothing was wrong, like he was okay with it, like he understood, and he did understand. But understanding the reason for being abandoned doesn't make the pain disappear. Abandonment is agony, and an explanation is not a cure for the hurt it causes.

In sixth grade, he met Melissa, and he had a friend again, and he was truly happy, but sometimes, he would be sitting in his room perfectly fine one minute, and the next, it would all come crashing down. All the things people said, the way he walked through the school hallways in his own little bubble… His smile would vanish, and tears would stream down his face before he even realized he had started crying.

"He's a jinx, bad luck."

"Look, I got a broken leg because of his curse. What happens next time Mr. Disaster over there attracts danger? What if he permanently hurts someone?"

"Do you think he even feels bad for all the destruction and pain he causes?"

"It would be better if he had never been born."

The things people said behind his back… he tried to ignore the whispers. He never told Melissa about the words Elliot or Bradley or anyone said about him, but he suspected she knew. She never left him, even when Bradley and their classmates warned her that being near him would only put her in danger because of his curse.

He was grateful for her, but sometimes he wondered if it would be better if she did stay away. He couldn't bear the thought of his only friend getting hurt because of him.

It was hard, getting up everyday, knowing a tornado of disaster and destruction and chaos and pain would follow him everywhere he went. Having to lug around a backpack with the entire world inside of it, never knowing what he would need to simply survive the day. It was exhausting. That was the only word that could describe it.

It was getting harder to smile, harder to be optimistic, but he kept grinning because he was Milo Murphy, and that's what everyone expected of him. To always be happy, to always look on the bright side of things, but how do you look on the bright side of things when the darkness is so thick, you can't see two feet in front of you?

Milo's smile was a shield that protected a vulnerable heart from a cruel world. If only people knew how much it truly hurt him when they turned away…

The emotional pain was unbearable at times, but he still got up every single day. He never stopped smiling, and he never surrendered. He never let Murphy's Law define him, no matter how tiring it was.

But he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if he just… gave up.

"I wish that I could be like the cool kids… like the cool kids." -'Cool Kids' by Echosmith.