One boy's befriending of an outcast new kid at school stops him from committing suicide.

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  “Bill’s” books are not knocked out of his arms by a gang of bullies; he trips all on his own, with the story heavily implying no one other than “Mark” is around to see this.
  “Mark” invites “Bill” in for a Coke, and they do spend the rest of the afternoon together, but not the rest of the weekend (as in the Internet version), nor does “Mark” work “Bill” into his circle of friends.
  The boys don’t become best friends in this tale. They have sporadic contact with one another throughout their school lives, but they are never more than distantly friendly.