Any story ideas similar to this poem?

In The Manhunt, the author can't understand the other man's pain until he gets close to him. So you could write a story about how you didn't understand how someone felt until you got close to them as well. Maybe there's this kid that's always moping around your school, and you don't understand why until you learn something about him that you didn't know before, like his dad lost his job and they're out of money, or his grandmother is dying, or he's about to move away and lose all his friends or something like that. Then, after he tells you that, you get close to him and understand his hurt.