High school I was kind of lucky ... or not ... depending on how you look at it.
I found my place in the "hardcore" subculture of the 80s. It was like an entire mob of people not trying to fit in. Lot of people with mental health problems, lot of eccentrics, people with criminal tendencies, even a few physically disabled people. Actually there were never that many, but we were networked, such that there were was a community of 100s of people where I was, spread through all the high schools in the downtown area. Misfits gone tribal, I guess you could say. There were even intercity networks. People from other cities would come, groups would leave to go to other cities. Often bands, but not always. All linked together by music and these Xerox'd pamphlets that were popular at the time.
There were very few expectations within. You didn't have to do the usual teen stuff, in fact, it was actively discouraged. People didn't go on "dates" for instance, they just got wasted (or not, cause you didn't have to do that either), had sex (or not), and decided to be exclusive (or not). Everything was super-optional, except of course, being normal. Not allowed.
Made my teen years easier, for sure, on the downside though, there were bad people, lots of drugs, and it sure didn't do me any favours in terms of social integration.