I walked out of school, drained and beaten from the mental exhaustion of the day. The game had pushed me to my limit. Every step felt heavier, my thoughts weighed down by frustration and the whispers still echoing in my mind.

Then I saw him.

My ‘new’ friend.

I hated that word—friend. Because the truth was, no one could replace Alan. No one could change the fact that everything I did, every sacrifice I made, had amounted to nothing but a hollow pat on the back. The Overseer didn’t care. That selfish bastard just wanted to be entertained.

I clenched my fists. Whatever. I shouldn’t care right now.

A beat-up car rattled to the front of the school, brakes screeching like they were held together by sheer luck. The window rolled down, and there he was, smirking.

“Hey dude, how was school?”

I exhaled sharply. “It was hell.”

“…Okay, not the reaction I was expecting, but alright, dude. That’s what’s up,” he said with a casual shrug.

I didn’t care anymore. I just wanted this fake day to be over. I wanted the game to be over.

As we drove off, the warm air from the car vents clashed against the cold creeping in through the cracked window. The scent of old fast food bags and worn-out leather filled the small space. He tapped his fingers against the wheel, humming some offbeat tune before glancing at me.

“Hey bro, I know I keep buggin’ you about this, but have you broken up with them yet? I feel like you’d be a lot happier without them in your life. Honestly, it’s bad to have all three like that.”

I stared down at my lap, fingers curling against my jeans. If he only knew.

If he knew I never chose to have three girlfriends. If he knew I never wanted to play this fucked-up game in the first place. If he knew I wanted to die the first day I got here.

A lump formed in my throat. I swallowed it down, but the weight in my chest didn’t budge.

“Look…” My voice cracked. “I know you think I can just break up with them, but it’s not that simple. I just… I want this life to be over. I want it to end. Please… just leave me alone.”

Silence.

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For the first time since I met him, he wasn’t smirking. He wasn’t brushing it off.

When I finally looked at him, his expression had shifted. Concern filled his eyes.

“Brother, you can’t think like that,” he said, voice softer than before. “There’s so much to live for. Think about it—if you didn’t have a life, you wouldn’t have a friend like me. You wouldn’t have even a semi-normal girlfriend. Hell, you wouldn’t have that brilliant-ass mind of yours. I’ve seen you get out of tough shit, so what makes you think you can’t get out of this?”

He didn’t get it. He didn’t know what I had seen. What I had done.

I turned away, pressing my forehead against the cool glass of the window. The city lights blurred past us, streaks of yellow and red flashing in the dark.

“I’m struggling so much,” I whispered. “I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m lost. I want to be successful, but I don’t know how to win. I want a good life, but my mind—my fucking mind—won’t let me. It forces me into bad choices. I want… I just want to be happy for once in my goddamn life. But I feel like that time will only come if I’m lucky.”

For some reason, I kept talking. Kept venting.

But even after I let it all out, nothing changed. The weight was still there.

Then, he suddenly turned the wheel.

“…What the hell are you doing?” I snapped, gripping the seatbelt.

He grinned. “Alright, dude. Detour.”

We pulled up to a liquor store.

The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as we stepped inside. The air smelled like stale beer and cheap detergent. Before I could even ask what we were doing, he darted down the aisles, grabbing snacks and drinks like a kid who just won the lottery. Chips, sodas, candy bars—he practically raided the place.

I watched him dump everything onto the counter, a ridiculous pile of junk food towering in front of the cashier.

The old man behind the register squinted at him, unimpressed. “$87.59… plus tax.”

My friend grinned like he didn’t just waste almost a hundred bucks on sugar and caffeine. “No problem!”

We walked back outside, the cold air hitting my skin as he popped open a soda with a dramatic hiss.

I stared at the overflowing bags. “Dude… you know there’s only two of us, right? You spent way too much.”

He smirked, taking a swig of his drink. “I know. That’s the best part! We get all the snacks and drinks in the world right now! Don’t you get it? If you had gone through with it—if you had ended your life—you’d never get to have dumb moments like this ever again.”

He waved his soda in the air. “For the rest of your… uh, non-life? Whatever, you get my point.”

I blinked. Then, I laughed.

A real laugh. The kind I hadn’t had in years.

“…You know, you’re right,” I admitted. “There are things in life worth living for.”

He grinned. “Yeah, you bet your ass there are.”

We sat on the hood of his car for hours, watching the stars as we talked about life, about girls—just like I used to with Alan.

But this time, I wasn’t sad.

This time, I was grateful.

When he finally dropped me off at home, empty snack wrappers spilled onto the pavement as I stepped out of the car. He leaned over, resting his arm on the wheel.

“Hey dude, if you ever feel like that again… just remember this moment, okay? I didn’t just spend a shit ton of money for you to forget all this.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Yeah. I won’t. Don’t worry.” I hesitated, then met his gaze. “Thank you. Seriously.”

His smile softened. “Anything for my homie. Always.”

And just like that, he drove off.

I stood there for a moment, the cold night air brushing against my skin, the distant hum of his engine fading into the night.

Yeah… I’d never forget this.

For the first time in a long, long time—

I wanted to live.