Louis’ POV
Rrrrrrring!!! The sound of my annoying alarm clock rouses me from my sleep.

“Stop it, clock, it’s a weekend,” I say, hitting the snooze button.

Rrrrrrring!!! The ringing sound continues, and I sigh. The clock says 2 AM.

“Who could be calling at this untimely hour?” I mumble, switching on the bedside lamp so I can look for my phone without damaging any other part of my body.

I sigh, looking at the cast on my right arm. Injuries are downright annoying, as I can feel my arm sweating, even with the freezing wind of the air-conditioning inside my room. Oh yeah, not to mention that this is my dominant arm.

I finally find my phone buried under the homework that I was trying to complete. I hit the “answer” button, too groggy to check the caller ID.

“Hello?” I mumble.

“Louis,” the husky voice at the other end of the line says.

My eyes widen. First of all, is this Harry? Next of all, why is Harry calling at an untimely hour.

“Harry?!” I exclaim. “It’s like 2 AM! Why are you calling?”

“Because I know you’ll always be there to listen to me.”

“Can this wait ‘till morning?”

“Maybe by morning, I’ll be dead.”

I let out an involuntary gasp. “What happened, Harry?”

“The demons inside my head are killing me.”

“Do you have a headache? I’ll um, find painkillers.”

“Louis,” Harry says. “I know you’ve always been there to listen to me. I know I’ve asked too much of you by bestowing the burden of my life on you, but I have one last request.”

“What is it?”

“Will you be my happy place?”

I open my mouth to speak, but I can find no words to answer Harry. The shock of his question startles me.

“Louis,” Harry continues. “I’m really sorry that I have to ask this much from you. It’s just that I can’t keep journeying through my life alone. I need someone to keep me happy.”

“Why me Harry, why me?” I whisper.

“I’m sorry, Louis!” The hurt in Harry’s voice drives a dagger to my soul. “I’m hurting you with my pain! I shouldn’t do this, I really shouldn’t.”

I put my phone on loudspeaker, set it on my bedside table and get dressed. Harry’s problem seems sort of urgent, so it’s time to be his best friend and go to his house.

“Don’t go over here, Louis,” he says, as if he can actually see me. “Trust me, you don’t want to see what’s going on over here.”

“Believe me, it’s hard to make someone happy when your signal is verging on low,” I tell Harry as I put my phone in the pocket of my shirt. “Tell me, is your father home?”

“He lives all night and sleeps all day, he’ll dance and drink his life away**,” Harry mumbles.

“Okay, I’m hanging up. See you in 15 minutes, Harry.”

“You don’t have to!”

“No,” I reply. “I have to. It’s the duty of a best friend.”

Notes

**Song reference: Give A Damn by A Rocket to the Moon.

This part of the story is kind of sad, isn't it?

Well, this is real life and it's pains.

See you in the next chapter.