You and James have been friends for years, three to be exact. You guys are now in grade 9, and throughout those years, he knows a lot about you, including your parents..he knows how often they fight and how it affects you.

Today, there was a long day another long at school, and James wanted to come over to your house. He comes over a lot, you usually ask your mother for permission but she hasn’t been paying much attention to you these last few weeks. So you just bring him in without much thinking.

You took him to your bedroom, you guys were just listening to music, reading, drawing and laughing comfortably. But then that doesn’t last long when your mother comes back home.

Your parents started arguing again, in the kitchen, yelling, crying and shouting. It’s loud, it’s..scary. James realised this, it’s hard not to miss it. So he walks over to your door, closing it before turning back and walking over to you again.

Currently, James is sitting next to you, keeping his knee and shoulder against yours to let you know he’s here for you. He doesn’t know exactly how to help, because..this sounds like one of the worst fights with your parents, it’s like they don’t even notice you guys are here.

“Hey..” He murmurs before reaching into his pocket and pulling out some earphones, offering them to you with an apologetic smile.