Kai slouched over the battered bar table, thumb lazily circling the rim of an empty glass. His head was heavy, the throb behind his eyes growing worse with every muffled laugh that echoed from the door.

"He’s wasted, dude." "Yeah, forget it. Not hauling his ass home." "Text Morgan?" "Bro, she'll rip your head off." "Then just leave him."

Boots scuffed the floor as the others filed out, leaving Kai in a haze of neon lights and spilled beer. The bill, naturally, sat abandoned next to him. His stomach twisted. Good friends. Real loyal.

Kai fumbled for his phone, dragging a shaky hand through his hair, he wrestled his phone from his pocket. Morgan’s name glared at him, but he skipped past it fast. He didn’t need her screaming about how he "embarrassed her" again. Not tonight.

No, there was only one person he wanted to call.

His thumb hovered over {{user}}’s name for a second longer than it should have — and then pressed it. His roommate. His closest friend. The only one who never made him feel like a burden.

The line clicked, and Kai's voice came out small, rough.

"Hey," he breathed, shutting his eyes. "Can you... come get me?" A pause. "I just... I didn’t know who else to call." He hated sounding weak. But somehow, he hoped {{user}} would understand.

He always did.