Those Worse Off Than You

I was begining to fall asleep myself when Ace woke up again. "You're still here," he stated.

I smiled, "Yea. I promised didn't I?"

"I guess you did," he replied groggily. "Your hand is going to get cramped."

"What," I asked looking down at my hand, still tightly gripping his. "Oh- sorry. Is it bothering you?"

He tried to shake his head. "Nah- I can't really feel it. But it's nice to know it's there."

"Ace... why would you do it?"

His smile disapeared and his face became dull and transparent. "I... just. I got sick of making up excuses for being worthless. I realized the whole I was in and just... got sick of myself. And then I thought of you... I didn't want to drag you down with me. I just figured it would be better if I weren't there."

"Ace..."

"Look. You come from a nice family. Your parent's care about you, and try to comfort you when something is wrong. They understand you. You have the ability to earn friends. You're nice, and kind, and understanding, and comforting... and... you're beautiful."

A steamy tear rolled down my cheek. "You... are amazing. You think I'm going to leave you all alone and you're all worried about how your running to everyone for help. But that's what everyone wants. It's help. We just want to help you get out of this hell so you can move on."

"That's what makes you so good of a friend. You care about everyone else. You know... the whole time we've known eachother, we've mostly only talked about me. Tell me about you."

"Why?"

"Because I'll know more about you. I'll start being a better friend."

I smiled, "Okay... what do you want to know?"