FicWad

This is a semi-true story.

Nicole paced back and forth on the smooth, cool tile of the front hall, clutching her cell phone and waiting for it to ring. She would settle for a text message even. Something that could tell her that one of her best friends was okay. She pushed a strand of long black hair over her shoulder and dialed the familiar number. It rang and rang as she had thought it would, until the message machine picked up.
"Hi, you've reached Allie! I think you know what to do." Allie had changed messages so many times since getting her own phone line. But she had had this one for over five months.
Tears filled her brown eyes and threatened to overflow as she sat on one of the worn beige rugs and tried desperately not to cry. Where had the Allie gone that she had loved? Now replaced with a silent Allie on rote that never smiled and was depressed all the time. Nicole left a message.
"Allie, I'm really worried. Please call me! Or call Sara, or Katie. Please just call someone. Allie-" But her message was cut off by a low beeeeep that sounded like a death toll.
Those held back tears spilled over and one made a streak down Nicole's cheek as she silently sobbed, rocking back and forth. She was so, so impossibly worried about Allie. She remembered the text conversations in which Allie said she hated her life and her family. "Sometimes I think you're my only friend, Nicole." She remembered the countless times as Allie sat crying on her bed, showing Nicole the raw, red marks she made on her skin with rubber bands, pencils and almost anything she could find. "It feels good to hurt myself, Nikki. I can't stop. It lets all of my pain out." She remembered when Allie barricaded herself in her room as Nicole pounded frantically on the door, but Allie turned up her My Chemical Romance cd as loud as it could go, to her favorite song: Thank You for the Venom. But Nicole could still hear the low sobs from behind the painted wood. "Their music sometimes is the only thing that helps me forget my ruined life."
Nicole knew Allie's mother had just gotten remarried to a man with a daughter that was "perfect": straight A's, captain of the cheerleading and tennis team and co-star of the school play. Allie's mother never had understood her, especially Allie's love of dark clothing, pounding punk-rock music and fascination with what she called "depressing photos of bare landscape", but what Allie called true beauty. Sure, their whole group was usually referred to as the "emos" or the weird people because of the music they liked (though almost none wore black and were definitely not depressed) but now Allie was taking it to a whole new and scary level.
It had all started at lunch. After eating and gossiping most of the group took out their iPods and listened to music, and one of Allie's other friends, Alexa, had an awesome song called "Welcome to the Black Parade, by My Chemical Romance." Nicole and Allie had liked it the most and began to listen to Alexa's iPod until they bought all the MCR cds from the local Borders Books. MCR also created a bond between them and they became even better friends than before.
In english class a few weeks later, Allie leaned into Nicole and whispered, "Hey, can I borrow your black nail polish?"
Black looked good on Nicole and she usually ignored the weird looks she got from wearing all black on the street. At school her friends never thought twice about it, including Allie, so Nicole agreed and the next day she handed over the polish.
One day Allie came to school wearing tons of eyeliner and mascara, and her nails were black. She solemnly walked to school with Nicole as they usually did, but there was an eerie silence between them.
Finally Nicole broke the silence. "Um, Allie, are you okay? You're usually not this quiet," she said.
Allie stood silent, then said, "I woke up and I thought about suicide."
Nicole thought she was joking. "What happened?" she asked, trying to go along with the joke.
Allie explained how her mom had yelled at her from the moment she had woken up to when she left the house, her stepsister had woken her up by throwing water on her, her stepfather had yelled and threatened to take away her My Chem CDs for chasing her stepsister around the house in revenge, and how she had been depressed all morning.
Nicole reasoned that it was a one time occurrence. She was wrong.
Allie would have spurts of excitement and then lapse into deep depression. She would sometimes stay like that for almost three whole days. Then came the obsession with My Chemical Romance. Sure, Allie had liked them before, but now their posters adorned her room and that was all she could talk about when she wasn't busy interpreting their lyrics and downloading pictures of Gerard, the lead singer as her computer background. Nicole was glad for that, sometimes it kept Allie out of depression, but the worst was yet to come.
Allie began to call Nicole and complain about her horrible life. Soon the pleas for help grew more desperate, and Nicole began to beg her not to do anything that she would regret later.
"I hope I'm not going to commit suicide Nicole, but thanks anyway." Allie would say. "Sometimes you're the only thing keeping me alive." Allie would hang up and Nicole would cry.
But now this, this endless silence. Nicole could almost stand it no longer. She picked up the phone and was about to dial the number when it rang. Breathless, she opened it. "Hello?"
"Nicole?" came a feeble voice.
"Oh my god, Allie, are you ok, please..."
"I'm okay. Nicole, I'm... I'm, I think it's time."
"NO!!!!!! Allie, no, please, no. God, no! You have so much to live for."
Allie's bitter voice cut Nicole off. "Like what?"
There was no sound except for the sounds of Nicole's muffled sobs.
"I'm so sorry, Nikki. I love you, you've kept me alive for so long, but now... I'm so sorry, Nikki. You're my best friend. So long and goodnight." There was a click and the phone went dead. Nicole recognized the My Chem reference, and a half smile graced her lips as she thought about even before committing suicide, Allie would always think of her favorite band. But Allie could be dying, or dead!
Nicole gasped, loud, keening sobs as she pressed the phone to her chest. Suddenly, half blinded by tears, she realized she might be able to save Allie after all.
She raced to her mother's van and pressed the keys into the ignition. Though she was only 15, her mother had shown her how to drive. The drive was a blur through her tears, and all she could see was Allie's house as she raced up the driveway.
She yanked open the unlocked front door and rushed up the stairs, two at a time, to Allie's room. There was a My Chem poster on the door, and she grasped its handle and pushed the door open.
"Allie!"




People might think suicide is the answer to their pain, but it is the beginning of pain for the loved ones around you.


This is my first story, please review!