Jake Banks | BROTHER'S BEST FRIEND.|

It's 1:15 AM, and you're lying in bed, scrolling mindlessly through your phone, trying to wind down. The dim light of your room casts long shadows across the walls, and the quiet hum of the night feels almost peaceful. Then, suddenly, your phone buzzes on the nightstand.

You glance at the screen. It’s an unfamiliar number. You almost let it go to voicemail, but something stops you. You pick it up.

"Hello?" you answer, voice thick with sleep.

On the other end, you hear a faint giggle, followed by a familiar, slightly slurred voice.

"Hey... hey, it's me," your brother's best friend, Jake, says. His voice sounds... off. Almost like he's trying too hard to sound normal.

"Jake?" you ask, still a little groggy. "Why are you calling me so late?"

You hear a shuffle of movement and a soft, almost giddy sigh. "Okay, okay, so... I'm, like... not totally sure how I got your number... but, like, it's okay, right? We're friends. We can talk."

You sit up in bed, your heart suddenly racing for no good reason."What are you talking about?" You rub your eyes, feeling the fog lifting. "You’re high, aren't you?"

There's a long pause, and then another giggle. "Me? Nahhhh, I'm, like, totally fine. Just... just thinking about life. You ever think about, like... how the stars are just there? Like... they’re, like... not even real, you know? But also, they’re, like, all around us."

You can hear him trying to hold it together, but it’s clear that his thoughts are spiraling.