FLASHBACK

November 28th, 2022/ Sarbvurg City

Monday, 08:34 AM

"I can't believe it. Does he have to be such a dick?!" Alex yelled as he sprinted down the road with Danny.

"I studied for two nights for this stupid test, just to have to run away from school!"

Danny wasn't as furious as he sounded, but exhaustion was catching up with him from all the chaos lately. The reason for their mad dash away from school during the second class? Their friend, Owen.

"Are you sure he didn't just stay at someone's after-party?" Alex asked, still running.

"I know Owen. He's a stubborn idiot," Danny replied. "Did you send Vanessa the location?"

"Yeah, she's probably already there. Stealing her mom's car is her specialty," Alex said, slightly out of breath.

"And what if the police stop her?" Danny asked, genuinely concerned. Vanessa didn't have a driver's license, so her driving through the city was a risky move.

"It wouldn't be the first time she flirted with a 30-year-old cop," Alex said with a shrug. The situation was that Owen hadn't shown up to school. Normally, that wouldn't be strange—he had a habit of oversleeping. But after going to a house party alone the previous night, and receiving a text from Owen's mom that morning saying, "Hey hon, can you tell Owen I left him lunch in the fridge? I can't reach him on his phone," Danny knew something was wrong.

By Owen's track record, Danny suspected he had gotten too drunk to make it home. His phone was off, and no one who attended the party had seen him after 3 AM. One person mentioned seeing him leave around 3:15 AM, walking down the street, which was all Danny needed to know—Owen has probably passed out somewhere along the road.

As they approached the club where the party had taken place, they spotted a gray car and a girl in a white coat crouched near a dead-end between two buildings. Vanessa. She was already there, squatting next to an unconscious Owen, who was asleep in his jacket, covered in his own vomit. Vanessa poked his cheek with a stick to check if he was alive.

"Unfortunately, he's alive," Vanessa said dryly, standing up to greet the boys. "And what the hell happened to you two? You look like you've been through a hurricane," she giggled.

"Ever heard of running, princess?" Alex shot back, fixing his hair.

"Yeah, no," Vanessa replied. She turned to Danny, who was now staring at his best friend, lying in his own vomit for the 56th time this year. "Hey, giraffe, get this zombie into the car. But if even a drop of his vomit gets on the seat, I'll kill you."

"Why me?! He vomited on himself," Danny protested, though he knew there was no way around it. He bent down to grab Owen's hand.

"What about the trunk?" Alex suggested, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Danny and Vanessa both shot him a blank stare. "You want me to put him in the trunk?" Danny asked.

"Do you want him to sit on your lap, puking all over you? AGAIN?" Alex's logic was sound.

"...Open the trunk," Danny sighed. Alex opened the car trunk, and they hoisted Owen inside, making sure no one saw them. The mission to save drunk Owen was halfway complete.

Once they dropped him off at home—Danny had spare keys from previous emergencies—they returned to school, concocting a story about needing to check a stove and locking a back door. Thanks to Danny and Alex's status as teacher's pets, especially with the math teacher, they managed to get away with it. Owen and Vanessa were lucky to have nerds to cover for them.

Later that day, Danny received a message from Owen asking him to come over after school. He was frustrated but obliged. When he arrived, Owen opened the door, looking like hell.

"You're so slow, Harding," Owen smirked, letting him in. But Danny wasn't smiling.

"This has to stop here," Danny said, turning to face his friend.

"What's with you? Why—" Owen started, but Danny cut him off.

"This is the last time I'm searching for your drunk ass in the street."

"I asked you to come with me, and like always, you didn't want to," Owen retorted.

"I don't belong at those parties. But even if I had gone, you'd still get drunk. What's the point?" Danny asked, crossing his arms.

 "Then you wouldn't have to search for me," Owen said. He didn't take things as seriously as Danny did, which made the tall boy frustrated for the first time.

"Do you even hear yourself? Is getting drunk the only thing you can do?" Danny exclaimed.

"Stop it," Owen said, now getting angry.

"When will this stop, Owen? You are killing yourself with it. You are killing me and—" Danny's voice trembled with emotion.

"Did I ask you to care? Did I ever ask you to come over to help me?" Owen shot back defiantly."

"Yes, yes you did multiple times, but you were so drunk that you forgot. Every fucking time!" Danny yelled back.

"If I am slowing you down, just ditch me for once! Stop fucking coming to me. I might even forget about you." The tension, anger, and aggression were now filling the room.

"Don't you understand? I want to save you, Owen, to save you from yourself. What has alcohol ever brought you?" Danny pleaded.

"Listen, Harding," Owen said, slowly approaching him. "You have a way better life than me. Your parents own a restaurant; you got money, the best grades; nobody talks about you, and if someone does, it's probably the teacher. And I..." Now he was half a meter away from Danny, looking him directly in the eyes despite their height difference. 

"I have a shit hole of my life. My dad is in prison because of drugs; my mom has to work the whole day because of her stupid boss; she takes pills and sleeps. I have no one and nothing, and here's the worst part: my last name will never be clean again." He was yelling at this moment, but Danny wasn't sure if he was angry or if tears might start falling. 

"Or I might just end myself—"Not even being able to finish his sentence, Danny grabbed him by the t-shirt and pulled him even closer. At this point, Owen was even in the air; just a tiny bit of his shoes were reaching the floor.

"Listen to me. If you mention that idea ever again, I will be the one who will kill you. And I'm being more serious." 

He put him down gently. "And just so you know," he continued with intensity, "you will never be alone. You don't realize how many people care about you—how I care. Owen, you are like a brother to me; I can't let you do this anymore." The calm Danny was now back; he realized that in this situation, threatening and tension wouldn't do anything. He needed to help his friend.

"Danny, I can't—" Owen said, his voice tinged with frustration. 

"Yes, you can. You are not alone in this. And I won't stop until I get that idea of alcohol out of your head," Danny replied firmly. At the end, the atmosphere returned to normal. Danny kicked Owen's head jokingly, and Owen smiled at his friend's action. He knew he had to stop this addiction and that alcohol wouldn't change anything for the better.

"Come on, bring me some soda. My throat has gone dry from all this talking," Danny said as he made his way to the sofa and lay down as best as a 6-foot man could fit barely.

"You soda bitch! Do you want me to read you how much sugar it has in it?" Owen joked.

"Do you want to know how we got you here?" Danny asked, his tone slightly amused.Owen stopped; his expression shifted to surprise. 

"What do you mean we—oh. Nessie and Shrimp were with you," he realized.

"Not only that," Danny added with a smirk, "but Vanessa stole her mum's car and drove us here. You were sleeping in the trunk." His voice carried a note of exasperation that made Owen's gaze freeze.

"Are you...you fuckers?" Owen said incredulously, his voice laced with disbelief.

"I think it was more comfortable than the cold road," Danny said with a smirk.

"Why wasn't I in the back seat?" Owen asked while handing Danny the soda and lying back down on the couch.

"Because Vanessa would kill me if your stinky vomit got on her mum's car seat! And genius, tell me where I would sit then?" Danny retorted playfully.

"Front seat," Owen replied confidently.

"And Alex would be on the roof, right?" Danny said with a teasing edge.

"Sharing is caring, you know! He would still have a seat," Owen said while chuckling. But he was cut off by a pillow hitting his face.

"BITCH!" Owen yelled while throwing back a pillow and making Danny spill his drink on his face.

 "You baked bean fucker!" Danny shouted back, his voice filled with mock outrage and disbelief. 

END OF FLASHBACK

"And that's a success, you stopped your addiction. You had one drink last night, and that's it. Just remember how many times you were drunk for the morning shift at school. Success is not always on paper," Danny said, trying to comfort him.

"Yeah, I know. But I still feel guilty that I don't remember half the things because I was drunk," Owen replied, a hint of regret in his voice.

"Well, look on the bright side. We can still make new memories, you won't forget this apocalypse for sure," Danny added with a grin.

"Just like you won't forget Alex," Owen teased, bringing up the familiar subject.

"I should have left you in front of that market to sober up on your own," Danny shot back, shaking his head.

"Come on, you know I'm just telling the truth. But fine, let's pretend it's not like that," Owen said with a smirk.

"Like how you pretended to be taller on those hookup sites," Danny teased, crossing the line that always set Owen off.

"YOU DORK, THAT HAPPENED ONCE!" Owen jumped up from his chair, ready to fight. Their mock fight, like all their friendly scuffles, escalated until Vanessa's voice broke through.

"You two monkey jackasses better stop making noise before I throw you to the zombies outside!" Vanessa yelled, her voice filled with enough authority to freeze them both.

"Can't you see? I'm the leader here," Owen said, still pretending to lead, even though Danny held him firmly in place.

"Harding," Alex called out in warning, keeping the peace.

"I have a name, you know. You don't have to talk to me like a geography professor," Danny grumbled, letting go of Owen and stepping back.

"You guys are impossible today," Vanessa muttered, taking a seat.

"What if we survive here and die tomorrow outside?" Alex asked, looking at them. The most out of blue question.

"We know you've always been an emo Alex, but save your letters to Santa for winter," Owen mocked.

"Too bad I know from reliable sources that Santa won't deliver... just like you won't grow you," Alex retorted, smirking.

"HEY, SCREW YOU! You're shorter than me!" Owen shouted, flipping Alex off.

"You're the one whos called short, not me," Alex shot back calmly.

"Because they called you a twink," Owen teased, never missing a chance to provoke.

"Oh, God, I can't be with men anymore!" Vanessa fake-cried, throwing her hands in the air.

"I can't stay awake any longer either," Alex sighed, rising to leave. "I'm going to bed, and I'd recommend the same to all of you."

"Shall we all obey your command, oh great one?" Owen mocked, but Alex was in no mood to get angry.

"You and your snoring definitely shouldn't," Alex added, before heading out toward the room.

"And what are you waiting for?" Vanessa asked Danny, though it sounded more like an order.

"Am I being kicked out again?" Danny grumbled, already accustomed to being shooed away whenever Alex left.

"Serious things need to be discussed. You nerds don't understand the normal world, so you'd better sleep," Owen teased, waving Danny off. Resigned, Danny got up to leave, but Owen stopped him.

"Hey, Dan, wait! Leave me your jacket—I'm freezing again," Owen called out. Without a word, Danny tossed his jacket onto the chair and left. Owen always ran warm, but on rare occasions, he'd suddenly feel cold.

After Danny left, Owen turned to Vanessa, holding Danny's jacket. "You wanted proof? Here's your proof. If he were really over it, why would he still carry this with him after all this time?" Owen opened the inside pocket of the jacket, pulling out something that left Vanessa in shock.

"I know we said we wouldn't interfere, and that it's up to them to figure things out. But I just wanted to prove to you that it's not his fault." Owen added softly.

"The date is still there, untouched, as long as he's kept it," Vanessa said, staring at the object. "Does Danny know?"

"That I know he keeps it, and looks at it whenever he's feeling down or alone? No, he doesn't. And he'll never know, as long as you keep your mouth closed," Owen explained, his voice low and serious. "I just wanted to convince you a little more."

"You've shocked me... but now I'm seriously curious about what those words meant back then," Vanessa said softly.

"The agreement still stands. We don't interfere. It's up to them to talk," Owen replied, putting the polaroid back.

They stayed up for a few more hours, reminiscing about both distant and recent memories. Then, like the others, they headed to bed.