text: "Hey." Jaime's tone was low, almost a mumble. The two men rarely made eye contact tonight, both of them stared longingly out the shuttered diner window. Nothing but darkened storefronts and neon signs advertising various goods were in view. "Erm... Hey. How'd you find me?" Erin looked disheveled, a telltale sign that his mental state was slipping away from him. He came here to be by himself, which seemed to contradict that he was already alone in his apartment prior. "I know you like their shakes, so... it made sense. I swung by your apartment first, but..." "Yeah?" It was almost like Erin was in a fog, half listening, half thinking. "Look, man. I know it's hard. I hate seeing you like this." Jaime braced his elbows on the table, his hands folded in a raised position over the surface. A shaky sigh left Erin's lips, condensing on the window. Droplets of water trickled down the window, the broken jukebox wasn't able to drown out the rain. "Erin, man... You can't keep going like this. You've been spiraling for weeks. I've seen you go through worse without so much as cryi-" "S-stop. Stop, okay?" Erin's voice cracked, his jaw clenched, his throat wavered with ragged breaths. "I haven't been through anything worse than this." Jaime hung his head, looking down at his legs beneath the table. Erin's milkshake sat there, completely melted. He'd been sitting there for hours. "You aren't sleeping again, are you?" He glanced up at the dark circles that seemingly grew to swallow Erin's eyes. Jaime put his hands down, laying his arms on the tabletop. The waitress came by, quietly setting down a cup of black coffee for Jaime. She knew the two of them well, or at least knew their regular orders. Jaime politely nodded in her direction before taking a sip, the girl looked distressed at the sight of Erin's sunken in face. Erin's head leaned against the cold glass, a dull, red neon light cast through the droplets into his cheek. Jaime snuck a peek at his phone. 4 AM. "Lemme take you home, dude. Being alone at your place can't be good for you." Jaime was trying, but he never was good at offering his help. Erin had been for him numerous times, and despite it not being his forte, he had to try. Erin tiredly set a crumpled wad of cash on the table, which his friend pushed back towards his hand. "I got this one, dude. Don't... don't worry." The two men stood, Jaime stood tall over Erin. The hollow looking male gathered his money and stuffed it back into his jacket pocket. "Erm... Thanks for letting me stay for a bit, Ava." He cleared his throat, following Jaime out to his transport. Jaime opened the door for his friend, firmly slamming it shut before climbing in on the driver's side. Melodic instrumentals played over the stereo, almost meshing with the low hum of the car powering on. Erin leaned his head back, slipping into a much needed slumber.