There is always something to be grateful for. Life is rough and full of bad things to get you down and make you feel like you'll never face the coming sun, but it's there, you just have to be willing to keep your eyes open long enough to see it. It's also important to remember that light comes in lots of different forms. So if you don't see any trace of the sun, look around, because there's probably another star shining in the dim night to help you see that it's not all bad.

At least, that's what Alex told herself. Whenever she got to thinking about how much of an absolute shitshow her life was, she told herself to find the positive sides. She had Charlie, a home, some clothes, food...

But today was making it really hard to think of life as good. She'd gotten into some sticky spots trying to get to work and had gotten in late. Then she'd realized she and her coworker Jo were the only people who'd come into work, and that meant they'd have to do all the work themselves. It was a very long day of lifting and carrying heavy boxes back and forth. She felt fairly ready to die only two hours into her ten-hour shift.

"This can't be legal," Jo panted as she and Alex used all their strength to carry an enormous box from one end of the warehouse to the other. Beads of sweat were rolling down both of their foreheads.

"I know," Alex managed to say, "my arms are about to fall off and then this stupid box will crush my feet. Perfect."

Jo laughed a little, but her face quickly went back to one of strain. "God, I wish I could quit. But I'm close to getting evicted as it is and I don't wanna be homeless."

"The only reason I haven't quit is my roommate. It takes the two of us to pay for our apartment and if I were to stop working we'd lose it. I wouldn't mind living on the street but I would never do that to her..."

"I don't think I'd make it," Jo said as they hoisted the box into the back of one of the trailers. She let out a big breath and stretched her arms. "Dude, I didn't even know I could lift something that heavy."

"You can't," Alex joked as she rubbed her hands together. "That was me doing all the work."

They laughed before going back to work, both of them praying the hours would pass quickly so they could just go head. Alex liked talking to Jo and all, but she'd much rather go home and watch TV with Charlie, where she wouldn't have to break her back to lift some stupid overweight packages.

It really was hard to stay positive. Jo's shift ended before Alex's, so she was alone for a while there. Being along for long periods of time sucked because she got to be alone with her every negative thought, but she did her best to distract herself. She watched the clock for the last thirty seconds of her shift, swearing time stopped as she did. Finally, it was time to go home. She punched out and stuck her hands in the pockets of her jeans and trudged outside.

"Wow, you look depressed as hell," a familiar voice said as she walked out of the building.

"Thanks a lot, Stone. When I tell you I appreciate that I really mean it." Alex turned to look at her friend. "What are you even doing here?"

"I'm picking you up after work. What do you think I'm doing?"

She stared at him for a moment, not replying.

"Come on, it's cold out here. Let's go." He gestured for her to follow him to his car. Relief washed over her at the thought that she wouldn't have to walk home. Screw that whole 'building character' thing, it was cold and she was tired.

Alex expected a little awkwardness once they were in the car, but it wasn't awkward so much as it was tense. She had a feeling there was something he wanted to say, but had no idea what it could possibly be.

"So how was work?"

That wasn't along any of the lines of what Alex was thinking. Caught off-guard by the casual question, she cleared her throat and shook her head as she gathered her thoughts. "Uh, like always."

"Shitty?"

"Yeah, pretty much," she laughed. "What's up with you?"

"Not a lot. Just trying to get by..." His eyes didn't move from the road ahead of them. "Hey, do you wanna go get some food?"

"I, uh, don't have any money."

He finally glanced at her, a little smile on his face. "I do. Where do you wanna eat?"

"Fuckin'...McDonald's." Alex was joking, but he took her seriously and started heading to the nearest McDonald's. The tension was mostly gone and Alex and Stone found it easy to hold an interesting conversation. They'd always been good friends, and though Alex wouldn't like admitting it out loud, she'd missed the goofy guitarist.

They ate their food (with Alex thanking Stone way more than necessary--one would think he'd just saved her and her entire family from a fire) and went on their way. They were a lot more comfortable now, easily making stupid jokes and incessantly teasing each other. Alex was almost sad when they got to her apartment.

"Can I walk you up?" Stone asked. It was now obvious he had something he wanted to say. Alex agreed, insisting they hurry so they wouldn't have to stand in the cold for long.

"Something's bothering you, isn't it?" Alex asked in a tone that suggested she knew something was and wanted him to say it already.

"Uh, kind of." He hesitated. "I'm...Jeff and I..."

"Just say it."

He cleared his throat. "We're starting a new band. I think we found a singer and Mike...remember McCready? He's gonna be the lead guitar player. I, uh..."

"Stone," Alex said in a soft voice, "I think that's great. I'm glad you're doing this. I know your new band is gonna be the fucking best."

He stopped trying to find the right  words and looked into her eyes, realizing there was nothing he had to think too hard about to say. "You're amazing, you know that?" He started to reach out as if wanting to touch her but dropped his hand. "I can see why...I mean, um..."

"I think I got it," she said. "It's alright. Thanks for everything, Stone. I owe you a lot."

Knowing she wasn't just talking about the meal or ride, he shook his head and looked down. "No you don't. That's what friends are for, alright?" He tilted his head in the direction of her door. "Now go in and talk to Charlie. Tell her I said hi."

"You don't wanna come in or anything?"

"I would, but I promised Jeff I'd hurry so we could work on some stuff. Meaning he's gonna kick my ass because I said I'd be there a while ago." They both laughed. "I'll see you soon, Alex."

"See you." She waved and turned to open her door as he started to leave. Suddenly feeling an almost unusual amount of affection for her old friend, she grabbed the back of his shirt, making him turn around. She leaned up and quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek before patting his shoulder and heading into the apartment.

✩✩✩

"So yeah, it's official. They're starting a new band."

It was hours later and Alex and Charlie were discussing their days as they always did. Alex had come home to find Charlie on the balcony and had immediately fixed up two mugs of hot cocoa to talk over.

"Well...that's, um...that's great. I'm happy for them. But what do you think about it?"

"I think it's a good thing. I'm...I don't know, I have weird feelings about it but I don't think the guys should ever quit doing what they do."

Charlie gave her friend a soft pat on the arm and pointed at the stars. "They're proud of you, Alex."

Alex smiled as her eyes welled up for what had to be the hundredth time that week. Not wanting to start crying again, she wiped them and looked down at her mug of cocoa. "You're the best friend I could've ever asked for, Charlie."

Charlie scooted her chair closer and put an arm around her friend. "And you're better than any friend I could've asked for."

"Stop upstaging me," Alex laughed, putting her arm under Charlie's to rest her hand on Charlie's shoulder. Charlie laughed as well and shook her head. They looked out over the city, glad they had a view. The twinkling lights of a sleepy Seattle shone like stars in their own right and the Space Needle looked breathtaking as ever.

"I'm glad we're still here," Alex said, and Charlie knew she wasn't referring to staying out late on the balcony.

"Me too."

✩✩✩

"CHARLIE!" Alex yelled as she ran up the the stairs toward her apartment. "CHARLIE! WE JUST GOT--shit!" she tripped on a step, "GOT INVITED TO A PARTY!" She burst through the door and nearly fell again on her way in.

"What? What's going on?" Charlie looked up from her breakfast of instant noodles.

"Sean just told me they're having a party to celebrate their album coming out. It's on Friday!"

"Sweet, I'll find my dress," Charlie said, making Alex laugh. Charlie's dress was actually an oversized Seattle Seahawks shirt she and Alex had found at the thrift shop and somehow fashioned into a funny little gown. It had only been worn by Charlie a few times and as a joke they'd named it the nicest and fanciest piece of clothing they owned.

"And I'll steal some new duct tape for my boots. Now hurry up, Jack's will be opening any second now."

She and Charlie rushed out the door a few minutes later. It was Tuesday, August 21, 1990, and Alice In Chains's debut album Facelift was about to make its first appearance in stores. Layne had promised the girls that he'd give them a copy, but Alex wanted to be the first to get one from Jack's Records.

They were the first to arrive at the shop that morning. As the minutes wore on more people started to show up, and Alex had to up the defense to keep her and Charlie's spot as first in line. There was no way in hell she was going to let these soggy noodles get the album before she did.

Finally, Jack's car pulled into the parking lot behind the shop. He entered the store through the back and straightened up for a while, nearly giving Alex a heart attack as she anxiously stood there and waited for him to open. After what seemed like an entire hour, he slowly came forward and opened the doors to the shop.

It was chaos. Lots of people tripped and fell over and some found themselves shoved and pulled out of the way. Alex and Charlie were glad to have been at the front of the line, because the middle of it was an absolute craze. They hurried to the counter and nearly strangled poor Jack to get him to hurry.

"It's okay, I know just what you're here for. The Lynyrd Skynyrd record, right?"

"JACK--"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Here you are, ladies." He took a copy of the new record from a box under the counter and passed it to them. They both grabbed it at the exact same time and held it there, studying the cover. "Alex, one of these days you're gonna have to start paying off your tab."

"I know," she grinned at him, "I promise I will. Thanks, Jack, you're the best."

"Take care," he yelled after them as they ran off with the record.

They skipped out of the shop and danced down the street back to their apartment. Alex held the record high over her head and and gave a gleeful whoop before handing it to Charlie, who admired it for a moment before doing a funny little dance with it. They ran home and quickly snatched up their old player, popping the record in and hitting the button marked with a triangle on its side before turning it up as loud as it would go.

They went crazy. Jerry's riff filled the apartment and they just about lost their minds. They danced and played air-guitars and drums and sang along with Layne whenever they could. Charlie stuck her foot out and played an imaginary bass while Alex air-drummed more fills than were even necessary.

"We're gonna be late for work!" Charlie yelled over the ninth track, Put You Down.

"I don't give a shit!" Alex yelled back, flipping her hair back with a wild toss of the head.

They did end up being late to work, but neither of them even cared. It was the best record they'd heard in a long time. It deserved celebration. Which was why, come Friday, they were going to party in their best thrift shop clothing.

✩✩✩

kind of short but a little something to keep the story going. i'm on a real roll with this story! anyway, i hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading! please remember to stay hydrated and safe, have fun, jam to good music, be what you wanna be, and stay sober for our lovely lark, Layne. until next time :)