I stood at the edge of the bridge, gripping my phone in my hands. I could see that Red was spamming me with messages but I couldn't bring myself to read them. I turned my phone off of vibrate so that I could ignore them completely and potentially even convince myself he'd stop. My hands were trembling as I climbed over the railing. My back was pressed up against it and my hair was flying around in all different directions. My stomach was doing all different gymnastics' stunts and I thought I was going to puke right there and then.

I took a deep breath, aware that it would take seconds for me to bend my legs and jump. Then I'd fall down into the water and, after the painful drowning, it would all be over. My knuckles were white as they gripped onto the railings but I wasn't sure why I was bothering to hold on so tight. I wanted to fall so surely it didn't matter whether I slipped or did it myself?

My stomach lurched and I let go of the railing with my left hand to cover my mouth. I wasn't even crying anymore; I just felt so nauseated.

"Hey! Get away from the edge!” Someone yelled and I turned to see a man running towards me. He looked panicked, the wrinkles by his wide eyes as prominent as ever. He looked like he had just been on his way home from a date or something because he was dressed in a button up shirt and was with a girl. I was being an inconvenience to him. I glanced back to the crashing waves. If I just jumped then... I wouldn’t be an inconvenience anymore.

He just kept getting closer so I muttered out a small, "Leave me alone."

"You have so much to live for!"

His words sparked something in me. "You don't know me at all! You don't know what it's like to be constantly put down by your parents about things you can't even help. Parents are meant to love unconditionally but all they do is call me a failure or- or useless and I know! I know I'm not good enough. I get it. I just can't take it anymore!" I was screaming so loudly that I was sure I was going to form a crowd but I didn't care. I kept my gaze fixed on the water below me where I longed to be. The waves seemed rough but that seemed strangely comforting and alluring to me. It was a cold winter's day so I knew the water was below freezing in temperature but that just made it seem all the more appealing.

"Just come over here and we can talk this out, alright? Is there someone we can call for you?"

"No! Don't call anyone!"

My knees were shaking beneath me and I expected them to give out at any moment and send me tumbling down into the river to drown. The next thing I knew, someone had climbed over the railing and was standing behind me. "Come with me, please. This isn't a good idea." The person grabbed my hand and my gaze flickered up to their eyes. They were crying a lot whilst I was strangely calm. "You're so young... you've got so much to live for."

"I don't. I don't have anything."

"Yes, you do. You might not think so but people care about you. You aren't as alone as you feel you are. Things will end up okay just, please, come with me."

Numbly, I nodded. The person helped me get back onto the safe part of the bridge and I instantaneously collapsed onto the ground into a fit of sobs. Finally, all of my emotions were coming out and I couldn't even try to hold them back. It was like the dam had been destroyed and there was no way it was ever being built up again. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Lance..."

"Okay, Lance. I'm Jeremy. Do you have your phone?" I reached into my back pocket and handed it over.

Someone else passed me my backpack which I had just ditched on the floor before climbing over the railing. I hugged it against my chest as if it was my most prized possession whilst the person in front of me turned my phone on. "What's your password, love?"

"Please don't call anybody... I don't want my parents to know." My teeth were violently chattering and I probably looked like the most pathetic person on the earth but nobody around me seemed too bothered about my state, more concerned. It was peculiar how some strangers cared about me more than my own parents.

"We need to call somebody. We can't just leave you here... Not to intrude but this RedLion guy seems concerned. Should we call them for you?"

I shook my head but, deep down, I wished they could call Red. I really wanted him and his kind words with me here. I closed my eyes and could almost imagine his figure beside me but, of course, I didn't know what he looked like at all. "I don't know who he is. He probably lives far away, knowing my luck."

"Okay. Do you have any friends that live around here?"

"Hunk?" He might have turned his phone on. I recalled my password to him and he nodded, tapping in the numbers and opening up the keypad.

"Hunk, yeah?" I nodded and he clicked into the name. I watched him put the phone to his ear as he waited for Hunk to pick up. At least it rang that time. "Hello? Is this Hunk?"

I couldn't hear Hunk's side of the conversation but I'm sure he was concerned when he heard a stranger's voice instead of mine.

"You're friends with Lance? I think you need to come and get him. He's in a bit of a state and refuses to let us get in contact with his parents." He went silent, obviously as Hunk took his turn speaking. "He's at a bridge. You know..." He started to explain the surroundings whilst I stared into space.

To calm myself down, I imagined Red. I tried to picture him, creating a fictional appearance that I thought matched his personality. I imagined somebody about my height with short, brown hair and a long fringe. I imagined a quirky style with flannels and old fashioned clothes. I imagined him to have a small, adorable laugh and to be more awkward than not. I expected him to be timid in real life, despite how open and confident he was online. I tried to pretend he was there with me, reminding me to take a deep breath and just... survive.

I didn't even realise how much time had passed until Hunk was at my side with an arm around me.

"I- I need to stay with you for a bit..." I murmured. I was convinced I was stuck in another world mentally because I couldn't tear my gaze away from one spot in the air and my voice was monotone, despite what had just happened.

"I'd need to ask my parents but they love you so I'm sure they'll be fine with it." Hunk turned to the people who had helped me and thanked them before sending them on their ways. "What happened? I know you've been acting off but this... it's a whole new level."

"I hate my parents so much." Hunk's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Miss Hayes," My geography teacher, "thought I might have ADHD. She called up my parents and they basically just told me how useless I was so I decided I had had enough. I packed a bag and called you and Pidge but you didn't pick up and Matt had just come home so Pidge was busy. I- I didn't know what else to do."

Hunk then started to cry with me. He laced our hands together and held on tightly enough that I couldn't choose to let go. We sat there, on the floor of the bridge at half ten at night, crying together. We must have looked pathetic but that didn't matter to me anymore. "I need my phone... where's my phone?" I started to panic, my breathing becoming erratic, as I realised all my pockets were empty but Hunk held it out for me. Red had sent me so many messages and I couldn't help but feel guilty.