I couldn't help trembling as I felt the shudder of the elevator as it passed another floor, wondering if the next time it did so would be the one that broke the thing. I'd been in old elevators before and it never seemed to take much to cause them to stop working. The flickering light above did nothing to ease my worry and when it finally came to a stop and the doors opened, I was barely able to stop from flinging myself out of the worn machine, jumping slightly at the deep groan the thing gave before the doors shut behind me and it began moving back down to the ground floor.

"I think I'll take the stairs back down... It should be safer and at least I won't get stuck waiting for a firefighter to rescue me. If they would even bother to show up," I muttered to myself, turning right then left to peer at the worn unit markers on the nearest doors.

Turning left when I realized the unit I was looking for was likely on that side of the hall, I couldn't help nervously glancing down at the paper I held as I passed the first door, as if to make sure the number hadn't changed somehow. I spent far too long arguing with myself over whether or not I should just leave since Arthur hadn't even once invited me to his home or given me permission to come over. Heck, he hadn't even been the one to give me the address! Surely if he had wanted me to know where he lived, he would have done so and what kind of friend was I to even assume I had the right to come over unannounced and uninvited?

I spent so much time walking back and forth, turning around to go home before convincing myself that I would only stay long enough to find out if he was okay and let him know how to reach me so that if he wanted to, he could contact me in the future. I must have run my fingers through my hair a dozen times before I had even gone 10 feet down the hallway. By the time I was standing in front of the correct door, I could barely find the courage to knock, the timid sound of my knuckles meeting door not even registering to my ears.

"How pitiful am I that I can't even find the courage to knock properly on the door of the only man I even call fried anymore," I whispered as I turned away from the door in shame, stopping suddenly when I found my path blocked by a tired and confused looking man.

"I don't think you're pitiful... I mean, with everything you have been through and all that is going on in the world, you still find reasons to smile and laugh. And you found the courage to at least try and find me, although I'm not sure how you got my address," the man said, a nervous chuckle slipping from his mouth as he brought a hand up to hide his lips in a familiar gesture.

Feeling my lips begin to curl up at the corners as the anxiety began to finally fade enough that I no longer felt the burning at the corners of my eyes, I looked up into familiar eyes.

"Arthur, you're here... I found you," the words spilled from my lips as I began to laugh softly, relief filling me as I brought my hands up to cup his unpainted face. "I thought I had lost you. That I had already lost your laughter before I'd even lost the ability to hear it. Oh, Arthur, what can I do to help? Anything at all to help my most treasured friend, just say the word and if it is in my power..."

Pulling back slightly as I lowered my hands, I saw his lips move as words I could barely hear seemed to brush against my ears and imprint themselves onto my mind.

"I did something last night... something bad, but it made me feel so... free," he said as his eyes gained an intensity that I hadn't seen before. "I don't want to lose your friendship. You've always given me hope that the world can be better, but last night... I don't think you would like me anymore if you knew."

"Arthur, people have done horrible things to each other for a long time. Often for no good reason at all. But I don't think you would do anything to somebody without a good reason for it. If you want to talk about it, I'll be here to listen. Or at least try to listen as best as I can. And if you don't want to talk," I said, my hand reaching out to hold his as my mother used to hold mine when I felt sad or afraid, "I'll be here anyhow, whenever you want me to be. Because that is how friends are. We are still friends, right?"

"Yeah. You're still my friend, Hope. My only friend."