"Phil?"

"Nuuuuh? Who's calling? It's the middle of the night."

"It's me."

"Mm?"

"Dan."

"Oh, Dan. Dan! Right, hello. Why are you calling?"

"I have a question."

"Get on with it."

"One, do you have your license, and two, how good are you at sneaking out?"

"That's two questions."

"I'll be right over."

"You know, Dan," I stepped out of the car, no longer tired thanks to the three cups of coffee and two red bulls Dan had brought me, "if you really wanted to murder me this badly, you could've just asked."

"What makes you think I want to murder you?"

I looked around. Dan had managed to bike to my house and climb a ladder up to my window before I'd even finished getting dressed. Next thing I knew, we were in my car and barreling down the road like Dan was trying to break the sound barrier. He'd driven (without a license, might I add) through some parts of town I knew, but mostly ones I didn't, until we ended up here.

The big problem, though, was that I wasn't completely sure where "here" was.

The car was parked a little further down the weary dirt path, hidden amongst trees "just in case", as Dan had put it. The long, curving uphill road (which I'm pretty sure continued somewhere, because I could hear cars passing behind us, maybe up to the top of the mountain we were on) had leveled out to this. A small clearing, rounded and rugged at the edge, with torn up grass and a sudden drop only a few feet from where I stood, straight down into nothingness.

And then, of course, there was the stars. I'd always had a fascination with beautiful things (dramatic clouds, with dark shadows that seemed to reach past the sky; rivers where the current is muddy and fast and the rocks seem to make the water battle with itself; boys with curly hair and shining eyes and a calm demeanor that never seems to sway.) They seemed to be centered above us, jumping over the trees and splattering themselves against the otherwise dead night. In the city, only the brightest stars ever showed. The rest were hidden by polluted and smog and the mistakes of man, but here, here they came out in layers, like everywhere I looked there seemed to be more adding to the already infinite number.

"I don't know," I shrugged, turning back to Dan, who was watching me with an amused expression. "Middle of the night, no witnesses, cliff to push the body over. It seems like the perfect horror movie set up to me."

"If this were a horror movie, it'd be much more realistic if we were the couple making out in the car."

"Ah," I grinned, "but then who would be the jealous ex?"

"I don't know. Dean?"

I shook my head. Not possible.

"Shane?"

"He has a boyfriend."

"Tom?"
"Not gay."

"Really?" Dan laughed. "Fine, I guess I can be the jealous boyfriend."

"Yeah?" I grinned. "And who are you going to be jealous of?"
"Dean?"

I cringed. I was never good at hiding my feelings. "Is it that obvious?"

"Kinda," Dan shrugged.

We were quiet for a few minutes, me awkwardly trying to think of ways to re-start the conversation, and Dan just patiently admiring the stars. Eventually, I let myself relax into the silence.

"I used to come here with my friends," Dan said eventually. "We'd come up here and drink or smoke or even just to be quiet after school. I'd say I liked the quiet better, just to sound deep. You'd probably like me more if I did, but I loved the excitement, too. The adrenaline rush whenever another car pulled in, and the sudden relief of seeing it was just another friend. And it was always just another friend, because this was our spot, you know? Even in the summer, when we'd all dare each other to jump off, no one came while we were in the water. This place...it belonged to us."

"What happened?" I asked. I wanted to know more, like why he moved to our school, when he lived so close already, or why he'd seemed so skittish after that boy had left. For now, though, I was content to learn his story. To unlock this piece, this small piece, of Dan.

He pushed off from where he was leaning against the car and walked over to the edge, close enough that I felt my stomach tighten. I held back my protests, though. I wasn't his mother, and Dan had (probably) done this enough times that nothing would happen. But that didn't stop me from worrying. "Someone died."

He peered over the edge of the cliff, like he was back there, that day, watching as his friend fell down, down, down, hitting the rocks and the water like he was a badly controlled puppet, only to come up a few moments later, stiff and still. "His name was Joseph. Joe, we called him. One of my best buddies, but then one day we all had a bit too much to drink and..." He shook his head and stepped away from the edge. "I guess shit happens, you know?"

"Dan, I—"

Through the trees, I noticed a small flash of light. Dan saw it too and swore, running towards me and grabbing my hand. "Headlights," he explained, pulling me into the darkness of the trees with him. "We'd better step back, just in case."

"Just in case? What do you—"

And then I saw. Two figures, a boy and a girl, the first recognizable as the one from Mango's a week ago, stepped out of the car. They both wobbled slightly and laughed uproariously, leaning against their car. The girl pulled something through the window—a bottle—and took a swig from it.

Next to me, Dan bristled. I squeezed his hand, "Who are they?" I tried to be quiet, but

wasn't sure the couple would care much if they heard me anyway. They were too lost in themselves.

"My best friend," he whispered back, starting back towards the car. "And my ex."

I pulled into my driveway, trying to do so with the least amount of noise possible. It was the first time I'd ever snuck out, so I wasn't really sure what the correct ratio of noise made to noise heard would be, but I figured I'd learn in the morning. If I got caught, my dad would never let me live this down.

"Are you going to be okay walking home?" I asked Dan, in the seat next to me. He hadn't spoken since we left the mountain, other than to tell me where to turn.

"Could I just stay here? If that's alright, I mean. I know we have school tomorrow and everything, but it's already two so I can't make your night any worse sleep wise—"

"Of course you can." I smiled at him gently, trying not to laugh at how flustered he was. Dan was usually so cool and confident, it was a nice change to switch places.

"Thank you."

He set the ladder back up on the window and held it while I climbed up. Heights, even from such a small distance, were my weak spot, but something about his presence calmed me down a little. As I watched, he wheeled the ladder back to the other side of the house and climbed the tree near my window with ease, jumping the short distance between a heart-stoppingly thin branch and landing softly next to me.

I punched his arm and threw him the pajamas I had grabbed. "Don't do that! I thought you were actually going to break your neck."

He grinned, pleased with himself. "Nice to see you're worried about me."

"There's a lot to be worried about."

Dan jumped onto my bed, patting the space next to him. "Yeah, well, don't get sleep paralysis thinking on it."
"Right."

I think we were awake for a while longer, talking about school and boys and everything that is nothing, but I remember none of it, because then I was fast asleep.