How would you feel if everyone just left you alone? No one there to bug you, tell you what to do...or even be there at all? Sometimes it's best just to take what you have and be joyful with it. You never know when something so small could effect your entire life...and others'...

*****

"Just stop it...," said Jake as he waves his hands at his friend, Steve, for him to stop poking him. "I'm serious!" he yells at Steve. "Sorry...just trying to liven you up a bit," Steve said a bit aggravated.

"Sorry...I'm just a bit moody today...," Jake said, now apologizing for his abrupt behavior. "It's OK," said Steve. Jake gets up and goes off into the kitchen to find a soda and some snack as Steve gets up and tags along with him since he has nothing better to do.

Steve watches him closely and starts timing him for the hell of it as he chuckles to himself. "What? What is it?" asked Jake. "Oh...nothing...you've wasted 36 seconds so far just trying to get a soda and snack," Steve chuckled. Jake just stared at him blankly and goes back to finding a snack now that he has a soda bottle in one hand while opening the cabinets with the other.

Boredly, Steve stops his watch after it passes 2 minutes and goes back into the living room to watch TV "How long is it gonna take you!?" yelled Steve from the sofa. A few footsteps are heard then they stop right behind Steve and bag of Sour Cream and Onion chips lowers in front of his face, "You want 'em?" asked Jake. Not replying, Steve snatches the bag and rips the top open and reaching his arm inside. "Guess so...," said Jake in answer to his own question.

As Jake makes his way over to the armchair he hears loud crunching and chomping from Steve scarfing down the chips like mad and only shakes his head at the fool. He sits down and sips some of his soda then sets it on the table near him. "So why did you wanna come over today?" Jake asked just trying to make conversation.

"I wanthed thomting to eat!" he said with a mouthful of chips. Jake stares blankly at him for a moment and sighs to himself quietly knowing it's gonna be rough tomorrow since he has a report due and he hasn't even started it. "Shit...I hate those damn reports...," he mumbles to himself.

On the sofa, Steve head bops to the beat of some music video playing on the TV while eating his favorite chips. "Thith muthic video rockth!" he said as he stuffs more chips into his mouth then glancing to Jake. Swallows the chips in his mouth then hits his chest so they'll go down as he looks to Jake and asks, "Is something wrong? You seem more depressed than usual...," he cocks his head to the right slightly wondering what's wrong with his pal.

"Nothing...I'm fine," Jake grumbles and stands up then faces Steve, "I just need to be alone for a little bit..." Steve nods and watches Jake head out of the room and into his room then closing the door slowly, Steve listens closely to hear if he locks it and blinks as he hears the click. "Guess he's in a real bad state of...somethin'...right now," he says to himself and shrugs as he puts more chips into his mouth.

*****

Jake and Steve are walking home from school and as usual, Jake looks depressed but a bit more than before. "Have you been OK, man?" asked Steve with a worried look on his face. Jake nods slowly then sighs. "I don't think you're telling me the truth...," Steve slowly dragged off his sentence and puts his hand on Jake's shoulder, "You know, it's OK if you have a problem, you can always tell me or someone else that can-," he gets cut off his sentence as Jake pushes him off and into a nearby wall.

"Leave me alone!" Jake screamed with an angered look on his face, "I don't have a problem!" Quickly, he runs off and leaves Steve behind pondering the issues Jake has now. He gets up from the ground and dusts himself off lightly then grabs his things and shrugs in the direction Jake went as he turns around and walks back to his house.

His legs ran faster and faster until he was out of breath and Jake slowly topples over onto the ground panting loudly. Slowly he starts mumbling a phrase over and over, "I gotta get away...I gotta get away...I gotta get away...," then takes one more breath and goes out cold.

*****

Very slowly, Jake opens his eyes and blinks as he sits up and looks around him. He is still where he was when he collapsed. He pushes himself up and looks around feeling a bit strange since he didn't hear anything.

He gathered his things and looked at his watch then sighed. "Great...8:15. My parents are gonna kill me...," he then starts his walk home again and sighs thinking no one really cares for him since he was left in the street alone.

As soon as he reaches the front door he just stands there knowing something is wrong. The lights are off, the cars aren't there, and his fence post wasn't even there. "What the hell!? Is this someone's idea of a sick joke!?" he yelled at the door and slammed his fists against it repeatedly until a neighbor came over to ask what was wrong.

"Why aren't my parents home?" he asked in a quiet voice to the stranger. "Parents!? No one's lived here for ten years! You must be lost, I'm sorry," the neighbor replied and headed back to their house. Jake blinked and felt a deep drop in his stomach as he fell to his knees and put his face in his hands while screaming, "If this is someone's joke...JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" and got up without his things then started running to Steve's house. Maybe he knows something about this.

*****

"No...," Jake whispered to himself as he reached the now torn down house that was supposed to be Steve's. "Why?" he asked to himself and sighed then looked around him only to see dozens of houses, abandoned. "Hey!" a stranger yelled as he put his hand on Jake's shoulder making him jump. "What are you doing out here!?" he asked. "I...was...looking for a friend," Jake replied as he hung his head low. "Well you're not gonna find anyone but me out here, kid," the stranger said and patted him some.

Slowly, Jake clenches his hand into a fist and starts breathing rapidly as he started shaking. The stranger blinked and shook his shoulder lightly, "You OK?" Jake quickly turns around and take a deep breath, "LEAVE ME ALONE!!! THAT'S ALL I WANT UNTIL I FIND MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!" he screamed at the stranger and made a run for anywhere but there.

He looked behind him to see if the man was following but then quickly stopped and blinked, as he didn't only not see the man but not even the houses. Instead it was just a clear field of grass. Jake shook his head from side to side while stepping back not wanting to believe this. "No no no no no no...," he kept rambling and grabbed his head as he screamed loudly then fell to his knees and looked at the floor and blinks as he looks up now not seeing anything but white...white everywhere. Under him, above him, in front of him, and behind him.

He sighed and closed his eyes letting tears roll down his cheeks and onto his shirt slowly. He sniffs some and opens his mouth slowly, "I...," his voice echoes in the distance, "I...didn't mean for...this to happen...I didn't want to be...completely alone...," and with that he buries his face in his hands and cries...

The End...