Disclaimer: I don't own the characters nor do I own the title of this fic. It's a song title I am borrowing from the band The Fray.
Author's note: I hope you've all heard the song where I got the title for this story. I really wanted to post the lyrics but I believe I'm not allowed so hopefully the story will make sense without them. Oh and please don't flame me for the character death. There really wasn't a reason this character was chosen it was just something that popped into my head one day. Hope you'll forgive me if anything seems uncharacteristic about any of the characters I was just going with my own interpretation of the song.
Adam walked slowly through the graveyard and stopped when he came upon the grave that he was seeking. He couldn't believe that a year had passed already since his best friend had been laid to rest. Adam knelt down and touched the headstone which read:
Rocky Miguel DeSantos
Beloved Son, Friend, Hero
That last word was Adam's idea. He just couldn't stand to think that Rocky's family would remember him as someone who gave up on life. Who hadn't cared about those he left behind. So Adam has revealed their secret. He had told them about Rocky's term as a power ranger and that despite the actions that had led to his death, Rocky would always be a hero.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. They had their whole lives in front of them. They had graduated high school, Rocky had decided to open up a dojo after recovering from his back injury and Adam had left to become a stuntman. Yes, Rocky had recovered but he wasn't as well as he had claimed to be.
"I should have been there Rocky, I should have stayed no matter how angry you had become, if only I had tried then maybe I could have saved you," Adam said.
"But sweetie, you did try, you tried harder than all of us to reach Rocky but he only pushed us away, what happened was tragic but you did everything you could to bring him back to us," Tanya said as she came to stand beside him.
A year earlier, Adam walked up the steps of the apartment building where Rocky lived in Angel Grove. Adam knocked on the door and slowly the door was opened by Rocky.
"What are you doing here?" Rocky asked.
"Jason called, he said you've been neglecting your responsibilities at the dojo," Adam told him.
"Oh so Jason calls and tells you what a screw up I am and you finally find the time to come home from your movie set to straighten me up is that it," Rocky retorted.
"That's not fair Rocky and you know it, didn't I fly back here six months ago when you first discovered you had a problem and you told me to go back to L.A. and then promised that you were going to get help," Adam replied.
"Yeah well, you should know I'm not the best at keeping my promises these days," Rocky told him.
"Rocky, we need to talk," Adam told him.
"We don't have anything to talk about now if you'll excuse me," Rocky said as he began to walk back to his bedroom.
"Sit down Rocky, I just want to talk that's all," Adam said as he grabbed Rocky's arm and prevented him from leaving the room.
"Fine, let's talk," Rocky said smiling politely and almost smirking as he took a seat on the couch.
Adam sat down in a chair across from him and just stared politely back at Rocky as the smile fell from his lips.
"Rocky, you need help, you've got a problem and the only way you're going to get rid of it is if you admit to yourself that you need help," Adam told him.
"I'm sorry, didn't we do this already," Rocky said.
"Yeah we did, at least I thought so, but you haven't done anything about this problem have you," Adam told him.
"What are you talking about, I went to a counselor just like you wanted and I even stopped taking the pills for awhile but the pain in my back just became unbearable and I just couldn't take it anymore," Rocky replied.
"The doctor said your back has healed just fine, there shouldn't be anymore pain, you only think those pills are helping because you're addicted," Adam said.
"Maybe I should sue the doctor then, he's the one who prescribed the pills in the first place and said that I could take them whenever I was in pain," Rocky said.
"But he only gave you one prescription, you were supposed to stop taking it after that but you went to the free clinic and managed to get more," Adam told him.
"Look, I'll quit taking the pills when I'm good and ready, I don't give a damn what that doctor says, I'm the only one who knows the kind of pain I'm in, if you can't support me in this then I suggest you leave," Rocky said as he stood up.
"I don't even know why I came, it's like talking to a brick wall when you're like this," Adam remarked.
"Then why did you even bother coming," Rocky said.
"Because you're my best friend and I can't just stand by and watch you throw away your future," Adam replied.
"So Adam to the rescue, you think you know what's best for my life?" Rocky asked.
"Yeah Rocky I do, I do know what's best for you and it's not a bunch of stupid pills," Adam told him.
"I didn't mean for this to happen Adam do you really think I want to be dependent on a bunch of pills for survival, but I need them, just for a little while longer, just until I finish training my students for the big competition next month, after that I'll stop taking them I really will," Rocky replied.
"I know you didn't mean for it to happen but don't you see the longer you continue to take them the harder it'll be for you to stop," Adam said.
"You're wrong, I'm strong and I know that I can quit taking them when I get good and ready," Rocky said.
"I'm not wrong but do you want to know what is, my best friend being so high on pills that he doesn't even show up to his own dojo and doesn't even bother to call Jason and tell him that you won't be there, or how about ignoring his girlfriend of six months, Rachel called me by the way, she said you won't answer her calls and you even pretend not to be home when she can see your car parked out front, or how about the fact that you've been lying to your mother about the doctor's prognosis," Adam said.
"I don't have to listen to this," Rocky said.
"Yes you do, I told you six months ago to talk to a doctor and check yourself into rehab and you promised that you would, Rocky being addicted to those pills is like being addicted to drugs, you don't control them, they control you," Adam told him.
"SHUT UP, THESE PILLS DON'T CONTROL ME, NO ONE CONTROL'S ME, THIS IS MY LIFE AND I'LL TAKE WHATEVER I WANT AS LONG AS IT GETS RID OF THIS PAIN," Rocky said as he raised his voice and began yelling.
"Rocky, please calm down, I didn't come here to get into a fight with you," Adam said as his voice began to grow quiet.
"I'm only doing this because I love you, you are my best friend and I am standing here waiting to help you, if only you just reach out and accept that you can't fix this alone this person that you've become lately isn't you, it's the pills talking, and I just the old Rocky back, you remember him, the guy who always made everyone laugh, who loved to joke about how he could eat more than me, Jason and Tommy together the Rocky who's been my best friend since we were five, " Adam told him
"That Rocky doesn't exist anymore, I'm sorry I'm just not that same guy anymore, I've changed and if you can't stand by me until I'm ready to give up those pills then maybe we just shouldn't be friends anymore," Rocky replied.
"Rocky, you can't mean that," Adam said.
"I think I do and I think you should go now because my back's hurting and I'm tired and I just want to go to bed now," Rocky told him.
"Just promise me you won't take a pill tonight, just go without them for one night, I could even stay here and help you get through the night if you want," Adam said.
"No, that won't be necessary, I'm a grown man, I don't need a babysitter," Rocky replied.
"So then you won't take a pill?" Adam asked.
"I won't make you a promise that I can't keep but if you go now, I promise I'll call you in the morning, maybe when I've had some sleep I'll be more inclined to hear what you have to say," Rocky told him.
"Ok, but if I don't hear from you first thing in the morning I won't hesitate to come over," Adam replied.
"Goodbye Adam," Rocky said as he walked over and opened the door.
"Goodbye Rocky, see you in the morning," Adam said as he walked out the door.
"Oh God, Tanya what did I do wrong to lose my best friend," Adam said as he touched Rocky's grave and began to cry.
"You didn't do anything wrong, there was no way you could have known what was going to happen, I'm sure Rocky didn't even know, he just took one pill too many," Tanya said as she knelt down beside her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around him.
"I should have stayed the night, if I had been there I might have been able to convince him that his pain wasn't that bad, that those pills weren't the answer, why didn't I know how to save him," Adam cried.
"You can't keep blaming yourself, Rocky wouldn't want you to, he knows you loved him and that you would have helped if he'd let you but you've got to move on with your life, it's what Rocky would have wanted," Tanya said as she helped Adam to his feet.
"You're right Tanya, Rocky would want me to move on," Adam replied.
"I'll go start the car and let you say goodbye in private," Tanya said as she walked away.
"I'm so sorry Rocky, I wish I could have known what to do, I would have stayed you know, I would have stayed," Adam said.