All characters and songs belong to their respective owners. I do not own any of them.

Empties

Old days, good times I remember
Fun days, filled with simple pleasure…
Take me back to a world gone away
Memories seem like yesterday
- James Pankow, Chicago

It was a typical Saturday night…typical for him at least.

Robert Shapiro was sitting on the edge of the old couch in his apartment. Most of the cushioning had deflated so it was hardly comfortable. He was hunched over with a partially filled bottle of beer in his hands. It was his fifth for the night. The other bottles were gathered together in a small arrangement on a nearby table. His face held a look of brooding nature. His roommate had left about 45 minutes ago for a frat party that was supposed to be the biggest one for the year. Robert laughed to himself at the fact that his roommate didn't even bother to ask him to come along. "Then again, it isn't like I would want to go to one of those things," thought the 20 year old male as the remainder of the liquid slid into his mouth and vanished down his throat in a matter of seconds. By now, he was well inebriated. Straightening his back, he decided that his apartment was suddenly too confining. He placed the newly finished bottle with its fallen comrades, grabbed a light jacket from his closet, and climbed the main stairwell to the roof.

He stepped outside to be greeted by the chilly autumn night air and the brilliant glow of the lights from downtown Los Angeles. Walking towards the edge, he sat with his back against the shin-high wall and gazed upwards to the sky. With the amount of light pollution in the city, the sky was a large dull-orange abyss with some clouds obscuring his vision. He knew he probably wouldn't be able to see any stars but he looked on regardless, hoping to catch a glimpse of any shining light.

Shining…Light

…Shining…Shine…

Make it Shine

"Not again," sighed Robert as his brain had decided to make a connection-without his permission mind you- to that song that would forever remind him of his days in high school, back when his name was Robbie the Puppet Boy. He shuddered at the name; Robbie sounded so childish. He was Robert now. He was reminded of how he was practically a social outcast due to his odd personality. But he caught his thoughts as he remembered that handful of people who helped make him truly happy.

"Beck…Jade…André…Tori…Cat"

Each name crossed his lips with a deliberate pace. The faces of his friends rose to greet him in his mind as he incanted their names as if they were ghosts of an age long gone. Since HA, he had difficulty with making friends. He joined a few clubs in college and talked with people in his classes but a social butterfly, he was not. Though he tried, he never felt that same feeling of camaraderie that he had established with his old friends.

He remembered all the insanity that seemed to follow the six of them like a shadow. "What a wonderful shadow it turned out to be," Robert thought gleefully. The times he had spent with them had been some of the best times in his life. Rob's face, which bore a smile from the pleasant daydream he was having, suddenly scrunched up as he probed his mind for memories of what had happened to his friends after HA.

The first to leave was Beck, who had decided that he wanted to pursue his acting career in Canada. He had been offered the job just before graduation and left just two weeks into the summer. Robert remembered how Jade was so pissed off that he was leaving her for good that she decided to break up with him just a few days before he left. She didn't even want to bother with a long distance relationship. André and Tori both followed their dream of being big musicians. They started recording on a small indie label towards the start of Robert's first year of college but have since gone on to have bigger contracts. One always seemed to be working on the other's project. "Wonder if they are still dating?" Robert quickly dismissed his question as he continued along with his memories.

Jade was the next to leave, although she stuck around for a while. She spent the first year after high school trying to get her screenplay on the desk of any big shot Hollywood producer but to no avail. So she flew out to New York City to try to find success on Broadway instead. After an initial lack of success, she eventually did get someone to produce it. It was currently running on an Off-Broadway stage, but every theater critic was expecting it to hit Broadway in the near future.

Robert was too absorbed in his thoughts to notice that his vision of the sky seemed to have become slightly blurry. He continued on to the last member of the group.

Cat, "Beautiful Caterina…,"followed her passion for clothing to become a costume designer. When Jade's screenplay was purchased, Jade had conditioned that Cat be brought on the project. Though she may have been callous, she still cared for her friend. Robert remembered all too well the day that Cat had to leave. He had offered to drop her off at LAX himself. She had an early flight so when he picked her up, she was dressed in a baggy pair of purple sweatpants with a grey hoodie with the Hollywood Arts emblem stitched on the right breast. Her crimson locks were loosely contained in a bun and she was not wearing any make-up. The only thought that passed through Robbie's mind at that point was "She is so beautiful she doesn't even have to try!" He admitted that he never really got over his crush for the Cat. He put her electric-pink polka dot luggage in his trunk and off they drove. She turned the radio to a "Top 40" station, which Robbie normally didn't like to listen to but with her in the car, he suddenly found it enjoyable. They drove along, with Cat singing along with the radio and Robbie smiling at her beautiful voice. Robbie hadn't smiled that much in a long time. But as we all know, good things never last forever, and soon the car had arrived at the entrance to LAX. Robbie pulled the luggage out and closed his trunk. He turned to see that Cat had a soft smile on her face and her arms were fully extended in his direction. He took the cue, falling into them as he embraced the petite girl. He planted a light kiss upon her temple and gently whispered "I'm going to miss you so much." He emphasized the last two words by tightening his grip on the girl. He didn't want to let her go. Cat pulled back just enough to look him in the eye, smiling even brighter than before. He could see that she was blushing just ever so slightly from his kind words. "I'll miss you too, Robbie," she said in a manner not unlike a mother comforting her child.

They returned to their embrace for a few more seconds before Cat pulled away. Robert remembered the conflict that was taking place in his body. Part of him wanted to gently cup her face, kiss her, and tell her how he had always loved her. But something held him back; perhaps it was the uncertainty of her reaction that frightened him. "What if she freaks out and doesn't want to see me anymore? I can't bear to lose her as a friend! What if she just laughed at me, thinking that I was insane if I thought she found me even remotely attractive?" Robbie was fighting a battle with himself and before he could decide what to do, Cat rose to the tip of her toes and gave him a chaste peck on the cheek. "Goodbye Robbie," she said as she walked through the doors to the airport. Just like that she was gone. Robbie didn't start crying till the airport entrance was far in the back of his rearview mirror. He was sobbing so horribly he had to pull over.

Robert was yanked out of his retrospection by the realization that his blurred vision was caused by tears that were streaming down his cheeks. He was completely sober now.

They had all tried to get together, the gang, as much as possible after graduation but they all just seemed to drift apart. Robert looked down at the dark spots made on the roof by his tears and sighed. He just missed them all so much!

Deciding that he was too tired to stay up late, Robert dragged himself back to his apartment, his face red and streaked with the trails of tears. He cried for what had become of his friendship with the Hollywood Arts gang. He cried for what had become of him. He collapsed on the old couch, too exhausted to go to his room. He sobbed on the couch for another half hour before he felt he had cried himself dry. He lazily turned his head to the side as he remembered the small collection of bottles he had left from earlier this evening. "I should probably get rid of those things," he thought before his eyelids collapsed and he was imprisoned within sleep.

He awoke the next morning to find that all five bottles were still there.

Author's note: Hope you all enjoyed Empties, my first fan-fiction. I've decided to publish on FF so any criticism, good or bad, would be appreciated. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't like. PM me if you have any questions. For those who are interested the song lyrics at the intro to the story are from the song "Old Days" by Chicago. Give it a listen if you are interested.