America sighed as he walked out of the meeting building. Jeez, talk about a bad day at work. First, he had run out of coffee half way through the meeting, then he got into a fight with England again, then someone brought up politics and everything went to shit. Because they had gone off schedule again, the meeting had gone on till around midnight just to get things sorted out. And by sorted out he meant stop everyone from murdering each other again. America loosened the tie around his neck. He hated wearing the damn thing. It always seemed to suffocate him. He also ruffled his hair, because he could only take being dressed up for so long. Looking up at the sky above him, he let out another sigh.
"Stupid England." America grumbled under his breath. "Always has to have the final say on everything." Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, he imitated the Brit.
"Oh America, how could you not like tea? You are so unsophisticated and stupid. You need to eat less or you're going to kill yourself. You're always too loud you're going to give me hearing loss. Blah, blah, blah." America mocked. "Stinking limey."
"Mommy, what is that man doing?" He heard a little girl who was walking by with her mother ask.
"Shh, he's probably just drunk honey, don't look him in the eye." The lady hissed, walking faster down the sidewalk.
America blushed, and with an embarrassed cough, he started down the street again. Actually, he wouldn't mind getting drunk right now. It might be nice to stop thinking for a while. Unfortunately, he was in San Francisco, which was in his Country, which meant he was under age. Damn drinking age. He was so going to bring this up next time he had a meeting with his boss. For god's sake, he was over 200 years old and he still couldn't get a drink legally. This was criminal. Actually…
America snapped his fingers and a grin formed on his face. That's right, there was a bar on the other side of town that was a bit shady and didn't check ID's. Sure, he'd get in trouble if he was caught, but he was confident that that wouldn't happen. Hell, maybe he'd invite Russia. He'd been meaning to have a rematch with him on who could take the most shots. (He had lost every time, but he wasn't going to give up.) He went to take his phone out of his pocket, but to his horror he discovered it wasn't there anymore. He patted down all his pockets and looked in his briefcase but to his dismay he discovered it was no longer on him.
"Damn, must have left it in the meeting room." America sighed. Turning around, he hurried back towards the building, but as he ran up the stairs to the entrance to the building he was stopped by a tired looking security guard.
"Sorry kid," the older man huffed as he pulled out a set of keys out of his front pocket.
"Please, I won't be more than a minute. I swear!" America pleaded. "I left my phone in there."
"Tough luck pal." The man huffed. "I got a job to do." As the guard turned around, America let out a huff, then put on his most panicked face.
"Please, I have an important call with my boss tomorrow and if I don't take the call I'm going to lose my job." America lied. "Please, this is the only job I've been able to get in months."
The security guard glanced at America, then muttering under his breath he opened the door. "Fine. But if you aren't back here in ten minutes I'm locking the place up anyway and you can spend the rest of the night in there."
"Thank you!" America said, sighing with fake relief. "You're a real life saver." And with a grin, he ran into the building. As soon as he was in the elevator, he let out a chuckle. America didn't usually like lying to people, but damn it he actually needed his phone. It kind of had Government phone numbers on it, and he wasn't sure that he could explain that away if some janitor had come upon it and looked through it. And the last thing he needed was some stranger calling up one of the nations on his phone. God, if that happened no one would let him live that down. He'd be chewed out for a decade.
The meeting room they had been using had been on the top floor, so when he finally got out of the elevator, he was greeted to a view over the whole city. It was one of the best views over the city. You could clearly see the golden gate bridge from here. Actually, now that America thought about it, there was a part of the building that actually opened up to the roof somewhere on this floor. Some of the other nations liked to hang out there so they could get away from everyone or go for a smoke. Unfortunately, he couldn't admire the view because he was on a time limit, so he rushed over to the room and flung the doors open. To his dismay however, he saw that his phone was nowhere to be seen.
"Come on, come on." America growled, looking all over the room for it. Unfortunately, it took his about a half an hour to find his phone. And by that time, his time to get out of the building was up. And while he could have gone and checked that he wasn't locked in, America didn't bother. He knew that kind of security guard that guy was when he saw him. He didn't give a crap. And what did he have to worry about? If America had wanted to steal anything, he would be caught in no time because he saw his face. And because he had locked him in the building.
Plus, it wasn't like this was a big deal or anything. Hell, it would actually be funny to see the other nations faces tomorrow when they saw he was the first one there. Sniggering at the thought, he sat down next to where the phone was plugged in and pulled up an app to pass the time. Hell, maybe if he was lucky another guard would show up later in the night and help him out. As he thought this, he heard the elevator kick into motion outside of the room, making him freeze. That wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to be the only one here. Suddenly a thought came to him.
"Oh my god, this place is haunted." America thought, his eyes going wide. It made perfect sense. This was just like a horror movie, and he was the victim that people found in the morning, tipping off the hero of the story that some strange shit was happening.
"Aw hell no, I am not about to be murdered." America thought turning off his phone, so the light wouldn't give him away and hiding under the table. Nope, he wasn't running away, he was surviving. There was a big difference.
He could sort of see the elevator from where he was, but not the dial at the top showing him what floor it was on, just the bottom part. The elevator stopped making noise for a minute, then it started up again. And to his horror, the noise was getting closer and closer to his floor.
"Nah, it won't stop on this floor." America tried to convince himself. But the noise just coming closer. America backed further under the table, making sure to still keep the elevator in site. The elevator stopped making the humming sound, and for a moment he hoped it hadn't stopped on his floor.
Ding
"Shit." America thought as the hallway and part of the room was bathed in light. From what he could see, there was someone in the elevator wearing long dark pants and black shoes, crying. The person, (Ghost?) hesitated for a moment, the walked towards his room. As the light from the elevator started to disappear, the figure entered the room. They stopped right in front of his hiding place. America held his breath, not daring to breath. He couldn't really see much, but he could make out the feet moving in one direction, and then another as if looking for something. Then the person, (Ghost?) sighed in frustration and walked back out of the room, leaving the door open behind them. America didn't move for a second, then let out the breath he had been holding. Damn, that had been close. He could here doors opening up in the next room. That was odd. If it had been a ghost, they would have found him, no doubt about that. But this person didn't seem like they knew this place at all, seeing as they were now opening yet another door in the hall.
Burglar? Doubtful, his suitcase was still on the desk, and if it had been a thief that would have been taken in a heartbeat. So maybe someone else was stuck in the building? But why wouldn't they stay on the ground floor and bang on the doors till someone helped them? Maybe they were looking for someone to help them! Or maybe it was the asshole guard who had locked him in looking for him. With more confidence at this thought, America crawled out from under the table. However, as he reached the doorway, he heard a rattling of a glass door. Wait, that was the door onto the roof wasn't it? Then he heard someone banging on the door. And then glass shattering. He knew what was happening.
He ran out of the room, and towards were he had heard the noise. As he rounded a corner, he saw that someone had broken the glass door, and was now on the roof. And his heart stopped. It was just a fucking kid. A teen. Damn. He crept towards the door, trying to figure out what to do. This wasn't the first time he had seen something like this, but he'd never actually been someone who was in the position to stop a jumper. He'd have to be careful about this. He didn't want to startle the kid, nor did he want to drive him over the edge. Literally.
He watched the kid stop about ten feet away from the edge of the roof, looking up at the sky. The kid sighed, and then started to kick off his shoes, pulling a note out of his pocket. He put the note under the shoes to weigh it down, then he put his hands together. America guessed he was praying. Shit, shit, shit.
America weighed his options. He could just run over to the kid and drag him back into the building, but there was no guarantee of that working. The kid might hear him and jump off the roof. He was fast, but he didn't think he could reach him in time. He could sneak up on him, but same problem. He could try talking to the kid, but he didn't even know if that was going to work. And just as he was trying to figure out another plan, his phone rang.
"God damn it!" America hissed, pulling the thing out of his pocket and throwing it down the hall. But it was too late. The kid had heard him. The boy turned around fast as whip and stared at America with fear in his eyes.
"Who's there?!" The boy shouted, not able to see America in the door frame.
"Um, me?" America said nervously, coming out to where the boy could see him with his hands up. "I, um, was trapped in the building by an asshole security guard, and I heard glass breaking."
The kid gave him a look like he didn't believe him, then he grew angry. "Go away!" The boy shouted. "Just pretend you didn't see anything."
'Oh boy, if only it was that simple.' America thought to himself, cringing.
"Did my parents send you to try and stop me? Don't lie to me!" The kid demanded.
"Uh, no." America said, slowly putting his hands down.
"You a cop?"
"No."
"You work here?"
"Uh, sort of, not really." America said with a helpless shrug. The kid gave a long look, then he sighed.
"Whatever, I don't care." He grumbled. He turned away from America and started to walk towards the edge.
"WAIT!" America yelled, not knowing what to do. "At least tell me your name!"
The kid paused, then with a sigh he turned around. "Might as well. At least my body will be identified faster. My name is Jack Davies."
"Look, Jack, I, uh… Shit." America said, stumbling over his words. Jack let out a snort.
"Well, you sure are calm in tense situations." Jack commented. "Look, I know what you're going to say. Don't do it, it isn't worth it, your family will miss you, you'll go to hell if you jump. I've heard all of those arguments before, and let me tell you, nothing is going to stop me. Not you, not anyone. I've made up my mind."
America faltered for a moment, then with a sigh, he looked a Jake with a frown. "Ok, fair enough. Can you at least tell me why you're jumping?"
"It doesn't matter." Jack said. "I'm going to be dead in a minute."
"Well, what's a few minutes of your time?" America asked. "It's not like you have anywhere else to be."
Jack considered this for a moment, then he shrugged. "Fine, I'll tell you, but you have to stay over there. And if you even try to stop me, I'll jump."
"Ok." America said, growing a bit frustrated. He honestly didn't know what to do.
"First, tell me your name. It's only fair." Jack said.
"It's Alfred Jones." Alfred said. Jack nodded. He didn't say anything for a minute, looking lost for words, then he took a deep breath.
"I…I failed out of college." The kid spat out. "And I'm just a stupid idiot who doesn't know what I'm going to do in life. I'm at a dead end in my life, and I'm just too scared and tried to keep pushing forwards." Jack let out a humorless laugh.
"Well, that doesn't seem like anything to be ashamed about." Alfred said with a sad look. "You're still young. How old are you even?"
"I'm 20 years old." Jack said with a huff. "And it's not even the flunking out of college part that scares me, it's my parents."
"Why? Do they hurt you?" Alfred asked.
"What? No! Of course not! They're just…strict." Jack said with a sigh. "And I'm just a fucking disappoint to them. After all, I am the problem child. I'm just a screw up who's always had trouble following directions and keeps making the same mistakes." He let out a snort of disgust. "Not that they've ever been afraid to tell me that part. It's just, God, everyone else in my family is just so much better than me. All of other siblings never had trouble getting good grades or making friends, and I can't understand why I have such a problem with it."
America didn't say anything, just nodded.
"And not just that, I've been lying for two straight years about how well I've been doing in college, and I don't know, I was just too scared in disappointing everyone, so I never told anyone the truth. And for two damn years I've kept this secret and I just can't do it anymore." Jack said, his voice rising, and tears threating to spill over his eyes. "It's been eating me alive, and I'm tired of wearing a damn mask, laughing, joking, and acting like nothing is bothering me when I'm screaming for someone to call me out for my bullshit, when I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of lies, when I wasted my parent's money and time. God, I don't even want to know what they're reaction to that will be."
"How much money was it?" Alfred asked.
"About $8,000 dollars." Jack said.
"That's it?" Alfred asked before he could stop himself.
"I went to a community college. And I had a scholarship that first year that paid for everything. I wanted to go to a four-year school, but I choose the cheaper option." Jack said bitterly. "But I guess that was all for nothing. God, I've wasted two god damn years of my life, my scholarship, my future, and my parents money." Tears started to stream down Jacks face. "I'm just a stupid idiot, who took the easy and lazy choices, and now I have to pay for it. In fact, I told my parents that school was starting soon. They wanted to know when they had to pay for classes, and I told them the date. It's tomorrow. And I'm still too God damn scared to tell them the truth, and now I'm going to run away again. I'm so tired of being a disappointment." Jack said quietly.
They were both quiet for a moment. Jack was wiping his tears away with his shirt sleeve.
"I see." Alfred said with a sad look. "You're scared everyone will hate you for lying for so long."
Jack let out a shaky laugh. "You're the first person I've told in two years."
Alfred sighed, then he looked Jack straight in the eyes. "I don't think what you're saying is silly at all. To me, at least from what you've told me, it seemed you had a good plan."
"Jumping off the roof?" Jack asked in almost disbelief.
"What? Oh, no, no, no. I meant the school. You chose a place that was cheap, were you got a full free year, and it seems to me you minimized the damage. If you had gone to a four-year college, it would have been a lot worse, but I think you thought about that. Right?" Alfred asked curiously.
"Uh, yeah. I actually did take that into account." Jack said, looking surprised.
"And you love your family, right?" Alfred asked. "That's why you're so scared of disappointing them?"
"I mean, yeah." Jack said, looking down at the ground.
"Have your parents ever told you they didn't love you?"
"No."
"Has your family ever thrown you out just because you did something wrong?"
"No."
"Then why do you think throwing yourself off a building will help anything? You're just stopping yourself from ever making things better for yourself."
"It just seemed like the easiest way out." Jack muttered. "That's just how I am I guess. Always looking for a way out."
"Maybe, and just here me out for a second, that you did tell your parents the truth. I'm not going to lie to you, they probably will be disappointed that you didn't trust them enough to tell them the truth, and sure, they might get angry. Everything you fear might come true. But you know what happens after you tell the truth?"
"What?"
"You'll be free from that secret you've held for so long, you can work out a plan on how to fix your future. You won't have that damn secret on your shoulders anymore, so you'll be happier. You might take some time off from college to save up money. You can start being honest again. You can start over. You're only twenty now, just imagine how much time you have left to fix the problem. Yeah, you lost two years of your life. So what? Most people don't even go straight to school anyways. You won't be that far behind others. You can still make friends, you can still find someone to love, you still have time to fix things, and by throwing yourself off of that stupid ledge you're just making the one mistake that you can't, and that no one else can fix."
As Jack listened, tears starting streaming down his face faster, until he started bawling. Everything he knew was true, everything he had ignored when he had come here was finally getting through to him.
Alfred didn't even think when walked over to the young adult and hugged him. "So, do you still want to die?"
"I never wanted to die, I just wanted to stop being scared." Jack chocked out. "I just wanted to tell the damn truth."
Jack slid down to the ground, and Alfred sunk down to the ground, just holding the kid. He let Jack sob into his shoulder for about half an hour, until he had calmed down.
"So," Jack hiccupped, "Did you really get locked in the building?"
"Yeah, I did." Alfred huffed. "That guard was an asshole. Oh, I never did ask you how you got into the building."
"Oh, that." Jack said sheepishly. "This is my dad's work place. I kind of snuck in here claiming I was visiting my dad and just hid in an empty conference room on the 20th floor until there was no one around." He said, putting up his shoes and tearing up the note.
"Dude, you know you scared the shit out of me when you came up in the elevator. I thought you were some ghost coming to kill me. I was actually hiding under the conference table in the first room you checked, fearing for my life."
Jack burst out laughing. Alfred gave him a cocky grin. Just then, he saw a light coming out from the building. Then to his surprise, he saw a cop walk out onto the roof.
"Hey, what are you two doing up here?" the cop said in a no-nonsense voice.
"Well officer, it's a long story." Alfred sighed. "But long story short, I got trapped in the building, and so did my friend here. He fell asleep waiting for his dad to get off work in an unused room, and when he woke up the building was locked. We found each other up here."
"But why is the glass broken?" The officer asked.
"We broke it hoping to set off some alarm." Jack said quickly.
"Really?" The officer asked in an unimpressed voice. "You could have used a phone."
"I…actually didn't think about that. Mine was broken." Alfred said sheepishly. "I dropped it in the hallway."
"I don't have mine." Jack said with a shrug.
"Damn kids." The cop muttered. "Look, I'll escort you out. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you down to the station.
"What?!" Alfred asked, his mouth hanging open in shock.
"I'm going to be arrested?!" Jack asked.
"What? No, calm down!" The cop said. "I need you two to fill out some forms for insurance, and I need your statements."
"Oh, good." Alfred sighed.
"Alright you two, let's go." The cop said. The two boys got up off of the ground. As they followed him back into the building, Jack whispered to Alfred, "Thank you, for everything."
And Alfred just hugged him.
_LINEBREAK_
"Yeah, so I'm at the police station." America said with a sigh. There was no response for a moment, then came a heavy sigh over the phone.
"America, you are by far the biggest idiot I have ever met." England said in a tired voice. "Do you even know what time it is?"
"Uh, around three in the morning?" America asked. "I don't know. I broke my phone, and they don't seem to have a clock in this room."
"Yes, it is. Why are you even at the police station?"
"I sort of got trapped in a building…and then a glass door sort of broke."
"…"
"England? Are you there?"
*Click*
"Ah hell, there goes my free ride. Why did I have to leave my damn briefcase in that stupid building?"
A/N: …I know that this is a heavy topic. But suicide is a real problem here in the USA. There has been a 30% rise in suicides in the USA since 1999. 45,000 people in the USA took their lives in 2016 alone. 2/3 of all gun related deaths in this country are due to suicide. Our mental health system sucks. People aren't getting the help they need. I've met so many people in my life who have struggled with mental problems or seemed perfectly fine deal with these issues. All I'm saying is please, if you are or someone you love is struggling with depression or is thinking about ending it all please get help. Sometimes life can get bleak, or hopeless, but just remember that if you take a few steps back, the solution could have been staring you right in the face the whole time. I'll write a happy chapter next, because I know I've been writing depressing stuff lately.