You rolled over in bed, glancing at the bright green numbers of your alarm clock. The time read 6:20 am. Ten minutes before your alarm was set to go off. The day didn't even start yet, but you could already feel the dull ache beginning to set into your back, and you feared the pain that would radiate down your legs once your feet hit the floor. You decided to close your eyes and enjoy your last ten minutes of peace before the chaos of life sets in. Despite having gone to bed early, you feel like you haven't slept at all, which isn't entirely wrong as you did wake up a few times during the night, unable to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

After what felt like seconds, you hear the constant beeping of your alarm. Hitting the off button, you sit up and sigh as pain ripples across your lower back. You sit there for a moment, trying to gather the energy to get out of bed and deal with the long day ahead. Realizing that no amount of energy could help you deal with the pain you face daily, you swing your legs over and force yourself out of bed. You curse to yourself as a sharp pain hits your knee and radiates down your one leg. Taking a breath, you slowly make your way to the kitchen, stairs not being your best friend.

As you wait for the coffee machine to heat up, you pull out your phone to see a message from your friend Danny.

"Meet you at the cafe on campus at 8 am. I'll save you a seat and a coffee."

You laughed to yourself. Danny has been one of your best friends since you were in 9th grade, and no matter how many 8 am coffee sessions you had, you were still amazed that he could be so awake this early in the morning.

Another pain shot through your knee, causing you to lift your leg to remove the pressure of standing on it. You sighed. Your pain has been getting worse lately, and today was no exception. All you wanted to do was crawl back in bed and sleep. As much as you wanted to see Danny, your body was screaming for a break.

"Sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to make it today. The pain is killing me, and I barely slept last night." You quickly typed and sent it back to him. You hated canceling plans with anyone, especially Danny.

Almost immediately, you received a response. "Are you okay? Do you want me to come over?"

"No, that's okay. You have class anyway. I'm fine." Even you didn't believe you were fine. How was Danny supposed to?

"That's a lie, and you know it. You'd say you're fine no matter what. I can afford to skip one day of classes. I'll be there in a half-hour."

Normally you would argue with the drummer, but you didn't have the energy today. Abandoning the coffee machine, you decided that you should at least shower before your friend arrived. Slowly you made your way back upstairs and into the bathroom. You didn't have the energy to do your whole shower routine of shaving and everything else, so you settled for some body wash and shampoo.

Once out of the shower, you threw on some clean pajamas and made your back downstairs to wait for Danny. It wasn't long before Danny came crashing through your front door carrying a bag and some coffees.

"I would have been here sooner, but the Starbucks downtown was packed. I guess all the business people need their morning coffee." he laughed, trying to close the door with his foot.

"Here, let me carry something." You said, getting up from the couch and making your way towards your friend. "You didn't have to bring coffee. I have some here we could have made."

"It's no problem. It sounds like you had a shitty night as well as a shitty morning, so I wanted to do something to make it better."

"Thank you, Danny. I appreciate it." You spoke as you both made your way over to the couch. "What do you want to do? We could watch some Netflix or listen to some records."

"How about we play some records. There's one I want you to hear." You looked at Danny confused, considering it was your record collection you guys were listening to. But it all made sense when you saw him reach into the bag he brought and pull out a vinyl. You couldn't see the name of the artist or band. All you were able to make out was the black and white color of the album jacket.

Danny stood up and walked over to your record player. He positioned the vinyl, and soon enough, this folk like beat filled the room. Danny made his way back to you on the couch, wrapping his arm around your shoulders. Both of you sat there in silence for a moment, just taking in the voice of the female singer.

"Who is this singing? They're outstanding. The woman has such an amazing voice." You looked up at Danny as you spoke.

"It's a husband and wife duo called Ida Mae. We're touring with them next year, so they gave us all an early copy of their first album." Danny smiled down at you.

You began to panic. You completely forgot the guys were going on tour again next year. With all your recent medical issues, you weren't thinking that far ahead.

"Oh, I forgot you guys were touring next year." You tried to hide your change of voice, but you knew Danny saw right through it.

"Hey Y/N, we don't leave until the end of January. You still have almost three months left with us." Danny replied.

You knew you'd miss everyone once they left for tour, but it was Danny that you didn't want to leave. He's been your rock for over six years now. Every time he left for tour, it hurt just the same, never getting any easier. The only thing that hurt more was when he introduced you to his girlfriend, which wasn't her fault. She was so sweet, not to mention beautiful. Plus, she made Danny happy, and that's all you've ever wanted.

"Y/N," Danny spoke gently, rubbing your shoulder to get your attention. "I've been talking to you for like three minutes now. You completely zoned out. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." You replied, shifting positions as you were brought back to reality and your back pain.

"I don't know why you always insist you're fine when you're not. Is this because we're going on tour?

Suddenly you felt the strong urge to cry, and you could already feel tears pooling in your eyes, threatening to spill over. You weren't sure if it was your pain, your lack of sleep, or the fact that the song playing in the background described your feelings toward your friend just a little too well. Ignoring Danny's question, you listened to the female vocalist sing. 'If you don't love me, I won't be loved.'

At that point, you couldn't hold the tears back anymore. You let them silently run down your face hoping Danny wouldn't notice.

"Y/N, what wrong? Please talk to me." He sounded calm yet scared.

"I'm just tired of fighting." You said quietly, looking up at him.

"Fighting?"

"Yeah. I'm tired of fighting for my health, for doctors to take me seriously, and most importantly, I'm tired of fighting for you." You spoke your voice getting softer with each word.

"For me? I'm confused, Y/N."

You repositioned yourself, so you were not only more comfortable but able to face Danny.

"This isn't how I planned on telling you this, not that I planned on telling you this at all, but I like you, Danny. A lot. You're kind and funny and smart, and compassionate. Hell, you skipped a whole day of classes to spend it with my chronic ass. And I know you're with Mackenzi, which makes it even worse that I feel this way. she's the sweetest, nicest girl ever and she makes you so incredibly happy. I'm sorry if this is weird for you, but I had to get it all out. I understand if you want to leave." The record in the background had stopped playing, leaving your words hanging in the silent air.

"Y/N, you're allowed to have feelings even though I'm in a relationship. It doesn't make you a bad person. But I am in a relationship, and I love Mackenzi very much."

"I know. I'm sorry. Just forget I said anything." You stood up on your way to the bathroom, but your body had other plans. You made it roughly four steps from the couch when a crippling pain shot down your leg, causing them to buckle under you and send you toppling to the floor.

"Y/N," Danny shouted, running to your side. "Can you stand up?"

"No." You whimpered, grabbing your leg.

Carefully Danny picked you up. You let out another small whimper as he wrapped an arm under your still throbbing leg.

"I know it hurts." He soothed. Gently he placed you back down on the couch and covered you with a blanket. "You need to rest. Take a nap."

As much as you wanted to argue with that, you were beyond exhausted. Partially from lack of sleep partly from your crying fest just moments ago, and In a matter of minutes, you were out cold.