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I couldn't sleep that night. They wouldn't let me. The thoughts. They wouldn't wouldn't leave.
The voices.... they just wouldn't.. they wouldn't just shut up. They just kept talking... they just kept running through my mind with absolutely no intention of ever slowing down.

I stayed up all night, huddled up in the corner of my dark bedroom. All of the lights were turned off as I sat in the complete and utter darkness. Whether I be talking about my room or the things in my head... everything was dark. Dark, cold, and empty.
And those fucking voices... they kept reminding me about everything.. over, and over, and fucking over again...

"All those things that were once in your head.. every last one of those things... those signs of happiness.. are all gone."

That's what they would say to me. Every night, that's what I would hear.

"Faith.. hope... love... happiness... curiosity... laughter... it's gone. All of it. Gone. Nobody loves you anymore. And anyone.. anyone who ever did... they're gone."

It's all I ever hear. But, hell, it's true isn't it? All of it, it's all true. Ever since... ever since father died... all of it. All of it's been true.

No one cares. That's just something I need to except. I have nothing. I have no one. Everything is pointless.

And that's when my phone went off.

"Wait... my... phone?" I thought to myself silently, my breath sticking to the inside of my dry throat.

In that split second, all of my thoughts went blank... and they finally shut up.
The very moment my my ringtone broke all of the dreaded silence that sat in my bedroom... that very second... all of the voices finally shut up. All of my thoughts stopped.

Then.. almost like magic.. it was as if my entire mindset had just changed completely.

"Wait.. w-what..? Why would anyone be calling me..?" I thought it myself in confusion. "W-what time is it? Why would they even be.. who would even be.."

Then, that's when it hit me...

Red.

My (e/c) eyes widened like saucers as jolted up from where I sat on my floor, running back towards my bed and flinging myself onto the mattress and lying on my stomach. I grabbed my phone as quickly as possible and immediately flipped it open. I pressed it to my ear, and then...

"R... R-Red?" I choked out, my voice weak and in a whisper. My voice was weak due to the fact that I was crying just a moment ago-- but there was no way I could let him know that. Because then he'd end up asking questions, and I just.. fuck. I just did not wanna talk about that right now.

"...Huh? Oh, um.. hi." He stuttered quietly on the other end of the phone, his deep voice soothing me just like it did before. "Uh-I, I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

I let out a low cough to clear my throat in attempt to make my voice sound somewhat stable. I sat up on the bed, my knees pressed against my chest.

"Um-n.. no. No, you didn't wake me." I stated flatly, trying to hide any sort of emotion from seeking through of my voice.

Red...
How could I forget about Red...?

After all, he's.. one of the few people that've actually gotten me to laugh in awhile... I'll never forget that time. For the first time in forever, he actually managed to help me actually feel... alive.

It's been about 3 months since the day I first met Red, and before you ask- yes. On Mt. Silver, it snows a lot. Even in September.

Before I went home the day after I slept there, we swapped numbers so that we could call each other occasionally. Still, though.. he's already told me that it's very rare that he ever happens to catch a signal from up on that mountain. Also, it'd probably be difficult for me to visit him considering how far away he is and long it would take for me to get there. But... why was he calling now? Why was he even searching for a signal, especially at this time of the night..? And more importantly, why would he call me..? Wouldn't he rather call his family to see how they're doing? Does he not have friends to call or something?
Why would he want to call me, someone he just met a few months ago? And why during the middle of the night?!

"Yeah.. okay, good.." He muttered softly, not saying another word.

'What the hell?' I thought to myself silently. 'Did he even have a reason to call me..?' It remained silent for a matter of seconds before I broke the awkward tension with another low cough.

"Eh-ehm.." I heard him stutter awkwardly once more.

"Um.. so..." I stated flatly, trying to start an actual conversation. "W.. what's up?"

"Huh..? O-OH... Um..." He stuttered awkwardly, seeming to forget why he called in the first place. I raised my eyebrow in slight confusion.

'Did he just get bored and decide to call me for no reason?' I continued to wonder to myself.
'I mean, seriously, what time is it?!'

With that, I glanced over to look at the clock. '6:46 A.M... are you shitting me right now?'

"I- uh.. I just wanted to check up on you.. see how you're doing and all.." He muttered once again, signs of concern showing through his voice. "Is.. are you okay..?"

"Oh-uh-um.. yeah. Yeah, every.. everything's fine. I just had a nightmare and woke up... no big deal, though.." I choked out, slightly confused on how the hell he knew something was wrong. Was it really that obvious..? Did he just figure this out now because of my voice or something? Or did he determine this himself? Is this why he called..?

I didn't understand, but I quickly brushed it off to the side. I assumed he must have just gotten bored and called me, and upon hearing the emotionless tone of voice I was using, he could tell that something was wrong.. yeah, that had to be it.

"..Are you sure..?" He questioned once again. He didn't seem completely convinced that I was alright. Well, in truth, I actually wasn't.. and of course he'd be able to notice that. It seems as though only he can notice it when I'm upset.. and, to be honest... it makes me feel kinda good sometimes. I guess it's just good to know that someone understands me, y'know?

"Yeah. Yeah, of course I'm sure." I responded, adding a bit of a reluctant giggle to try and convince him that I was fine.. but he could see right through it.

"Don't lie to me." He scolded, his voice sounding a bit demanding but worried all at the same time.

I remained quiet after that. I didn't say a single word.. I couldn't say a single word. I was out of words to say.

After a few seconds of dreaded silence, he finally spoke up.
"Tell me what's wrong." He spoke in a voice that was a tad bit more gentle and concerned than before.

I paused for a moment, unsure of what to say.
"Exactly what I told you before... I had a nightmare. It isn't a big deal.. really." Well.. half of that statement was true, wasn't it?

"...You're really not gonna tell me, are you?" He said, his quiet voice sounding somewhat upset by the fact that I can't tell him.

"...I'm sorry.." I choked out reluctantly. "I just.. I just can't talk about it yet.."

I heard Red sigh on the other end of the line, and then it was quiet for a moment. I slowly rested my forehead on top of my knees that were pressed against my chest as I held my phone close to my ear.

"..Alright." He finally responded, his voice still sounding a bit upset.

It was quiet for a second or two before I finally spoke. "...Let me ask you a question now." The tone in my voice still sounded a bit soft and quiet, but instead of sounding monotone and emotionless, it sounded a bit more concerned.
"Are /you/ okay, Red?"

Then everything went dead silent again, this time for what seemed like eternity. The only sound I could hear was Red's shallow breathing on the other end of the line. I'm pretty sure it took about 30 seconds before he finally spoke.

"...It's Christmas tomorrow." He muttered quietly... and then I remembered something.

What was that thing... that thing he told Pikachu on the first day we met..
Right before I interrupted him, he said...

"I miss my family, Pika.."

I had to ask.

"...Are... are you gonna visit your family?" I stuttered nervously. I assumed this had to be a touchy subject, but.. I couldn't help but ask.

I heard Red's breathing stop the second I finished my sentence. My heart seemed to stop in my chest for about 4 seconds until I finally heard him exhale sharply and continue breathing, but much slower this time.

"...I haven't seen them in awhile.." He choked, his voice sounding weak now. "I... I think I might..... it depends."

"Depends on what?" I questioned back almost immediately... I really hoped I wasn't pushing him too far. I just had to figure it out.

It was quiet for about 3 seconds before he answered. "...It depends if I can..... I... I haven't.. been off this mountain in two years..."

Two years?!

"...You seriously haven't seen them in two years?" I asked quietly.

"..No. No, I haven't.." He muttered quietly. His voice sounded like he was about to cry...

"...You should go see them." I muttered softly.

".....I'll... I'll think about it..." He muffled quietly, his voice cracking slightly.

"...Where does your family live..?" I asked softly.

"...My mom lives in Pallet Town.." He muffled once again.

"Oh, really? I don't live too far from there." I said, my voice sounding a tad bit more positive in effort to break the depressing tension that seems to settle in whenever we have a conversation. I almost asked where the rest of his family was, but.. I felt like that'd be a bad idea- so I kept my mouth shut about it for now.

"Really? Where do you live?" He asked, his voice still sounding a bit weak even as we attempted to change the topic.

"I actually live in Virdian City." I answered casually.

"Hm. My old friend, Blue, is the leader of the gym there- or so I've heard. I haven't seen him since I was 12." He said flatly, the tone in his voice seeming to get less weak with every word he spoke.

"Oh, yeah, I've heard of him. Never met him, though." I responded casually once again. "I hear he's kind of a dickstrip, though."

"Ahah, yeah. Dickstrip, that's a nice word." He responded with a slight laugh. Hey, at least our conversation was on a much lighter note now.

"I know, right?" I laughed slightly as well.

"Heh- but, uhm.. anyways, yeah... maybe.. maybe I'll think about visiting. I'll probably leave in a few hours." He said, his deep voice sounding a lot calmer now.

"Yeah. Hey, maybe I'll walk down to Pallet and see you when you get there." I responded happily, a small half-smile on the left side of my (pale/tan/dark) face.

"Yeah.. yeah, I'd like that." He answered back, his voice sounding a bit more uplifting now.

"Soo.. so I guess I'll see you then~!" I said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, see ya then." He responded smoothly.

I let out a very short, 'hm' sounding sounding laugh. I slowly lowered the phone from my ear and was about to hang up until--

"Wait!" Red shouted from the other end as I quickly pulled my hand away and put the phone back to my ear.

"Yeah?" I answered quickly.

".....Merry Christmas, (y/n)." He said softly before hanging up the phone himself.

I chuckled slightly under my breath and put my phone down on the side of me.

"Merry Christmas, Red."