Being home alone wasn't as bad as people thought it was. Yes, being home alone means that there's a chance that if you're not careful enough then someone could break into your house and strangle you. Being home alone means that anyone can knock on the door (or even your window) to lure you outside just so they can toss you over their shoulder and run off with you.

Being home alone means that you're alone, by yourself, without anyone to keep you company.

It wasn't your first time being left alone without your parents in the house. Throughout middle school, you had the option to either stay at home by yourself or be dropped off at your aunt's house the next street over and deal with your freak of a cousin who had a high chance of being a predator when he got older. You chose the safest option: Stay at home by yourself and walk yourself to the bus stop. Now, you are in 11th grade and your "Home Alone" situation has upped a notch. Your parents were going overseas and wouldn't be back until May 22nd, your Junior graduation ceremony. Which meant that you'd be home alone for approximately 2 weeks and 5 days! Pretty awesome, right?

Well, it's not all that awesome when you start missing having company over. Yeah, you can invite friends over but they can't stay with you until graduation. You wished they could...

You nearly jumped out of your spot on the couch when you heard a knock come from the front door. You stared at the door as you felt a sense of anxiety fill you. What if it's some creep trying to lure you out? Maybe you can just ask who it is—but what if they are trying to figure out if there is someone inside the house and break in?

You shook all of your anxiety off of you before reluctantly getting up from the couch and walking to the door. Your fingers grasp the doorknob after you unlock the door and slowly pull it open with a small creek.

"Nicole?" You say in slight confusion as you fully open the door. There was your friend, standing in front of you with an unbothered expression. Her arms were folded on top of each other as she stood there. "What are you doing here?"

"So—uhh—my mom threw a hissy fit and threw me out of the house and now I'm homeless," Nicole said nonchalantly. You blinked in shock at her words. You didn't know whether to be shocked at the fact that Nicole didn't seem to even worry about the fact that she got kicked out of her house or how her mom threw her out (which wasn't all that surprising.)

"Oh..."

"Yeah. Mind if I crash here for tonight? I don't feel like staying at some old guy's house not knowing how long my mom is planning on keeping me out." Nicole asked as she averted her gaze away from you.

"Did you ask Jecka? You usually stay over at her house." You said. What you said was true. Nicole did stay at Jecka's house when she and her mom got into it.

"Jecka was done with me coming to her house to stay over. To be honest, I think it's because I keep taking her Xanax. I don't even use it for anxiety or panic attacks I just take it to be taking it." Nicole explained plainly. You let out a sigh at Nicole's words. Classic Nicole...

"Oh, okay..." You muttered.

"So can I stay? You're like my last resort right now."

"Of course, you can stay. I don't need you getting picked up by a stranger and being put for sex trafficking." You obliged as you allowed Nicole to enter your home. "You haven't been out there long have you?"

"No, not really. Unless you want to count how long I begged for Jecka to allow me to stay. That bitch isn't helpful when you need her to be I swear." Nicole scoffed as she plopped on the couch, kicking off her shoes. "She used to be such a people pleaser but now she's more like a people displeasure."

Nicole didn't have anything with her. Not like she couldn't grab any of her belongings considering how her mom just threw her out of the house and onto the streets. You've been friends with Nicole for around 3 months now and you slowly learned about her background and you have to say that it is depressing as fuck. You found yourself not wanting Nicole to ruin herself more by her actions (which she hardly ever listens to) than the world already has. That's one of the reasons why you allowed her to come to your home. You don't want her catching herself in a situation where it could end horrifically bad. You'd hate yourself if you ever find out that something bad happened to Nicole—being one of the very few people she had in her life to actually take the time to mourn over her meant something big for you.

"I can put us some leftover pizza in the microwave if you want." You offered.

"Yeah, that'll be fine I guess. I also didn't bring anything with me." Nicole spoke bluntly as she lazily focused her eyes on the tv.

"That's okay. You can borrow some of my stuff for now. We'll have to see if we can maybe try to get some of your belongings from your house. Hell, maybe even sneak in." As you spoke you gathered two plates and opened the pizza box to reveal four slices of pizza. Two for you, two for Nicole.

"Hell yeah we do. That bitch isn't going to let us in. She would rather me rot on the street while she goes ahead and desperately tries to find a man who will actually fuck her." Nicole agreed.

Jesus christ, at least it's Friday. Two days are the weekend and then Monday rolls back around for school. Then on Tuesday you're off due to it only being staff that day. That leaves some free spots open for Nicole to get situated in your home for however long it takes.