fifteen ; l.h.

her

she wasn't sure what possessed her to go to the rooftop that night.

it might have been the shiny bright moon in the sky or even the multitude of stars that teased her from her bedroom window.

either way, on an impulse or whatever it was, noelle found herself climbing the numerous steps to the top of her apartment building. a brush of wind blew her hair every which way as she hefted open the heavy metal door and stepped out onto the roof with a sigh of contentment.

the lights of the city beneath her bounced before her eyes, which usually would've enduced a rush of euphoria, but the sight of a human silhouette standing on the edge of the concrete roof caused dread to rise in her stomach instead.

silently, not wanting to scare the figure, she approached the ledge. as she did so, she could hear him mumbling things to himself under his breath, the blowing wind almost carrying his deep, sultry voice away with it.

"it's not like i have anything left," he was saying, "all i have to do is jump."

that almost caused her to stop her trek towards him. she couldn't imagine someone thinking they have nothing left to live for. never before had she heard a tone so defeated, so tired. a part of her wanted to fix this. to show this boy that there was more to their world than met the eye.

so with a burst of courage, she stepped onto the ledge beside him, ignoring the way her heart jumped into her throat at how suddenly far away the streets below seemed to be.

"don't. please," she said, voice almost a whisper. the boy jolted, startled by her sudden appearance, but other than that, made no other signs of recognition.

"oh how fucking cliché," he groaned, and even without looking at him, noelle knew he was rolling his eyes. "someone just had to find me on this goddamned roof."

"are you really going to do it?" she finally looked at the boy, head tilting ever so slightly in question. "jump, i mean."

"i was planning to, yes," he snorted, running a shaky hand through his quiffed hair. "why, are you going to try and stop me?"

"i was planning to, yes," she repeated his words, a hint of teasing in her tone.

she turned her head back towards the city in front of them and she swore she saw a hint of a smile on the boy's face from her peripherals.

"i appreciate the help and all, well not really, but..." he trailed off, tongue playing with his lip ring before continuing, "i don't see the point in trying. i'm a lost cause."

"no one's a lost cause," she disagreed without a beat. "don't do this to yourself. it's not worth it."

"that so? okay, then give me one good reason not to end it all and i'll get off this ledge with you."

she stood there in silence, mind whirling as she tried to piece together a single reason that would prove that his life was worth it. but nothing that she thought of seemed like it was good enough, and he seemed to see this as well.

"that's what i thought, so-"

"fifteen," she cut him off simply.

"fifteen?" he questioned slowly. "fifteen what?"

"fifteen reasons. i can give you fifteen reasons why you should stay alive."

"y'know, i only really asked for one," he deadpanned.

"i'm aware," she nodded, holding out her pinky for him to take. "but i'm going to give you more than that. because you deserve it."

the boy stared at her outstretched pinky in skepticism. he knew he was going to regret this decision, but he laced his pinky with hers, feeling her warmth shoot up his arm.

"can i trust you?" he asked, almost childishly.

she stared into his blue (they were definitely blue; an azure type of blue that should've been much brighter than they were at that moment) eyes as confidently as possible.

"you're going to have to."

it was there, standing on the ledge of a rooftop - pinkies interlocked - with a boy she didn't even know the name to, that noelle decided that she would not let this boy fall. not alone. not without her.

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yay a new story! this is gonna be fun, and i know it seems like your typical 'finding a suicidal guy on her roof' kind of story, but i promise it's not. thanks for reading and please vote or comment if you liked it!