Wow. I swear this is my longest one-shot ever. Actually, this was more like some sort of short-story. (*blinks* Wait. A one-shot is a short-story. Gosh.)

This story came to my head around midnight whilst listening to 2 AM by Anna Nalick. Warning - this story isn't exactly something that I'm used to writing, as in this is sort of an experiment for me. Still using the same characters and I'm still portraying the same friendship between our beloved Anakin and Ahsoka, but I'm coming at a different angle.

Keep in mind that this is also one of the first times I'm ever really talking about drug usage in a story and I suppose it can be a sensitive topic for people. (To be honest, I didn't really talk about it a lot in this story...but I just wanted to give the warning, just in case.)

With that said, please enjoy!

Two in the Morning

Ahsoka Tano tucked a strand of blonde and blue-streaked hair behind her ear as she stared down at her laptop screen. She stole a quick glance at the clock – it was one fifty-five in the morning and she was fairly sure that she was the only one awake on the entire campus of Saint Andrews University, but that didn't really matter. Ahsoka had an assignment due within nine hours and she wanted to get this done.

The young girl (though people may argue that she was now an adult,) let out a soft, tired sigh and brought her hands to her eyes, rubbing the sleep away from them. Her roommate, a nice, studious, shy girl named Barriss Offee was asleep, so she couldn't even bring herself to wake her for help. (Barriss had been great help since the semester started, though Ahsoka was desperate to prove to herself that she could bring her grades through without her new friend's help.)

Ahsoka looked back at the laptop screen. Just a few more paragraphs, Ahsoka, she thought to herself. Just a few more paragraphs and then you can sleep and treat yourself to a big, sugary breakfast in the morning.

Feeling somewhat better after that silent promise, Ahsoka set her hands back on the warm laptop, forcing herself to squeeze in a few more sentences on the essay. This assignment proved itself to be quite the struggle, however, for within minutes, Ahsoka was back to where she started – feeling helpless and tired and annoyed.

Ahsoka stretched out her hands and setting her jaw, she forced herself to tap her fingers against the keyboard just as her phone started ringing beside her. She blinked and looked down the screen of her phone with a blank, bewildered expression on her face. Who would be calling her at this time?

Ahsoka automatically fingered the Ignore button on the screen and was going to press it until she caught sight of the person calling her.

Anakin Skywalker.

Ahsoka stared down at the screen with wide eyes. Why was Anakin calling her? It's been forever since the two had ever talked, let alone speak on the phone. The young girl felt an unexpected lump rise in her throat and the threat of tears burn in her eyes.

The simple truth was that Ahsoka never thought she'd speak to Anakin again, which was devastating to her. The two had been the best of friends since they were children and did nearly everything together. They were the ones who pulled pranks on Anakin's (adopted) older brother, Obi-Wan, and skipped classes and got lost in the woods in elementary school. They were the ones who were teased and bullied that they were dating in middle school. They were the ones who watched each other date various people and get heart-broken in high school.

But when Ahsoka and Anakin got into the same college, everything seemed to fall apart. Ahsoka wasn't quite sure why, but Anakin just stopped talking to her. (It might have had something to do with Anakin's mother's death, but…when she died, Anakin still talked to Ahsoka. She didn't see why he would suddenly stop talking to her now.) He hung around a new crowd of boys and broke up with his girlfriend, a sweet student named Padmé Amidala. He got into more and more trouble with the professors and each time Ahsoka had tried to confront him about it all, he simply lowered his eyes to the ground and mumbled a few words about being busy.

And that ended that.

Ahsoka was so heartbroken after that – she was positive that Anakin didn't want anything to do with her but now, as Ahsoka stared at the glowing words on her phone, she felt a small flame of…what, anger? Hope? Sadness? light up in her chest. She puffed out a small breath and pushed the Accept button.

Bringing the phone up to her ear with a shaking hand, Ahsoka whispered, "Hello?"

Immediately, Ahsoka could tell that there was something wrong – she could hear heavy, loud breaths from the other end of the phone and something mixed between a sob and a shout. Ahsoka's hand tightened around her phone and she called again, "Anakin? Is that you?"

A few more seconds of panting, exaggerated gasps past and finally, Ahsoka heard Anakin's familiar, deep voice mumble a small, tired, "yes."

Ahsoka sighed and gently sat herself down on her bed, bringing a hand to her forehead. "Is there…a reason why you're calling me, Anakin?" She asked quietly. (Is there a reason why you decided to call me now, Anakin? After all these months? Ahsoka wanted to ask. Oh, she wanted to scream that into the phone…)

Pause.

"Yes."

Ahsoka bit down on her knuckle, forcing herself to remain calm. "Well, then, what's the problem? Do you want me to meet you somewhere?" She asked. "I can spare a few minutes, if you'd like."

Pause.

"Uh-huh. I'm…uh, I'm in the park. I think. You know, the park outside the library? With the trees? And the funny squirrels? And the – the – benches?" Anakin asked, his voice getting louder by each passing second. "The library, right? You're gonna come?"

Ahsoka stared at the phone, unsure what she was hearing from Anakin now. She blinked and held it back to her ear, asking gently, "Anakin, are you feeling alright?"

"Yup. I'm alright – it's just – Ahsoka, it's really dark out here." Anakin's voice quickly lowered until it was nothing more than a slow, sluggish drawl. "It's just…really, really dark out and I'm not sure if I can…wow, it's like…a big soup, Ahsoka! A big soup of darkness. Right?"

Ahsoka was beginning to grow steadily worried as each and every second ticked by. "Right," she chose to reply and started to look for a pair of shoes. "Stay focused on something else, Anakin? Why don't you stay focused on…a tree? Or a squirrel? I'll be there soon. Do you want anything else?"

Anakin paused and then he replied, "A milkshake."

Ahsoka startled. "A milkshake?"

"Uh-huh. Like those really good ones that we got from the ice-cream place back home. Do you remember those, Ahsoka? They were really good, right?" Anakin asked. Ahsoka could hear him walking around now. She bit down on her lip and replied, "Anakin, please stay where you are. Stay in front of the library – er, I'll get you a milkshake."

"Just like those really good ones that we got from the ice-cream place back home?" Anakin asked quickly.

Ahsoka nodded, feeling hot, burning tears spring into her eyes again. She wiped them away with her thumb and replied thickly, "Yeah, Anakin. Milkshakes from home. Just stay put."

With that, she hung up and sprinted out the dorm. She didn't even bother scribbling a note for Barriss in case she would wake up – how could she? Ahsoka didn't like the way Anakin was talking to her, either – was he high? Or drunk? Or both?

Ahsoka wasn't sure, but she knew that Anakin was definitely in a not-so-normal state.

She needed to find some milkshakes.

xXx

Holding an icy milkshake in each hand, Ahsoka made her way to the library. Autumn was in full season this month and the brisk air seemed to hug itself around Ahsoka, though she didn't really mind. She was thankful for some fresh air. A few colorful leaves scuttled past Ahsoka's ankles and the headlights of passing cars buzzed down the highway outside of the campus, but Ahsoka was only focused on finding Anakin.

It wasn't really that hard to find Anakin, either – he was the only person in front of the library, beside Ahsoka. He was standing underneath a street lamp, staring expressionlessly at the pavement. Ahsoka didn't speak until she was a few steps away from him.

"Hi," Ahsoka managed to say quietly, shaking the drinks in front of her. Anakin's head snapped up and he turned to look at Ahsoka, eyes wide.

"Hiya, Snips."

Ahsoka felt her heart give a painful pang as she heard that old nickname ring through the air. She wordlessly handed Anakin his milkshake, trying her best to hold back any future tears.

Snips – the nickname that Anakin had given her all those years ago.

(Anakin stared distastefully at Ahsoka as he reluctantly plopped himself down across from her. Ahsoka was as equally annoyed. The kindergarten teacher had decided that it was a good idea for them to work together – as if! Ahsoka always thought that Anakin Skywalker was too cocky and jerky for his own good.

"You're just going to slow me down." Anakin said, looking up at her up and down with a critical eye.

Ahsoka barked out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh, really? You're stuck with me, Skyguy!"

"What did you just call me?!" Anakin demanded loudly, crossing his arms. "You're not allowed to call me that, Snips!")

Ahsoka quietly brought her milkshake straw to her lips and took a few sips. All the while, she looked up at Anakin carefully, wondering if she should ask any questions – just in case he really was high. However, to her great surprise, Anakin's eyes were clear. He looked perfectly calm, sipping on his milkshake with such serenity that it unnerved Ahsoka.

"I'm not high or drunk, in case you were wondering." Anakin said suddenly, causing Ahsoka to flinch. She stared at Anakin and asked, "How did you –"

"I tried really hard to act high over the phone, you know." Anakin interrupted, keeping his eyes on the pavement. He paused, tapping his fingers against the pocket of his jeans. "Actually, it wasn't really that hard – if you were ever high before, then it's kind of easy to reenact the real reaction."

Ahsoka felt ice slowly pour itself into her veins, though she forced herself to remain calm. "Really." She said slowly, taking another casual sip from her milkshake. "So…if you were pretending to act high, then why did you call me? And why did you pretend to be high in the first place?"

Anakin paused again. He didn't even look over at Ahsoka. He gave a small shrug.

Ahsoka felt something clench in her stomach and she glared up at Anakin – up at the person who she used to call her friend. She tightened her grip on her milkshake and said stiffly, "Well, if that's all you have to say about this, I'll just go back to my dorm, where I'm actually needed."

When Anakin didn't say anything, Ahsoka allowed her voice to get louder and louder. If there was ever a time to spill all of her annoyance and anger at Anakin, it was now. She swallowed down another (stupid!) lump in her throat and went on, "You know, I'm beginning to wonder what the actual point of calling me was. I should have known that this was all a joke, right? I mean, you've been silent for months and only now do you talk to me to…what, exactly? Pretend to get high and ask me to buy you a milkshake? Seriously?"

Ahsoka shook her head and chucked her milkshake into the trash can. "Whatever, Anakin." She said indignantly, feeling a bitter sense of satisfaction as Anakin flinched. Good – Ahsoka had been hoping he'd do that.

("Anakin, come back here!" Ahsoka shouted, grabbing a hold of her friend's arm to keep him from throwing a punch at one of the boys. "You'll just get us all in trouble!"

Anakin struggled against Ahsoka's grip and for a few minutes, Ahsoka was worried – Ahsoka was strong, but at the age of ten, Anakin was surely stronger. However, he must have been hoping to break away from the fight, for he immediately fell back against Ahsoka, breathing heavily and simply shooting angry glares at the group of boys before them.

Grabbing Anakin's hand, Ahsoka tossed her own dirty look at the boys. "Come on, Anakin – let's just go." She said loftily and the two walked away, leaving the area with cold air behind them.

It wasn't until a few minutes later did Anakin finally speak. "Did you actually call me Anakin?" He asked incredulously. "I swear I haven't ever heard you say my actual name before."

Ahsoka grinned. "Yeah, well." She replied, punching the boy on the arm. "I prefer Skyguy, too."

Anakin nodded in agreement. "Don't use my name, 'kay? Skyguy is the name you call me – you know, because it's just between us."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes at her friend's logic. "Fine, fine," she said lightly. "But I'm going to use your name whenever I'm angry at you or being serious about something, okay? And you can call me Ahsoka whenever something is wrong, too."

Anakin beamed. "Sounds fine by me!" He said cheerfully.)

Just as Ahsoka spun around on her heel to leave, Anakin said suddenly, "Wait. Don't."

Ahsoka froze, hating herself for doing so. She closed her eyes and clenched her hands into her fists. "What?" She asked bitterly. "Don't what?" She whirled around to look at Anakin, her eyes burning with anger. "What do you want me to do now, Anakin?"

This time, Anakin simply stared back at Ahsoka. "I didn't just call you for milkshakes." He said quietly.

Ahsoka snorted incredulously. "Oh, really? Well, that should make everything better!" She shot back, her voice dripping with sarcasm. A look of annoyance flashed across Anakin's face as he went on, "I really did want to talk to you."

"And you decided to pretend to get high and make me worry about you in the process. Congrats. You did an absolutely fantastic job in trying to get me to talk to you." Ahsoka said flatly. She couldn't help herself – she just needed to get all of that sadness out of her system out right now. She just needed to give Anakin a quick taste of his own medicine – he deserved it, didn't he?

Anakin's shoulders rounded over into a slump. "I know that was a dumb move, but hear me out, will you?" He asked, his voice softening to a plea. "I just…really need someone to listen to me right now. Or something to help me. Or both."

Almost out of instinct, Ahsoka felt herself frown at the concept of Anakin needing help. "What for?" She asked grudgingly. "Why me? I thought you had some other buddies now."

Anakin muttered something unintelligible under his breath and stared down at the ground, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Ahsoka sighed and plopped herself down on one of the benches, folding her hands on her lap. "What was that? I can't hear you, Anakin." She said tiredly.

"Well…I can't exactly ask for help from the guys who are…making me look for help." Anakin said quietly and this time, Ahsoka didn't bother hiding her surprise. She stared up at Anakin, stunned, and asked, "What's going on?"

Anakin ran a hand through his hair, causing Ahsoka's heart to get another pang.

("Will you stop doing that?" Ahsoka snapped, closing her book shut. Anakin looked over at her sleepily. "Doing what?" He asked casually, running his hand through his hair (again!). Ahsoka jabbed a finger at Anakin's hand. "That, you moron! You like an idiot when you do that. Like…one of those dumb actors in the movies."

Anakin looked offended. "I don't look dumb doing this! Besides," he said with a sly smile, "I know that a few girls go crazy for it."

Ahsoka snorted. "Define a few girls." She said haughtily. Her friend shrugged and replied, "What would you say if I told you that I was trying to get the new girl's attention?"

"Be more specific, please, Skyguy. You know that there's a ton of new kids this year." Ahsoka replied with an eye-roll, flipping her book back open.

"Fine. Padmé Amidala," Anakin said lightly. When Ahsoka lifted her head from her book, the boy was giving her a sheepish smile. Ahsoka lifted her eyebrow. "Padmé? You're a bit out of her league, don't you think?"

Ahsoka ducked nimbly to escape her friend's hand, laughing at his discomfort. "I am not out of her league! I'll let you know that she and I actually talked a bit during biology." Anakin retorted.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Skyguy. If you want to do that stupid hair-running to get Padmé's attention, fine. I think you can get her attention in other ways, though. Geez."

"Thanks for your input, Snips." Anakin shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.)

"I'm going through a rough time." Anakin replied after some time. He flicked a glance at Ahsoka and turned back around, puffing out a sigh. "As in…the guys are getting pretty riled up and I've been doing…things. And I don't think I really want to do it anymore."

Ahsoka crossed her arms. "What things?" She asked, her eyebrow slowly making its way to her hairline. She narrowed her eyes at her former friend (Ahsoka hated that word – former friend,) and went on, "Are any of these things…looked down upon?"

"You sound like Obi-Wan," Anakin muttered under his breath but when Ahsoka continued to glare at him, he relented. "A bit, yeah."

Ahsoka bit down on her lip and sucked in a breath. "Are you going to tell me what you did?"

Silence fell upon the two – Anakin didn't seem rather fond of the idea of opening up, which Ahsoka found absolutely stupid, seeing that he was the one who called her here. She sighed and brought her hands to her face. "Fine. We're going to play Twenty Questions – yes, we're actually going to do that, Anakin." She added when the boy lifted his eyebrows.

Ahsoka leaned back and asked, "Did you make a fake ID or something?"

Nod.

"Have you gone to places that you shouldn't be going to at your age?"

Nod.

Ahsoka felt her heart sink considerably as she asked quietly, "Have you been drinking?"

Nod.

"Drugs?"

Nod.

Ahsoka's blood ran cold. She allowed her hands to fall to her knees and she continued, "Have you been doing this…since we got here?"

Nod.

That did it. Ahsoka kicked herself up to a standing position and she said, "Let's just walk around." Without waiting for an answer, she started to make her way across the lawn of the library. After a few minutes of hesitant quiet, she heard Anakin running after her. Neither one of them spoke – Ahsoka rounded the corner, leading Anakin to the streets in the process. Like the library, the streets were completely deserted except for a few cars passing by.

"You want to get help." Ahsoka said at last, keeping her voice as quiet as possible. "Go to meetings, I guess. Talk to a therapist or something like that." She looked over at Anakin, who (unsurprisingly) didn't look up from his shoes. "You could have done it yourself, you know. I know you said you wanted someone to help you out with this, but I mean…this was kind of out of the blue, don't you think?" Ahsoka let out a humorless bark of laughter. She immediately felt mean for doing so, but a small part of her kept edging her on – a part of her still wanted to get angry and she hated herself for feeling that.

"Or you could have called Obi-Wan. He would have talked to you. Or maybe even Padmé – you know, I think she's still willing to listen to you, believe it or not." Ahsoka went on.

"Maybe." Anakin replied halfheartedly, shrugging. He turned to Ahsoka. "But it'd be…awkward. And Obi-Wan's already busy with some shit and I don't need to be a part of that. Besides, he's been calling me 24/7 – I don't want to prove to him that I'm some sort of…"

"Mess?" Ahsoka offered, kicking up a few leaves with a shove of her leg. Anakin scowled and shot back, "You know, just 'cause I admitted to a few things doesn't mean you have to go on and rub it in my face."

"'Course." Ahsoka retorted and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "But seriously, though – why the heck would you call me? I thought you were keeping up with the stupid silent pact."

Anakin frowned. "I didn't make any silent pact." He said shortly.

"Really? Then why did you spend the first few months of school not talking to me? Or texting me? Or calling me? Or even looking at me?" Ahsoka asked accusingly. "You were a completely different person!"

"I didn't make a silent pact." Anakin repeated. "I just had a…break. I needed to think about some stuff – a lot changed after Mom died."

"After your mother died?" Ahsoka asked incredulously. "I hate to sound insensitive, but when she died, you still talked to me! You told me – you didn't give me any warnings –"

"Yeah, well, people lie, don't they?" Anakin interrupted angrily. "I can't always be honest, Ahsoka, and you seriously can't expect that I was absolutely fine when I told you so!" He crossed his arms. "I was confused and I didn't know what the heck I was supposed to do with myself – and I did stupid things because of that. I couldn't talk to you because I didn't want you to…to act all patronizing about it, like you're doing now!"

He threw his hands up in the air. "So, sue me – I stopped talking to you for a while, but I wasn't going to permanently cut myself off from you or anything! I wanted to figure some things out for myself and…" His voice trailed off helplessly and he rubbed his hands behind his neck tiredly. "Damn." He finished lamely, shaking his head.

Ahsoka was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, stealing a few glances at the street. "Great." She muttered. "Now you're making me feel like the bad guy."

"You were always pretty good at that role." Anakin replied quietly, and for a brief second, Ahsoka thought she saw a hint of a smile on his face. However, Ahsoka looked back down at the ground before she could fully process it. She puffed out a few breaths and then whispered, "So…you went through some serious shit."

Anakin paused and then nodded. "That seems to fit the last few months, yeah. Lots and lots of shit. With a sprinkle of fuckity fuck and associated with stupid crap."

Ahsoka felt the corners of her lips twinge into a smile despite the situation (and herself). She managed to roll her eyes and simply replied, "Then I'll get you help. We'll look into whatever…groups or meetings you can go to without making you feel…childish or corrupted or something."

"Or something," Anakin muttered but he nodded. He looked up at the sky and after a few more moments of tense silence, he added, "Thanks. For coming and everything."

Ahsoka nodded back and tapped her fingers against her legs. "I'm curious, though," she said quietly. "Why'd you call me?"

Anakin gave Ahsoka a small smile. "Come on, Snips – friends since the dawn of time?" He murmured, giving her a small poke on the arm. When Ahsoka didn't smile back, he sighed and withdrew his hand. "And…maybe 'cause you know, I might have possibly missed you for a while. And I wanted to talk to you." Anakin gave Ahsoka such a sad look that she felt herself soften a bit more. "You know, trying to figure out some things on my own is kind of lonely after a while."

Ahsoka swallowed, trying to feel around the burning rock that was making its way around her throat. Oh, my God, if you cry, I'll never forgive myself! Don't you dare cry! Don't you dare turn this into some sort of sappy, cheesy –

The rest of Ahsoka's thoughts went down the drain as she wiped away at her eyes and mumbled, "Figured. Missed you, Skyguy. A bunch."

She could hear Anakin laughing lightly under her breath and in the next second, she felt his familiar arms wrapping themselves around her shoulders. Ahsoka let out a soft sigh and allowed herself to be brought into a hug. She buried her head in Anakin's shoulder, giving him the occasional poke or punch in the torso or arm. "If you ever try to figure out your life without telling me first, I'll kill you." She threatened, earning herself a light laugh from Anakin.

"Missed you too, Snips."

xXx

It took about ten cups of coffee for Ahsoka to drag herself away from her bed later that day. (After all, it had been a little after three when she finally went back to the dorm.) She had just barely managed to finish her paper and printed it out before flopping back in her bed, welcoming sleep.

And though Ahsoka was as tired as fuck, she was happier than ever – not only did she get her paper done, but things with Anakin were sorting out. Perhaps it wasn't an automatic recovery, but Ahsoka was glad that they were on talking terms…and on the road to healing.

So now, Ahsoka was holding Anakin's hand and staring at the building sitting before them. Ahsoka had kept her promise – after taking a class, she had managed to find the perfect society for Anakin. (Or at least, as perfect as it could be…)

"Ready?" She whispered, looking up at her friend. Anakin gave Ahsoka a single, wordless nod.

Ahsoka gave him a small smile and pulled open the door for him.

A/N - In case you couldn't tell, the italics were flashbacks - I think those flashbacks were actually rather fun to play around with. I suppose I rushed the end (I finished up this story only about an hour ago) but I think that was because I ran out of steam. *sighs*

Still, I hope it was a satisfactory ending. Reviews are always nice and so is constructive criticism, but flames are not! I also know that some people dislike this certain topic, but keep in mind that I did leave a warning, so I would prefer to not see a comment about how you hated this idea. At least offer some pointers on how to improve if you're going to do that. :/