Spoilers for #54, PG-13/T for underage drinking and light swearing. Prompt is "Titles: Animorphs, Marco & Jake, Call Me When You're Sober (post-54)". Also, I apologize profusely for dumping fourteen chapters on you at once.

Marco frowns at the ringing phone. He's busy doing nothing and he doesn't like to be interrupted. But the caller ID says it's Jake and Jake never calls anyone these days.

He picks up the wireless and hits the call button. "He's alive!" he exclaims into the phone, trying to remember the last time he's actually talked to his best friend.

"Marco," Jake says, and his voice is off, like he's been crying, or . . . nah.

"Speaking," Marco says, and rolls his eyes to the heavens. "Who'd you think?"

"They're dead, they're all . . . Jesus, I killed them. Marco, Rachel's dead."

For once, Marco is speechless. "Dude, where have you been?" Then something occurs to him, and his face settles into a frown. "Are you drunk?"

"I think so?" Jake slurs. "I found some old wine in the cellar . . ."

"You're fucking seventeen."

"So? Not like you don't go out to clubs every night."

"Yeah, but that's- How much have you had?"

"Um." There's a long pause, silence broken only by the sound of Jake breathing unevenly on the other end of the line. "Bottle and a half? Two?"

"Jesus. Do I need to call AA on you?"

"Not an alcoholic." He's almost chuckling, but a drunk laugh, not a real one. "First time drinking . . . Thought it might help."

"And has it?"

He's not laughing now. "No."