Work Text:
"Bård!" A faint noise in his head sounded. "Get up you lazy devil!" He slowly opened his eyes, the light in the room hurting his eyes, and groaned. "Oh good, you're awake!" he heard a familiar voice say.
He turned to his side and clutched the pillow, squinting up at his big brother, who was fixing his tie in the mirror. His face was clean shaven and he was smiling.
"Ugh, what time is it?" Bård mumbled and yawned. His head was pounding and his mouth was dry.
"Its is a little over nine, you should really get up." Vegard said, stretching his neck as he fixed the collar on his shirt. "Big day today, right?"
Bård looked at vegard, a puzzled look plastered on his face. He tried to think, to remember if there was anything important happening today, but he just couldn't think of anything.
"It'll come to you," Vegard said with a cheeky grin. He dropped his hands to his side, turned to bård, and floppily lifted his arms at his side. "Tadaaa! How do I look?"
Bård looked at his brother, who was wearing a suit and tie, his hair was still wet from him taking a shower and- It dawned for bård, "THE SHOW STARTS FILMING TODAY!" He leaped out of bed and swept past his brother.
"There we go!" He heard Vegard laugh behind him as he rushed into the bathroom.
There, hanging on one of the knobs of the cupboards, was his suit. The old familiar suit which he had worn so many times before. He felt it was strange how he could have forgotten that the first shooting of I Kveld med Ylvis was today, but that wasn't important now. He needed to get cleaned up and get to the office so they could check and double check if everything was alright before the filming.
"If you want to take a shower before we leave, you have to do it now. And quick, otherwise you'll have to skip breakfast!" Vegard appeared at the door and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yeah, yeah.. of course," Bård said, and shooed his brother away from the door and shut it. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, standing in front of the big bathroom mirror. He looked at himself, touched his skin and rubbed his eyes. He looked like shit; eyes bloodshot, dark circles under his eyes, and blemishes on his skin. He could have sworn he had lost some weight as well, his ribs much more visible than they usually had been.
"Whatever..." he mumbled and took of his boxers and stepped into the shower. No ones gonna be seeing his body on the show, and the blemishes on his face is nothing a little make up can't cover up. As he stood there under the stream of water, rubbing the shampoo into his scalp, he felt a small bump in the back of his head, and it hurt running his fingers over it. It bothered him, but he carried on washing himself. It must have been a small impact with something, or maybe someone had hit him playfully, and it had left a bruise. His sense of pain was heightened, so it wouldn't be so surprising.
"Bård," he heard Vegards voice outside the door. "You gotta hurry."
Bård turned of the water and got out of the shower, quickly drying himself off with a towel. The bump on his head was small, and it was only a little sting in his head when he touched it. He quickly got dressed, dried his hair as well as he could and left the room.
Vegard was sitting on the bed, leaning back on his arms, a single tress of curly hair hanging in his face, and a distant look on his face. His eyes were clear, and if Bård didn't know any better, he'd say he was dead.
"Lets go! We can still make it to eat breakfast at work if we hurry!" Bård said, rubbing his hands together nervously. Vegard snapped up, his eyes coming back to life and shooting up to look at Bård. He stood up and ran his fingers through his thick hair, moving away the curl in his face. It didn't help though, the curl defiantly fell back into place. They quickly left the house, and drove to work in Bårds car.
Coming to the office, Bård walked in and Vegard followed. The people they passed greeted them with smiles and looks that Bård would almost say were sympathetic. They took the elevator, and went up with one of the secretaries.
"So..." the woman, who's name was Kristine, started, looking over at Bård with a smile. "How are you?"
Bård opened his mouth to speak, but Vegard made it before him, so he just nodded along and looked at Kristine. "Well, it's been good! Uh... a little stressful with all the work, but it's-its good, yeah" Vegard said, smiling.
"Yeah," Bård continued. "I mean uhh.. my family has been on a trip to visit Maria's parents, but we're so busy with the job that I couldn't join them." He nodded, looked quickly at Vegard and then back at Kristine.
Kristine nodded and smiled, "but now the show has started again, and I know things may be a little different now, but its gonna be great!" She put her hand on Bårds arm. He nodded,
"Yeah yeah, things have changed a bit. But I think we can handle it!" Things were a bit different now. The contract for their show had run out earlier this year, but it had been renewed, with a few changes. But they could handle it. The elevator reached Kristines floor, and the doors slid open. "I know you can!" She smiled as she walked out. "You two will handle the show with ease." She stopped and turned towards them. "Speaking of that, Calle is in the kitchen, if you are looking for him."
The doors slid shut and carried on up to the floor the brothers had pressed.
"I hope we'll get through filming tonight without any troubles."Vegard said as they walked to the kitchen. "Calle has that tendency to joke around too much, and we have to retake the entire thing."
"Yeah I think it'll go great, Calle wont be a problem." Bård replied, sticking his hands into his pockets.
"What song is it we're opening up with tonight?" Vegard asked.
"Wasn't it cotton eye joe we talked about?" Bård laughed. "I'm pretty sure it was that."
"Where did you come from, where did you go" Vegard sang, dancing goofily. Bård laughed and sang along, "where did you come from cotton eye joe." They got a few weird looks as they walked, but they didn't care.
They entered the kitchen, and Calle was nowhere to be seen. Bread and various spreads were on a table there, and a pot of fresh coffee was on the table. Bård sat down and filled a plate with food, and greedily dug in. It wasn't until right now that he realized how hungry he was. Vegard didn't get anything though. He just sat next to him and stared at nothing. Once again the closest comparison to his expression and posture was that of a dead man. His skin seemed paler than before as well.
"You alright Vegard?" Bård asked with his mouth full.
"Hmm?" Vegard snapped up. "Yeah yeah yeah, just drifted off for a moment." He cleared his throat. As he sat up again, it was like his skin lit up, became that golden tan colour again.
"Hey! There you are! I've been looking for you!" Calle came rushing towards the table.
"What's up? " Vegard folded his hands on the table.
Bård looked at Calle with his mouth full, waiting for him to speak.
"I've been thinking about the opening for tonights show. What if you sing the first verse, then I the next, and then you again, and then we introduce tonights guests and sing the chorus together?" Calle looked hopeful, never taking his eyes of Bård.
"What?" Vegard exclaimed.
"Um... no, I think we're going with the original idea. I sing, Vegard sings and then you sing, we introduce the guests and sing the chorus together. All three of us." Bård said slowly. Was this another one of his jokes? Or had he and Vegard had a fight, and now Calle was ignoring him?
Calles face dropped and he swallowed hard, his adams apple bobbing in his throat. "What is this, some kind of joke? God, bård, sometimes your humor is just a little too cruel." He shook his head and left quickly.
Bård and Vegard watched him leave, and then Bård turned to Vegard.
"Did you two have a fight or something?"
"No. At least I don't think so." Vegard looked bewildered. "Last time I saw him, everything was fine."
"Hmm.. strange." Bård shrugged, and finished his cup of coffee. "Lets get to work."
The day swept by quickly. The set was checked out, cameras tested and lines read and re read. Calle hadn't shown up for the rehearsal for the opening, so Bård and Vegard had to do it alone. It went well and Bård only hoped Calle would know what he was going to do when the filming started. Finally, the guests started lining up at their doors, and soon after, the doors were opened. The crowd filled the room, taking their seats and chatted loudly. Bård and Vegard greeted the VIP guests, which were two girls in their early twenties. Vegard didn't say much during that, Bård was the one talking to them. He just stood there and smiled politely.
Finally, a few minutes before they were gonna start filming, Calle arrives. He hardly speaks to Bård and doesn't even look at Vegard, and Bård is sure something is wrong. He sits down behind the desk on the scene and leans over to talk to Calle.
Vegard had gone to the bathroom, so maybe he could get a word with him in private and hear what was wrong.
"Hey Calle," Bård said quietly. "Whats wrong?"
Calle sighed deeply and looked at Bård. "You know whats wrong." He looked down at the script papers again and kept reading.
"No, I honestly don't. Please tell me whats going on!" Bård replied, getting a bit annoyed. Why did he have to be such a dramaqueen.
"Look, I know it's hard for you, but joking like that does not solve any of your problems. You have always had a rude humor, but what you're doing is taking it a bit far, don't you think?" Calle put the papers down and turned to Bård, a mixed look of anger and worry in his eyes.
"What are you talking about? What jokes??" Bård said, a bit loudly. At that moment, Vegard came over to them. "Hey."
Bård sat up and cleared his throat. "Hey!" Calle looked at bård and his brows furrowed. "So.. when are we going to start?" Vegard asked, clasping his hands together excitedly.
"It'll be soon, just a few small check ups, and we're ready to start." Bård answered. The small bump on the back of his head had started hurting again, but he ignored it the best he could.
"Great." Vegard huffed. "In the mean time," he walked over to the side of the desk where his chair usually stood, but now there was nothing. "I'd really like to get a chair please!" He shouted towards one of the assistants, but none of them responded, and just went on with whatever they were doing.
Calle had gone quiet.
Bård felt frustration build up inside him. These people worked for them, why weren't they following simple requests they set?
"Hey!" Bård shouted, and snapped his fingers at one of the assistants near by. The young man turned to him. "Yes?"
"Can we get a chair for my brother here please?" Bård asked, nudging his head in the direction of vegard.
"Um.. what?" The young man looked bewildered, and looked around the room.
"Bård..." Calle started.
"Not now calle!" Bård cut him off. "Please. A chair here." He pointed at the spot where the chair usually stood.
"But-" the young man tried. He obviously had no experience with this.
"No buts. Why is it so hard to get a chair for Vegard, huh? He's one of the hosts, he's been here from the start, why-" Bård scolded, getting angry. Vegard had stepped back, hands in his pockets, looking down at the floor.
"BÅRD!" Calle shouted, "enough!"
Bård became silent and looked at Vegard, and then Calle.
"Stop this. Stop it now! Vegard isn't here anymore, this isn't funny!" Calle said, his voice shaky but mad.
Bård felt a chill go down his spine, and his head started hurting again.
"I know its been hard for you, but joking around like this doesn't make anyone feel better about his death. alright?!" Calle continued.
"Wh-" Bård mumbled. "What?" He stood up, and walked in front of the desk, right in front of Calle. " Is this some form of sick joke? What, you're telling me you can't see him standing right there?!" He pointed at Vegard, his hand shaking and his head pounding painfully.
Calle looked over to where Bård was pointing, and shook his head. "No Bård... theres no one there.." Calle said and frowned. "Are you seriously saying you can see him? Bård? "
Bård wasn't listening any more. His breathing became quicker, the sound of it filled his ears, and he felt his head get heavy. The crowd was looking at him, everyone was looking at him. He turned towards his brother, fearing he wouldn't be there. His throat tightened and he wanted to shut his eyes, but kept them open, regretting it moments later when his eyes didn't meet his brothers.
"No.." he mumbled. "You-" Vegard wasn't standing standing there anymore. He wasn't there. Bårds vision became blurry.
"No.." his voice broke. "You're real.." he breathed. "You're real!!" He screamed. Vegard had disappeared right in front of his eyes. Bård turned around clumsily, his head getting worse and worse, and the sound of screams filled his head.
"I'm afraid they're right." Vegard stood there, but he was completely different. Gone was the normal cheerful lively Vegard, with the poofy hair and the goofy grin, instead, his face was bloody and lifeless, eyes clear and skin pale. His black hair was smushed against his head, blood trickling down his neck. His head hung in an awkward angle. It all seemed like an impossible nightmare.
"Oh god," Bård collapsed, grabbing his head. Images started flickering in his head, memories of his brother. He had to be alive. He had to. He had to-
They were driving in his car, talking about unimportant things. They were laughing, looking at each other. Vegard looks ahead, and fear is written all over his face. He screams, and one second later, a bus comes crashing straight into the front of the car.
Bård wakes up to a pounding in his head, he touches the back of his head and feels a warm liquid ooze out. The car is trashed, the windows are broken and the front of the car is completely crushed. His legs had by some miracle not been smothered in the wreck.
"Vegard..." he starts blurrily, hand reaching out and grabbing his brothers arm, and turns his head. Next to him, vegard is sitting, head turned in an very abnormal, and blood running down his face.
"Vegard?!" He takes of his seat belt and tries to wake his brother, shaking him lightly, shouting his name. "VEGARD!" He checks for a pulse, and finds none. He sees that his legs had not been as fortunate as his own, and were stuck in the crushed metal.
"VEGARD!" he screams, and tears start running down his face. "Wake up!" He shakes the lifeless body, and his big brothers neck makes a disgusting noise as it moves.
After that, it's like he's in a vague dream. People rush to the car, shout and scream, but Bård only hears it as muffled noises in the back of his mind. Someone comes and grabs Bård, tries to pull him out of the car, but he screams, fights, 'I CAN'T LEAVE HIM," he cries, "HE NEEDS ME!",But they get him out, and no matter how hard he tries, he isn't allowed near the car again.
He gets taken to an ambulance, asked routine questions and is checked to see if hes alright. He refuses to go to the hospital until he sees his brother, which the paramedics agree to let him do, because he seems to be okay.
Vegard doesn't arrive until a long time after him, lying on a stretcher, covered by a white sheet that soon gets soaked in blood. Bård feels his legs give up on him.
Bård snaps back, his eyes wildly scanning over the room, Calle is kneeling by his side and some of the guests are standing farther away, not sure if they should help or not.
"No, please..." he begs, his vision blurred because of tears. Vegard stands there, as lifeless as that day.
'You cant be dead' he thinks. 'You cant'
"I'm sorry little brother" Vegard smiles to Bård, and then he's gone.
Bård shuts his eyes, tries to shut out all the noise, the people around him fuzzing about, the noise in his head, the constant loop of the crash and the people screaming. He feels his body go limp, and with a soft thud, he falls to the floor unconscious.