Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1
Tim and Jon were complete polar opposites. Tim was a tall, charismatic and intelligent man despite his goofy demeanour. Jon on the other hand, was a short grumpy man with the general aura of a 50 year old divorcee going through a midlife crisis... despite being only 22.
They were as different as two people could be, yet they grew up in Bournemouth, living only a few houses apart. They were the only children in the neighbourhood so naturally, as most British school children do, they kicked a ratty, slightly damp football around for the better half of their evenings. Tim's little brother would sometimes join them, but he never really was an outdoorsy person. His mind liked to dwell on the memory of the three of them playing outside when they were young. Danny was so much happier then, full of child-like wonder and pure joy.
Tim stood in the small blue box bedroom and picked up a photo of him and Danny, eyes lingering on his late brother's face. He wiped the small pool of tears beginning to form in his eyes and set the photo at the top of the last moving box labelled 'fragile'.
"I'm really going to miss you" He spoke into the room, voice cracking as his throat tightened.
"Tim! We only have the moving van for an hour, so get your ass down here!" Jon called from the downstairs of Tim's parents home.
After Danny's sudden death, Tim felt like a void of emotions. Jon had tried his best to be there for him but the death of your brother isn't something you can ever stop feeling, right down to the depths of your bones it sits, weighing on you until it eventually stops being so heavy. It still lingers though, a reminder that they were there once, alive and breathing. Then the next they just… weren’t.
He would be lying if he said living in his family home where Danny had passed wasn't getting to him. It was like his brain was pointing out every little remanence of Danny. Every night when he would come home, stumbling up the stairs with blurred vision, his eyes would focus on the yellow door with the ‘keep out! Danny’s Room’ sign. Then, he couldn't help but let his eyes drift to the marks of the door frame of his brothers height over the years with stupid little labels and doodles that his brother had made when he was younger.
He fought back the tears of grief for what felt like the hundredth time and ran to his room, slamming the door.
Jon started taking notice of his close friends' reckless drinking when they would go to spoons every Saturday and how Tim would just throw himself at anyone willing, he knew it wasn't a healthy way to cope with anything. He knew Tim, in fact he had known him since he was little so he knew what needed to be done.
"you know.. After my grandmother died, she left me an old house we used to use as a summer home" Jon spoke in the most casual tone he could muster. Tim wasn’t in a good mood, like usual. They had gone down to spoons like they did every Saturday but Jon had said he wasn't feeling too well and managed to get Tim to get some fresh air. Even if he had to play the sick card, Tim wasn't going to be listening to him really when he had his tongue down some blokes throat.
"In truth, I remembered it being like something out of a horror film”- He continued,”- but I went to visit it again a few days ago and the place was surprisingly homey, even if it is a bit of a project." He took a deep drag of his cigarette.
"I was thinking of moving out there for the summer but I can't keep paying the rent since I quit that strange archive job."
Tim had to admit, the idea of living anywhere else but his parents house sounded like heaven.
"yeah, ok." he stared blankly at his feet.
Jon gave Tim a small, meek smile. "We will have to get a few other housemates but I'm sure that will be easy enough. It'll be like a fresh start Tim, just you, me and two absolute strangers." he said with a weak laugh.
Tim dropped his cigarette and stamped it out. "Sounds great."