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There was something that Jimmy always thought was weird but never really brought up. And that was how Grian and Joel interacted with each other. They were obviously really close, especially with the way they were able to have silent conversations with each other, something that still freaked Jimmy out a bit whenever he noticed. But it didn’t really make any sense. If the two had met on the first day of school, that had only been a month or so before they met Jimmy.
It was a bit weird but Jimmy always just went along with it. After all, he got really close with Grian and Joel after only a few weeks. It was possible they just hit it off really well when they first met.
That was what Jimmy chose to believe, up until one night when they were all hanging out and the topic of their childhoods came up. “And then Mr. Peters gave me detention on top of all that!” Joel exclaimed with a huff, wrapping up his story of how he got in trouble for pulling a prank that ended up backfiring on him. Both Grian and Jimmy laughed at the story, though Grian’s was a bit more subdued.
“Oh yeah! I think I remember that happening. You probably should have done it in someone else’s class, Mr. Peters was always a stickler.” Grian commented.
Joel sighed, placing his chin in his hand as he leaned on his crossed legs. “Well yeah, but that’s why I did it to him in the first place.”
Jimmy blinked, his laughter petering off as he glanced between the two humans. It was said so casually that Jimmy almost missed the implications of it. “Wait, you two…knew each other back then?”
Grian and Joel’s attention fell onto him, sitting atop Joel’s nightstand. Joel’s eyebrows furrowed though he was still smiling. “Yeah? Grian and I have known each other since we were, like, 6.”
Jimmy felt his entire view of the two of them spin on its head. “I…I didn’t know that.”
“Really?” Grian asked, sharing a glance with Joel. “I kind of thought it was obvious.” They weren’t making fun or teasing him, Jimmy could tell it was a genuine thought. That didn’t make him feel any less embarrassed though.
“Well I just-I just assumed you guys met at the start of college. Most roommates do. And besides, you two live like 8 hours apart! What was I supposed to think?” Jimmy said, trying his best to defend himself despite not being attacked on the subject.
Grian hummed, leaning back against his desk chair. “I guess that’s fair. My family and I moved during my sophomore year of high school.”
“Yeah, we were so sad when we found out. It was a hard goodbye.” Joel chimed in, thinking back on that time. It had definitely been hard, having his best friend move so far away.
“Oh.” Jimmy supposed that made sense. “So, what happened when Grian moved?” If they were borrowers, then something like moving would pretty much be the end of any sort of relationship. Borrowers had no way to communicate long distance and it was too dangerous to go and try to visit. But Jimmy knew humans had phones and things in order to keep in touch.
“We kept it touch for the most part, although during our senior year we barely talked if at all.” Joel said.
That was surprising to hear for Jimmy. “Really? Why?”
Grian shrugged. “We were really busy. It sucks but we just really didn’t have the time to chat with everything going on.”
“It’s actually really funny.” Joel said with a grin. “We had no idea the other was going to college here.”
“Seriously?” Jimmy said with wide eyes.
“Yeah, imagine our surprise when I walked into my assigned dorm and I saw Grian already there unpacking.” Joel said with an even wider grin. It was still crazy to think about even now, the coincidence of that even happening.
Jimmy seemed to be thinking the same thing if his shocked expression was anything to go by. “That’s…actually insane.”
“Right?” Grian said with a chuckle. “But yeah, we’ve known each other for years.”
“I guess that does explain a lot.” Jimmy said. “I was always wondering how you two seemed so close for people who met a month before we did.”
“Well, now you know.” Grian said and then moved his hand over to ruffle Jimmy’s hair with a finger. Jimmy let out a small screech of (fake) annoyance and tried to push Grian’s hand away. Grian, however, didn’t give in. Instead, moving his hand from Jimmy’s head to his entire body, scooping the borrower up. Jimmy yelped as his back was pressed up against Grian’s palm, fingers curling in.
Jimmy gave one last push against the fingers around him before settling down. Grian brought him closer and grinned at him. “Giving up already?” Grian teased and Jimmy rolled his eyes.
“No. For your information I wanted to be held, thank you very much.” Jimmy said with a huff.
Joel watched this exchange with a smile, looking back and forth between his two best friends. “You know,” Joel started, getting Grian and Jimmy’s attention back. “I wonder what it would have been like if we found Jimmy as kids.”
Grian blinked and looked down at Jimmy, all wrapped up in his hand. It was a weird thing to think about, meeting Jimmy way back when. Would things have gone down similarly?
Since Grian was watching Jimmy so closely, he noticed when Jimmy winced a bit. Confused by Jimmy’s reaction, Grian decided to call him out on it. “What’s wrong? Don’t think you could have kept up with us as kids?” Grian said in a teasing manner.
“No, I just…” Jimmy trailed off, looking off somewhere in the distance as his grip around Grian’s finger tightened. Just enough where Grian could feel it. “Kids are dangerous to borrowers. More so than adults usually.”
Joel’s eyes widened at what Jimmy was getting at. “So…what? You think something would have happened if we met as kids?” Joel tried not to feel hurt, knowing kids could be very careless, but it was hard.
Jimmy shrugged, feeling a bit awkward talking about it. “I’m not saying for sure but…it’s possible.”
Grian hummed, his eyes narrowed in thought at Jimmy’s words. He wanted to say he had been a pretty careful kid, that if they had met Jimmy way back when then nothing bad would have happened. But…he couldn’t. None of them had any way of knowing how things could have gone. And if Grian and Joel had reacted so poorly in the first place to Jimmy as adults then…
Well, maybe it was best not to think about those what ifs.
Grian stood up from his desk chair, pushing it back toward his desk as he all but fell onto Joel’s bed next to him, being careful of Jimmy still tucked in his hand. He brought said hand up to chest level and out enough where Joel could clearly see Jimmy as well. “Well, none of that really matters anyway. We’re here and we’re friends and that’s all that matters.” Grian said, trying to bring the subject down to a close.
Thankfully, it worked.
Jimmy smiled and nodded, his previous demeanor gone. “Yeah, you’re right.”
Grian could tell Joel didn’t seem as quick to let things go. Still not really over what Jimmy had insinuated. But Grian gave Joel a look that said they would talk later, without Jimmy present, and Joel sighed. Grian’s sign that Joel wouldn’t say anything for the time being. Instead, Joel looked down at Jimmy and, despite his hurt, he gave a genuine smile. “Yeah.” Joel agreed with the two and then reached out his hand.
Grian allowed Joel to take Jimmy from him, watching fondly as Joel held Jimmy close in the palm of his hand. “Besides, we act like we’ve been friends for years anyway. I don’t think it would have made much of a difference if we met earlier or not.”
Jimmy blinked and thought that over. “Huh. I guess you’re right.” Obviously there were some things that would get even better with time. Jimmy still found himself a little nervous sometimes around Grian and Joel. The size difference was just…very big. But Jimmy thinks, eventually, even that little bit of instinctual nervousness would go away.
Grian glanced back and forth between the two with a grin. “...Did I tell you about the time in junior year when I pranked the school council president by growing wild mushrooms in his locker?”
Both of his friends’ attention turned to him, eyes wide with astonishment. “Wait, seriously?” Joel said with a grin.
“Okay, you have to tell us this story.” Jimmy said, shifting slightly in Joel’s hand to get more comfortable.
Grian hummed and thought back to that time. “Well, it really all started when Scar won the election…”