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Today was another Marble Hornets film day, and for once it was taking place indoors, which Jay was grateful for. He liked being outside occasionally, but sometimes he felt awkward standing there watching his friends (were they all friends?) try to act while Alex directed Seth on how to—poorly Jay might add—frame a shot.
They were at Brian’s house today because Alex decided that now would be a good time to film the characters interacting with each other in a more relaxed setting. Tim and Brian were sitting on the couch while Sarah sat across from them in a chair. She looked a bit uncomfortable, not because of the company Jay thought, but because she didn’t really know what she was doing acting wise. Jay didn’t blame her. He supported Alex in this project and that wasn’t ever going to stop, but even he could admit that some of the dialogue was impossible to make sound natural.
Jay was standing awkwardly off to the side while Alex stood between the three of them and berated them. As script supervisor, he didn’t really have much to do with the actual acting side of things, so when Alex got like this he did his best to stay out of his way. Much like Jay, Seth was also standing off to the side, kind of hiding behind the camera and trying to avoid eye contact with Alex. He normally paid Jay and Seth no mind as long as he didn’t try to get involved—or mess up the camera work—and while he loved his friend, he was in no mood to be lectured over something he couldn’t control. Despite that, he couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the conversation.
“It’s like none of you are putting any effort into this! We set aside a few hours every couple weeks to work on this it is not a big ask that you give me your undivided attention,” Alex said pointedly staring at Tim.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I need to prioritize calls from my doctor over your stupid little student film,” Tim said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, still holding the script in his left hand. “I can’t drop everything going on in my life just because you don’t have the patience to sit through a fifteen minute phone call that doesn’t involve you.”
Jay had noticed Tim had taken a break earlier in the day because of a phone call, but he didn’t know what it was for until now. He knew Tim was on medication, though he didn’t want to ask what for, and he had seen Tim step away a few times to have some sort of a coughing fit. While he understood why Alex might’ve been upset and felt as if people weren’t committed to this movie, he had to take Tim’s side here. Silently of course. Health was important and it shouldn’t be ignored just because of something as trivial as a movie.
Jay wondered if Alex noticed how Tim had started taking his medication more frequently and how he always wore a jacket indoors even with the heat on. If he had, maybe he would understand why Tim needed to step away sometimes.
“Besides, Alex, we’ve already been working for several hours today and we’re running overtime. Why don’t we just call it a day?” Brian interjected, standing up and placing a hand on Alex’s shoulder.
Alex swatted Brian’s hand away and turned his focus from Tim to him. “Yeah, we’ve been working overtime because none of you know how to act and apparently some of you think this is social hour.”
Jay cringed internally at the comment, knowing he was part of who that was directed at. He, Tim, Brian, and Sarah had taken a few minutes in between takes to have a small conversation. Jay didn’t mean to get distracted, they just started talking about movies so of course he had to involve himself so he could talk about his favorite camera work in film.
“We were just talking for a minute Alex,” Brian said with a frown, still trying to placate his friend. “You have to let us takes breaks at some points, the acting isn’t going to get any better if you push us past out breaking points.”
“It was never good to begin with. I just want to get this done for the day,” Alex responded, his voice less harsh now, but it took on a condescending tone.
“Why did you even hire us then? Hm? If our acting is so godawful find new people. I’m out,” Tim said, tossing the script on the couch next to him before he got up and walked out of the house.
The room then exploded into chaos, Alex yelling after Tim, Tim flipping him off, Brian trying to talk Alex down again, Sarah visibly wishing she were anywhere but here.
Alex followed after Tim, pushing his shoulder to turn him around before punching him in the face. Sarah stood up from where she was still sitting now, gasping. Tim held a hand up to his eye and started winding his hand back presumably to punch Alex before Brian intervened.
“Tim take a walk, just go home,” he said as he held Alex back, who wasn’t struggling, but clearly wanted to continue the fight. Tim scowled, but did as Brian said.
At that, Alex started yelling at Sarah and Brian and that was the moment Jay decided he was going outside. He wanted to help calm Alex down, but it was so loud in there and it was making him want to rip his hair out and he knew he would just make things worse if he got overwhelmed and then tried to help. Plus, part of him wanted to go see if Tim was alright, if he was even still outside.
Fortunately for him, the chaos of the room provided enough distractions that Jay was able to sneak outside without anyone noticing. As he opened the door and walked out, he almost walked directly into Tim, who he wasn’t expecting to still be here. He was standing right next to the door, smoking a cigarette
“Oh, sorry… Uhhh I thought you left?” Jay said this, yet he was happy that Tim hadn’t left. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be alone outside and this way he could at least check on him.
“Yeah, I was going to but then I didn’t want to leave Brian here and I mean I need the money, even if Alex is just paying us a few bucks every film session. I’ll probably go back in later once I’ve calmed down. What are you doing out here?” Tim said raising an eyebrow.
“Oh, it got too loud in there for me. After you left, Alex started yelling at Sarah and Seth and last I saw Brian was trying and failing to get everything under control.”
“God he’s an asshole… Sorry, I know you two have been friends for a while,” Tim said, sitting down on the ground up against the house now. Jay took that as an invitation to keep chatting and sat down next to him.
“Yeah…” he said, trailing off. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him recently, he’s normally really nice. Pretentious maybe but not to this level. Maybe it’s just the stress of filming getting to him... I don’t know. He was never like this before.”
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Tim periodically taking drags from him cigarette. Or… mostly silence. Jay could still hear shouting from inside, though he couldn’t make out what was being said. After a moment, Jay started speaking again. He figured he may as well take advantage of the shitty situation to try and get to know Tim better.
“How’s your eye?” Jay said, looking over at Tim now. His eye was starting to turn black and blue and would likely be pretty swollen in a couple hours. He briefly considered going inside to get an ice pack, but that would likely end up in him getting involved in whatever Alex was yelling about now and that would be helpful to neither of them.
“Hurts like a bitch but whatever,” Tim said, gently poking at the skin around his eye before wincing and pulling his hand away.
“I know it doesn’t mean a whole lot coming from me, but I’m sorry Alex got so bent out of shape about the phone call thing. You should definitely prioritize that. And I’m even more sorry that he punched you, he’s never done that before.”
“Not your fault. I wish the apology came from him, but I do appreciate it. It’s not like I wanted my doctor to call while I was around you all. I would’ve preferred it not be during filming just as much as Alex.”
“Is… can I help in any way? It seems like things have been getting a little worse for you and-” That was the wrong thing to say apparently, and Jay regretted it almost immediately.
“I’m fine.” Tim said, cutting Jay off a bit harshly.
“Sorry…”
Tim sighed. “No, it’s fine. Sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped. But don’t worry about it, I have everything under control. Everything’s fine.” Jay didn’t really believe that, but he decided not to push it. His goal here was to make a friend, not an enemy.
Jay always found it really hard to read Tim. He hadn’t known him for long—only for the duration of filming—but they’d had a few pleasant conversations and yet Jay still couldn’t tell where he stood with the man. Sometimes, Tim had a very potent “don’t talk to me, don’t even look at me” aura to him and that made Jay feel like maybe they couldn’t even be considered acquaintances. Other times though, Tim had actually initiated conversation with Jay, or made an effort to involve him when he was talking with Brian.
It’s not that Tim was ever mean to him, he just seemed like the type of guy who didn’t really do the whole friendship thing. But then he saw how he interacted with Brian and that made his perception flip. Maybe Tim was just a very closed off person and Jay would need to put in more effort to befriend him.
He wasn’t exactly sure why he was so hung up on the idea of befriending Tim specifically. He wasn’t particularly close with Sarah or Seth either yet he didn’t feel obligated to be close with them like he did with Tim. It was weird.
“So… is Alex as rude to you as he is to the rest of us?” Tim asked out of nowhere. Jay thought he detected a hint of concern in his voice but maybe he was reading too much into things.
“No! Well not most of the time anyway. The only times I really see him like this are when we’re filming. I mean, he’s rude to me sometimes but doesn’t that happen with everyone? We all have bad days. He’s a good friend. And he definitely would never cause me physical harm, that I’m sure of.” Jay said, feeling the need to defend Alex.
Tim frowned a bit. “I mean yeah, but that doesn’t mean we should take it out on other people. Or if we do we should at least own up to it. Alex doesn’t seem to do that,” he said bitterly.
“Yeah I guess he doesn’t… But he does plenty of nice things that make up for it. He actually seems to enjoy being around me sometimes too, so.”
“Sometimes?” Tim inquired, not sold at all on this.
“Poor wording. I tend to talk a lot about things people don’t really care about so it’s only reasonable that he gets a little annoyed with me from time to time. I’m sure I’d do the same if he was like that with me.” Jay ignored the memories of Alex ranting to Jay about various things Jay had no interest in and how Jay listened intently every time. He was sure Alex did that with him too, he just couldn’t think of any examples right now.
“Whatever you say, man” Tim replied, though his frown didn’t let up.
They returned to silence again, though this time Jay couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable. He felt like he painted Alex in an unfair light and didn’t know how to recover that situation.
“You and Brian? You guys seem close?” Jay asked, grasping at straws to try and keep the conversation going.
Tim smiled a little and Jay found he liked the look of a smile on his face much more than a frown. “Yeah, we are. He was the first friend I really made and we’ve been close ever since. He’s a good guy, though you probably figured that out based on the fact that he’s still trying to do damage control in there,” Tim said, gesturing at the door.
Jay couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. Not of Tim or Brian of course, but rather their relationship. He wondered if Alex would say the same of him if someone asked him about their friendship. Would Alex speak fondly of Jay? Would Jay even care if he didn’t? It’s not like he had any other friends anyway.
No he was being too harsh on Alex. It was just because of his attitude recently that he was having these doubts. Alex had plenty of good sides that made up his personality and Jay was sure those would be at the forefront again once they finish up with Marble Hornets.
“You wanna like, go get dinner or something? I think they’re gonna be a while and I’m not sure I want to be here when the house spontaneously combusts or something,” Tim said, standing up and snuffing his cigarette out on the ground.
“I thought you wanted to wait for Brian?” Jay asked, though the offer was appealing and he almost accepted it without a second thought.
“Ehhh he’s a grown man, he’ll be fine. I’ll call him later and get the run down.”
“Then sure, yeah,” Jay said smiling, standing up now too.
This was a good sign right? Friends asked other friends if they could eat together. Or at the very least, people who tolerated each other did, Jay thought.
Before walking to their respective cars, they discussed potential eating options, Tim pulling a few menus up on his phone as Jay looked over his shoulder. Once they settled on a place, they parted ways knowing they’d meet up after about a twenty minute drive.
Jay couldn’t help but smile to himself as he got in the drivers seat of his car. He may not have learned a whole lot about Tim tonight, but it was a start. He was sure he’d learn more as their relationship progressed. From what Jay remembered from their short conversation about films earlier in the day, Tim liked certain brands of horror and sci-fi. Maybe they could talk some more about that over dinner instead of Jay’s friendship with Alex. Jay would certainly like that.