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"Tell me again Brian, why are you friends with him?"
Brian looked over at Tim. They were currently walking back from the woods to Brian's car. Alex had ordered them to go away and practice their lines together while he, Seth and Sarah worked on the set. He had said he was sick of the two of them "goofing around like a pair of kids". In all honesty, Tim had been goofing around a lot today. And when he got like that, of course Brian couldn't resist joining in.
Brian shook his head. "I don't know what's up with him at the moment. He's usually a pretty fun guy."
"Really? I would say he's a complete douche."
"Come on, he's not that bad."
"The guy's a jerk, and he urgently needs someone to surgically remove that stick up his ass."
Brian chuckled quietly but didn't say anything. The five of them had arrived at the park earlier that afternoon to put together the set for the bonfire scene - the scene where Brian and Sarah's characters finally had a heart-to-heart conversation and confessed their feelings. Alex had spent most of the afternoon gathering firewood, setting up the cameras and ordering Seth around. Sarah had just hung around, texting a friend on her cell. So, to pass the time, he and Tim had had a fake lightsaber battle with branches (Brian provided the sound effects), a tree-climbing contest (Tim had won) and a re-enactment of several classic Monty Python sketches (Seth was amused. Alex most definitely was not.)
It was late afternoon now and would soon be getting dark. Once it was dark enough, they were going to light the bonfire and start shooting. Privately, Brian was a little worried about the idea of starting a fire in the middle of a wood, but none of the others seemed too concerned. Anyway, Alex had brought a fire extinguisher just to be safe. Brian also knew that the fire department weren't too far away if the worst happened and it got out of hand.
They reached the parking lot and went to sit in Brian's car - Brian at the wheel, Tim sitting shotgun. Tim pulled on the jacket that he had left there earlier. Brian had noticed he seemed to feel cold a lot lately. He wondered if Tim was getting sick.
"I guess we probably should rehearse". Brian said. He did feel kind of bad - Alex was his friend and he had obviously put a lot of time and effort into this project. It was just a shame he had turned into the worst kind of stereotypical control-freak director at the same time.
"I guess. Do you have the script?"
"Yeah. Wanna go over the car scene?"
"Sure."
Brian passed Tim the script, turning it to the right page. He also turned on the inside light so Tim could read it easily. Tim scanned the page a few moments before putting the script on the dashboard. "Okay. Go"
Brian sat back in his seat and began: "This town just doesn't feel the same to me anymore. I missed it so much when I was in college, but now that I'm back? I just feel like a depressed teenager all over again, stuck in a loop of unhappiness."
"Maybe you've grown up?" Tim responded.
"I don't know, maybe this town has grown up."
"Maybe it has."
Brian was going to continue but he noticed Tim was pulling a strange face. "What?"
Tim started laughing. "I'm sorry", he said, still chuckling, "but this script is fucking terrible. 'A loop of unhappiness?' Seriously?."
"Well, now you say it like that..." Brian was laughing too.
"I don't know how you can say it with a straight face."
"It's hard," Brian admitted, "but someone's gotta do it."
Tim laughed again.
This is what Brian liked about Tim. The guy didn't take himself - or anything else - too seriously. He found it kind of funny that he had ended up with two very different close friends: Alex, straight-laced and by-the-book but, until recently, always willing to have fun, and Tim, who was more free-spirited. Brian could tell Tim and Alex didn't like each other much. This might have had something to do with the fact that Tim spent a lot of time arguing with Alex about the script. He often put forward his ideas on how a scene could be improved without being asked. Sometimes Brian thought he did it on purpose, just to rile Alex up. Alex really didn't like it when Tim ad-libbed or improvised, while Tim didn't like how Alex gave them little leeway to make their own interpretations of the scenes and characters. They were definitely two very different people. Brian felt a little bad for Tim when Alex had got pissy with them earlier: it was Brian who had persuaded Tim to take part in the Marble Hornets project in the first place and he knew Tim hadn't signed up to be shouted at.
It was a shame that things had turned out the way they had: Tim was, in Brian's opinion, a very good actor, and it seemed unlikely now that he and Alex would ever be willing to work with each on future projects once Marble Hornets was wrapped up.
Tim was busy scanning the rest of the script for that scene. He shook his head. "I can't make myself read the rest of this scene today." He said. "It sounds like it was written by a thirteen year old girl. A stoned thirteen year old girl."
"When have you ever met a stoned thirteen year old girl?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," Tim joked, raising an eyebrow.
"Urgh, man, you're sick in the head."
"But you love me anyway."
Brian snorted at that. Tim snickered.
After flicking through the script again, Tim suggested they should probably rehearse the bonfire scene, seeing as that was the next one they would be filming. The scene began with Tim and Brian's characters discussing Sarah, and her true feelings for Brian. Tim began.
"You need to talk to Sarah."
"I don't know, Tim. I don't think she feels the same about me anymore."
"Ever since you left, she hasn't been the same. She never said anything, but we all know she thought she made a mistake by not going with you."
"It's too late now. I made my choice and now I have to live with that."
"It's never too late. Just go talk to her." Tim paused. He looked down, then out of the side window, away from Brian. Brian, who had memorised the script, knew what Tim's next line should be: You and Sarah were meant for each other. He was just about to give Tim a prompt when Tim spoke up.
Still staring out the window, he said. "Forget about Sarah. She obviously doesn't care about you. Why not give your old buddy Tim a try instead?"
Brian had no idea what Tim was doing. "That", he said, his mind whirling "wasn't in the script."
"I know." Tim still wasn't looking at him.
"Tim", Brian said weakly. "What was that?"
"Forget it," said Tim. He looked straight ahead and carried on with the scene as if nothing had happened. "You and Sarah were meant for each other."
Brian looked at Tim intently. What was going through his head? Had he really been suggesting what Brian was hoping he was? Brian knew what his next line was: he was meant to say "Maybe you're right". Instead, his mind racing, he changed tack. "I think you're wrong." Tim looked at him, surprised. Brian continued. "Maybe I should give up on Sarah. Maybe, instead, I should give it a shot with someone who I already know cares about me... Maybe I should be looking to my best friend instead."
Tim raised an eyebrow. "Alex?"
Brian rolled his eyes. "No, you, stupid." Tim looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Brian didn't know why: he thought he'd always been clear on how much Tim meant to him. "Come here." Brian reached out for Tim and drew him closer to him, his hands gripping his shoulders. Tim moved towards him more than willingly, a happy but disbelieving expression on his face.
"Are you serious about this?" Tim asked quietly, sounding almost vulnerable.
Brian answered by slipping his hand round to the back of Tim's head and drawing their faces together. He answered the question by kissing Tim, slowly and tenderly.
After a few moments, he felt Tim smile against his mouth. He pulled back, also grinning. "What?"
"I just can't believe this." Tim said. I've been thinking about this for years, but I never thought it would actually happen."
"You too?" Brian asked, incredulously. "God, think of all the time we've been wasting."
Tim smiled. "Well, we'd better make up for it"
"You betcha". Brian pulled a willing Tim onto his lap on his seat, so that he was straddling him. Tim made use of the new improved angle to kiss Brian deeply and thoroughly, his fingers raking through Brian's hair.
"God, Tim", Brian said as he ground up against him. Brian pushed Tim's jacket off his shoulders and ran his hands under Tim's shirt. Tim moaned against his mouth and pressed himself harder against Brian. One of his hands crept down and skilfully undid Brian's fly. He slid his hand down and stroked Brian through his shorts. Brian gasped, finding it hard to catch his breath all of a sudden. It looked like they really were about to make up for lost time. Tim's fingers had crept inside Brian's shorts, pulling him out and beginning to pump him, gently at first, but then with more urgency. Brian slumped back in the seat, his head tilted back, his breath ragged as Tim both kissed and bit his neck while bringing him off.
It was over too soon. Brian was panting, while Tim was draped over him, his face hidden in Brian's shoulder. Brian moved his hand and found that Tim was still hard. I can fix that, he thought with a grin, and began to pay Tim back in turn.
Tim's whimpers of delight, increasing in volume and gusto, were music to Brian's ears. As Tim came, he brought their mouths together again, in a bruising clash of teeth and tongue.
For several minutes afterward, they simply lay there, Tim collapsed on top of him, Brian with his arms around Tim in a loose embrace. In the time since they left the set, it had gotten dark. After a while, Brian noticed a faint, flickering light in his rear-view mirror. It seemed to be coming from the trees.
"It looks like they've started the bonfire."
Tim looked up. "So they have."
"Wanna get cleaned up?"
"I guess so." Brian produced a box of Kleenex from under his seat. They set about cleaning themselves up and straightening their clothing as best they could so they would at least look presentable to the rest of the crew on their return.
"Hey, what was that?" Tim asked suddenly, looking up.
"What was what?"
"It was like this long shadow just passed over us."
"I didn't see anything."
Tim opened the car door, stepped out and walked toward the woods.
"Tim, where are you going?"
"Didn't you see it?"
"No, I didn't see anything. Come on, let's get back to the set." Tim was walking in the wrong direction. Brian, confused, followed him.
Tim suddenly stopped at the edge of the trees, staring intently into the wood. Brian walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah... I just, I thought I saw something there." Tim shook his head. "I must have imagined it." Suddenly, he shivered violently.
Brian put an arm around his shoulders. "Come on, let's go." He was more worried about Tim's sudden strange behaviour than he was letting on.
Together, slowly, they walked in the direction of the flickering light.