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When they first did it, it had seemed like such a good idea. They were singing along to the radio, laughing together, and even throwing lighthearted jabs at each other.
If only it hadn't been for that tree, their futures would still be certain.
"This is all your fault, Tim."
"What?! It was your idea to take the car in the first place!!!"
"And who was the one steering????"
"That's not fair!"
As the pair bickered, the front of what was once Joel's prized car smoked, the front completely crumpled in on itself. The pair quickly scrambled out, and stood there assessing the damage.
"Well, it's only the front part," Jimmy reasoned, "maybe we can fix it?"
They then watched as it burst into a fiery inferno, the fancy leather interior burning before their eyes.
"It seems we're cooked," Grian added, as Jimmy's jaw hung open. "Pun not intended."
"We need to get out of here!" Jimmy suddenly exclaimed, snapping out of his stupor.
Grian held no objections, and the pair ran off into the night, abandoning the burning car to be dealt with by the proper authorities.
Once they were a couple of streets over, the pair took a moment to catch their breath and to consider their options.
"We can't go home," Jimmy stated, panic creeping in, "Joel loved that car more than he loves us!"
"Tim, calm down-" Grian tried, but Jimmy kept spiralling.
"We're done, once he finds out-"
"-Joel's not going to kill us!" Grian interrupted, hitting Jimmy across the face for good measure.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?"
"You were panicking."
"So you decided to hit me?!"
Grian shrugged, and Jimmy let a groan escape from his lips. They were so done for.
"Getting back on topic…!" Grian said, "Joel's not going to kill us because Joel's not going to know."
"What?" Joel wasn't going to know? His car was totalled, of course he was going to know!
"We're going to replace it, and he's never going to know it was broken in the first place!" Grian explained.
"Great idea, two problems, it's the middle of the night and we're broke," Jimmy said condescendingly.
Grian shook his head. "I know a guy."
Jimmy raised an eyebrow because who could Grian possibly know that could get them an expensive sports car by morning?
Grian's phone was already on speakerphone and held out in front of him. "Hey, Scar?"
"Hello there, what can I do for you at this hour of the morning?" Scar's voice asked. He was cheerful, suspiciously so for it being three in the morning.
"Would you know how to get a fancy car on short notice for cheap?" Grian asked.
The line was silent for a moment as Scar considered the question, and Jimmy held his breath, hoping that the request wouldn't be too much.
"Let me make a few calls. Is there a specific type you're looking for?"
Grian looked to Jimmy, a grimace on his face.
Jimmy shrugged. Despite how much he wouldn't shut up about it, Jimmy couldn't remember for the life of him what kind of car Joel had.
"Umm…" Grian snapped his fingers in an attempt to remember the name. "Y'know Joel's car?"
"Yeah?"
"One of those please."
"What type is it again? Even a picture's fine."
Grian looked at Jimmy. "Do you have a picture of it?"
"I was hoping you would…"
Grian groaned. "I'll call you back Scar."
He exited the call with a click and they were left in silence once more.
"So now what?" Jimmy asked.
"Surely someone has to know what make of car it was?" Grian said, the barest hint of desperation in his voice.
"We're Joel's closest friends and we don't even know, who else would-"
"Mumbo!" Grian blurted out, almost dropping his phone in his haste to call his best friend.
Despite the late hour Mumbo picked up almost instantly, even quicker than Scar did.
"Grian? What's up?"
"Are all our friends nocturnal or something?" Jimmy muttered as if he wasn't one of those people who were not only awake, but also committing crimes.
"Do you remember what type of car Joel had?!" Grian basically shouted.
"What type of car he had?" Mumbo sounded sleepy and confused as to why Grian was yelling at him.
"Yes."
Mumbo groggily told him the make and model. "Why?"
"NoreasonthanksMumbo!" Grian said impossibly quickly before hanging up.
"Grian wha-"
Jimmy was staring at Grian.
"He likes cars," Grian told him.
"Well that's handy," Jimmy replied, as Grian called Scar again.
"You know what car you need?" Scar asked.
When Grian told him, Scar said, "Ok, I'll call you back in a few minutes with what I find."
The next thirteen minutes had to have been the longest of Jimmy's life. Every few seconds he'd anxiously check the time on his phone. 3:18. 3:19. 3:20.
Every second felt like an hour, every minute an eternity.
Eventually Scar called back, and told them that he knew a guy that was trying to get rid of a car.
"Free?" Grian asked. It was a dream come true.
"Doesn't this seem a bit suspicious?" Jimmy asked. I mean, who would give a sports car away for free?
"Would you rather go back to Joel empty handed?"
That shut Jimmy up, and they went to the place that Scar told them to meet him.
They were down the road from an abandoned yard behind a run down pub, its tall, black, metal gates and anti-bird spikes along the walls giving a creepy vibe.
"You made it!" Scar said cheerfully.
"Of course!" Jimmy responded.
"You got the goods?" Grian asked.
"You make it sound like we're buying something sketchy. Like drugs," Jimmy informed him.
"I mean, this is sketchy as hell," Scar pointed out.
"Shh, say that and Tim's going to get cold feet," Grian scolded.
"No I won't!"
Grian made a face that showed how much he believed that statement.
Before Jimmy could come up with a witty response, which trust him he would've, Joel's fancy car drove past them with speed.
Not Joel's, Jimmy remembered, just a similar one.
Jimmy watched as a big dude got out, and while Jimmy, Grian and Joel wore leather jackets and liked to call themselves 'bad boys,' generally they would stay on the right side of the law, besides a little graffiti of course, however this guy truly looked like he got up to some major trouble.
Under the dim, flickering glow of the street lamp, the guy kept looking to either side of him, like he was either waiting for someone or nervous of getting caught doing something bad. Maybe both.
"There he is now-" Scar began, and he was about to call out to the guy when the flashing blue and red lights of cop cars blinded them, their sirens blaring so loud it made Jimmy's ears hurt.
The guy tried to run, but was immediately tackled to the floor and cuffed.
Jimmy tried to make sense of the scene in front of him, but before he could he was being dragged in the opposite direction.
He followed Grian and Scar as they made a break for it, and eventually they stopped in a nearby park.
"What what that?!" Jimmy exclaimed.
"Look, you wanted a free car, illegal activity comes with the territory," Scar told him.
"I take it we won't be able to get the car from the police?" Grian asked.
Scar shook his head.
"Dammit!"
"Now what?" Jimmy asked. It was a little past four and they were running out of time.
"We could pretend it was stolen?" Grian suggested.
"But there were cameras on that street," Jimmy pointed out. "If he reports it he'll know!"
"It was dark, our faces probably weren't visible."
"But our jackets!" Jimmy insisted, "Joel will recognise them no matter what!"
Grian chewed the inside of his cheek, before looking at Jim with a determined look. "How far are you willing to go?"
"What?" Jimmy asked, startled by the sudden tone-shift.
"Are you willing to go all the way, Tim?" Grian asked again.
"I think? Maybe- what are you thinking of doing?"
"We ditch the jackets, tell him we were mugged a few hours ago and spent the night at Scar's. Perfect alibi."
Jimmy instinctively hugged his arms around himself and his jacket. "But I love my jacket."
"Enough to risk Joel learning the truth?" Grian asked.
"I'm sorry, I only just got here- what happened to Joel's car?" Scar asked.
Jimmy jumped, having forgotten that Scar was even there.
Grian gave him a discerning look. "How much can we trust you?"
"Cross my heart and hope to die," Scar replied, putting a hand on his chest.
"We totalled it," Grian said.
Jimmy freaked out. "You believed him? Just like that?!"
"It's not like it's anything more incriminating than he already knew," Grian pointed out, which made sense but Jimmy was still too anxious to relax at that.
"So, you willing to part with the jacket?"
"…"
The group found a place that wasn't too out in the open to start a fire, and Grian and Jimmy took off their jackets.
Jimmy threw it in before he could think twice, but Grian held onto his for a little longer, staring at it with dark eyes that reflected the orange flames.
"Grian?" Jimmy urged.
He threw it into the fire. Jimmy placed a hand on his shoulder. What had they done?
"We can get new ones," Grian told him, but whether he was trying to console Jimmy or himself, Jimmy couldn't tell.
"Yeah…"
Grian sighed. "Tim, gimme your phone."
"What? Why?"
"Just give it to me, will you?"
Jimmy handed it over, a confused look on his face as he did so.
To his horror, Grian dropped it and crushed it beneath his foot.
"Wha- my phone!!!" Jimmy yelled.
"To sell the bit," Grian explained, though it lacked his usual mischievous tone.
Jimmy spluttered as he tried to come up with a response. "Can I destroy your phone?"
"Left it at home."
"Of course you did…"
Grian took off his shoes and threw them in as well. To really sell it, he said.
Jimmy followed suit, and they stayed silent as they watched their stuff burn. Jimmy felt like he was watching a part of himself burn.
Later on when morning came, Scar called Joel and told him what happened. Joel in turn told him about his car being robbed.
He never learned what truly happened. Or, that was the plan.
When they went to get new jackets, Grian got one similar to his old one, but Jimmy went completely different. The idea of trying to go on like nothing happened made him feel wrong, and getting a replica jacket worsened that feeling. He didn't deserve to get it back.
"Aye, denim, I like it," Joel commented, slapping Jimmy on the shoulder.
"Grian and I destroyed your car," Jimmy blurted out.
"…what?" Joel didn't understand what Jimmy was trying to say.
"It wasn't robbers. It was us. I crashed it by accident. We burned our jackets so you wouldn't find out."
"Tim!" Grian exclaimed.
Joel was quiet. He then walked out of the shop.
"We're dead," Grian said, "we're dead!"
Jimmy felt numb.
"What were you thinking?!" Grian demanded.
"I couldn't do it," Jimmy replied, "sorry." His voice was as lifeless as he felt.
Grian let out a frustrated noise and ran out the door after Joel, leaving Jimmy alone.
He didn't buy the jacket, and instead decided to walk around the neighbourhood. He needed to think.
He was walking around for a while before he found a bench and sat down, staring up at the sky that was starting to turn dark.
He closed his eyes, soaking up the silence, the evening chill feeling good on his skin. He sighed, thinking it'd be nice to stay there for a bit.
"-Jimmy! Jim!" He furrowed his eyebrows. Someone was calling him? Who? Their voice sounded far off.
"Oh my god, he's dead!" A second voice.
"He's not dead! I think…"
"He's been out here all night in a t-shirt!"
Jimmy blinked his eyes open, noticing that it was significantly brighter than when he sat down. Everything felt stiff, and he was cold. Did I fall asleep out here? He wondered.
"Oh thank god," Grian exclaimed, a hand on his chest.
"What are you doing here?" Jimmy asked.
"You didn't come home last night, and we were worried you'd done something stupid!"
We? Jimmy looked over to Joel, who looked equally as worried as Grian, much to Jimmy's surprise.
"Joel…?" He felt himself shrink back a little as he said it.
"Don't go pulling a stunt like that again!" Joel scolded him. It almost felt normal.
"You're… not mad?"
Grian shot him a look that screamed don't remind him!
"Oh, I'm furious. Might never forgive you guys," Joel said a little too brightly, "but that doesn't mean I want you to turn into a bloody ice pop!"
Jimmy blushed.
"By the way, way to go confessing and then disappearing," Grian grumbled, "real team spirit."
"Sorry…"
Joel elbowed Grian harder than necessary. "Ow!"
"Now come on, we need to warm you up so I can tear you limb from limb," Joel instructed, beginning to walk away.
Jimmy found himself chuckling slightly.
"I don't know why you're laughing," Grian said, a little disgruntled, "he's not joking."
"I know," Jimmy replied, but he felt himself smiling.
Grian shook his head as he followed Joel, "weirdo."
Jimmy followed them, the knot inside him loosening slightly. It'd take him a while to gain Joel's trust again, that was certain, but Jimmy was reminded of something important. There was nothing the others could do that would make Jimmy not love them, and it seemed he had forgotten that that went both ways.
He loves his bad boys.