Coming Home // Sidemen AU (Minizerk)

News Report

"An eighteen year old male, being named as Joshua Bradley, went missing during the late hours of Friday and is being considered endangered by the police. Bradley was last seen leaving Colton Street Corner Store at approximately quarter past eleven at night, having walked from his friends house on Ericsson Avenue, and has not contacted any family members or friends since. He may need medical attention, although details surrounding this have not yet been released to the press. He is known to frequent Southbank and police are urging anyone with information to contact 116000. We can now talk live to our correspondent-"

JJ muted the TV at that point. The lady stood in the park, where he and Tobi had gone out searching, wasn't going to tell him anything he didn't already know. He was supposed to go to school today but had outright refused, his parents unable to coax him from his spot in the sofa. He wanted to be ready if any new news came up. He also had a feeling that if he went to school, he might regret the way he would behave, especially with Simon not being there, the older boy also taking time off in order to raise the public's awareness.

Really he needed Josh here to be the level head, to reassure him that even though things were fucked up at the moment that he had a plan and he would see them through it. Simon was trying so hard to keep everyone motivated and optimistic but JJ could see right through his shields, the boy was breaking and crumbling on the inside, like the longer he and Josh were separated a small part of him was dying also.

At least the boy was always kept in the know. Simon's dad had been allocated as one of the investigators to find Josh, and would tell his son immediately in anything new arose. Like the DNA results from the blood found in the park, when it had been confirmed as their missing friend's. Or that a black car was spotted driving slowly behind Josh on CCTV after had left the shop, and was spotted driving away twenty minutes later. The car number plates had informed the police that it was stolen, nearly three months ago, but other than that small lead they had nothing.

As the ten o'clock news finished, JJ wondered how easy sleep would come to him that night, if at all. It was his fault. He had been the one to suggest, or rather demand, that Josh go and buy them alcohol. He'd been showing off, he knew he had been, in front of Ethan and Vik. It was just those two looked up to Simon and Josh so much and he would be lying if he said he didn't sometimes feel jealously. It all seemed so pointless now; what was a little bit of admiration when one of his best friends was missing.

His parents tried to cheer him up, suggesting that maybe Josh had received some bad news, that he had simply dropped his phone and bag in his urgency. No way, JJ had thought. Josh had loved that phone, had worked hard and saved up for it himself. There was no way he would have carelessly dropped it. Anyway that unbelievable theory still wouldn't explain the blood. It wasn't loads but it wasn't a little either, but then they had been told a few strands of Josh's hair had been found mixed amongst the blood, and that head wounds would bleed a lot even if it was a minor abrasion.

But either way, the fact of the matter was that somebody had hurt his friend. It made his own blood boil thinking about it, and knowing that they could still have him, could still be hurting him, was not a remedy for a good night's sleep.

His friends were all remaining optimistic on the outside, as much as they could, but that wasn't who JJ was; he said things how they were, how he saw them. He couldn't explain how or why but he just knew, he knew they wouldn't be getting Josh back any time soon.

He had no idea how accurate he would actually be.

...

...

...

The pain's eased off a bit now. He can think straighter, more clearly. None of that's any help if he still can't see though. It's pitch black, at least he thinks it is, unless the blindfold covering his eyes is a lot thicker than it feels. He's tried standing up a few times, but it's no good, whatever he's attached to and whatever was attaching him to it, was doing a good job. He stinks. There hasn't exactly been time for a toilet break. There's no space in his mind for embarrassment though, right now all he needs to do is get out of here...wherever here is.

He doesn't remember much of that night, was it two, three days ago? He'd been walking back through the park when someone had jumped him from behind. He'd tried to fight back but the bastard had smashed his head against something. The same bastard who he assumed had him trapped here.

The boys...what about the boys? He dreaded to think what they were going through. Simon...he almost laughed when he thought about how worried the blond would be right now, it would be funny if it weren't so fucked.

And his mum, he needed to get back to his mum. He knew she wouldn't be able to cope long with him gone. What was happening? Why was he here? Were people out looking for him? Had anyone even missed him yet?

A noise suddenly grabs his attention, the sound of a heavy door slamming and slow foot steps heading towards him. His blindfold his pulled off and he is left reeling by the dramatic change in light, even though it is dim.

Slowly a figure forms in front of him, his bleary eyes blinking rapidly trying to focus. When they do though, his blood runs cold. He knows this person, and it is not good.

And after that bleak chapter, Merry Christmas everybody!