Hey guys! This would be my first time uploading a fan fiction to this site. A friend asked me to write a Marble Hornets fanfiction around the prompt that went something like 'Jay and Tim have to sleep in a car together' and this is the product of it. A crappy one shot. Read, review, attempt to enjoy my writing skills. Be kind! Also, I do not own nor claim to own Marble Hornets or any of its characters. I don't think I could come up with an idea quite like that if I tried.
They had been on the road together for a month now, on the run from Alex and in search of the next clue, any clue at all, that would add another piece to the puzzle. Tim was tired. Tired of hotel hopping, taking watch shifts at night, living out of vending machines and his duffle bag full of twice worn clothes. Tim was tired of *this*. He wanted to go home, get his job back and just forget about this whole Marble Hornets fiasco. That job had made him better, almost normal again. Tim had started to get better, the therapy had even helped! But then Jay had arrived into his life, reminding him of his childhood and dragging him back into it. He needed the pills now, more than ever. His dosage had been upped, by himself of course. He hadn't seen his actual doctor since the night he and Jay had left for good. Jay had believed the quick, simple lie. "Those still helping?" he had asked, "Yep. Takin' one every few hours just to be safe." Tim had replied, screwing the cap back onto the pills and pocketing them. "Is that how many you're supposed to take?" Jay asked again, stepping closer to Tim with the camera. "For now." Tim responded vaguely, taking a drag off of his cigarette. "Alright, I guess I've just been kinda...paranoid, after, you know... after seeing what happened with them before-" "No, it won't happen again. Trust me." Tim interrupted. At least he wouldn't have a seizure. No, that wasn't one of the risks of taking too many pills. A heart attack would be more likely, maybe a brain hemorrhage. But that was at least a dozen pills away. Tim was being careful with this. "Ready to go?" Jay asked, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. Who wants to talk about seizures, really? "Yeah, if you are." Tim said, "Yeah, well it's either that or hang out here." said Jay as Tim stood up from his seat at the picnic table, walking past him. "I'm so tired of driving." Tim said exasperatedly. "That makes two of us." Jay responded, walking after him, the camera strapped to his chest bouncing slightly from the uneven ground.
The pair walked in silence to Tim's car, Jay turning his camera off. Neither of them expected anything eventful to happen on the drive back, and the tapes were not getting any cheaper. Their hotel was just a short drive away from the park, no more than ten minutes. Tim chose a parking spot far away from their actual hotel room, just to be safe. "Hey, should you go pay for another night? We only checked in for one." said Tim. "Only one? But I thought you knew we were going to be staying longer." Jay said, frowning. "Yeah, well, sorry." Tim responded lamely, running a hand through his hair. "I'll go do that then." Jay said, walking towards the hotels lobby entrance and leaving Tim to stand by the car. Nudging a piece of gravel with the toe of his sneaker, Tim waited in silence, listening to the sound of traffic on the highway. When Jay reappeared through the door, Tim walked to meet him, not noticing the disgruntled look on his face until he was quite close. "What's wrong?" Tim asked, "I guess I should have checked my wallet. Our financial situation isn't the best at present." Jay said, adjusting his camera for something to do. "Oh..." said Tim, looking at Jay with a somewhat surprised expression. Money had never really been an issue that was addressed before. "So should we go find somewhere cheaper? Like..." "The car would probably be the best option we have right now. I mean, to really go off the grid." Jay said, still fidgeting with his camera, "I mean, if that's alright with you.". Tim shrugged, "Yeah, sure. I guess. I mean, I've slept in worse places." And that was true, he had. He didn't remember it, but he felt it. Those stretches of time that he lost, Tim knew that he had slept because when he would come back his body would ache. The places he had been sleeping weren't exactly feather down beds. "I think I can survive a few nights in the car." said Tim. Jay nodded, and together they returned to the hotel room to collect their things. Tim slung his duffle bag over his shoulder, and waited for Jay to fit his laptop into his bag. The tv was turned off, the fuzzy white picture blipping to black screen. The door clicked shut behind them and Tim once again waited with the car as Jay returned their room key. Tossing their bags in the trunk, Jay and Tim once again found themselves driving.
They finally agreed to pull into a small park which was oddly devoid of people. Parking underneath a light pole, Tim turned the car off and sat the keys on the dash with a sigh. "We've got a few hours left until it gets dark." said Jay after a few moments of silence, "Do you want to go over a few of the tapes? Or-" "Yeah, sure, lets just do that." Tim interrupted, turning towards Jay as he grabbed his laptop. They watched the tapes until it got dark out, having some granola bars that Jay managed to fish out of the glove box for dinner. Tim took a couple more pills and leaned back into the drivers seat, attempting to get comfortable. Night was fast approaching and honestly, Tim was tired of watching and rewatching the tapes. There was nothing new to be gained from them anyway. "It's getting kind of cold..." said Jay, crossing his arms and settling further back into his seat as well. "Well excuse me for not having the forethought of bringing a blanket. I didn't expect to be sleeping in my car tonight." Tim said defensively. "Alright, alright! I'm just pointing out our situation, not accusing you of anything." Jay said, folding his arms closer. It almost looked like he was trying to hug himself as he stared out the windshield. An almost uncomfortable silence developed as night fell. The overhead light turned on, providing an eerie yellow light for them to see by. Jay donned his coat and continued to cross his arms, pulling his hands into his sleeves. Tim was using his jacket as a blanket, tucking his knees awkwardly to his chest and resting his shins on the steering wheel. It wasn't the most comfortable arrangement. That was when Jay started to cough. Tim gripped his shoulder tightly as he curled forward, almost in on himself, hacking into his sleeve. When the fit finally stopped, Jay drew his hand away, a line of saliva and blood trailed from the corner of his mouth to his jacket sleeve. Tim fumbled one handedly in the glove box, searching for some tissues. Finally finding the pocket pack of Kleenex that he kept there, he handed the whole package to Jay, who wiped his mouth and dabbed at his sleeve, now alarmingly stained with blood. Tim noticed that he was still tightly gripping Jays shoulder. He might even have a bruise there later. Tim let go. "You okay?" he asked, knowing the answer. Obviously not. Jay didn't look at him. "Yeah. I'm fine." "How long has this been going on?" Tim asked, genuinely concerned. Didn't this happen to Alex as well? "Awhile." Jay said, "But it's nothing to worry about. Just forget about it." he said, wadding up the bloody tissues and opening the car door to toss them out. Chilly night air invaded the car again, making Tim shiver. It was clear that Jay didn't want to talk about this, and Tim didn't want to press the subject in such a confined space incase it did start an argument. There is nothing worse than an argument where you can't go anywhere afterwards.
Jay eventually fell asleep, his head lolling to his left, facing Tim. Tim watched him, not feeling very tired now. The pills in his pocket rattled as he shifted his position, reminding him that they should probably be taken now, if he were following his schedule. But that would wake Jay, and Tim didn't want to do that. The pills could wait. Tim listened to Jays deep breaths and watched out the window, suddenly feeling very vulnerable in their position. But everything remained quiet. Tim turned again to look at Jay, his eyes glancing down to his bloody sleeve which rested on half of the drivers arm rest. Tim gently picked at the drying blood on the fabric, frowning to himself about it. About Jay. About their whole situation. Once again, he found himself wishing to be home, fast asleep in his actual bed. Not sitting awake in a car, parked under a light in a strange park with a sick and slightly crazy old acquaintance asleep beside him. But maybe this wasn't so bad. Since Tim had left with Jay, he had retained all of his memory. There had been no lapses. He had stayed, as far as he could tell, himself. Maybe that was the affect Jay had on him. Tim yawned, the desire to sleep now feeling quite pressing to him. Throwing his head back against the headrest and adjusting his makeshift blanket, Tim turned his head to face the drivers window. Resting his arm alongside Jays, Tim closed his eyes and despite the chill, fell asleep.