Chapter One: We All Gotta Start Somewhere, I guess
Lol, I decided to take it upon myself to make a fanfic about these two dorks. Hope you enjoy!
Ocean Man,
Take me by the land
Lead me to the land
“Elijah, the fuck are you doing!?”
Elijah jumped, taking out his beaten up earphones out of his ears.
“Hey Tommy, how’s it going Tommy?-”
Tommy, his older brother, caught up to him and peered down at him with a glare. Elijah was really confused at the look, he looked around to see what his brother was glaring at-because last time he checked it wasn’t illegal to sit on the sidewalk listening to awesome sauce songs.
“Elijah, I asked you what the fuck are you doing.”
Elijah looked around confused once again. Like was it not obvious what he was doing?
“Uh, just sitting on the sidewalk right by the road. I’ve been watching the cars pass by, counted five red cars and six yellow cars. It’s looking like a tie so far-”
“Elijah-”
“Oh! And I've also been listening to my favorite song! It’s called, uh, Ocean Man, yeah, yeah. It was in the Spongebob movie, which by the way, is like so freaking cool dude. Like, absolute cinema y'know."
“Elijah, I just need you to shut the fuck up and listen to me for once.”
“Uh, yeah sure dude. For how long though? My personal record of hushpuppies is three minutes and twenty three seconds. So you’ll have to like to make it quick.”
“Elijah, buddy, you just got kicked out-”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m sitting on the sidewalk-”
“Elijah, you just got kicked out. For like fucking good, man. They don’t even want to look at you. And all you’ve done is sit on the sidewalk looking like a fucking idiot.”
“Well, I’ve also been listening to my favorite song-”
“Elijah!”
This time, Elijah knew it was serious. His brother always yelled at him, so he was used to that. But he wasn’t used to the intensity of Tommy screaming at him like that. It kind of hurt, like he could feel his heart cracking a bit. He knew it wasn’t like actually happening, thank god, but he felt a deep ache in his chest. Had he ruined things again?
“Did you not hear them? They called you a fucking bum, Elijah. A freeloader, a dirt bag, trash, pathetic, slow. And look at you, proving them right.”
Elijah looked down at the ground, staring at the ants. They did call him all of that. It wasn’t the first time, probably won’t be the last. But what hurt the most this time is that there was no cushion to fall on.
Usually they would scream and insult him, but at the end of the day they all ate dinner together under one roof. He was trying to ignore the pain by freestyling dad jokes, but a small part in his brain knew this was it. Elijah knew they were truly done with him this time.
“Well-well, I don't really know what to do, Tommy. The only thing I got going for me is my cool car. But like, I don’t have any money for gas in the future so it’s kind of just there.”
Tommy stopped to look at him. Elijah didn’t recognize his facial expression. It wasn't pity, no. Tommy was the only person who didn’t look at him with pity. His parents did, his classmates, even his turtle he had when he was six. But never Tommy.
“Who gives a flying fuck if you got autism, Elijah? You’re still capable of the same shit as me, if not more. Now hurry the fuck up, we got errands to run.”
Finally, Tommy responded, but he looked like he was in pain this time. Elijah backed up a little bit, he didn’t want Tommy throwing up on him.
“Get up.”
Elijah looked up in surprise, but wordlessly (for the first time) he listened and got up. Tommy stared at him some more, Elijah looked around again. Was Tommy back on that white stuff or something? He’s starting to scare Elijah a little bit. Tommy advanced forward, pushing Elijah. It wasn’t a hard shove, but it was firm enough that it got Elijah moving.
“Hey-hey, what’s going on man? What did I do to you?”
“Go, Elijah. Just fucking go.”
Elijah looked Tommy in the eyes for the first time, and there he noticed tears. Elijah's eyes widened. He had never seen his older brother cry before, not even cry laughing.
“Woah, woah, Tommy, you good? We can go together if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“No! Elijah, you’re twenty three. You’re young, we just moved to Los Angeles, this big fucking city with so many opportunites. You’re not fucking slow, pathetic, or a waste. I’m sick of hearing that bullshit. Go, go far fucking away from this life.”
Elijah stumbled into his car because of Tommy’s pushing. Tommy buckled him in and forced Elijah to start the car. Elijah was too confused at the sudden events, kind of just going with the flow. But he had so many questions. Where was this coming from? Since when did Tommy have so much faith in him?
Why did he never express it until they had to separate?
“Tommy, Tommy, Tommy-”
“You got my phone number, don’t you dare breaking your fucking phone again. Only call me in true emergencies. Not you forgetting how to tie your shoes but like heavy bleeding or getting hit by a car. Remember, if the ambulances come, get your ass up and run. We can’t afford that shit.”
“Okay, yes, yes, I understand. But-but what am I going to do? Like, drive around and stuff? I mean, I can do that but I don’t have any gas money.”
Tommy hit him in the back of his head, Elijah’s head colliding with the steering.
“Attaboy. Money, that’s the goal. Go get a job, find somewhere to stay, even if it’s under a bridge. But, Elijah, look at me, hey look at me, go get a job. J. O. B. That’s the main goal.”
Elijah clutched his forehead and the back of his head, nodding along to Tommy’s instructions. Okay, Job, find somewhere to stay, job. Yeah, he could do that.
“You understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good, now go.”
Elijah backed out of the driveway, going slowly to be careful. It was actually to prolong his separation from Tommy, but he’ll do his best to keep that to himself. He tried his best to keep his eyes on the road like he was supposed to do, but he found himself looking at Tommy more.
He tried to commit all of Tommy into memory. How his clothes smelled like wood and cigarettes, how he walked with his right foot first, how his hair looked when it was unruly after work, how he looked while eating Subway with Elijah, how he only smiled when he thought Elijah wasn’t looking.
He tried to memorize everything he could about his brother, his only brother, the person he admired more than Superman. The person that was his Superman. Elijah looked at his brother once more, trying to commit his current face to memory, since it’ll be his last time seeing him for a while. But he couldn’t because the tears were getting in the way.
“I love you.” Elijah sniffled.
Tommy offered him a smile. He tried his best to make it look happy, but Elijah could see the corners of his mouth tugging down from trying not to cry.
“You’re already somebody now go prove it. Go make a name for your fucking self, Elijah.”
He didn’t say ‘I love you back’, but Elijah knew his encouragement was his way of saying it. It was enough, more than enough. Elijah whimpered, trying to hold in his sobs.
“I love you, Tommy.”
Tommy smiled at him again. Elijah finally drove off, hearing Tommy pat the back of his car.
Elijah would never know, but Tommy did say it back.
Yap session: Lmfaoooo, yall I did not mean to go this heavy into the angst. It was supposed to be light, but I got carried away. Anyways, the first chapter, how was it!? I’ve been reading fanfiction since I was 10 (wattpad baby duh), but this is my first ever fanfiction. Any constructive criticism is very much welcomed and acknowledged. Please don’t be shy, comment on anything even if it’s a hello!! Also, if yall are curious, the song is Ocean Man-by Ween.
Imma tell y'all right now, Matt won’t be in the next chapter. This is a slow burn (which is hella funny and ironic, because I fucking hate slow burns-let’s see if I’m good at writing them ???) so it’s gonna be slow. Not agonically slow, because even I can’t handle that. Plus, I need to do some more character/world building. Need the shit to make sense before we progress, y'know?
Another thing, probably won’t be smut. This is my first fanfiction, I’m not even sure if I’m good at this. So I don’t even know about any sex scenes, that’s like next level shit. But, if reviews are nice, and folks leave some tips, I’ll definitely consider it!