Deal With It - Sidemen Fanfiction

Chapter 1 - Back So Soon

Three Weeks Later

Editing provided no distraction as I played through the events of the last few weeks. First, JJ had left with no warning except for a note on the kitchen counter telling us he had taken off for America and didn't know when he would be back. That was when he took everything online and made it public.

He left the Sidemen, or so he said, and leaked a diss track about us, blaming everything on Ethan. Insults were exchanged, raps were made, some in jest, others with much more severity than they initially appeared to carry. I jokingly made a few videos, not stooping to the level of humiliation by song but instead walking around JJ's room with Ethan, making fun of his clothes and putting sticky notes on his Lamborghini. I did it because his letter said we should. He wrote, telling us to have some fun whilst he was gone, to make up for everything he had done before. I'm not sure if I believed him of if I was just so desperate to that I willed myself to think it was true.

That morning, I was up at an acceptable time, finally getting my sleeping schedule back on track. Upon entering the kitchen I found a letter, addressed to me, Simon and Vikk in JJ's untidy scrawl. It was folded in half, not even placed in an envelope. I didn't bother waiting for the other two to join me before I read it. Vikk was almost nocturnal and Simon would sometimes be up before noon, but more often he wasn't.

I took in the letter's contents slowly; reading about how we shouldn't take what he says too seriously over the next few weeks, how everything was meant to be a joke. Don't worry, he said, it will get us more views if we do it like this.

A sound downstairs interrupts my thoughts. Heavy footfalls sound in the stone hallway.

'That's not right,' I listen quietly, knowing that Simon and Vikk had just started recording together. With their headphones on, they wouldn't be able to hear whoever it was downstairs. Looking across at my table I note the time, 21:54. An odd time for one of the other guys to show up without saying. I edge off of my bed and take soft steps to reach my door, gripping to cold handle and turning it slowly, edging the door open until I can just fit through the gap.

For a moment my gaze lands on Simon's room across the hallway but, as stupid as it sounds, I don't want to interrupt him for nothing. Looking down over the balcony, I can't see anyone downstairs. Maybe you're imagining things.

A faint sound in the kitchen grabs my attention again as I turn to go back to my room. It is enough to elevate my heart rate and deepen my breathing so I decide to trust my body's instincts and follow the noise. I chew on my fingernails as I make achingly slow progress down the stairs, low to the ground to keep out of sight of the kitchen doorway.

As I reach the bottom I allow myself one more deep inhalation before approaching the dark room in front of me. It is lit eerily by the door of the open fridge, casting a blue glow across the chairs and tables, throwing up shadows in odd directions. One in particular catches my eye beside the fridge. It looks like a figure with its back to me and I muster up the courage to approach it. It could be anyone. It doesn't have to be a mass murderer, Josh. They don't tend to steal your drinks before they take your life from you as well.

My figure joins the wild tribe of shadows dancing on the walls as the only other light sources are the rushing headlights of cars on the nearby road. I feel my whole body shudder as if I'm cold like it always does when I get scared. Like it did when JJ was last in the kitchen with me. I am close now to the person; if I reach out I could grab them so I extend my arm slowly but instead of gripping clothes, I get a fistful of air.

"Creeping around?" a voice asks from behind me leaving no time to answer as a glass comes into contact with my right temple, shattering on the floor around me as my nerves shatter with it and I call out in pain. I double over for a minute, my wavering hands brushing away a warm liquid that seeps out of my face. A cut forms and the dull, aching pain around it suggests there will soon be a bruise to accompany it. The stunning blow stops me thinking about my attacker who has moved to switch on the lights.

"Josh?" JJ exclaims from the opposite side of the room. I back away, hitting myself against the sharp corner of the kitchen unit. I shake my head at his tall figure as he moves towards me, hands outstretched.

"JJ," I reply with warning, stuttering and still in shock, "N-no." With one hand pressed against my face and the other held out in warning, I gingerly step past the fragments of glass at my feet.

"Bro, I didn't know it was you," he said feebly but the look of sick enjoyment on his face says too much, "No hard feelings, right?" I have no time to answer as thundering feet announce the entrance of Vikk and Simon. The latter takes one look at JJ and forgets the urgency, throwing himself at his friend.

"Jide! You're home!" he hugs JJ tightly, who returns the gesture whilst staring at me. Look away. He mouths at me over Simon's shoulder and for some reason, despite my older age, I obey and turn as if I am busy in the kitchen. Vikk, on the other hand, does not seem happy to see the ex-Sidemen member and makes a beeline for me as I continue to check my cut.

"Josh?" he asks from behind me, "Hey, you're bleeding!" He holds up his hand to brush over the cut, the other cupping my chin to stop me shying away. I wince reflexively as he gets close and he pulls away for a moment. I only realise then that I am still a little in shock.

"Come here," he moves more forcefully towards me, "Josh, I'm not going to hurt you!" I relax and nod, my mouth drier than a desert as I try to speak.

"JJ," I cough roughly, knowing that one word will be enough. Vikk gets a look on his face similar to Ethan's when he is angry. It is an expression that rarely graces his kind facial features.

"It's alright," he whispers although he seems unsure, "He won't properly hurt you if Simon is here. He wouldn't do that to Simon." I nod tenderly, believing what he says but surprised Vikk thinks it has got to the point where we need Simon's presence to keep us physically safe. Speaking of Simon, his attention has turned to me now that JJ seems to have left to go up to his room

"Oh yeah," he suddenly says in my direction, "We heard you shout Josh. Are you ok?" Vikk has let go of my face and stepped away, looking as if he expects me to ruin Simon's mood with the truth. I know I couldn't do that to him so I keep my face out of the way.

"Fine," I mutter, leaving the room as a new trail of blood drips down my cheek like a tear. He grabs my arm like JJ did but so much more gently. I try to spring from his reach without turning to face him but his other hand takes my left cheek as he tries to raise my gaze from the floor.

"Get off," I say more harshly, struggling in his grasp uncomfortably when all I really want to do is be hugged by him. He relaxes his grip on me for long enough that I run, hearing him shout in surprise behind me.

"Why is there blood on my hand? Josh? Josh!"