The Day We Went To Mars - Sidemen Fanfiction

**Prologue**

The year is 2035. Members of the public have been invited by the European Space Agency to sign up for a once in a lifetime opportunity; a one way trip to Mars as part of the first manned mission to the enigmatic 'Red Planet.' Most people dismiss the idea immediately, thinking of family and friends, of the planet they are perfectly happy to call home. Of course, there will always be some people who need an excuse to run away.

***

Another hectic nine to five day over. And the worst part was, he wasn't even physically tired. There was the usual Friday feeling, a mentally draining, persistent drone in his head, falling into the perfectly imperfect life sat at a desk all week. Further agony was provided kindly by the cramped flat containing a bedroom that was just a bed surrounded by four walls, too close for comfort; a kitchen, bathroom and living room. It was the staple for any Londoner and an accepted status symbol of someone who was getting along alright but still felt like the gum on the bottom of some rich banker's polished shoe.

The young man, dressed in a collared shirt and minimalistic maroon tie found himself trapped in a routine as cyclic as the clock that forever dictated his actions. The menial tasks never changed; remembering to lock the door, getting to bed at an acceptable hour, not to forget cooking the same cheap meals of tasteless, paper thin pasta and watery tomato sauce.

He opened the creaking door (that needed oiling when his weekly pay cheque allowed him) to a familiar sight; his bearded friend staring out of the streaked glass window, one hand placed on the cool glass in his typical cry for help. He was wasting away because no one would take him on, give him a chance to rise above the life he had been assigned to. His eyes didn't stray from their wistful survey of the activity on the street below, the hustle and bustle of the city another world to the quiet boy who still traipsed through his imagination for fun, despite his mature age of twenty five.

"Good day at work?" the repetitive routine continued. A grunt in reply, never acknowledging the honest truth that both men telepathically understood. The clock on the wall struck six o'clock; the hour long commute was over, just in time for the thirty minutes of compulsory socialising. Sat on the sofa, both crossing a leg over the other, the boys were in perfect symmetry with each other.

"How's life?" the dark skinned boy, Tobi, fruitlessly asked Josh who had finally stepped away from his fish tank view of London. As expected the older boy shook his head with a weary sigh, one that cut deeply into Tobi's heart for he could see his best friend was still hurting.

"Life's shit," he finally replied, the light curse slipping off of his tongue as smoothly as it did for everyone who got stuck in the same district of London for some time, "The photography job fell through again."

"The one for that wedding company?" Tobi asked, "The owners of that place seemed like complete dickheads anyway." He registered the short laugh from Josh with a sense of satisfaction and sat back comfortably.

"No, they already said they didn't want me. It was that place that took photos of posh people's pets, remember?" Tobi nodded, recalling the tale of another monotonous interview from a few nights before, "But yes, the wedding people were complete dickheads." Tobi allowed himself a small smile, eyes closed in relaxation, relishing the company of a close friend after hours spent surrounded by businessmen with families and stories of their children's first words, first days at school and seemingly every 'first' imaginable.

Whilst Josh did not suffer the luxury of hearing about Steve's friend's daughter and her success in the school talent show, the young creative was what London would class as 'a struggling artist,' also known as the lowest of the low. He was that small speck of dirt on the piece of chewing gum stuck to the foot of a banker's polished shoe. It seemed, no matter how well he could focus a lens or perfectly frame a photo, no one wanted anything to do with the ambitious, hardworking boy. He was just another face in the crowd; recently out of a job, just out of a relationship and washed up on Tobi's couch with nowhere else to turn.