Almost Easy // Synacky

prologue

The boy sat, legs crossed neatly, on top of the hill, looking out to the city that spread out before him. The glaring streetlight had been lost the further away he was from the main road; the dimly lit butt of a cigarette the only nearby light, glowing with every drag. His frame was slumped, his shoulders folding in on themselves as he burrowed further into his leather jacket, the gentle autumn breeze picking up again. Back in Iowa, he had grown comfortable and used to his surroundings – usually staying up drinking in the humidity of the night.

But being back in California meant that everything was different. It was more difficult, and even getting to this hill, where he would escape to in his childhood, was problematic.

Taking another drag, he allowed the smoke to fill his lungs, only exhaling when he was completely satisfied. He let out a tired sigh, the smoke escaping and fading into the night sky. The darkness seemed more present by then, and the boy became hyperaware of the emptiness around him – only the stars above were his witness now. He allowed his arms to drop, draping over his knees as he tapped away the quickly falling cigarette ash.

He finished it in one quick drag.

Flicking away the used dog-end, the boy tiredly rubbed his eyes before forcing himself to stand up. He rocked slightly, blood rushing to his head after the sudden movement. Pulling up his jeans, he bent over to pick up his packet and lighter, feeling his back pocket for his car keys. They were there, along with his wallet and phone.

The stars stayed on watching, as the boy looked up one last time, whispering lowly to himself, "I won't let this build up inside of me," before looking back at the city; it was a promise to himself, to try and change for the better this time.

The boy walked away eventually, stuffing his belongings into his pockets, and climbing into his slightly battered Nissan Micra. Starting the blower, he allowed himself to relax as he started his journey home, turning on the radio to break the silence. California Dreamin' was playing lowly, and the boy couldn't help but sing along – he used to listen to it in Iowa, to remind him of home.

As he pulled into his drive way twenty minutes later, he glanced at the clock on the dashboard.

"Fuck," he groaned, as the time flashed at him. 2:09am.

He climbed out of the car again, closing the door with a small kick. Pulling his phone out of his back pocket, he scanned through the messages, chocolate eyes glancing at various the texts he had received.

Nothing stood out to him, just a few girls wanting to hook up, or his friends from Iowa saying they missed him. One caught his eye though. He paused at the front door, absent-mindedly locking his car door, then sticking his key in the lock.

You better be fucking ready tomorrow morning, I'm already on a warning from last year - Jimmy

The boy couldn't help but smile at that, as he disappeared through the door.

Walking up the stairs, he completely ignored the fact the light in the kitchen was on, and how someone called his name, but instead disappeared into his room. He flicked his alarm on, then stripped quickly, face planting onto his bed, groaning to himself as his arm was impaled by his phone charger.

The charger found itself hitting the wall shortly after.

And with that, he closed his eyes; his brown orbs falling into a world of dream. This boy saw that night the prettiest colours, greens and blues as he was floating by, the only thing keeping him above was another strange boy shouting his name – "Brian!"

It sounded familiar, and he looked familiar too. But Brian remained floating, stuck in an endless sea of colours...

But this boy – Brian Haner Jr. – didn't realise how important, or real, this dream would become.

~~~~

This is our first Synacky story! We hope this goes well, and we will be updating this as regularly as possible. This prologue is just a very quick introduction to one of the main characters, and hopefully a few bits from here will make more sense later on in the story - any comments or thoughts are appreciated also! x