Castle on the Hill

2

Six months later Tom was limping down the same hill he tumbled down that had gotten him in the situation. His brother and his friends (Tom could never remember John's friends' names except for the one he stole the ball from Jayden) were running around, and Tom was trying and failing to catch up. A new member had joined his brother's group, a sweet girl (more like tomboy) named Harper with a soft spot for Tom.

"John!" He cried, stopping to catch his breath, but his brother and company were  too far away to hear. "John?"

  "Hello?" A soft whisper came from the tall grass.

Tom turned to the voice and crouched down, unable to see who it was. "W-Who are you?"

A boy about his ages crawled through the tall grass. He had light hair, bright blue eyes, and a small smile when he heard Tom's voice, with a loose green t-shirt and jeans on. "My name's Jimothy Hatterson, but you can call me Jim or Jimmy."

"Hello Jimmy, I'm Thomas, but call me Tom or Tommy," the younger Johnson brother introduced.

"Ooh, I like that name, Tommy," Jim smiled, standing up at the same time as Tom. "Hey, what happened to your leg?"

"I broke it while being chased by my big brother and his friends" Tom explained sadly, gingerly rubbing his casted leg. "I fell."

"Oh I'm sorry," Jim sympathetically replied, putting a hand on Tom's shoulder. "Hey, I had an idea: wanna be friends?"

"Sure!" Tom exclaimed, jumping (on his right leg, he didn't want to mess up his left one) up and down. "I always wanted to have a friend!"

"Same!" Jim smiled. The two linked arms and slowly walked down the hill, going on and on about random things and getting to know one another.....

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"I'm on my way
Driving at ninety down those country lanes
Singing to "Tiny Dancer"
And I miss the way you make me feel, and it's real
We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill..."

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"Oh my gosh Jimmy will you stop calling my house a castle!!!" A ten year old Tom laughed, nudging his friend. He and Jim, who had become best friends, were now walking up to the fondly christened castle that was the Johnson farmhouse.

"No, I won't," Jim grinned, looking at the house and back at Tom. "It seriously is a castle. You can't change my mind."

"It's old, the floors creak, there might be mold or rats or something nasty like that, and sometimes the electrics flicker!"

"Yeah but it's still full of life and joy and family," Jim replied with a hint of sadness and longing in his tone. "Those are things that I don't have."

Tom gave him a sad and pitied look. Jim's mother worked several jobs overtime and hardly saw him, and his father was a mad drunk who beat the poor kid whenever he pleased.

"Well," the Johnson replied, looping an arm around Jim. "As far as my mom and I are concerned you are part of the family. I mean you come over almost every day and my mom loves you."

"Ok," Jim muttered, blushing a deep red and hoping Tom didn't notice. "Thanks Tom. For everything."

  "Anytime Jimmy."

  "Race ya to the castle," Jim smirked, wriggling out from Tom's arm and darting up the hill, sprinting faster then most kids their age. Tom laughed and followed, finding it difficult to keep up.

  From the front porch Mary Johnson watched the two, a smile playing on her lips. She walked over to the front of the stairs, waiting for her son and his best friend to get up there...

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From the doorway of his brother's room an eleven year old Tom quietly watched John hang up another dark poster of some band or something. The older Johnson's room was small with simple but comfortable furnishings.

The boy noticed that John's hair was greasy with some gel in it, and he was wearing black and grey cloths. The teen has his headphones in and was listening to rock music, bobbing his head wildly to the music.

"John?" Tom asked with a bit of sadness and fear, but his older brother could not hear him. "John what are you doing?"

John turned around, noticing his brother, paused his music, and took off his headphones with a bit of annoyance. "Yes?" He asked, clearly annoyed.

"N-Nothing," Tom mumbled.

"Well then get out of my room!" John snapped, walking over and pushing his shocked brother against the opposite wall, slamming his bedroom door with a loud thud.

Tom sighed, wiping away the tears that had just momentarily formed in his eyes. John never yelled or used any force against his little brother, he loved him too much. Thomas turned around, seeing that his mother had just walked up the stairs with her mouth hanging open a bit. The mother walked over to her son, wrapping an arm around him.

"Don't worry dear, it's just the teenage phase, everyone goes through it," Mary comforted. "Why don't you go play outside while I talk to John, ok?"

"Ok," Tom nodded, running downstairs and outside, running down the hill until he simply fell to the ground.

"I'm not gonna be like that," he muttered with watered eyes, tears stinging in his checks. "Not ever."

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