Title: History Rating: pg-13 Summary: With my home town in ruins and Christmas nothing but a nightmare, all I have is him to depend on Disclaimer: I own the Characters and the story line but in all events please remember that this is F I C T I O N and that none of it is real. All bands mentioned, TV programmes and possibly Countries or Cities are real and I do not own them, any quotes used are owned by their author but have been labelled accordingly.
Please note: No characters were hurt in the making of this story, how ever by all legal rights the author will not take responsibility for the actions of some members. The actors in this story are professionals and have been trained to perform these stunts. Please do not attempt to re-enact anything you have seen today.
Enjoy the Show.

History

“Dear friends of this academy, oh, Romeo is bleeding to death, To see a friend bleed to death what for, Some kind of metaphor that I can't see?, So, I'll drink until I see it, This sky will make me sick, So, I'll give up on you, I'll give up on this, This sky will make me sick, I'll give up on this, I'll give up on you…”

Christmas was meant to be a time of joy, if you believed in that crap.

I didn’t, I haven’t since I was young and not because either my dad or mam up and left us then or because some family relative died some horrible death. Christmas wasn’t a bad time for us because god handed us another dish of emotional shit, it was shit because of the mines. I can still remember the first Christmas after the first time they lay people off. My dad was lucky; he had been working there over two years so he still had a few years left him. Anyone who had worked there for more than three years was fired, hundreds of people from here to Holly Head were left with out a job and with the Christmas period closing in, it was hard to imagine what they were going to do.

I just knew a lot of hearts were going to be broken.

Dad didn’t last the second wave of job cuts; he had been there three years when they decided to lay off a further five hundred people. At the time I didn’t really understand and the arguments and days of dad being home all the time became part of routine. My older brothers seemed to understand what was going on and when ever they started, my brothers would cover my ears or usher me out to play in the garden.

I got a teddy for Christmas that year.

My friend, Daniel, his dad was lucky; because he was a supervisor they kept him on for a lot longer. It made my dad angry because Dan’s dad had been working there for nearly ten years; he should have been laid off in the first wave of job cuts but hadn’t been. I thought I had it tough with my arguing parents but for Dan it was ten times worse. People turned their backs on his family just because they were lucky enough to keep their jobs, at school Dan was bullied by other kids for it while Dan’s mother constantly urged his father to join the union and help our side.

He had none of it.

At sixteen I left school and went to college, at eighteen I left college and got a full time job as a sales supervisor in Cardiff. Dan went to university because his parents could afford it; his dad was still at the mines, and pulling in a nice sum too. He was in Cardiff too so I got to see him on the weekends and evenings. It was really great and while I always sent some of my pay packet back home to help them out, I could forget about the horror taking place back home. I knew things were getting worse, the protests were getting to be more violent and when the first mine truly shut down, all hell broke loose.

I went home with Dan for Christmas, both of us agreeing to meet each other early Christmas morning to give each other presents.

Despite the problems with the mines my parents made every effort to make my time home really great. By now I was an uncle seeming as my oldest brother was twenty seven and married. Mam often pestered me about when I was going to find myself a girl and settle down. I always told her I would do it soon but the truth was I just wasn’t interested in finding myself a girl.

I had Danny boy after all.

Because my parents still didn’t like the idea of me associating with Dan, I had to sneak out to meet him that morning. It was really cold, in Wales, it was always horribly cold and it would take nearly an hour for me to get warm again when I got back home. With everyone still asleep at six in the morning, I changed in the freezing cold of my tiny bedroom, making sure to put on gloves and a hat and scarf. Slipping out I wasn’t all that surprised that it had started snowing during the night, and in the pale light of the moon, the white snow shone proudly from the tops of trees and across gardens like an innocent blanket.
We had arranged to meet in the park. As kids we had spent summer days there playing soccer and riding our bikes. When we were older we climbed the trees and sat in the branches for hours talking, Dan telling me about University and me telling him about the problems at home now I understood them.

He was there before I was, his cheeks probably rosy from the cold wind his eyes almost black, his skin pale in the moonlight as his hands stuffed into the pockets of his coat. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched him, taking my time walking over to him, just wanting to make this actually last forever. The smile that graced his lips was, as usual heavenly and infection. Dan had always been a shy and quiet boy, the years of bullying had somewhat seen to that but even so he had always been happy and caring, Today though, today I knew something was wrong, his smile wasn’t full of happiness, and even with out asking I knew something was troubling him.

“Hey,” I murmured when I was finally in front of him, my breath rising into the air like steam.

“Hey,” He replied back softly, shifting a little before looking at me. “I was worried you were going to be lazy and sleep in.”

“And miss spending time with you? Hardly,” I grinned and shrugged. “Besides I wanted to see what you got me for Christmas.”

“It’s not much,” he admitted with a small shrug of his own before looking at the ground. “My dad lost his job.”

And there it was.

We had both known this day was coming, more and more mines were closing and more and more people were losing their jobs. No amount of fighting from the work union was going to stop it, the government had made up their minds and they were out to destroy the lives of every single person who lived for the mines. Still it was a big shock, more so for Dan than for me, I had grown used how things were with my dad having no job, Dan would probably adjust quickly too because he was old enough to support himself. The problem was he was still very much so hated by the rest of the community and even though he was now in their situation, they wouldn’t welcome him to the fold.

“Oh,” I murmured, not knowing what to say.

“Knew it was going to happen,” He shrugged and smiled bravely, looking at me for a second before looking away. “At least we have something in common now huh?”

I knew he was upset, and yet I couldn’t help but feel relieved as I wrapped him in a reassuring hug. Finally the waiting for the inevitable was over, because it truth we all knew Dan’s dad was going to lose his job, it was just a case of when.

“I’m really sorry, Dan,” I murmured not knowing what else to say or if what I had just said was fitting for the situation.

He didn’t reply for a while and when he did, he pulled back, smiling again, that brave smile that looked so out of place on his face, that was so strained it was hardly a smile but a weak attempt of being strong when I knew he was frightened and confused about what was going to happen.

He loved his education and that was no in trouble.

“I had real trouble trying to think of what to get you this year,” He spoke up as he rummaged through his pockets. “I know how much you hate cliché presents.”

I could tell he was trying to make an effort, and I wanted to join him in that but I couldn’t let him bottle his fears up like he wanted to. Shaking my head a little, pulled his hands from his pockets, pulling him back close, murmuring reassurance to him.

“I’m fine, really,” He tried to argue you, showing me a smile that was so broken it made my heart break. “It’s not important, it’s just a job right?”

“Shh,” I cooed to him, pressing a kiss to his forehead, then to his cheek and them his lips. “Don’t try and hide it Danny boy…”

I didn’t expect him to cry.

Danny boy was always such an unemotional person.

“It’s not fair,” He sobbed. “Why didn’t he just quit when everyone else lost their jobs? Why did he have to be such an asshole and make it so we had no where to go when he lost his job! Why? Why?”

“I don’t know,” I murmured stroking his hair. “But it’ll be okay, eventually it’ll be okay.”

“He’s too old to get a new job, the mines are all gone and there are no new jobs,” He replied shaking his head, pulling away from me, his cheeks flushing in anger as the first of the morning sunlight began to break the sky into a mess of reds and yellows. “There is nothing left but a fucking waste! Everyone hates everyone else, people are struggling and all the while the fucking government lets it happen! They bleed us dry until we have nothing left….until it’s all gone, until there is nothing but memories and….broken hearts….”

He fell silent.

I stood there completely stunned.

“What’s going to happen to our families?” He murmured, looking at me with those deep brown eyes that were so full of fear and confusion that it hurt. “What’s going to happen to our homes and our friends? Are we going to suffer the same fate as our parents? Will there be anything left for us?”

I didn’t know the answers, despite wanting to so desperately.

Christmas was meant to be a time of joy but it never was for me. Each year it got worse, and today it seemed to hit an all time low. Suddenly my hopes of seeing Dan smile were dashed, my hopes of holding him and walking home were long since forgotten as I tried to piece together something for us both to hold on to while our worlds fell apart around us. Nothing came to me though and instead all I could do was pull the small box from my pocket and hold it out to him, hoping he would take it and love what was inside like I loved him.

“I spent two months looking for it, cost me two months wages too, but when I found it I knew I had to get it for you,” I explained, feeling my cheeks fill with a blush.

For moment he didn’t move, he didn’t even take the box from me. Then hesitantly, like he could quite believe I had gotten him a present, he took the box from me, studying it when it was in his possession before slowly opening the small box. His eyes went wide, like a child in the candy store, I knew he loved it right then, the way his eyes sparkled gave it away and I couldn’t help but smiled a little, even if it was secretly while I watched him.

“It’s beautiful,” He murmured, removing the wrist chain from the case, holding it up so the morning light reflected off the polished silver surface of the small engraved band. “You shouldn’t have.”

“I wanted to though,” I replied taking it from him and carefully pushing the cuff of his coat up enough for me to slowly fix the chain around his wrist, lifting his hand to kiss his skin softly before looking at him. “You deserve it.”

He was speechless, his eyes wide like he was going to cry again as he tried to find something to say, and probably fight off the smile that wanted to break out onto his face. The smile won, breaking out like the sunlight burst out over the mountains and lit up the whole world with pure and untarnished clarity.

“I love it, thank you,” He finally gushed letting me pull him into another hug, his lips finding mine in a soft and careful kiss.

“You’re welcome,” I whispered, stroking his cheeks,

He smiled softly, pressing another kiss to my lips, being slow about it, taking his time to let his lips meld to mine and explore. I felt my eyes slip shut as I parted my lips, tracing his lips until I felt his tongue brushing up against mine lightly, almost shyly as his taste exploded on the tip of my tongue, reminding me why I loved him so much and why I loved kissing him so much. Managing to with hold from my usual hungry needs, I let my tongue lightly explore his, slipping past his lips to explore as much of him as I could, pulling back only to whisper in his ear how much I loved him.

“I love you too,” He whispered back.

I didn’t want to end the kiss but Danny boy wanted me to have my present, seeming more excited about that me. Reluctantly I let him go, his brown eyes lit up with happiness as he finally found the small wrapped gift holding out the small rectangle shaped gift to me. The red and gold paper stood out against the grey and blacks of our clothes and the white of the snow, looking oddly out of place in this town where everything had lost it’s will to be proud and full of life.

“It’s not much but…yeah I just thought it would be a good present.” He murmured to me.

For a moment I stared at the neatly wrapped gift, almost reluctant to pull at the paper and ruin Dan’s hard work but eventually I found a small fold I could pull back and cause the least amount of damage to the paper. Dan seemed amused by this, well he chuckled anyway as I carefully pulled the small pocket sized photo frame out, the silver frame smooth and simple yet so elegant that I couldn’t help but love it.

But what the frame held I loved even more.

I hadn’t seen the photo in years; my parents claimed they lost it.

It was taken before the strikes and the job losses, in the middle of summer. Dan had broken his wrist just the week before when he fell out of a tree. Despite the pain he had felt he had still smiled for the camera and afterwards we had gone to play soccer while our parents had sat watching us. It was back when our families talked, when things were okay, when there was nothing to worry about and all we had to do was be young and have fun.

It was so strange how things changed.

“Dan…” I breathed feeling my voice hitch as tears welled into my eyes.

“Your dad slammed the door in my face the first time I went around to find it,” He explained, smiling sheepishly. “The second time your mother helped me find it while your dad was out. She said she kept it hidden because she didn’t want it getting ruined.”

“They told me it was lost,” I murmured, glancing between the picture of Dan when he was a kid and the Dan right in front of me now.

“I guess they were wrong,” He murmured softly.

I just nodded, so speechless.

“A lot’s changed since then,” He sighed. “The town’s changed, we’ve changed, things won’t ever be as good as they were back then, but I guess it’s okay, you know? It’s been hard, it will always be hard but I reckon that eventually we’ll work it out, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for us all, we just need to hold on. And you know it’s okay dad’s lost his job, maybe now he’ll realise what everyone else has had to go through and realise that we’re not just a town or community, we’re a family and this is our life, this is part of our history and I’m glad that I am sharing it with you.”

“I know,” I nodded and smiled softly, taking his hand. “And I’m glad to be sharing it with you.”

He smiled, looking like the old Dan, the one I was in love with giving my hand a light squeeze.

“Merry Christmas, Dan,”

“Merry Christmas, Adam,” He replied as I led him towards his house.

That Christmas I enjoyed myself, I spent the day with my parents and the evening holding Dan in my arms, thanking god I had him and that despite the fact the world we had grown up in was falling apart, things would eventually be okay even if it didn’t seem like it some days.

The mine in our town closed down the following Christmas.

But it was okay.

We got through it together.

As a family, we got through

“Archers in your arches, Raise your fingers for one last salute, And bleed this skyline dry, Your history is mine…”

Lyrics: “History” by Funeral For A Friend.