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hourtohour_notetonote Creekwood High School Gymnasium, Shady Creek, Georgia. Last May, On a Thursday Evening
Simon had been nervous even asking Jackie to the dance, despite the fact that they'd been "dating" for a month. It wasn't out of any fear that she didn't actually like him; in fact, Nick's assurances that, "She's really into you, dude!" were having, unbeknownst to Nick, quite the opposite effect.
Leah had, predictably, stayed home, while Nick had tagged along, stag, with Garrett and Bram. "Dude, it's the freshman end of year dance," Nick had proclaimed, "it's basically like prom." Leah just rolled her eyes, said she wasn't planning to go to prom in three years, either, and frowned at Simon.
"Are you sure you want to wear that?"
Simon spent most of the time dancing in a group with his friends and with Jackie's, but she pulled him away for a slow dance. "Thank you for asking me to come, Simon," she said, staring up into his eyes. "It really means a lot to me that you feel the same way I do."
"Uh, yeah," Simon stuttered. He fumbled for something else to say when Jackie continued:
"I think I'm falling in love with you."
Simon's heart leapt into his throat before plummeting into his stomach. "Wow. Thank you. Be right back!" He pulled away and practically ran out of the gymnasium, making his way to the bathroom and locking himself in a stall. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down his racing heart, before pulling out his phone. "Ohhh, god," he said, staring down at his phone before tapping out a quick text:
Come pick me up. Kids are drinking alcohol.
The door to the bathroom banged open, and the renewed volume of the dance was like a punch to the chest; when his phone buzzed in his hand, just a minute later, he almost dropped it, startled, but relief flooded through him when he read the incoming text. OMG. I'll be right there.
Ducking out of the school, he managed to avoid getting seen by anyone; it wasn't until he was in the car, his mother babbling happily on about how proud she was of him for setting boundaries and asking for help when he didn't feel safe, that his phone buzzed again in his hand, announcing a text from Nick.
hey where r u? bram sed you left
A moment later, one followed from Bram.
You okay? You ran out of there like a bat out of hell.
Simon hesitated for a moment before tapping out a quick text to both of them: Not feeling well, mom picked me up. He sighed, then turned his phone off.
He'd deal with this in the morning.
... Maybe.
The Spier Residence, Shady Creek, Georgia. A Lazy Saturday Afternoon, Mid-June
Simon wasn't entirely sure where the pamphlet had come from; it was just sitting on his desk one day, not long after the end-of-year dance. He'd never really given much thought to going away for school, but... It was starting to sound more and more appealing.
After the dance, Simon had tried to let Jackie down gently but mostly just succeeded in making her cry; Nick didn't understand what his problem was -- "I thought you totally liked her!" -- while Leah seemed mostly to be stuck on a loop of, "She wasn't good enough for you anyway." He didn't know why he felt like he couldn't tell them the truth, tell them why Jackie's proclamation of love -- misguidedly adolescent as it was -- had scared him so much, but the more they were confused, the more Simon worried that they were going to figure it out.
Which was why Fandom High was starting to feel more and more like his best option.
"Hey, Mom?" he said, leaning into the kitchen. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course, sweetie!" his mother said, leaning back and nodding at the open chair beside her. "What's up?"
Simon sat down, then pulled the Fandom High pamphlet and slid it onto the table. "I, uh... I know it's kinda sudden, but I got this pamphlet, and I was kinda curious about the school..." His mother picked it up and started leafing through it.
"It looks like a good school," she said, a little cautiously. "Were you thinking of applying? It'd be a big adjustment, going to boarding school."
Flushing, Simon pulled another, much folded-and-refolded paper out of his pocket. "I kinda... already did? And got in?" He handed her the acceptance letter.
"Well." His mother glanced over it, and nodded. "Well, the tuition certainly seems reasonable. We'll talk it over with your father, but if you're sure this is what you want... It means leaving behind Leah and Nick, and I know you three had plans for high school."
"I think so," Simon said, then nodded and added, a little more firmly, "Yeah. I think this is the right choice."
"Then... We'll talk with your father, but it sounds like you know what you're doing." She smiled at him, then pulled him into a quick hug. "I'm proud of you."
Maybe, Simon mused, he'd do something worthy of that some day.
[OOC: Vague spoilers for Love, Simon; the first bit is adapted from canon, while Simon's solution to covering his secret is, uh, decidedly not.
NFI and NFB, obviously. It's good to be back.]
Simon had been nervous even asking Jackie to the dance, despite the fact that they'd been "dating" for a month. It wasn't out of any fear that she didn't actually like him; in fact, Nick's assurances that, "She's really into you, dude!" were having, unbeknownst to Nick, quite the opposite effect.
Leah had, predictably, stayed home, while Nick had tagged along, stag, with Garrett and Bram. "Dude, it's the freshman end of year dance," Nick had proclaimed, "it's basically like prom." Leah just rolled her eyes, said she wasn't planning to go to prom in three years, either, and frowned at Simon.
"Are you sure you want to wear that?"
Simon spent most of the time dancing in a group with his friends and with Jackie's, but she pulled him away for a slow dance. "Thank you for asking me to come, Simon," she said, staring up into his eyes. "It really means a lot to me that you feel the same way I do."
"Uh, yeah," Simon stuttered. He fumbled for something else to say when Jackie continued:
"I think I'm falling in love with you."
Simon's heart leapt into his throat before plummeting into his stomach. "Wow. Thank you. Be right back!" He pulled away and practically ran out of the gymnasium, making his way to the bathroom and locking himself in a stall. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down his racing heart, before pulling out his phone. "Ohhh, god," he said, staring down at his phone before tapping out a quick text:
Come pick me up. Kids are drinking alcohol.
The door to the bathroom banged open, and the renewed volume of the dance was like a punch to the chest; when his phone buzzed in his hand, just a minute later, he almost dropped it, startled, but relief flooded through him when he read the incoming text. OMG. I'll be right there.
Ducking out of the school, he managed to avoid getting seen by anyone; it wasn't until he was in the car, his mother babbling happily on about how proud she was of him for setting boundaries and asking for help when he didn't feel safe, that his phone buzzed again in his hand, announcing a text from Nick.
hey where r u? bram sed you left
A moment later, one followed from Bram.
You okay? You ran out of there like a bat out of hell.
Simon hesitated for a moment before tapping out a quick text to both of them: Not feeling well, mom picked me up. He sighed, then turned his phone off.
He'd deal with this in the morning.
... Maybe.
The Spier Residence, Shady Creek, Georgia. A Lazy Saturday Afternoon, Mid-June
Simon wasn't entirely sure where the pamphlet had come from; it was just sitting on his desk one day, not long after the end-of-year dance. He'd never really given much thought to going away for school, but... It was starting to sound more and more appealing.
After the dance, Simon had tried to let Jackie down gently but mostly just succeeded in making her cry; Nick didn't understand what his problem was -- "I thought you totally liked her!" -- while Leah seemed mostly to be stuck on a loop of, "She wasn't good enough for you anyway." He didn't know why he felt like he couldn't tell them the truth, tell them why Jackie's proclamation of love -- misguidedly adolescent as it was -- had scared him so much, but the more they were confused, the more Simon worried that they were going to figure it out.
Which was why Fandom High was starting to feel more and more like his best option.
"Hey, Mom?" he said, leaning into the kitchen. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course, sweetie!" his mother said, leaning back and nodding at the open chair beside her. "What's up?"
Simon sat down, then pulled the Fandom High pamphlet and slid it onto the table. "I, uh... I know it's kinda sudden, but I got this pamphlet, and I was kinda curious about the school..." His mother picked it up and started leafing through it.
"It looks like a good school," she said, a little cautiously. "Were you thinking of applying? It'd be a big adjustment, going to boarding school."
Flushing, Simon pulled another, much folded-and-refolded paper out of his pocket. "I kinda... already did? And got in?" He handed her the acceptance letter.
"Well." His mother glanced over it, and nodded. "Well, the tuition certainly seems reasonable. We'll talk it over with your father, but if you're sure this is what you want... It means leaving behind Leah and Nick, and I know you three had plans for high school."
"I think so," Simon said, then nodded and added, a little more firmly, "Yeah. I think this is the right choice."
"Then... We'll talk with your father, but it sounds like you know what you're doing." She smiled at him, then pulled him into a quick hug. "I'm proud of you."
Maybe, Simon mused, he'd do something worthy of that some day.
[OOC: Vague spoilers for Love, Simon; the first bit is adapted from canon, while Simon's solution to covering his secret is, uh, decidedly not.
NFI and NFB, obviously. It's good to be back.]
