Chapter Text
This is my chance.
It had been two weeks since the start of the semester. It was Simon’s first year in university and he hadn’t been able to get his mind off that boy for more than a day. If it continued like this, there was no way he was getting his degree. The face of the blonde boy was plastered all over his brain and it had no intention of leaving any time soon.
On the very first day of university, he had spotted the blonde in the mass of people. The boy was noticeably taller than Simon and had those beautiful brown eyes, that Simon would keep getting lost in. The boy kept pushing his hair out of his face in a nervous manner, but every time it would find its way back in front of the boy’s eyes in the most adorable way. Simon thought he looked like a prince. A prince that he wouldn't mind getting saved by.
Soon enough, Simon had figured out that the boy was studying the same field as him. They had lectures together three times a week and Simon would end up spending that time staring at the other boy.
He learned the boy’s name after a couple of days of observing him from afar, which did sound a bit creepy but Simon swore he wasn’t a stalker. He had heard him talking in a group of people when somebody called him by the name Wilhelm.
Now Simon was in a lecture, eyes glued to the blonde, who was seated a couple of rows in front of him. He had noticed that Wilhelm had a habit of anxiously biting his nails during class. Simon probably should’ve found it gross but instead, he thought it was pretty cute.
The lecture had, once again, gone past way quicker than Simon had realized. While packing his things in his bag, Simon saw Wilhelm leaving the lecture hall. His eyes got caught on him for a moment or two, and when he returned his gaze towards the front he noticed something. Wilhelm had left his jacket behind. This is my chance to talk to him.
The jacket was hanging on the back of his seat. It was a leather jacket that was clearly well-loved. Simon kept his eyes on it while shoving the rest of his things carelessly into his tote bag. He swung the bag onto his shoulder before running to go grab the jacket.
Simon was searching the hallway with his eyes, trying to find the blonde boy. He can’t have gone that far. The hallway was crowded which made this all much more difficult. His height, or the lack of it, wasn’t helping him in the hunt either.
After walking down the hallway for a good minute, looking like a lost kid trying to find his mom, Simon’s eyes caught the boy. He sped up his steps, trying to close the distance between him and Wilhelm.
“Hey! Wilhelm!” he yelled. The boy turned around trying to find the source of the voice. “Wilhelm!” he yelled again, waving the jacket, which ended up catching Wilhelm’s attention. He walked up to Simon looking slightly confused.
“You forgot your jacket,” Simon said while holding out the piece of clothing. Wilhelm took it, his fingers brushing slightly against Simon’s. The touch sent his heart racing.
“Oh, thank you,” Wilhelm said with the sweetest smile on his face. “You’re Simon, right?”
He knows my name! “Uhh.. Yes.” Simon answered, sounding kind of unsure. The question had caught him off guard. For some reason, the thought that Wilhelm could know his name hadn’t even crossed his mind.
Wilhelm chuckled a little. “See you in class tomorrow, Simon,” he said, waving his hand and then turning to walk away.
“See ya!” Simon shouted after him, trying to fight the blush creeping on his cheeks. He was down bad.
⋆⋆⋆
The next morning Simon sat down in his usual spot in the lecture hall. He didn’t see Wilhelm in his seat though. He looked around and couldn’t find the boy anywhere in the hall. Maybe he was sick and wasn’t coming today. That would mean he had to actually pay attention to the lecture. Simon started pulling his laptop and notebook out of his bag, when he heard a voice from next to him.
“Is this seat empty?” It was Wilhelm. Wilhelm had asked if the seat next to him was empty.
“Mhm.” Simon hummed, nodding his head. Wilhelm smiled, sitting down next to him. The situation felt unreal to him. Why would he want to sit next to me?
“Thanks again for returning my jacket yesterday,” Wilhelm said, pushing his hair out of his face.
“No problem,” Simon answered. He looked Wilhelm in the eyes, smiling. However, he had to quickly turn his face away, because he could feel his face heating up. He took his pen and started spinning it in an attempt to pull his thoughts away from the other boy. He just couldn’t help wondering what Wilhelm would look like on top of him. That wasn’t something he should be thinking about in class. Especially when Wilhelm was right there next to him. Get your sh*t together, Simon!
Soon the professor came in and started the lecture. Simon did his best to focus on what the professor was saying. He still constantly found his mind involuntarily wandering to a certain blonde. He tried to keep it calm because he didn’t want to ruin this thing with Wilhelm before it had even started.
Simon glanced at Wilhelm and noticed him biting the nail on his thumb, again. His leg was bouncing up and down in a way that looked like it could fly off. Wilhelm often looked stressed out but this time it seemed a lot worse. “Are you alright?” he asked in a whisper.
Wilhelm turned his head to face Simon, startled by the sudden question. He stopped biting his nails and tucked both of his hands between his thighs. “Yeah. I’m fine,” he answered a bit too quickly and then immediately turned to face the front again. He wasn’t fine.
“Are you sure?” Simon asked, a worried look on his face. Wilhelm didn’t look at Simon and this time started biting on his bottom lip. He would make himself bleed if he didn’t stop. “I wanna help.”
“You don’t need to help me,” Wilhelm muttered, pretending like he was paying attention to the lecture. Simon could still see from his eyes that he wasn’t really present.
“But I want to, and you really don’t seem fine. We could, like, go outside for a moment or something.” He tilted his head to the side, smiling gently but the worry was still present in his eyes.
Simon could see Wilhelm thinking about his suggestion for a moment. “I would really like that,” he finally admitted, voice barely above a whisper. While he felt empathy towards Wilhelm, who was clearly going through something, he also couldn’t help feeling a bit of excitement. He was going to spend the rest of the lecture with Wilhelm. Just the two of them, alone. It was like a dream come true.
They grabbed their stuff and sneaked out of the door hoping no one was paying too much attention to them. They found their way outside where Simon sat down on a picnic table, feet on the bench. Wilhelm joined him pretty much instantly. He was taking deep breaths and rubbing his chest with the palm of his hand.
“What happened there?” Simon asked, but immediately realized the question might've sounded invasive. f*ck, I can’t ruin this. “I mean, you don’t have to tell me, but I’ll listen if you wanna talk about it,” he added, trying to save the situation.
Wilhelm exhaled before starting to speak. “I just- I just got really anxious. But it’s normal, like, it happens all the time. So you don’t need to worry,” he explained, looking at the ground to avoid eye contact. Simon on the other hand had his eyes glued on Wilhelm, listening to every word that came out of his mouth. “But thanks for, like, taking care of me.”
“No need to thank me. I just did what anyone would do,” Simon said. He carefully put his hand over Wilhelm’s thigh which had started shaking again. Wilhelm turned to him, a smile on his face. But something about the smile was off, he didn’t look happy.
“Not everyone would do that,” Wilhelm said, letting out a small chuckle. “Most people wouldn’t. But you did, and I’m very thankful for that.” This time there was no way of hiding the blush that was already covering Simon’s face.
They both stayed quiet for a moment, just looking at each other, before Simon decided to end the silence. “Do you wanna, like, go grab lunch with me?” he asked, trying to seem confident and not at all flustered by this whole interaction. The lecture was gonna end soon and then it would be lunch time, so it didn’t matter if they went to eat a bit earlier.
“Sure, why not,” Wilhelm responded. This time his smile seemed a bit more genuine. Simon got up and Wilhelm followed right after. They walked back inside the building together. Their hands brushed against each other every few steps, the contact sending shivers down Simon’s spine.
⋆⋆⋆
Simon had one more lecture after lunch and it felt like he was thinking about Wilhelm even more than before. Not sure how that was possible. He wasn’t even on this course but the boy was still filling his mind.
When Simon finally got back to his dorm, he threw his bag on the floor and kicked his shoes off of his feet. He plopped down on his bed, smiling from ear to ear. “Somebody’s in a good mood,” he heard Rosh’s voice from where she was lying on her own bed. “Don’t tell me this is about him again.”
Simon groaned. Rosh knew him too well and while it was usually a good thing, sometimes he wished he could keep even one thing to himself.
“It is, isn’t it?” Rosh asked, a teasing tone in her voice. Simon admitted his defeat and nodded, turning on his side to look at Rosh. He propped up his arm and leaned his head on his hand. “Tell me everything,” she commanded.
“So, he came to sit next to me in class today,” Rosh’s jaw dropped before Simon had even finished his sentence.
“No f*cking way.” she muttered, sitting up so she could put all her attention into what Simon was telling her.
“And he was, like, visibly anxious. Biting his nails and stuff, you know? So, I asked if he was okay and said that we could go outside for a bit if he needed that..” Simon started explaining. “We ended up getting lunch together and we spent the whole hour just talking about everything. I got to know so much about him.”
“Oh my god!” Rosh exclaimed. “Like what? Did he tell you his type? Does he like twi-”
Simon cut her off by throwing a pillow straight to her face. “Stop! Nothing like that!” he yelled, sounding way too defensive for Rosh to believe him. “We just talked about our lives, normal stuff.”
Simon had learned that Wilhelm lived in the dorms, just like him. He was sharing a room with a girl. Wilhelm was an only child and didn’t have a relationship with his parents. Apparently he had gone no contact after moving out at eighteen. He also learned that Wilhelm had recently gone through a break up with a guy. Simon was surprised that Wilhelm had come out to him when they barely knew each other. Well. at least now he didn’t have to worry about him possibly being straight.
“Pff, sure,” Rosh responded, obviously not believing a word Simon said. He knew there was no point in trying to defend himself, Rosh wouldn’t listen anyway because she was stubborn like that. She threw the pillow back to Simon, hitting him on the face. He grabbed it and put it on the bed, deciding to not start a war with her.
“He did tell me he dated a guy though,” Simon revealed, smirking. “And I consider that a win.”
“So, are you gonna make a move?” Rosh asked.
“Of course not! Are you crazy?” Simon shouted, shocked that Rosh had seriously asked that. Obviously he wasn't going to do that, they barely knew each other. He had to get closer with him first. Wilhelm might not even like him back. “Not everyone’s a lesbian, Rosh.”
Rosh huffed. “Maybe everyone should be. I bet this world would be a much better place,” she said jokingly, but to be honest she wasn’t all that wrong.
“He doesn’t even know that I’m gay. I don’t wanna shock him,” Simon tried to reason himself although he knew Rosh wasn’t gonna have any of it.
“Oh, trust me, he definitely knows. Look at yourself!” she said, holding her hand out in front of her, pointing to Simon. He did dress quite feminine sometimes and looked like a ‘stereotypical twink’ according to his friends, but that didn’t mean anything. A straight man could look the same, right? “Do you think he would’ve come out to you if he thought you were straight?”
Rosh had a point, somehow she always did. “I guess not,” he sighed and turned to lie on his back again, staring at the white ceiling. Maybe she was also right about how he should make a move. No, that was a crazy thought. He decided to not think about it more and instead take a very needed nap.
⋆⋆⋆
The next day Simon didn’t have any classes with Wilhelm, but on Friday he went to sit next to him. “Hey,” he said with a smile on his face.
“Hi,” Wilhelm returned the greeting, mirroring Simon’s smile.
“How are you doing?” Simon asked, sitting down. Wilhelm didn’t seem that anxious today, at least not yet.
“I’m good. How are you?” he replied, taking his laptop out of his bag.
“I’m good too,” Simon answered the question. It felt like Wilhelm looked even prettier than usual. He was wearing a pink sweatshirt paired with loosely fitting jeans. He could see the chain of a necklace peeking from underneath his collar. It made him wonder whether it was just a plain chain or if it had some sort of a pendant on it, but he couldn’t just ask that. He had to figure it out otherwise. Just gotta get him naked I guess.
Wilhelm’s voice startled him from his thoughts. “I like your hair.” The compliment made Simon’s heart skip a beat. Did Wilhelm really just say that? This couldn’t be real, he must be dreaming. The kind of dream that you didn’t want to wake up from.
Simon usually wore his hair down, but this morning he had decided to put in a little bit more effort. It definitely didn’t have anything to do with the fact that he had a lecture with Wilhelm today. That was totally unrelated. Simon had needed to ask Rosh for help, but in the end he had managed to put his hair in two buns.
“Thank you. I really like yours too,” Simon finally managed to choke out, after staring at Wilhelm, wide eyed, for way longer than what was appropriate. He turned to the professor, who was starting the lecture. He had to distract himself so that his mind wouldn’t wander to the forbidden area.
“Thanks,” he could hear Wilhelm saying. From the corner of his eye, he saw the other boy also turning to face the front of the lecture hall. There was a soft smile on his face.
Simon lasted approximately ten minutes before he felt like he just had to talk to Wilhelm or he would actually implode. He just couldn’t waste the chance now that he was right there next to him. “Do you have any plans today?” he decided to ask.
“No. Do you?” Wilhelm answered. Simon didn’t have any plans, but even if he had, he would cancel all of them for Wilhelm.
He looked over and saw Wilhelm writing notes. Even his handwriting was beautiful. Everything about him was perfect. Too perfect. “No, I don’t have any plans either.”
“So does that mean we’re gonna make plans together?” Wilhelm asked, grinning. Of course he knew where Simon was going with this conversation.
“I mean, I wouldn’t mind that,” he answered, trying his best to sound nonchalant but probably failing miserably. “We could go somewhere to eat. Or you could come over to my dorm, if you prefer that,” Simon had also learned that Wilhelm wasn’t the biggest fan of public spaces. All the people and noise stressed him out.
“I’m down for whatever. You choose,” Of course Wilhelm would say that. It seemed like he was always just thinking about what others wanted instead of himself. He really could be a bit more selfish sometimes, Simon decided to just go with it instead of arguing and chose the option he thought Wilhelm would like more.
“My dorm it is, then. We can watch a movie or something,” he said smiling.
“You don’t have any ulterior motives, do you?” Wilhelm asked in a teasing voice. Simon hadn’t even thought about what his suggestion would sound like. Oh, he was so f*cked. Metaphorically.
“No! Oh my god, what kind of person do you think I am?” Simon almost yelled. Wilhelm just started laughing and soon Simon was laughing as well. “Idiot,” he mumbled and slapped Wilhelm friendly on his arm.
⋆⋆⋆
They had agreed to meet at the front of the school after their school was finished for the day. Simon had texted Rosh saying that she needed to find herself something to do for the next few hours. He couldn’t trust her to not expose all of his desires in front of Wilhelm.
Simon was sitting on the concrete steps waiting for Wilhelm. Soon enough he heard the familiar voice from behind him. “Hey Simon,” the boy greeted. Simon got up and turned around to face him.
“Hey Wilhelm,” he said back, a smile immediately spreading on his face. God, why am I such a loser?
“You can just call me Wille by the way. Wilhelm sounds so formal, like nobody calls me that.” Wilhelm, Wille, explained to him.
“Oh, okay then, Wille,” Simon started leading them to the dorm building. When they got inside they had to climb the stairs to the third floor. Simon pulled out his keys and opened the door to his and Rosh’s shared dorm room. “Make yourself comfortable,” he said while holding the door open for Wille. Wille walked past him into the dorm.
“Cozy,” he commented, looking around the room. Simon closed the door behind them, kicked his shoes off of his feet and went to sit on his bed. Wille joined him, crossing his legs on the bed.
Simon fished his laptop from his tote bag. “What do you wanna watch?” he asked, even though he suspected that Wille would once again make him choose.
“Whatever is fine,” he responded, just like Simon predicted.
“Horror?” Simon suggested, opening up a streaming service on the laptop. He started scrolling through the list of movies. “Oh, I’ve wanted to watch this one.”
“Are you sure it’s not too scary for you?” Wille teased. Simon just groaned. They were getting comfortable with each other very quickly, which was both a blessing and a curse because now Wille kept constantly teasing him. “You can’t even say anything because you know I’m right.”
“Just shut up and watch the movie,” Simon said, trying to sound serious but he couldn’t help grinning. Wille was here with him, in his dorm and they were about to watch a movie together. The sexual tension couldn’t get heavier than this.
In the end, Wille was the one jumping during every scary scene. “And you dared to bully me when you’re a f*cking puss*? Unbelievable,” Simon said, laughing way more than necessary.
“I didn’t think it would be that scary!” Wille tried to defend himself. Simon wasn’t having any of it and just kept laughing. He was now laying on his back, rolling around on the bed. He could hear Wille groan, which just made him laugh more.
When he finally calmed himself down he sat up and took his phone from his back pocket. It was almost six. “Are you hungry? Should we order food?” he asked, raising his gaze from the phone to Wille.
“Yeah, I’m a bit hungry. What do you wanna eat?” he asked and Simon just shrugged. They went through the options and settled on pizza. The app said the delivery would take approximately twenty minutes.
“Any weekend plans?” Simon asked. He leaned the side of his head on the wall, facing Wille. He was so close that Simon could count his freckles if he wanted to.
“Yes, actually. Felice wanted to go shopping tomorrow and threatened to decapitate me if I didn’t go with her,” he told him, letting out an amused laugh. Felice was Wille’s roommate. Wille had told him that they had known each other before moving into the dorm but they had gotten a lot closer in these past few weeks.
“Well, you better go then. I like you better with your head attached,” Simon said jokingly. Wille laughed and pushed his hair back in his usual manner. “Hope you have fun with her,” he added. He really enjoyed spending time with Wille like this. He hoped that the moment could last forever.
Wille ended up staying in his dorm almost until midnight. Simon had tried to convince Rosh to stay somewhere else for the night but she came back around eight. The three of them spent the rest of the evening just talking and joking around. Wille and Rosh got along easily, which made Simon incredibly happy. He ended up walking Wille to his dorm. “I had fun today,” he said, smiling softly.
“Me too,” Wille replied, taking his keys out. “See you on Tuesday,” he added.
“See you,” Simon answered before Wille opened the door and stepped inside. He saw a glimpse of the dorm and it looked a lot messier than he could have ever imagined. There was trash and empty bottles on the floor. Before he could even process what he was seeing the door had already closed in front of him. What the hell was that?
⋆⋆⋆
It was Sunday and Simon was hanging out with Rosh and Ayub. This was the first time they had seen Ayub since the start of the term. He had moved to another city for his studies. They had decided to meet at a café to catch up. Simon had really missed the trio being together.
“So do you think he feels the same?” Ayub asked and sipped on his coffee.
Simon exhaled deeply. “I don’t know. He hasn’t given any obvious signs, but I feel like he’s comfortable with me,” he explained.
“I think that’s a good sign,” Ayub stated his opinion.
“Yeah, but just because he’s comfortable doesn’t mean he wants to f*ck,” Rosh opposed. Why did this have to be so complicated? Simon hadn’t told his friends what he saw on Friday and now he wasn’t sure if he should. Technically he shouldn’t have even seen it. Simon took a long sip of his iced coffee.
“Well isn’t it still worth the try even if he rejects you?” Ayub questioned. Straight men are so dumb.
“No? We’re already friends and I don’t wanna ruin that,” Simon mumbled, biting the straw of his drink.
Ayub just hummed in understanding. “Maybe just take it slow and see where it goes. Flirt with him here and there to see how he reacts. If he flirts back then make a move,” Rosh suggested and Simon had to admit that her idea was good, which honestly wasn’t a surprise.
“I could try that,” he answered, sounding a bit unsure. Simon had only seen it for those few seconds but It felt impossible to forget. It was like the picture of Wille he had in his head had been ripped to pieces. He always seemed so clean and organized so how could his dorm look like that? “You know… I saw something when I walked him to his room on Friday.”
“What was it?” Ayub asked. He and Rosh were both looking at Simon with curiosity in their eyes.
“His dorm was a f*cking mess. Like, it looked like a landfill; trash and beer bottles all over the floor,” Simon described. Rosh’s expression immediately turned from curiosity to worry. Simon could also see Ayub connecting the dots in his head.
“You think they were his? Doesn’t he have a roommate?” she started asking.
“I don’t know. Wille doesn’t seem like that kind of a person,” Simon didn’t know who he was trying to convince more, Rosh or himself.
“Well then it’s probably the roommate,” Ayub concluded.
“But if he turned out to be an alcoholic or something you would dump him, right?” Rosh asked, grabbing Simon’s wrist. “You can’t let anyone hurt you like that anymore.”
“You’re overreacting. We aren’t even together,” Simon said, letting out a chuckle in an attempt to lighten the mood. He pulled his hand from Rosh’s grip and grabbed his drink again.
“I’m just looking out for you,” Rosh defended. Simon knew that and he was really grateful for it, but he wanted to make his own decisions. He could take care of himself just fine.
“Exactly. You said you would never date anyone ‘like your dad’,” Ayub added. Simon had in fact said that and he still stood by it. But Wille wasn’t like his dad. Wille was everything he wanted. He was flawless.
⋆⋆⋆
“So are you coming?”
Simon was in the school cafeteria with Wille. They were talking about their weekends while eating lunch. Felice had dragged Wille to the mall with her and made him carry all her shopping bags, which was a lot. Apparently, Felice’s family was pretty wealthy and she was putting the money to use. Simon found it hard to even imagine what that kind of life would be like. Simon told Wille how he had spent hours in the café with Rosh and Ayub. After that they had gone driving around the city on their motorcycles, just enjoying the evening together.
Wille had also told him that Felice was hosting a party this Friday. Her parents were out of the country and she had their house all to herself for the weekend. Simon had told him to enjoy the party when Wille hit him with the unexpected question.
“So, are you coming?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. He looked like a puppy, looking at Simon with his big brown eyes.
“Are you really inviting me? I mean, are you sure it’s okay?” Simon asked, still thinking he had probably misheard the question.
Wille laughed light-heartedly. “Yes, I’m inviting you. And of course it’s okay, I already talked to Felice and everything,” he reassured Simon.
“Okay, I'm coming then. Just send me the address,” he replied, trying his best to sound calm. Now he just had to figure out how to impress Wille and end the night in his bed. He had three days to figure that out.
⋆⋆⋆
Simon took two tangerines from his bag and set them on the table. He and Wille had decided to study together in the school library on Wednesday. “What should I wear to the party? Is there a dress code?” he asked Wille while pulling out his notebook and pens and putting them next to the fruits.
“I don’t think there’s a dress code. It’s gonna be pretty chill,” Wille explained. He was already working on his assignment, something about how genetics influence behavior or whatever. Simon hadn’t really listened when Wille told him about it. He was too distracted thinking about how it would feel to have Wille’s tongue down his throat.
“Okay, great,” Simon replied, starting to peel one of the tangerines. Tight leather pants it is, then.
Wille looked at him and stretched his hand out over the table. “I can peel it for you,” he said with a soft smile on his face.
Simon looked at him in confusion. “I can do it myself. I’m not your damsel in distress,” he said while laughing and then continued to peel the fruit.
“Just let me be a gentleman and do it for you,” Wille begged, still holding his hand out. He had that stupid puppy dog look on his face. But for some reason it worked and Simon handed the tangerine to him.
Wille was smiling like an idiot while peeling the fruit and Simon couldn’t help but let out an amused laugh. He finally opened his laptop to start working on his own assignment. Soon enough, Wille was finished with the job and placed the fruit in front of Simon. “There you go, darling,” he said, putting on an overly polite voice.
“Thanks,” Simon said while shoving three pieces in his mouth on one go. Wille just rolled his eyes at him which made Simon laugh, juice dripping down his chin. Wille wiped it off with his sleeve.
“Where’s your table manners?” he asked.
“Let me do what I want. I’m not trying to be some prince like you,” Simon defended, still chewing on the fruit.
⋆⋆⋆
Simon wasn’t actually going to wear leather pants, he didn’t even have a pair, so now he was raiding his and Rosh’s wardrobe. “What the hell am I supposed to wear? He didn’t help me at all,” Simon complained while going through the clothes.
“Crop top and booty shorts,” Rosh deadpanned. She was on her bed, controller in her hand, playing a video game.
“You’re an idiot,” Simon mumbled and kept throwing clothing on the floor. Nothing felt good enough. “What if he thinks I look stupid? Then I’m definitely not getting that dick.”
“Well if he likes you then he won’t care what you’re wearing,” she tried to assure him.
“But he won’t like me if I look ugly.” Simon had already spent at least an hour doing his hair and makeup but it would all go to waste if his outfit was bad.
“You’re not ugly,” Rosh said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Just choose something. Don’t you have to leave in like half an hour?”
Simon opened his phone to check the time just to see that Rosh was right. “Yes. f*ck, I really need to decide,” he groaned going through the pile of clothes. He was getting even more stressed out. He definitely didn’t want to be underdressed and look like trash compared to everyone else. However, Wille had said that it was casual so he didn’t want to overdress either.
After spending pretty much the whole thirty minutes picking his outfit, Simon left the dorm wearing a purple cropped t-shirt paired with ripped black jeans. He had also put on a couple of chains around his neck as well as silver earrings to match them.
Felice’s parents lived in one of those rich neighborhoods. It took Simon some time to find the house since he wasn’t familiar with the area at all. The house was big and modern and something Simon knew he could never afford. He took a second just to admire what he was seeing. He then knocked on the door and was soon greeted by a girl in a sparkly dress, wearing the brightest smile. “Hi! You’re Simon, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” he answered, mirroring her smile. At first impression, she seemed very sweet. Simon could imagine befriending her.
“Awesome! My name’s Felice,” she introduced herself. Simon totally understood why Wille was friends with her. Her bubbly energy was already radiating onto him. Felice held the door open and stepped aside. “Come in.”
Simon walked inside. “Thank you,” he said, smiling at her. The house looked even bigger on the inside. Music was blasting on the speakers and everything was covered in multicolored lights. The place was crowded with people, most of them either playing drinking games or making out with each other. Simon and Wille had a very different idea of what was casual.
His mission was to find Wille. He pushed past people, looking around trying to spot his friend. He had walked around for probably ten minutes when he heard a familiar voice from behind him. “Simon!”
Simon turned around to see the blonde he had been looking for. “Hey! How are you?” he asked, walking up to him. The music was so loud that he almost had to shout his words. Wille was holding a plastic cup most likely filled with some sort of alcoholic liquid. He was wearing a simple white button-up and some black pants. He had left two of the buttons open so Simon could see the cross hanging from his neck. Was he religious?
“I’m good. How are you?” Wille returned the question. Simon could tell from the way his words blurred together that this wasn’t his first drink.
“I’m good, now that I found you,” he answered, which made Wille let out a laugh. “You look great by the way.”
“Not compared to you! I almost wanna kiss you,” Wille said jokingly and took a sip of his drink. Simon could feel his cheeks burning. He knew that Wille was drunk and would never say that if he was sober but something in him wanted to believe that he had some hope. It wasn’t entirely impossible that there were some feelings behind Wille’s words.
“How many drinks have you had? Should I get you water?” Simon asked. He couldn’t have Wille saying any more flirty things or he would explode.
“Uhh… Not that many, maybe four. Or seven,” Wille replied, sounding very unsure. Him losing count wasn’t a good sign. Simon grabbed the cup from Wille’s hand. “Hey! Wha-”
Simon cut him off. “We’ll get you some water. Do you know where the kitchen is?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Wille put his hand around Simon’s wrist and started guiding him, hopefully in the right direction.
Wille actually knew where he was going and they ended up in the kitchen. Simon poured Wille’s drink down the drain and filled the cup with cold water. He then handed it to Wille who drank it in one go like a shot. The party started less than an hour ago so he had to have pre-gamed because he was way more drunk than Simon had first thought. Simon’s mind reminded him of what he had seen a week ago. He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. No, it can’t be true. He’s not like my dad.
⋆⋆⋆
Simon was on the balcony smoking with Wille. He didn’t usually smoke but Wille had offered and he thought that one cigarette couldn't hurt. It was getting late and the air was getting colder. Simon started to regret not taking a jacket with him. He had only thought about what looked good, not what was practical. Simon had gotten Wille to drink more water and now, a few hours later, he was visibly sobering up.
“I’m sorry that you had to take care of me, again,” Wille apologized quietly. Simon could tell that he was genuinely ashamed.
“It’s fine. That’s what friends do,” Simon said, smiling softly at Wille.
Wille smiled back to him. “Thank you,” he whispered.
They stood in comfortable silence. Simon was leaning his forearms on the railing, looking into the distance. The wind was blowing on his curls and he could see the stars shining in the night sky. They were so far away that the artificial street lights seemed much bigger and brighter in comparison.
“You were so drunk that you said you wanted to kiss me,” Simon chuckled, but it wasn’t funny. He wished that Wille wasn’t drunk and would’ve actually meant it. Now hearing it had mostly hurt.
“I meant it though,” Wille mumbled and took a long drag of his cigarette. Wait, what?
Simon turned to look at him and almost dropped his own cigarette from the shock. “Huh?” was all he could get out.
“I meant it. I would kiss you if I had the chance,” Simon was just gaping at him, unable to make sense of what was happening. Wille couldn’t have actually said that, right?
But he had. Wille had said it. “Are you still drunk?” Simon asked carefully. He didn’t want to get his hopes up for nothing.
“No,” he replied, shaking his head. Everything in his voice was telling Simon that he was speaking the truth. Simon looked him in the eyes, still finding all of this very absurd.
Simon leaned in and Wille immediately did the same. He could feel his smokey breath on his face which made his heart do stupid tricks. “Can I?” he asked in a whisper.
“Yes,” Wille whispered back. Simon carefully put his hand on his neck. He closed his eyes and pulled Wille closer until their lips met. The kiss tasted like cigarettes and cheap alcohol but Simon couldn’t help but love the feeling. It felt like their lips were meant to be together like this. They fit perfectly into each other and Simon felt like his tongue was melting in Wille’s mouth. He could feel Wille’s fingers in his hair, pulling on it so slightly. Simon placed his left hand on Wille’s waist, the other still on his neck. This was perfect. Flawless.
