Everyone in this world has a soulmate, everyone, no matter who they or where they're from. This is the lesson Simon grew up learning. The moment you turn 15 somewhere on your body the name of your soulmate will appear in the first place they touch you, skin to skin. It could be anywhere from the bottom of your foot (though gods knows why) to the back of your neck. It could appear as a messy scrawl or neat perfect calligraphy depending on how your significant other writes, their handwriting like an accent that you read instead of heard. The name starts off as a dull grey and it stays that way until you come into contact with "The One". Once that initial touch has been made your mark changes, it brightens and constantly shifts though different shades of your soulmates favourite colour, it could be anywhere from dark royal purples to light spring violets, campfire flame orange to sunset tangerine. They are in a word, dazzling.
Simon has grown up obsessing over these marks and especially loves looking at the ones his parents have. Both of theirs are on their pinky fingers and as his Mum is very fond of telling him, that small, feather like touch was the first root placed by the oak tree that has grown into their family. There is however a rare exception to this soulmate business and not a happy exception either. Your soulmate could be anyone in the world and most of the time when you find your soulmate in someone, they find theirs in you. But not everyone is so lucky, there are a few unfortunate souls, and they are indeed few, who when they find their soulmate, do not get found in return. At his young age of eight Simon could scarcely imagine the heartbreak those poor people went through but it scared him, it scared him just enough that as the clock ticked closer to his 15th birthday he always had the nagging thought of "What if thats you?" running through the back of his mind. A few years later, around his 13th birthday another thought was swirling around the back of his mind too. One that he found just as terrifying as being alone forever because if this got out, he probably would be.
Nothing stops the passage of time thought and before he really knows it it's the night before his 15th birthday, he didn't want to make a big deal out his birthday this year for the obvious reason that all 15th birthdays are big deals and he was nervous enough as it was without having a house full of people to try and impress and entertain. So tonight its just him and Leah, whose been his best friend for more years than he can count and he's…99.8% sure that that wont change after tonight. Okay make that 99.6% always leave room for error right? So he and Leah are there in his family's basement binge watching a Harry Potter Marathon ( because how else do you spend the night before you find out the name of your soulmate and possibly have to come out to your best friend) and the clocks ticking ever closer to midnight. Simon keeps trying to focus on the movie, heck it should be easy to get lost in this part, it's the intense fight scene in "The order of the Phoenix" but dammit the clock is just apparently far more interesting to his hyperactive brain. The clock reads seven minutes to midnight and Simon is fidgeting non-stop. Now Leah can usually put up with a fair amount of "Simon fidget" as she likes to call it, but even for him this is a bit excessive. Leah hits pause on the remote and turns to her best friend.
"Are you really that scared of finding out the name of your soulmate?" she questions "I know you Simon and whatever girl you end up with will be amazing, do you really think I'd let you settle for anything less?"
Simon shoots her a weak grin "Yeah I am pretty nervous, well really nervous actually"
"Why?" asks Leah, a gentle look on her face, she's never seen Simon wound quite this tight before and she's dealt with him a lot. Thats not a complaint, she thinks, he can just be a tad dramatic from time to time. "Are you worried about the girl? That you wont like her? Or are you still worrying over the incredibly thin chance your soulmate isn't *yours*" she finishes by making quote marks around the yours just to try and drive home how ridiculous she thinks Simon is being. She loves the boy to death but this was a conversation they had had so many times she could recite it in her sleep, and according to her mum, she had.
Simon shook his head "no, it's not that" he muttered "but thanks for putting that right at the front of my mind when theres only" he checks the clock "three and half minutes to doomsday" Leah rolls her eyes "then whats up Spier? You know you can tell me anything right? Simon jerks his head in a quick nod, "I know, I know" He takes a deep breath "I'm nervous because well…well…URGH! Why is this so difficult" He groans and buries his head in his hands. Leah looks on in slight bewilderment. The Simon she knows is never really at a loss for words, it was not a characteristic she placed on the drama kid to be honest. Simon raised his head from his hands "Leah the thing is, I'm…I'm—" Now an interruption at this point was not ideal but one came nevertheless. Simon could have probably coped with being interrupted by his parents or his younger sister. He certainly could have coped with being interrupted by it his beloved dog. What he couldn't cope with though was the fact that he had been interrupted by the one thing he was dreading most of all. The chiming of midnight on the old clock that sat on the wall, completely innocent in its role of ending Simons life as he knew it. As soon as the first chime rang round the basement Simon sat up ramrod straight on the sofa, as tense as a live electrical wire. Leah reached for her friend, she wanted to comfort him, tell him it was all going to be okay and that it would work out for the best but before she could bridge the gap between them Simon jumped up from the sofa just as another chime ran around the room, he started to desperately scratch at the back of his right hand and Leah made a mental note to ask what it felt like when the situation was once again calm. Simon was pacing the room as he scratched at his hand and Leah was pretty sure he was going to wear a path in the carpet before long. Before she could suggest stoping though Simon came to an abrupt halt facing away from her, his shoulders were hunched and his head hung low to his chest.
Leah waited a moment before getting up and placing her hand gently on Simons shoulder from behind 'Si?' she tried. No response. She tried again 'Simon? Simon Spier" and gently shook him. Simon seemed to rouse himself from where he had zoned out to and slowly turned around to face his best friend, his left hand covering the back of his right. She waited patiently, she would wait as long as he needed her to wait. The silence stretched on between them until eventually it felt like a third party member. "Can I see?" Leah asked softly. A couple of moments passed before Simon slowly nodded his head. Leah took his hands and held them up so she could see better, she carefully removed his left hand from were it was guarding his right and glanced back up at Simon's face, noticing that Simons eyes were non stop flickering between her face and his hand. She turned her gaze back down to Simons pale hand and tried to make sense of the neat, orderly letters that now graced the back of his hand. At first she couldn't really comprehend what she was seeing, what girl had a name like that? Then it clicked, this is what Simon had been trying so hard to tell her but what he had panicked so hard about, this wasn't just a soulmate reveal, this was a personal reveal, a secret that Simon had obviously tired hard to hide for as long as he could but now it was out in the open, as readable as a billboard in times square or the menu in the lunch cafeteria. She smiled softly to herself before looking back up into Simons eyes, noticing for the first time the vulnerability that shone there, the raw window she had to his soul. She attempted to put as much acceptance, love and trust into her eyes and facial features as she possibly could, although she probably didn't pull the look off as well as she wanted, something in Simon seemed to relax. "What a lovely name" she started "Such neat handwriting too, looks like you struck lucky with this guy Spier and this Abraham fellow is lucky beyond words to have you as his soulmate okay?" At her words Simon visibly sagged and she worried for a second that she had said the wrong thing. Just then Simon let out a small chuckle "Thank you" he muttered "Thank you, thank you, thank you" Leah was confused "For what?" She asked. "For understanding" came the response and before either of them really knew what was happening they were both in each others arms, hugging each other so tightly they were sure ribs had cracked. "Always Si, you know that" They pulled away from each other "Thank you" Simon stated again. Leah just shook her head "You're a dummy you know that? I'll always be here for you" She grinned. Simon grinned back "I know Lee, I'm here for you too okay? I love you" Leah pulled him back into a hug and he buried his head in her shoulder. She grinned into the side of his head 'I love you too"
The next morning when Leah and Simon woke (thankfully a Saturday and not a school day with how late they had gone to bed) they came up with a plan of action. Simon wasn't ready to be out to anyone else right now, especially here in Georgia and Leah completely understands. They decide that each morning Simon will come and pick Leah up a bit earlier than usual and with the extra time they have she'll cover it with her concealer and other magical bag of makeup tricks. Knowing his parents would ask questions about it when they went downstairs they practiced covering the mark with the makeup Leah had brought with her, when she had finished the job wasn't perfect but it certainly wasn't as noticeable as before and as long as no-one looked too closely it would be quite easy to get away with. Leah promised to go to the store with him as soon as possible so they could stock up on a concealer that was closer to Simons pale shade of skin as well as promising to teach him how to do it himself. Simon shot one last grateful look at Leah before they descended down the stairs, where from the smell of it, Nora was whipping up some of his favourite pancakes as a birthday treat. They had barely reached the bottom of the stairs before they were pounced on by Simons eager parents.
"So did it happen, did you get your mark?" "Yeah he did look at him he's got that look in his eye, whats her name kiddo" "Don't call him kiddo Jack this is a serious conversation, come on honey show us the name" "Oh come on he knows I'm joking but for real son who is she?"
The questions didn't seem to stop and all Simon could do was stare at his parents with slightly bewildered eyes, still far too tired to register all that they were saying. They still went on, firing question after question not even waiting for the answer, finally Simon had had enough. He took a deep breath and tried to speak "Guys, Guys!, GUYS!" he yelled, both his parents stopped bickering and looked at him "chill out guys seriously, yes I got the name, no I'm not telling you who they are or where it is and no, I'm not discussing this. I am going to go have my breakfast now because I'm really quite hungry okay? Thank you" and with that he brushed past his parents and moved into the kitchen were he received a small "happy birthday Si" from Nora. At various points throughout the day his parents attempted to catch him out or persuade him to just tell them the slightest detail but Simon was stubborn and with Leah at his back he was impossible to break and by the time evening came his parents had admitted defeat, not that Simon let his guard down.
Sunday came round and Leah and Simon headed out to the shops, this was tricker than he originally thought it was going to be, he didn't want to be seen trying on the makeup incase anyone caught wind of what he was doing so he used Leah's artistic eye to judge which colour was best. Once they found one that Leah deemed suitable they stocked up, left the store and headed back home, Simon kept two of the bottles at his own house but left most of them at Leah's when he dropped her off later that night, he didn't want his parents snooping through his room and accidentally finding it, that would raise far too many questions. Simon clambered into bed, exhausted from his weekend but the longer he lay there, the more he struggled to sleep, his brain wouldn't switch off and decided to show him every possible scenario of what could go wrong at school tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after that, or the- well you get the idea. He eventually drifted off into a restless and disturbed sleep, waking up before his alarm and deciding that sleep had apparently given him all it was willing to.
He stayed in bed staring at the ceiling until eventually his alarm went off, he clambered out of bed, similar to how a zombie crawls out of a grave, and stumbled into his bathroom, after going through his morning routine he found some clean(ish) clothes from the pile that was in-between both his laundry hamper and closet and shrugged them on. Noticing the time was approaching he said he would meet Leah, he slipped on his shoes, chucked on his jacket and grabbed his backpack from where it lay discarded on the floor. With that he headed downstairs, grabbing the breakfast burrito Nora had laid ready for him. His parents were shocked to see him heading out so early but he quickly came up with the excuse that he needed to pick Leah up to get to the Library early to catch up on homework. All the while keeping his hand tucked firmly into his pocket. The drive to Leah's took around 10 minutes and she was waiting by the door for him when he arrived, before he even spoke a word she grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him inside, ready to get to work.
Leah gave him a quick rundown of what she was doing as she was doing it but Simon could barely pay attention, too pre-occupied with thoughts of how is day could pan out. Eventually Leah just let out an exasperated sigh and gave Simon a pat on his head. 'Okay, we're ready to go" and with that they both headed out the door. The ride to school was tense and Leah new better than to try and get Simon out of the funk he was in. Only a good day would help him now. They pulled into their usual spot in the school car park and sat their for a couple of minutes. "You ready? Leah asked and Simon gave a small nod of his head. "Then lets go!" she proclaimed and they both clambered out. Simon had his backpack slung over his left shoulder and kept his right hand tucked right up to his body, just in case. They both went to their lockers, waved goodbye to each other and went their separate ways for class.
Simon was being paranoid, he knew that. He just couldn't exactly help it either, his secret was literally out in the open, written in neat, straight handwriting right there on the back of his hand. Although, Simon thought, the hand writing was probably the only straight thing about his soulmate. The thought elicited a dark chuckle out of him. His first class for the day was history, not a big deal, he sat near the back of the class next to a window and half the time they didn't even write, as Simon walked into the room though it felt like everyone was staring at him, hurrying over to his seat with his head ducked Simon took his time setting his stuff up before glancing around the room only to find everyone…doing the exact same thing he was, getting their stuff ready for the lesson ahead. Simon let out a sigh, he could do this he thought. He just needed to stay calm. History came and went, then so did Maths, followed quickly by English. No-one noticed anything, no-one said anything and it felt like the balloon sitting in Simons chest was slowly deflating, it was definitely still there, but it was smaller now. Lunch came, the makeup on his hand was holding up remarkably well (thank you makeup gods) and Simon sat with Leah and Nick, another close friend of his who he had known for about four years, Nick was quite happy chatting away but he didn't really bring up the weekend and its events, although he did enquire if Simon had enjoyed his birthday. That was the good thing about Nick, he always seemed to know when someone didn't want to talk about something and was adept at moving the conversation onto something different. Todays subjects? Soccer and Nick's recurring dream about being arrested by the traffic warden that stood in front of their school on a morning. Simon zoned out as Nick and Leah delved into an argument about what the dream could mean, thinking about his soulmate, where were they? What did they look like? and most importantly, who were they? Of course he knew their name but knowing someones name doesn't mean you KNOW them. Simon was curious by nature, something which his friends had come to accept but still got him in trouble from time to time when he poked his nose somewhere it wasn't wanted. Still, Simon wanted to know everything about them, knowing their name wasn't enough. He wanted to know what they looked like when they laughed, he wanted to know how they reacted when their favourite character was killed off in a book, he wanted to know what music made them cry and what drove them to reach their goals. Simon had more questions about his soulmate than there are stars in the sky, yet he couldn't answer any of them. After lunch he shared his last two classes with Leah and Nick so they were guaranteed to be fun and before he knew it the final bell was ringing, he was packing away his stuff and heading out of school to his car. That was it, that was his day. No accusations ringing out in the hall about having another guy as a soulmate, no prying questions, no…nothing. Simon thought about this for a moment then realised, as wrapped up as he was in himself, everyone else was exactly the same, maybe not the same situation but still. Navigating yourself is hard, navigating yourself while in high school and trying to focus on other people? Even harder, hell it was practically impossible. Simon allowed himself a small smile, maybe this was going to go better than he thought.
Simon made it through the next day with no problems, and they day after that too. In fact every week after that for two years Simon didn't have a single problem with regard to his soulmate or his mark in high school. He no longer needed Leah to help with the makeup on his hand and he felt confident enough in himself that he was sure this could go on for as long as needed. He didn't plan to hide it forever, just until he went off to college were people were a bit more mature and understanding. He could make it till then.
And then all that changed one Tuesday afternoon, around two years after Simon had discovered his soulmates name. It changed in about the span of an hour, the lunch hour to be specific, and it was all Nicks fault.
Of course it wasn't really Nicks fault but if he was looking for someone to blame Simon would rather put it on someone else than him right now. But putting blame aside for a second. It was Nick who brought the two new people over to their lunch table. "Hey guys" he said cheerfully with a wave and gestured to the two boys stood behind him, both holding their lunch trays which held a mix of the cafeterias dubious lunch food. They must be new if they were eating it, or insane. Simon decided on new, both the boys were about his age and he hadn't seen them before, it was possible they ran in a different type of crowd than him so Simon wasn't certain though. Both Leah and Simon greeting Nick with a "Hey" followed by a short awkward silence. "Nick do you wanna tell us why you've suddenly got two new bodyguards?" Simon questioned, Leah snorted into her drink and the boys behind Nick grinned at each other. Nick flushed slightly "They're not my bodyguards you idiot" he grinned playfully "this is Garett Laughlin from the soccer team -" he gestured to the boy with straw blond hair and strong jaw line. He had pale skin, well not pale exactly, the boy held a decent tan and Simon would have to be pretty blind to say he wasn't slightly good looking (not his type, or name for that matter) but other than that he kind of resembled a semi-douche, not that Simon would ever say that out loud. Nick was still talking " - and this is Bram Greenfield, he's just moved here from Savannah to live with his mum but he's joined the soccer team too" That explained how Nick knew him then. Simon examined the new boy closely. He had short dark curly hair which sat on top of a truly gorgeous face. Composed of high cheekbones, dark tawny skin, dimples and freckles, a beautiful smile and the most incredible eyes that Simon had ever seen. Like dark reflective pools that seemed to hold so much and Simon wanted nothing more than to dive in and see what secrets lay within. Before he could be caught staring Simon quickly averted is eyes back to Nick "Okay…so you've hired new bodyguards from the soccer team? What, were me and Leah not intimidating enough for you anymore?" He pretends to be offended. Nick just rolls his eyes "Simon will you shut up for a second I'm getting to that part" Simon cant help but notice that Bram flinches when Nick says his name and Simon cant help glancing down when feels Bram's eyes lock on to him and examine him more closely, but when Simon looks back up at Bram all he can see is the small smile gracing his face but from what Simon doesn't know. Maybe the banter between him and Nick?. Before Nick can speak again though it's actually Bram that speaks up "We're incredibly sorry to interrupt but Nick said it would be okay for us to sit with you because the soccer tables full and quite frankly they eat like animals and it was making me nauseated" Simon nearly melted at the sound go his voice, it was so smooth and soft and deep and kind of reminded Simon of syrup being poured over fresh waffles at Waffle House. He shook his head slightly before looking at Leah who shrugged her shoulders. Simon turned back to Bram and nodded his head "Thats fine with us, come and sit down, although how much you'll be able to eat of that I'm not sure" he said nodding his head towards Bram's school lunch. Bram chuckled as he sat down, opposite Simon of all places. 'Being as I only got in yesterday lunch time I haven't had time to go food shopping yet so i'll just have to try my best" Garett sat next to Bram 'I don't think it's that bad" he stated popping a fry in his mouth, a silence settled over the table and he looked around to find everyone looking at him questionably "unpopular opinion then I guess…" he muttered before shrugging his shoulders and popping another fry in his mouth. Nick sat next to Leah and engaged her in conversation about the science homework they had gotten, leaving Simon with no choice but to try and not stare at Bram while also not being rude and making new conversation with this incredible boy sat opposite him.
"So" started Simon, desperately searching for a topic of conversation to include the boy in "what brings you to Shady Creek? I mean why not stay in Savannah, we've only go a year left of high school" Bram ponders the question for a minute "I didn't really have a choice" he says finally "something happened at my old school and going their became painful and just overall horrible so I had to leave" Simon dropped his head "I'm sorry" he apologised "Don't be" Bram reassured "It's not your fault I was surrounded my immature, close minded assholes" Simon grinned "well hopefully you wont find that many here" "Don't worry" Bram claimed "I think I'm already off to a pretty good start" and he smiled warmly at Simon as he raised his drink. Simon couldn't quite respond to that without blushing.
Lunch ended not long after that and after talking some more with Bram he realised that they had English together and History. Both were their last classes of they day so after waving goodbye to their friends they made their way to class. It may have been fate or it could have been mere coincidence but Bram ended up being sat at the desk to the right of Simons in English and he was sat at the desk in front of Simon in history. Nevertheless by the end of the day Simons thoughts always came back to Bram. Simon didn't really think anything of it, he was just happy to have a new friend.
It took until the end of that week, so in essence three and half days, for Leah to notice Simons crush on Bram. She probably wouldn't have noticed at all but the Oreos gave him away. Simon always brought a snack pack of Oreos with him for lunch, everyday without fail and he rarely shared them. He did on special occasions like birthdays, or the last day of the school term but other than that, sharing was a no go. So on Friday, when everyone else was sat in their usual places at the lunch table, Nick was talking to Garett and Simon was talking to Bram, Leah was enjoying people watching and not having to talk and because of this, she saw the entire exchange, she saw Simon take the Oreos out of his bag and saw the way Bram's eyes lit up when he saw the packet. She even heard the words "Holy shit I love Oreos can I get one?" come out of his mouth and she could feel the laugh already building in her chest in preparation of the sassy comeback Simon was sure to spit out the same way he did whenever someone asked for an Oreo. It never came. Instead the laugh turned into shock as Simon gracefully ripped open the packaging and placed the Oreo in front of Bram. Bram's face was indeed a sight. Like a toddler who'd been told it would now be Christmas everyday. She saw Bram's face and she also saw Simons, she saw the way his eyes held on to Bram's face slightly longer than they should, she saw the way his entire body seemed to sigh in happiness at the beautiful grin that was splitting Bram's face and she saw his fingers, gently tracing over the back of his makeup covered mark. Thats when Leah knew.
She was going to talk to him about it that night on the way to his house for their weekly Friday night sleepover, but she hesitated. She wanted to see if it was just a one time thing or not, knowing Simon, and she knew him pretty well, it probably wasn't. Leah always liked to have all the facts though before jumping in. So she watched and she waited and tried to convince herself that no this wasn't really stalking, this was looking out for her best friend. The more she saw, the more she knew she was right. Simon and Bram barely spoke to anyone else at lunch unless someone made direct conversation with them and they always seemed to go off into their own little bubble, leaning closer and closer to each other the more intense the conversation got. It even became a game between Nick, Leah and Garett for who could guess the amount of time that would pass before the two boys noticed that everyone else at the table had stopped talking, Garett held the record so far with the closest time of four minutes and twenty-two seconds. The boys had both blushed deeply after that but it didn't stop them shooting shy grins at each other all the while.
Leah waited three weeks, three long, excruciating weeks before bringing up the topic of Simon and his crush and she did it in a most excellent Leah style possible. Over waffles of course. Both her and Simon were sat in their favourite cubicle at waffle house patiently waiting on their order, they had made all the small talk Leah was willing to make and now she was getting ready to dive into the main subject. "So" she began "Hows Bram?" Simon blushed slightly but still had the naivety and innocence to look slightly confused "Bram?" He asked, Leah nodded "Bram's good, you know that, you saw him today at lunch" Leah shook her head "well of course I saw him, but I didn't really get a chance to speak to him, it appears like someone else monopolises all his attention at lunch. You wouldn't know who that is now would you…Simon?" she asked, pointedly looked at him as she finished her sentence. "I don't know what you're talking about" Simon stuttered and started fidgeting in his seat "Bram talks to everyone at the table, not just me" Leah just shook her head "Nope, try again Spier and if you're gonna lie to me at least try and be convincing okay?" she grinned to take the heat out of her words. Simons arguments died on his lips, he knew what Leah was getting at, and as she sat that with that shit eating grin he knew he was gonna have to fess up to her about how he was feeling. He sighed "Go ahead Leah, ask away" Leah just grinned wider.
30 minutes later and a huge plate of waffles down Leah had all the information she could ever need about how Simon was feeling, why he felt the way he did and how terrible he felt crushing on someone as amazing as Bram when he could never hope to be his soulmate. Leah also had a surprising amount of information on what Simon called "Bram's Soccer Calves" some would probably say too much but Leah was just excited that Simon was talking to her about this stuff. Surprisingly Simon never mentioned anything about Bram's soulmate mark and when Leah asked about it he simply responded with a shake of his head and a "he doesn't talk about it and I don't talk about mine, fair is fair". They thought for a few minutes about where it could be, Simon suggesting places like his back or his foot (again god knows why), It was Leah who came up with the most plausible scenario though. It was on his forearm, it had to be, it would explain why Bram constantly wore long sleeves even on hot days and why he never rolled them up past his wrist. Why he never wore short sleeves even when playing soccer, instead choosing to wear one of those underbody thermal sheets, and, Leah finished why whenever someone touches near his right arm he flinches, it's so slight though its almost imperceptible. Simon was shocked, he had never noticed that. He made a mental note for the future to remind him just how observant his best friend was. What she said though made complete sense and the more he thought about it, the more sure he was. Simon himself had never actually touched Bram in any way, he was always conscious of peoples boundaries but he had seen other members of the soccer team come and pat him on the back or the shoulder and Bram had never looked massively uncomfortable but he always seemed able to keep people at arms length, this only threw more fuel on the fire that was now sat in the centre of Simons chest. Simon suddenly looked up from where he had been studying his hands "Wait" he looked confused "how did you even notice all this, when did you start paying attention?" Leah laughed, loud and bright. "Oh Simon" she intoned softly "it all started with your Oreos" Now to anyone else this probably wouldn't have made much sense but Simon just nodded his head, understanding flashing through his eyes. "Wait!" he panicked "do you think anyone else knows how I feel? Is it noticeable" Leah could see him shifting into overdrive, his imagination now pouring the jug of worst case scenarios right into his brain. Leah spoke up "Nah, I only noticed cos' i was looking to see if I was right and to be honest it looks like he's just as into you" Simon hung his head and shook it sadly "He can't Leah, we're not meant to be" Leah didn't really have an answer for that, not even she could change soulmates, so instead she reached across the table and lifted Simons chin from off his chest "Look here Spier" she growled "feeling the way you do isn't a bad thing, you're allowed to crush on people before you find your soulmate, it's not a crime okay?" Simon nodded slowly. "Right" she admonished "I am going to pay for these waffles and when I come back your gloomy dark feelings cloud better have disappeared okay? Simon nodded and Leah went off to pay. When she came back Simon was staring out the window. All he needs is some sad music to go along with him and he's got his own music video she thought to herself with a roll of her eyes. "Come on Spier" she announced "time we were going" Simon looked over at her, nodded then climbed out the booth. They linked arms on the way out to the car "I know this was difficult for you Si, I love you" A gentle grin appeared on Simons face "I love you too Lee"
The next few months passed without too many incidents, there were a couple close calls with Simon and his mark, some stupid kids thought it would be funny to prank people with water bombs and when he finally had to participate in physical education after running out of excuses he wiped the back of his hand across his forehead and then nearly gave himself an aneurysm when he realised what he had done. It hadn't been smooth sailing for Bram either, he had nearly been caught out one science lesson when they were using the bunsen burners and they had to roll their sleeves up their elbows, thinking quickly he told the teacher he needed the nurses office because he was going to throw up and in home economics a surprise baking class from the teacher meant that he had to skilfully pass on any of the work that involved touching the food and rolling up his sleeves. He passed it off as hating the feeling of wet dough and still recovering from a cold which most of his classmates bought, except for Garett who shot him a weird look as if to say "dude I saw you making cookies this weekend and you had no problem getting right in there, so what the hell man?" but Bram just shrugged in return. While all this was going on though both Bram and Simon were both getting closer and closer. They had swapped phone numbers and now texted every day, they even had a hilarious text chain going of pictures of unlikely animal friendships, Simon was currently winning with a picture of an otter and parrot. They hung out at each others houses and went to waffle house with the rest of the gang on weeknights when they were all free, Simon couldn't help but think that this is what his life could be like if Bram was his soulmate, but when those thoughts came Simon was quick to douse them with guilt. When things ended, and end they would, it was going to hurt both of them and it was going to hurt a lot.
It all changed at second period english class. Mr Wise was handing back tests from the week before and Simon was joking with Bram about how he had "totally failed because of sentence fragments" all said with a playful role of his eyes when the teacher placed the paper face down on his desk. Simon turned it over and was shocked to see a green 99% stamped at the top of his test. Surely this wasn't right? This was a joke right? He quickly scanned the paper and then realised the error. Mr Wise had given him Bram's test paper by mistake. Simon sighed, of course he hadn't got 99% he turned to Bram to hand him his paper when his eyes snagged on the writing. Perfectly neat, straight handwriting that looked vaguely familiar. Where had he seen it before? He knew it from somewhere but nothing of Bram's had ever come his way before so how could he? Thinking someone else must have similar writing Simon tapped Bram's desk, when Bram turned to face him with a small smile Simon held out the test in his right hand "Mr Wise gave me yours by mistake" Bram blushed "Don't be embarrassed, I mean I'd keep the score if I could" Bram laughed "Oh Simon I know, I've seen your test scores" Simon started to laugh "oh well if thats how it's going to be then maybe I'll just keep this one" he joked slowly pulling the paper back towards him "Oh no you won't!" Bram lunched himself across the space between them grabbing at his test paper and has he did so he grazed the back of Simons hand with his fingers.
That was all it took
All the makeup in the world would have been useless to hide the way Simons "Mark" lit up and glowed a dark blue before slowly lightening through different shades. Simon let go of the paper in shock and just stared at his hand, his world crashing down around him. Bram saw his friends face drop "hey man I didn't mean it about the tests honestly you'l—" he paused as he saw Simon just staring at his hand in shock, a gentle blue light still pulsed on his face, not really noticeable to anyone else in the daylight. Bram looked at Simons hand but before he could see much more than the glowing light Simon jammed his hand into his pocket "Simon what was—?" before Bram could even finish his sentence Simon had grabbed his backpack and had sprinted out the room shouting something about seeing the nurse to Mr Wise. He left behind a very confused teacher and a boy with a beautiful smile slowly growing on his face.
Simon ran straight to his car, his brain running faster than the rest of him could catch up. His mark was lit, his mark was in colour, his mark was blue, his mark had lit up when Bram touched him. There had to be some mistake, Bram wasn't Abraham, he was Bram. What cruel joke was this? Surely this was some prank. Maybe he was one of those people who didn't have a soulmate in return, maybe his was just a platonic soul mate which would suck because A) He really really liked Bram as in more than a friend liked him and B) He was pretty sure that Bram would never be friends with him now after this. A tear rolled down Simons cheek, he hadn't even realised he was over halfway home, thats how far gone he'd been in his thoughts. As soon as Simon was home he sprinted inside, grabbed the mega pack of Oreos he had stashed at the back of the cupboard in case of emergencies and took the stairs two at a time, he locked himself in his room in case his parents decided to come home out of the blue and then went and curled up on his bed. He finally let himself go and the tears fell, little crystals that shattered on his bedsheets, yeah, this one was going to hurt.
**Meanwhile at school**
The lunch bell rang seven minutes and twenty-four seconds ago and Simon still isn't at the table. Now Leah's not saying she's worried about Simon but he's never once been late for his Oreo fix, if a teacher asks him to stay behind he's never more than four minutes and If he leaves school he always texts her. Always. Yet here she is seven minutes and forty-one seconds in and Nick and Garett haven't even looked up from their conversation to be worried and Bram's just staring at his food, which okay isn't all the usual it does look weird but he's just full blown out grinning at it. Thats what weirds Leah out. She slides across to Simons usual seat and clears her throat "Hey Bram" she begins and Bram's head jolts up as if he wasn't expecting anyone to talk to him, it's as if he forget everyone else was here "Hey Leah whats up?" that grin still hasn't left his face, and yes Leah can see why Simon finds the guy so attractive, "You haven't happened to see Simon around have you? I know he came to school this morning he because we met at my locker but I haven't heard from him since and he's never usually late to lunch" Bram blushes and Leah's interest is peaked "Oh um yeah, he left at the beginning of english? Something happened so he went to go and see the nurse, well thats what he said but I saw him get in his car and drive off from the window in class so…" She doesn't mis the way that Bram's left hand is moving slowly up and down his right arm, "He's gone home" Leah spoke with certainty "I'm going to see if he's okay" Bram nods in agreement "Sounds good to me, I hope he's okay" and he looked back down at his food, that grin appearing again in full force, Leah just had to ask "You okay Bram?,You're like really smiley today" Bram shot her the full megawatt smile "Oh yeah Leah, Ive never been better, I got some really good news in english class is all" Leah just nodded "okay then…well see ya" and without waiting for a response she took off for her car.
Twenty minutes later she was charging through the front door of the Spier residence and pounding on the locked door of Simons bedroom. "Simon? Simon are you in there?" She shouted through the door. Barely a second passed before the door was yanked open by a puffy faced and teary eyed Simon. "Oh my god" Leah exclaimed "what happened to you?" Simon didn't answer, instead he just held up his hand where his mark was slowly shifting through the blue spectrum. Leah's hand shot to her mouth. No words could accurately convey how she was feeling right now. Simon moved back into his bedroom and curled himself back into a ball on his bed. Leah sat down at his desk and tried to find the words she desperately needed to help her friend. None came. So instead she settled for a question "what happened" she whispered. Simon took a deep breath and in a shaky and broken voice told her the whole story, how he and Bram had just been joking around with his test paper, how he thought the handwriting was familiar but he wasn't quite sure why and then how Bram had lightly touched the back of his hand and it was game over. He was pretty sure Bram had seen enough to know what it was and he was also pretty sure that Bram was never gonna talk to him again, he'd even turned his phone off so he couldn't receive any of the horrible messages he knew Bram was gonna send him.
Leah slapped her hand to her forehead both at her own stupidity and the stupidity of her best friend. She had to tell him what had gone down at lunch. 'Actually Simon I think you're so wrong on that account that you make me look smart at math" Simon just looked at her "So I was at lunch waiting for you as I always do and you never showed up, Nick and Garett are useless to ask and Bram was just sitting there staring at his lunch" Simon flinched at the sound of Bram's name "But Simon he wasn't just staring at his lunch he was grinning at it and when I asked him about you he said that something had happened in english and thats why you had leave. I asked him why he was so smiley and he said he got some really good news in english too" "He was probably just happy about his test result" Simon mutters "He did get 99% after all" Leah internally groaned " No Simon listen to me, you know how you used to stroke your mark when you *liked* someone? and by someone I do mean Bram" She waited for his confirming nod "well listen, when I was talking about you to him he was stroking his right arm too" Simon wanted to believe what his best friend was saying, with all his heart he did. But his head was compelling him in the complete other direction. "Leah he's not my soul mate" "Why not?" she asked exasperated "it's the wrong name, I'm broken Leah, Im not meant to have a soul mate" another tear leaked from his eye and Leah couldn't hold back the urge to go over to her best friend and hug him. He let out a heartbroken sob in her embrace and wave of fresh tears came forth. "Listen here Spier, you are not broken, you are not soulmate less, there is someone in this world who fits your jigsaw puzzle piece perfectly and while you are not confident in who it is, I am and I am willing to be that confidence for as long as needed or until proven otherwise okay. This is not the end Simon, this is the beginning. Of what I don't know but I can assure you that you're just starting a new chapter in this book of life and I'll be damned if it's not gonna be your best chapter yet. Some come on, pick yourself up and bring the Oreos" Simon dried his eyes "where are we going?" he questioned. Leah shot him a smirk "Well considering I have just exhausted all my emotional philosophy reserves on you, I need to refill and the best way to do that is an Spier Oreo Shake (Its true, they were legendary around the Spier house and they always made you feel better) so move your butt. Simon grinned begrudgingly at his best friend before dragging himself from the bed and heading on down to the kitchen, maybe it was time for an emotional refill.
Leah left not long before his parents got home around had managed to pull himself together long before they got back (Oreo shakes really did help!) and even had an excuse prepared for why he had left school without permission, he hated lying to his parents but sometimes such evils were necessary and they ate up his excuse with no complaint. Simon had turned on his phone to see he'd only received a text from Nick and the cell service company he was both relieved and slightly disappointed. The text from Nick read "Hey, I've got soccer practice till 5:30, you feeling okay or do you need me rn?" Simon smiled gently at his phone, the text had been sent just before school finished at 3:30, before texting Nick back that he was fine but thanks for checking in on him. Simon looked at the clock, Nick wouldn't see the text for another 30 minutes anyway. Around six Nora prepared her famous dinner of peppers, rice, mushrooms, sausage and spinach and the whole family sat down to eat. Simon was thankful he didn't need two hands to eat this meal and kept his right hand firmly buried in his pocket, he'd be lying if he said eating with his left wasn't a challenge though but he wasn't ready for the conversation that they'd be having if his right hand was out in the open. He would tell his parents eventually, he didn't really have a choice now, but he wanted to clear the air with Bram before he said anything to anyone else.
Once dinner was done and out of the way the family moved into the living room to prepare for TV night. Simon loved these nights usually but tonight he was desperate to just get back into his room and go to bed, he felt exhausted. Nevertheless he sank down into the seat of the sofa closest to the door of the front room just in case he needed a quick escape. He didn't know from what, but it was just in case. After around 45 minutes they reached the halfway point on the Bachelor and the family stopped for a break which consisted of making more popcorn, arguing over who was going to end up with who and being able to quickly access social media. Emily Spier was a true savage when it came to family TV night. You did not cross her or risk facing all the wrath that could fit in her 5"7 tall body. Was it Shakespeare who once said"though she be but little she is fierce?" Simon was pretty sure that that was written about his mum. Simon was just on his way back from the restroom when a knock on the door distracted him, he could hear his parents and Nora arguing in the kitchen about the show as they prepared more popcorn so Simon slowly made his way over. He opened the door, not at all prepared for who stood on the other side.
It was Bram
"Ahhh..urm…Hi?" Simon winced at how ineloquent he sounded, but Bram just chuckled. "Hey Simon" he greeted and damn if his voice didn't still remind Simon of syrup being poured over fresh waffles, dammit now he wanted waffles, focus Simon! "I just wanted to check up on you after today? You left really quickly and my phone died before lunch so I couldn't text you to find out, Im sorry I'm so late but I've only just cleaned up from soccer and had dinner" Simon just shook his head "No..no its fine" he stuttered. He moved out onto the porch with Bram leaving the door slightly open behind him. "I'm fine, I'm good actually it must have just been a bit of an upset stomach and…—" It was then that Simon noticed Bram's attire. "Wait a second are you wearing short sleeves? You've never done that, are you okay?" Simon quickly turned it back round on Bram who just laughed 'Simon I'm perfect and theres a reason for the short sleeves, I wanted to show you something" Simone just regarded Bram with confusion. In answer Bram held up his right forearm until it was an easy height for Simon to see. There on Bram's arm in handwriting which looked very similar to his own was a name
"Simon"
He couldn't decide if he or Bram had said it but he couldn't take his eyes of off the name on Bram's arm. He tentatively reached out and with his finger he ran it across the length of Bram's arm. As soon as Simon touched his name streaks of sunlight yellow, dark hues of gold and buttercup blonde filled in the space that dark grey had once occupied. "It's you" Simon whispered, Bram nodded. Simon took his own hand out of his pocket and gently moved it towards Bram's arm, as soon as their skin came into contact their names glowed more brightly, lighting the darkness of the porch they stood under.
Suddenly the door behind Simon was yanked open the rest of the way to reveal his mum, dad and sister all stood there, the popcorn now forgotten. It was too late to hide the shining marks on their skin and everyone just stood their in silence for a few momnts. Simon finally broke the silence. "Mum, dad, I know you've seen Bram a couple of times before but this is completely knew I can assure you, I had no idea until today" Bram coughed under his breath "I knew when I met you" Simon turns to shoot him a playful glare and Bram grins back. "Well" Emily Spier spoke up "come on in Bram, I'm sure you two can fill us in a bit more about whats going on" "I'm sorry Mrs Spier but I cant stay, I only came to see Simon so we could finally figure out we belong to each other, my mother is expecting me back shortly" Bram apologises. Emily's face falls for a second before picking up "Thats fine dear, you'll just have to come for dinner tomorrow instead" it sounded like a suggestion but her tone left no room for argument "yes, ma'am" Bram agrees, "Excellent, well then we will see you tomorrow Bram. Jack, Nora come on, lets leave Simon to say goodbye" She shoves Nora in front of her and grabs her husband by the arm to pull him along, before he's out of sight Jack seems to break out of whatever trance he's in and shoots the biggest grin he can manage in their direction and a giant thumbs up, the door is slammed behind him presumably to give the boys some privacy.
Simon turns back to Bram, "so, soulmates huh" he says with a shy grin. "Soulmates" Bram agrees practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Wait" says Simon with a small frown "your name isn't right though" Bram giggles, "Oh Simon, my full name is Abraham Greenfield, but no-one calls me that but mum and dad, don't worry no-one at school knows it either other than the teachers but even they all call me Bram" Simon nods in understanding, they've unconsciously shifted so they're both holding each others hands but all Simon can think about is Bram's mouth, more specifically his lips. "Abraham" he muses and Bram's mouth parts in a small gasp. A pink tongue darts out and wets his lips. Simon leans in "I really want to kiss you" he whispers "then do it" dares Bram. They both slowly lean in and when their lips touch its like all the voices, all the doubts that Bram's not his, in his head go silent, they're replaced by fireworks and sparklers and shooting stars and a sense of belonging. He is Bram's. Bram is his and thats they way the universe intended it. Simon can't quite believe he spent this long hiding from it. It's not a messy passionate kiss like you see in the movies, where they cant keep their hands off each other, it's a slow, careful one that builds, like a bonfire slowly reaching its peak, the unspoken emotions from the last six months being translated now more fluently than the two boys could ever do with words and in that moment the world seems to stand still. After what seems like forever although in reality is only a couple of minutes the boys split apart, they stand there, hands intertwined and foreheads pressed together.
"Simon?" Bram asks "Hmmmm?" comes the content response "I don't wanna hide the fact that you're my soulmate, not anymore, not now I've got you. I may have had to leave my old school because of having a guys name on my arm but I refuse to hide you" Simon freezes for a second, is he ready for this he thinks. One look in Bram's eyes and he knows his answer, yes he is. As long as this boy is by his side there isn't anything he can't do he thinks. "Okay" he whispers "lets show the world that our love story deserves be heard" Bram grins broadly and his eyes light up in that way that still makes Simon want to stare at them forever and dive in, except now of course he can. Bram swiftly kisses Simon again before announcing "I love you, Simon" and Simon cant help but grin back at the boy across from him, at his soulmate, his missing piece and respond "I love you, Abraham"