Simon

"Stop!" I growl, kicking and struggling to get away from Niall and 're holding me

aloft, their hands on my arms and legs.

I don't know where they're taking me; I don't want to. I just want them to let me go.

A door opens and they toss me through before spelling it shut as they leave.

I'm trapped on the ramparts, cold and wandless. Penny'll have a cat.

Then I hear the panicky, uneven sounds of sobbing. It's past the point of hysteria and my heart cracks.

I turn around and spot a well-dressed figure with raven black hair. He's sitting up in the fetal position, his arms wrapped around his knees and his head resting on them.

"Baz?" I ask approaching slowly, wondering if it's a trap. It doesn't feel like it though.

He looks up, surprised, and his puffy red eyes narrow. He doesn't care that I'm watching, tears are still falling from his stormy gray eyes.

"Go away, snow," he chokes out, too upset to be a prat.

Enemy or not I can't leave him like this. "What's wrong?"

"It's none of your business."

"Please Baz," I beg, asking him to let me in. "Tell me."

He tries to glare at me, but it's more pitiful than anything else. "My mother died today, alright? I'm not plotting anything so you can leave now."

Instead of responding, I sit down and pull him into a hug. I expect him to jerk away from me, but he doesn't. Instead his crying intensifies as if he was holding back. "She's dead! She's dead and it's all my fault!"

"She died for you," I argue. "Not because of you. That's what a good parent does."

"Shut up, Snow. you don't understand. What would you know your parents didn't want you."

This boy! This infuriating boy is making it harder for me to control myself. I can smell smoke which means so can he.

I take a deep breath and push on. "I would die for the people I love and I know they would die for me. I can't imagine losing someone all the while knowing I could have saved them.

"And I'm sure Mrs. Pitch wouldn't have been able to live with herself if you had died instead of her."

I'm not sure what I'm doing, but my voice lowers. "The weeks when you were missing freaked me out a lot. I woke up every morning having to realize that you were gone. I didn't know if you were dead or hurt…"

"Or plotting," he laughs darkly, wiping his face. "You'd probably love to see me dead."

"That's not true and you know it."

He's no longer crying and actually looks kind of hopeful. "Will you- will you come with me to- to see my mum?"

I smile. "Yeah- I mean, yes. I'll bring flowers.. Or something."

"Why are you up here, anyway?" he asked, helping me to my feet.

"Niall and Dev locked me up here. I'm not sure they knew you were up here."

He scowls. "Why didn't you use your wand?"

"Forgot it."

He grins. "Of course you did."

I'm about to defend myself when he kisses me.

Oh.