Nathan inhaled deeply and stretched his arms out as far from his body as they could reach. "Well, good mornin', beautiful," he sighed out contentedly. Simon's eyes snapped open. Did he turn visible during the night? Can Nathan see that he's been here all night? This is so embarrassing. Wait… Nathan just called me beautiful…
Looking over at a glass door, Simon saw that he was still invisible. Who's he talking to?
Nathan sat up and kissed his biceps. Should they be called biceps? They're more like little marshmallows on twigs. Prick, Simon thought to himself, realizing that Nathan was calling himself beautiful. Both of them rose and, as Nathan headed to the bathroom, Simon walked towards the door so he could go home and get ready.
Just then, Alisha came walking in the door on her phone, followed shortly by Kelly and Curtis, talking about the recent developments regarding Nathan's power. Simon instantly realized that he had not left himself enough time between waking up and the start of community service to make it home and back.
Even though he had become visible again, the others walked right past him, only Kelly giving him a quick glance, but not much more than that. He gulped, not wanting to be found out for having stayed the night, and then proceeded to whisper under his breath, "So this is the walk of shame," and followed them into the locker room.
Everyone started changing and going about their own business and gossin' about. Nathan steps out of the bathroom in just his little underwear and a towel strung over his shoulder. "Feel free to stare," he smirks as the others scoff at his remarkable overconfidence. He looks over to the quiet lad standing at his locker. "Hey! Barry! Ain't those the clothes you was wearin' yesterday?"
Simon looked up, his head twitching in a side to side motion. "N-no," he sputtered out.
"Yeah they are. I remember. See," he points out the epaulettes on Simon's button-down shirt, "it's got the little button things that make it look like you're in the paedophile army."
"All of my shirts have these." It was almost true. Sort of. Well, some of his other shirts have them.
"No-no. This was the shirt you were wearing yesterday. It may come as a surprise to you, Barry, but I'm pretty prescriptive."
"Perceptive," Simon corrected. "You're pretty perceptive."
"Exactly, Barry," he pats Simon on the shoulder. "Thanks for noticing." He grins widely and Simon holds back his own smile.
"Are the two a yas done havin' ya momen' or should we leave ya 'lone?" Kelly called over to the pair with a sarcastically suggestive look.
"Whatever, you know you're just jealous," Nathan winked over at Kelly and smacked Simon on the ass before walking over to his locker to quickly slip on his orange jumpsuit. Simon changed as quickly as he could while still folding his clothes into neat little squares and setting them gently in his locker. Nathan entertains the group with the tales of how he told his parents he's still alive.
Shaun, the new probation worker walks in and promptly, but rather apathetically, asks Nathan, "Who are you?"
Nathan looks back with a smartass grin and glances over to the others. "I could ask you the same thing."
Not amused, the man says, "I'm the probation worker."
"Oh," he smirks and holds out his hand. "Nathan. Nathan Young."
"They told me you were dead," Shaun says, only slightly more intrigued than deadpan apathy.
"Really?" Nathan holds two fingers to his jugular, mock checking for a pulse. "Apparently not. Could a dead man do this?" He dances around like a fool until he smacks into his open locker and everyone laughs at him.
"Well, I'll put you back in the system." Shaun walks away.
"Hold on: What? Are you telling me I was out of the system?" Simon chuckles to himself unnoticed in the background as he realizes how much Nathan just screwed himself. "I was a free man, and if I didn't show up here, no one would've come looking for me?"
"We thought you were dead," the new probation worker shrugs.
"So they got us workin' 'round a bunch of mentals?" Nathan blurts as the group starts painting over the rather poorly done mural in the large room of the community centre.
"That's rude," Simon says under his breath, but Nathan hears him.
"What? It's not that bad. Loads a people say I'm mental." He looks over at the people doing art in the middle of the room and starts to direct his works toward them. "O'course, I'm not. You can tell because I'm over here, and you're over there." He chuckles and turns back to the wall. Simon glances over at the group of patients and catches the eye of someone he once knew. He turns his head toward the ground quickly and walks away.
"Simon," a small girl's voice calls from behind him in the locker room.
He turns to face her, knowing exactly who it is. His jaw clenches and he tries to make his voice as even as possible. "Lucy." The others can't find out about her. It'll ruin everything.
"I can't believe it's you. I tried to see you after you'd left the unit. They wouldn't give me your phone number." She paused. "Didn't you get my letters?"
"No."
"Why didn't you visit me?"
"They said I shouldn't have any contact with the patients."
"I knew you wanted to see me. I think about you… all the time. Do you think about me?" Simon nodded, visibly frightened of the entire situation. "Come see me. Tonight."
"I'm busy tonight," he tried to get out of it.
"Promise me."
"Okay."
"I miss you…"
I can't see her. Someone will find me out. The art therapy group is only at the community centre for one more day. I'll just avoid her. That'll work. I'll just stay out of sight. I wonder what Nathan's doing…
Invisibly, he walked the streets back from his apartment to the community centre. Tonight he was already in different clothes and he brought an extra set to put into his locker in case there was another situation later on. He threw open the window that he had seen Nathan enter through before. Although it made a terrible rattling, no noise was perceptible to anyone who may have happened to be around.
Creeping in, Simon walked up to Nathan, already asleep - and with the distinct and powerful odor of alcohol drifting off of him. He was mumbling some non-sense about zombie cheerleaders and wolf-men chasing him.
The invisible boy was slightly put off by the sight of Nathan, the most fearless person he had ever known, who was immortal no less, curled up in the fetal position in visible duress. He reached out a hand in an offering of comfort to be placed on the sleeping boy's shoulder. But, when the Nathan suddenly twitched, he pulled his hand away and just sat there. Watching.
After some time, Nathan mumbles some more, his voice trailing off at the end of his phrases. "Don't let me die… Barry…"
Wait… Did he just say-?
"Come on, Barry… you can't let me die…"
Simon, very slowly and very awkwardly, moves closer to the sleeping immortal. He curls up behind him and wraps one arm around his dreaming companion. Nathan's heart slows and he pulls at the invisible arm wrapped about him. Simon clenches his jaw and lies perfectly still.
At least one of them will get some good sleep tonight.
A/N: Hey. Sorry about some of the brevity in this chapter. I've been getting a little busier over the last couple days but i wanted to get another chapter still. Sorry if there's any spelling mistakes. Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think ;)