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Simon is just sprawled out on the sofa, scrolling through his Instagram feed like he normally does, when he suddenly sees a picture of books. He frowns. What’s it doing on his Explore Page? It’s suddenly not something he’d be interested in.
It’s a very pretty picture, though. And it has lots of likes. Like, lots and lots of likes. Simon taps on the icon for the profile. The account is called betweenthelines.
When he looks at other pictures, he sees that all of them are pictures of books. Books stacked on top of each other, more pictures with a guy that’s reading (but in none of the pictures you can see his face), books in gardens and in front of fancy buildings, books everywhere.
Turns out, there’s a whole community of bookstagrammers, as they call themselves. After hours and hours of looking at betweenthelines’ posts, Simon knows a lot about the guy.
For example, in his captions he talks about poetry and how much he loves it. He talks about his day, what he was up to, weird things that happened and more. And everyone seems to like it. He has around nine thousand followers, which is a lot considering he talks about books.
Over the course of the following weeks, Simon becomes more and more invested in betweenthelines’ account. His followers don’t know much about him, except for the fact that he’s a boy who lives in the south of England and whose first name starts with a B.
As the summer holiday ends and school begins again, Simon gets busier and busier. He’s in his last year of A levels, so the year’s a bit different. More people want to know if he’s planning to go to university, and if so, where?
Colleagues of his father, who are normally irritating enough, get even more on his nerves. And his father himself, headmaster of his school, seems to be always gone. He was never much there to begin with, but still. It’s not nice.
But every day, without fail, betweenthelines posts new pictures with funny anecdotes to help him through his day.
Simon is in the fourth week of his school year when he spots something peculiar in a picture of betweenthelines . He thinks if it’d be a good idea to go to the comment section, but he changes his mind and sends a DM instead.
[simonsnow]
Hey, I know this probably sounds weird, but I recognise the fountain in your last pic?? idk, there are a lot of fountains in England, so it’s probably nothing, but it looks a lot like the one at my school, Watford. Just wanted to point that out.
As soon as he’s hit send, he regrets it. Like he said in the message, it’s probably not the same fountain. Or building. Or city.
Simon grunts and lets his head fall back on his pillow. He should have never sent that message…
Just when Simon contemplates flying into the sun, his phone lights up.
[betweenthelines]
Do you go to Watford?
Wait, that was probably not the best way to start this conversation out.
I’m starting over: that may or may not be the fountain you’re talking about.
[simonsnow]
Getting mysterious, are we?
Also bc of your reaction I’m not fairly sure you go to Watford. Which means you live close to me…
[betweenthelines]
What if you’re a stalker?
[simonsnow]
Yeah, I’m not. I wouldn’t call an 18-year-old boy who follows a book account a stalker. more like a nerd.
[betweenthelines]
what’s wrong with being a nerd? I am one myself
[simonsnow]
Could’ve guessed that.
[betweenthelines]
So I’m guessing (hoping) you aren’t a stalker. You’re actually the first one that has figured out where I live
[simonsnow]
I’m the first? cool
[betweenthelines]
yeah. but could you keep it a secret please? I don’t want everyone to know where i live
[simonsnow]
It’s all good. Also, I don’t even know your name so I most likely won’t be able to find you. I’m not that good at stalking, despite what you may believe
It’s weird to think that you know who I am, but I don’t know who you are
[betweenthelines]
I don’t know who you are
[simonsnow]
you can just look at the photos on my profile
[betweenthelines]
tbh, I didn’t think of that. brb gonna stalk your profile.
[simonsnow]
And you said I was the stalker…
When betweenthelines doesn’t respond, Simon figures he is indeed looking at his pictures. Instead of pathetically watching the little dots to see if betweenthelines responds, he makes his homework and eats dinner. His father is gone tonight -- again -- so he has the house to himself.
Betweenthelines seems a little different over text than in his captions. There, he’s more poetic. But isn’t everyone? In the captions you can think longer about what you write, while with texting you need to react fast.
Sitting down with pizza at the living room table, Simon checks his phone again. He’s surprised when he sees he has a message.
[betweenthelines]
I think I’ve seen you walking around on campus
[simonsnow]
of course you have. assuming we’re going to the same school
wait how old are you? I just assumed you’re my age
[betweenthelines]
I’m in my last year of A levels actually
[simonsnow]
same.
I get that you don’t want people to know where you live, but why have you never revealed your first name?
[betweenthelines]
Are you just asking this bc you want to know my name
[simonsnow]
… maybe
[betweenthelines]
I can give the first letter of my name. I think some people I already knew that bc I said it once in a q & a
[simonsnow]
sooo???
[betweenthelines]
My first name starts with a b
[simonsnow]
that’s it?
[betweenthelines]
there is only one first letter, snow
[simonsnow]
yeah yeah i know. it’s just… you could give more clues y’know
[betweenthelines]
don’t whine, you know already more than most of my followers
[simonsnow]
shit u right
[betweenthelines]
I have to go btw, make homework and stuff.
[simonsnow]
Okay
good luck lol, i hate making homework
[betweenthelines]
same
Simon waits for a moment, but B doesn’t say anything else, so he doesn’t either.
He doesn’t know why, but talking to B is fun and easy. As the weeks go on, Simon finds himself more and more messaging back and forth with B. On several days, he tries to find out what his name is, unsuccessfully.
[simonsnow]
can i guess what your name is
[betweenthelines]
why?
[simonsnow]
because i’m curious!
[betweenthelines]
no
[simonsnow]
aww c’mon, don’t be such a party pooper
[betweenthelines]
there’s no party going on here, snow
[simonsnow]
fine.
i’ll see you at school!
[betweenthelines]
no, I will see you. You won’t see me
[simonsnow]
that sounds a bit creepy, don’t you think, bob?
[betweenthelines]
you were not even close
[simonsnow]
dammit
*****
*****
“So you’re telling me that you don’t know who this boy is, but you keep talking to him?” Penny twirls her pencil in her hand.
“Basically,” Simon tries to say, but it sounds a bit muffled due to the scones in his mouth.
Penny leans forward. “Don’t you think that’s a little weird?”
Simon swallows the scone. “The online talking, you mean?”
“Well, he knows who you are and you don’t know who he is. You have to admit it’s a little…” Penny shrugs and makes an ‘I don’t know’ sound.
“I’ve thought about it too, you know. But he is a boy with an Instagram account where he takes pictures of books. I mean, how scary can he be?” Simon says. He grabs a butter knife to add an extra layer of butter to his leftover scone.
Penny points the pencil at him. “You got me there.” Simon smiles, satisfied that he’s convinced her.
Because of Penny’s wild hand gestures, her pencil got stuck in her hair. She tries to remove it, without success.
After a while, Simon gets tired of watching Penny struggle with the pencil and her untamable purple locks, so his eyes wander around the cafeteria, looking for a boy with black hair and a love for books. But he can't find anyone like that.
Maybe he doesn’t like to eat in here? he thinks. He knows a couple of students eat their lunch outside, now the weather is still bearable.
Simon turns his head so he can look out of the window behind him that overlooks the schoolyard. But someone blocks his view.
“Oh, hey Agatha,” Penny says. Simon just waves at her, because he doesn’t think he’s able to form a full sentence without spraying little pieces of scone everywhere.
“Hi guys. So I just stopped by to talk about that English project we’re doing,” Agatha says. She smooths her skirt and sits down next to Penny, who proudly presents to Simon her pencil, freed from her hair at last.
Simon feels a bit weird about the fact that the three of them have to work together on a school project. He and Agatha used to be in a relationship, but she broke up with him last year. Ever since things have been… well, not exactly awkward, but still weird. Simon doesn’t blame Agatha for breaking up with him, though. He was a terrible boyfriend.
“I mean, I still have to finish this chapter, but then I think I can start with the outline of the essay,” Penny says. She fishes the book out of her messenger bag. “At what page are you on, Simon?”
“Uh, how many pages does the book have?” Simon asks. Agatha rolls her eyes and Penny sighs.
“Have you even started?” she asks, shoving the book in his face.
“Yeah, I did. I was in chapter three or something,” Simon defends. “I’m not that bad at reading for school, despite what you two may believe.”
“It’s alright. If you read a little bit every day, you will finish the book in time,” Penny assures him. She knows about Simon’s insecurities about being the headmaster’s son and not being the brightest of the class. She knows how much the weight of everyone’s expectations is to him.
“And if you don’t, you can always rely on us,” Agatha adds. Simon smiles.
“Thanks, guys.”
The bell rings, and Simon glances out of the window once more before grabbing his bag and follows Penny to Philosophy class.
*****
*****
[simonsnow]
have you ever read wuthering heights
or to kill a mockingbird
[betweenthelines]
yes, both of them. they’re beautiful books. why?
[simonsnow]
i have to read wuthering heights for english and to kill a mockingbird is for philosophy class
[betweenthelines]
what do you want me to do with this information?
[simonsnow]
idk. give tips on how I can understand them better? despite what some people may think, i kinda like reading. if it’s the good book for me. but the language they use in classics is just really hard for me to understand
[betweenthelines]
you can always look up videos on youtube or articles on internet. they have great tips
that’s what i did. furthermore, i can just say: struggle through it. it’s gonna be a pain in the ass in the beginning, but in the end you may just actually end up liking the book
[simonsnow]
well i don’t know about that, but thanks for your advice. wish me luck!
[betweenthelines]
carry on, simon. you can do this
*****
*****
Simon is walking out of maths class and he grabs his phone. He just thought of a good idea for the project with Penny and Agatha and wants to let them know immediately.
After what B recommended last night, Simon spent ages on YouTube watching videos about classic literature and how to understand it better. Turns out, B was right. There was a ton to find about old English and it actually really helped.
When he walks into history class, the teacher calls out to him. “No cell phones in the classroom, Simon!”
Miss Lawrence is a nice teacher, but sometimes she snaps at him for not being fast enough with writing down her notes, even though she goes through them at a crazy speed, everyone knows that.
Simon has a weird relationship with his history class this year. He sits next to Baz, a boy he didn’t even know existed until two years ago. Let’s just say there was an unfortunate accident between the two of them in chemistry that ended in flames. Ever since, Simon has the feeling Baz doesn’t like him very much.
Simon puts his cell phone in his pocket. Baz arrives when Simon places his books on his table.
Looking at miss Lawrence and confirming she’s not watching him, Simon starts texting Penny again.
special snowflake: remind me again why i took history
a penny for your thoughts: because you didn’t know baz would be there.
a penny for your thoughts: calm down, you can survive this. it’s only like an hour. i’ll see u after this class at your locker, okay?
special snowflake: yeah that’s good. ttyl
“Simon, I told you to put your phone away! If you don’t listen to me, you can hand it over to me and you won’t get it back until five o’clock this afternoon,” Lawrence firmly says. Simon tries to look guilty as he slips his phone into the front pocket of his bag.
The lesson drags on. Normally, Lawrence can be pretty funny if she wants to, but it looks like she’s not in the mood today. The whole time she’s picking at students and criticising their work.
“Someone’s having a bad day,” Baz muttered when Lawrence throws a pen at a student who’s staring out of the window.
“I know, right?” Simon says. “But for all we know she could just have heard that her husband has gone missing or something.”
“Nah, then she’d be more upset.” Baz starts doodling in the corner of his notebook. “I think she’s just pissed over something she knows is not important, but still is a big deal to her.”
Simon examines him. “That was very specific.”
Baz shrugs. “My mum is like that sometimes. Very annoying.”
Simon doesn’t really know what to say to that, so he just nods. He tries not to think too much about the fact that he and Baz just had an actual conversation that was not about the course or about borrowing some paper. And it went quite well, actually.
When Simon is busy searching his locker for his copy of Wuthering Heights , Penny leans against the locker next to him. “You know, you could use a more efficient system. It would be easier to get them if you used my system.”
Simon rolls his eyes. “Yes, I know. I could be faster, spending less time here and more time eating, blah blah blah. In the past years, I think I’ve heard every speech you could possibly give, Penn.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” Penny says, adjusting her glasses. “I’ve never told you about --”
“If you tell me about it now, you won’t be able to lecture me about it later,” Simon interrupts her. He pokes around the stack of other books lying around in his locker.
“Procrastinator,” Penny huffs.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Simon’s voice is muffled when he sticks his head in his locker. “Hey, have you seen my copy of Wuthering Heights ?”
“Oh, that’s what you’ve been looking for! I was already wondering what you were doing,” Penny says. She crosses her arms. “You know you could just borrow mine?”
Simon shakes his head. “I can’t. I need to make notes and shit. I can’t do that in another copy.”
Penny shoves him aside and spends a total of three seconds staring at his dump of stuff. “It’s the third from above, the left stack,” she says.
Simon’s eyes widen. “Wha- How did you- So fast?”
Behind him, someone snickers. Simon turns around to see Baz also fumbling around his locker. “Maybe you should search with your eyes instead of your nose, Snow.”
“What does that mean?” Simon asks confused.
“It’s something my mother says. As I said, she has her moments sometimes.” He closes his locker and walks away.
“Uhm, what the fuck, Simon?” Penny slams Simon’s locker door in his face. “You talked to him? And no one died?”
“Har-har, very funny. I can be polite, you know,” Simon says.
Penny snorted. “Yeah, of course. After all I’ve had to hear all those years? ‘Penny, he’s so mean to me! He doesn’t even notice me!’ You practically thought you guys were arch-nemeses or something.”
“We’re not,” Simon blushes. “And I didn’t even notice I talked so much about him.”
“It used to drive Agatha crazy, you know,” Penny says. She navigates them through the sea of students on their way to the cafeteria. When Simon thinks they’re going to go into the cafeteria, Penny skips that door and continues to walk to the front door. Once outside, they sit down underneath a big tree.
“I didn’t even know that!” Simon exclaims.
Penny shrugs. “She never told you. Don’t you why, though. If Micah kept going on and on about a boy, I certainly would ask questions.”
“Look, I don’t know Agatha’s motives for breaking up with me, and I don’t have to. I respect her decision,” Simon says.
“Good to see you’re still a gentleman,” Penny smiles.
*****
*****
betweenthelines Today was a very weird day for me, for several reasons. I think I made a friend? I’m not sure though. Do you guys have any tips on how to approach someone and ask if you’re friends or not (without being weird)
#books #bookstagram #bookworm #currentlyreading #october #bibliophile
5 hours ago
*****
*****
The last weeks of October pass by in a rush of the first tests, discussing Halloween costumes and trying not to worry about the crushing weight of school exams.
Simon watches as betweenthelines ’ account grows and grows, from having around nine thousand followers to twenty-seven thousand.
[simonsnow]
but i mean, haven’t you noticed how much your account has grown?
[betweenthelines]
yes i have. that’s why I try not to think about it, dummy
i just keep thinking…
[simonsnow]
yes?
[betweenthelines]
would these people still follow me if they knew what kind of disaster I am in real life?
[simonsnow]
but isn’t that the power of social media? to be able to be the best “you”? that’s how i’ve always seen it
[betweenthelines]
hmm that’s true
but still. do you think I should do a q&a?
[simonsnow]
that’s all up to you dude
pal
[betweenthelines]
my buddy
[simonsnow]
my man
[betweenthelines]
we’re bros now
the bro code has confirmed it
[simonsnow]
does anyone actually /know/ what’s in the bro code?
[betweenthelines]
I don’t think so
after all, everyone’s lying and we’re all going to die at some point
[simonsnow]
and you’re back to your charming self i see
[betweenthelines]
har har
how’s the book going
[simonsnow]
im,, reading
i promise
[betweenthelines]
just finish the book, snow
ttyl
[simonsnow]
bye
*****
*****
Simon and Penny are browsing in a flower shop.
“What kind of flowers does your mum love again?” Simon asks. It’s late November and he’s cold. Why is it always so cold in this flower shop?
“I can’t remember the name.” Penny taps her finger against her chin. “Hang on, I’m just gonna ask the shopkeeper.”
Simon nods when she walks away. He puts his hand in his pockets and wanders to the front of the shop, staring out of the window. The shop faces a public square with a fountain in the middle. The water isn’t pouring out of it, so Simon assumes it’s turned off. Who in their right mind would have a fountain on in November, anyway?
That’s when he sees it. The back of a boy with black hair blown by the harsh winds, carefully placing a book on the side of the fountain. Simon recognises the book: it’s one of the early editions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a book he knows by heart. Could this possibly be B?
Then the boy turns around and takes a step backwards. Simon’s heart flutters in his chest. It’s Baz from history! Baz, whose pants he set on fire all those years ago, the boy who has held a grudge against him ever since. And the boy who he started talking with and can’t get out of his mind.
Could he seriously be betweenthelines ? It adds all up, the puzzle pieces fall into place all at once. Surrounded by flowers, Simon lowers himself on a stool placed by the door. The black hair, the letter of B’s first name, he goes to Watford, is the same age as Simon. And above all: Baz loves reading.
Simon is still too shocked to say anything when Penny arrives with a bouquet of flowers.
“Are you okay, Si?” she asks. “You look quite pale. And you were already pale enough.”
“Penny,” he says breathlessly, “I’ve figured it out.”
*****
*****
betweenthelines Here’s an appropriate HP quote for this cold November day: “November arrived, cold as frozen iron, with hard frosts and icy drafts that bit at exposed hands and faces.”
#hpquotes #november #cold #books #fountain #booksinafountain #bibliophile #currentlyreading #bookworm
2 hours ago
*****
*****
Simon is laying on his back in his bed, his phone resting on his chest. Should he text
betweenthelines
? After today’s post, he kind of should. The picture of the fountain and the book was the exact same as the one he saw Baz take. He glances at the time. It’s kind of late. Surely he won’t answer at one a. m., right?
[simonsnow]
hi, are you awake?
[betweenthelines]
yeah i am. couldn’t sleep
[simonsnow]
same.
remember when we did that game where i would guess your name? can we do it again?
[betweenthelines]
of course, nancy drew. think you’ve got it finally figured out?
[simonsnow]
promise not to freak out if i’m right
[betweenthelines]
yeah I don’t think that will happen. but give it a shot
[simonsnow]
are you baz? grimm-pitch?
Simon doesn’t get an answer for a very, very long time. He actually gets worried something has happened to B.
Eventually, he answers.
[betweenthelines]
yes. how did you figure it out?
[simonsnow]
I saw you today at the fountain
wait that sounds creepy. pretend this doesn’t sound creepy
[betweenthelines]
i will. but you have to promise not to tell anyone, okay? i kind of want to keep this a secret. the only people who know about it are dev and niall, and even they don’t know how big this has become
[simonsnow]
i promise. i know how important this is to you
i guess i’ll see you tomorrow in history class? we should probably go to sleep now, it’s very late
[betweenthelines]
you’re right. goodnight
You got a follow request from basiltonpitch. Accept this request?
*****
*****
Simon is on time for history class the next day, which is probably for the first time in forever, as Miss Possibelf kindly remarks when he walks in.
The class starts, and Simon and Baz haven’t said a word. Simon had to admit that he had underestimated how awkward this was going to be.
“So,” Simon begins, “I was wondering who takes your pictures when you can’t hold the phone yourself?”
Baz raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you were curious about that.”
Simon shrugs. “I didn’t know either. Just answer the bloody question, I’m trying to start up a conversation here.”
“I appreciate that,” Baz smiles. “And my sister Mordelia helps me with the pictures. She is one of the few special people that know who I am online.”
“And I am one of them,” Simon beams.
“You’ve just made it weird,” Baz says. The bell rings and he stuffs his books in his bag. “I’ll talk to you later?”
Simon nods. “You can join Penny and me at lunch. Just, uhm, be prepared for a couple of weird questions.”
“What did you do?” Baz cocks an eyebrow.
Simon balances on his toes and then lands on his heels, wriggling his fingers. “Well… I might have dropped a hint that you’re betweenthelines . But I’m pretty sure she already got that figured out.”
Baz sighed. “That’s okay. With such a huge follower count, I didn’t expect to stay anonymous anyway.”
“But you still can!” Simon quickly tells him. “Just because Penny and I know who you are doesn’t mean everyone needs to know.”
Baz seems to think about that for a moment. “That is true. Good point, Snow.”
“Can you please write that down so whenever you say I have bad ideas I can prove you wrong?” Simon asks.
“Nope.” Baz walks away from him. “Bye!”
“See you at lunch!” Simon shouts. He grins and turns around. He could have never expected that Baz would be so nice once they were friends.
It’s that what you want to be? Friends? a voice in his head says.
Simon stops walking for a moment. He’s not sure why, but suddenly he realises something. All those times he’s thought about Baz (or B, for that matter) weren’t “friends thoughts”. They weren’t even “enemy thoughts”. Oh my god…
“Hey Simon,” Penny chirps. She frowns when she sees his face. “What’s wrong?” she asks cautiously.
“Penn,” Simon says in his most serious tone, “I think I have a crush on Baz.”
“Oh.” Penny is taken back by surprise, but Simon notices that she is over it very quickly. “That’s wonderful!”
“What? No, it isn’t,” Simon hisses. “What do I do with it?”
“Ask him out?”
“I can’t do that,” Simon weakly protests. “I’m way too nervous. What if he isn’t into me at all?”
Penny grabs his shoulders. “Simon Snow Salisbury. He talked to you for weeks, even when he knew who you were. I think it’s going to be alright.”
Simon takes a few deep breath. “Okay, cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. No doubt, no doubt, no doubt.”
Penny rolls her eyes. “Tone it down, Jake Peralta. It’s gonna be fine, I promise.”
“I sure hope it is! I already invited him to sit with us this lunch,” Simon blurts out.
Penny slowly nods. “Didn’t expect that. But you go, Simon. C’mon, let’s celebrate this by getting a cookie.”
“Wait, don’t you have a class to go to or something?” Simon asks when she throws her arm around him.
“Nope. Free period. My Spanish class got cancelled, again. I swear, if that man doesn’t show up I’m going to murder him for failing Spanish,” Penny says.
“I can totally see you doing that, and that’s the scary thing about this,” Simon says.
The rest of the morning passes fast, and before Simon knows it, it’s lunchtime.
Penny is telling Simon about a very weird paragraph from the book she’s reading and is about to whip out the book and read it aloud to him when Baz arrives.
“Hi,” he says. Simon hadn’t known that Baz could be shy, but apparently it was possible.
“Your timing is amazing. Penny was just about to read her entire book to me,” Simon tells him.
“No, I wasn’t! I was just going to point out that the words the author used to describe a tree were very weird and I wanted to ask you what drugs you think he was on,” Penny states matter-of-factly.
“It’s still reading,” Simon says around his scone with jam.
“And I see you’ve started on the scones.” Penny looks at Baz. “Having known Simon for so long, I can proudly say that each day he eats the exact same thing: scones.”
“Wait, always?” Baz eyes widen. “That can’t be healthy.”
Simon shrugs. “Who cares?”
“You certainly don’t,” Baz mumbles.
“I always tell him to eat more healthy, but he never listens to me,” Penny complains.
Simon swallows his scone. “Hey, I almost always listen to you. Most of your ideas are very good! Just not this one.”
“How are you still alive?” Baz wonders aloud.
“I ask myself the same thing every day,” Penny says. “When we were fifteen, I once tried to calculate how many scones he’d eaten in his whole school career, but I couldn’t do it. It’s too damn much.”
Baz laughs. “I probably wouldn’t even have tried.”
Simon shrugs. “It was a boring English class.”
The rest of the lunch mainly consists of Simon defending his love for scones, Baz telling about how his father tried to build another bookshelf yesterday and it fell on his head, and Penny watching Simon, who is watching Baz.
“I’ll see you later?” Simon asks.
“Of course. You don’t have to keep phrasing it like a question,” Baz says. The corners of his mouth tilt slightly upwards. It makes Simon’s insides do a little loop.
“Okay.” Simon likes this. The promise of something more, but not quite yet.
*****
*****
Months later, when it’s summer and Baz is excitedly telling him about a new project for his Instagram account while they’re eating ice cream, Simon wonders how he got so lucky with his boyfriend.
“So, what do you think?” Baz asks. He hands Simon his phone to look at the photos.
Simon kisses his nose. “I think you look amazing in jeans. Did I already mention that?”
Bazz huffs, but Simon still notices a tiny blush spreading across his cheeks. “That’s not what I was telling you about, love.”
“I know. I think the project is amazing and you shouldn’t change a single thing.” Simon finishes his strawberry ice cream.
“You always say that about my photos. I want to hear criticism,” Baz whines.
Simon places his finger underneath Baz’s chin. He leans in close until their lips touch.
“I should try the caramel ice cream sometimes. It tastes nice,” Simon mentions as they part.
Baz grins. “Nice try, but that’s still not criticism.”
Sighing, Simon takes a good look at the phone in his hand. “The golden letters reflect the light, while the rest of the cover absorbs the light. You could try to fix that?” He looks hopeful at Baz.
“Thanks, love.” Baz kisses his forehead and gently takes back his phone. “Let’s go home.”
Oh, Simon had almost forgotten about that. Baz promised to watch his younger siblings when his parents would be out for dinner.
When they walk away, Simon intertwines their fingers.
He wouldn’t change a single thing.