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BAZ
Someone has hung a bunch of mistletoes around the school. They’re everywhere, and they’ve been spelled so that if you and someone else walk underneath it at the same time, you have to kiss. Fortunately a quick kiss on the hand or cheek is enough, but I still don’t know why the teachers thought this would be a good idea. People are constantly glancing at the ceiling to make sure they don’t end up having to kiss some random student. It’s been a couple of days now, and the awkward kisses are getting fewer since people know where the mistletoes are. It is however still quite common that friends who are having a conversation forget about then and end ups having to kiss. I’ve kissed Niall, but that is also the only kiss I’ve had so far, and it was only a light peck on the hand. I’d say I’m doing pretty well.
SIMON
These mistletoes are driving me crazy. I’ve had to kiss Penny on the cheek several times already, and neither of us find it funny. We’ve started walking right by the walls in the corridors, since the mistletoes only work if you actually walk under them.
Who thought this was a good idea?
BAZ
Snow tiredly steps in to our room, rubbing his cheek with his hand. When he stops, I can clearly see why. He has a bright red, now smudged, lipstick stain on his cheek. I feel a short-lasting but sharp pain in my chest but decide to ignore it.
“Whoah, look at you” I say in a suggestive tone. “What’ve you been up to?”
Snow rolls his eyes.
“I got trapped under the mistletoe with a fifth year girl” he sighs.
“Oh, what did your girlfriend think about that?” I tease as Snow goes into the bathroom to wash his face.
“Agatha’s not my girlfriend anymore” he responds, even though he knows that I know this. Everyone knows that, it was the main gossip of the school for quite some time. But it’s a sore spot for him, so I like to poke it.
He comes out of the bathroom.
“These mistletoes are fucking stupid” he declares. “I’ve had to kiss Penny more than once and now some random fifth year and it’s completely pointless and annoying! Is anybody enjoying this?”
The rant is less like an attempt to make conversation with me and more like Simon’s just taking his frustration out by saying out out loud. I respond anyway.
“I don’t think so. Couples, maybe? An excuse for PDA? That just makes it worse for the rest of us tho” I say. Snow seems surprised that I gave an actual response and not a snarky comment.
“Baz” he says, and then pauses a bit too long before continuing “Have you had to kiss anyone?”
“That’s none of your business” I respond.
“I will take that as a yes” Simon states.
“Take it how you want” I say, making sure not to put any revealing emotion into it. If Snow finds out I kissed Niall he’s never gonna let it go, despite the complete meaninglessness of the kiss and the fact that it was on the hand. He’d spread it and make it sound like Niall and I made out or something. So I don’t say anything else.
SIMON
I end up falling asleep on the bed, and Baz doesn’t bother to wake me up when the free period is over. What a twit. He probably wants me to fail class. I wake up in an empty room unsure of how late I am but sure that I’m late, and decide that sprinting to class and hoping for the best is my best option right now. If I’m lucky I wasn’t out for that long and class has just started, but it could just as well be ending. I take the chance and run for it.
I’m sprinting to the classroom without looking around me, hoping that any students in the halls will just move aside, and they do. I bump a few shoulders and possibly punch a book out of someone’s hand, but nothing disastrous. I’m not seeing any of my classmates, so at least they haven’t just gotten out of class. That’s a good sign.
Everything’s going relatively fine until I turn the last corner and slam into someone, knocking both of us over. I struggle to get up and when I finally do, I find myself face to face with Baz.
“Of-fucking-course” I sigh. “What are you even doing here? Don’t we have class?”
“I could ask you the same thing. In fact I will ask you the same thing, because that’s why I’m here. The teacher sent me to check on you because you weren’t in class” he explains.
“Why would she send you?” I ask. Baz and I are like, famously enemies.
“…Because we’re roommates Snow” he deadpans.
“Right. Why didn’t you wake me up though? You were in the room when I fell asleep” I point out.
“I probably left right after you fell asleep and didn’t notice. Not everything is part of an evil plan” he claims. Sure it isn’t… he definitely did this on purpose.
“Well, I’m awake now and I’m going to class, so your work is done” I say. Baz nods and turns to walk away, but then he doesn’t walk away.
“Are you gonna go, or…?” I begin.
“I can’t” Baz snarls.
“What do you mean you can’t? Can’t what? Walk?” I ask.
“Exactly. I can’t walk away” he replies. “Try it yourself.”
I reluctantly do as he says and indeed, I cannot walk away. It’s like an invisible force is holding me in place.
“What the he-“ I begin, but Baz interrupts me.
“Look up.”
I do, and there, from the ceiling, a mistletoe tied up in red ribbon is hanging.
Dammit.
BAZ
Snow looks up at the ceiling and then back at me and then up at the ceiling again, and then gets the most panicked look of realisation on his face. I can almost hear him think “we’ll be trapped here until we kiss”. With literally anyone else, I’d grab their hand and give it a graceful and polite kiss to end the situation without making it too awkward, but this isn’t just anyone. This is Simon bloody Snow. We stare at each other for way too long, because Snow is in some kind of shock and I can’t bring myself to do anything. For a brief second, I wish that the mistletoe required a proper kiss. I shake the thought and go back to silently staring at Snow.
“So… if we want to get out of here before they take down the mistletoes, we have to… kiss” he states hesitantly.
“I believe that’s how it works, yes” I respond, trying to sound factual and cool and not like my heart is beating at hundreds of miles per hour. Simon takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh.
“Well then, here goes nothing” he mumbles.
And then he kisses me properly, on the mouth.
The shock causes me to almost lose my balance and fall over backwards, but as soon as I’ve comprehended what’s going on I’m kissing back. I haven’t kissed anyone before, but I can tell that Simon has. The way he moves his jaw and his face makes me melt, though I’m pretty sure I would be melting no matter what he was doing, because Alasteir Crowley, I’m kissing Simon Snow. I’m living a charmed life.
Simon pulls back, and I take a moment to catch my breath.
“You know, a kiss on the cheek would have counted” I point out.
“I know” Simon states, not breaking eye contact. My heart backflips in my chest.
“So why did you kiss me like that?” I ask. Simon runs a hand through his hair.
“Well, why did you kiss back?” he says.
I respond by grabbing him by the waist and kissing him again.
SIMON
“You know what?” Baz whispers as I’m pulling my covers over me to go to sleep. “I changed my mind about the mistletoes.”