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BAZ
I can’t believe there is something so powerful in this world to actually keep Snow with his mouth shut. Needless to say, I never expected it to be a simple spell from a children’s book.
Professor Baldwin was a little too hopeful and trusted the class with several magickal artifacts on display today. I’m not sure where they came from, but he had them in open boxes for us to see. There were rugs, mirrors, a pocket watch, lamps, various necklaces, hats, and even an umbrella. I’m not familiar with many of the objects, but I heard Niall say once that Normals associate them with magick because of Disney movies.
Mr. Baldwin was passionately talking about a rat-bewitching flute (I might look into that later) when I noticed Snow lagging behind the rest of us, his eyes directed into a larger box. Out of habit, I turned to him ready to mock him, when I heard him mutter the words.
“Not in death, but just in sleep, the fateful prophecy you'll keep. And from this slumber you shall wake, when true love's kiss, the spell shall break”, he read from the golden inscription of the box.
“Snow, don’t-!”
And of course, despite Professor Baldwin’s explicit orders, Snow was stupid enough to try to grab whatever was inside the box.
“Ah fuck!” he yanked his hand away in one quick motion.
I ran to his side, my wand ready in hand to counterspell whatever was in the box, but when I saw the object, I immediately knew what had happened. He had pricked his finger on the famous spinning wheel’s magick spindle, the twat.
Next thing I know, Snow is falling into my arms (not the way I’d like to), fast asleep.
“Simon!” I hear Bunce scream. “What did you do to him, Baz?”
I can’t blame her for blaming me. I arch an eyebrow and I try to look as impassible as possible, though Simon’s deep breathing near my neck has my hands almost shaking.
“I appreciate the credit Bunce, but Snow did this to himself”
“Simon! Can you hear me??” she takes Simon into her own arms, but she has to lay him down on the floor. He’s recovered some weight after the holidays.
Professor Baldwin makes his way to us among the small group of students who are currently watching with curious eyes. Some others just know this is about Simon and walk away.
“What happened to Simon?” he asks as he kneels next to him and checks his pupils.
“He read the inscription on the box and pricked his finger with the spindle. Then he fell unconscious.” I explain.
“Heaven’s snakes!” Bunce turns to Mr. Baldwin “The spell has a counterspell, right Professor?”
Mr. Baldwin stands up with the energy of a teacher who has dealt with Bunce and Snow’s ideas for far too many years, and he dusts off some dirt from his trousers.
“Yes Miss Bunce, there is… Well, it’s not a counterspell precisely. Let’s take Simon to the infirmary first” he sighs and then turns to me. “Mr. Pitch, would you be so kind to carry Simon to the infirmary?”
I tense up before he can finish the sentence. I can feel my half-dead heart racing (that is, at normal speed) inside my chest.
“Sir, I swear I didn’t spell him”
“Yes, I know Basilton. And I swear there is no spell in the World of Mages that will fix my back if I have to lift anything that is not a book. Now, let’s get going”
—----------------------------------------
PENELOPE
I should’ve stayed next to Simon.
It took only a minute for him to go straight to the most powerful object in the room and get himself into trouble. He’s like a moth attracted to the brightest source of danger he can find. Luckily for him, it will not be too bad for him. Turns out he’s under a sleeping spell, and he will wake up with a kiss. Well, a true love’s kiss as the inscription dramatically says. We only need to get Agatha to kiss him and he’ll be as good as new (I tried that spell on him but it didn’t work).
Also, it’s a sight to see Baz carrying Simon bridal style. Simon would be deranged if he knew, being carried like that by his sworn enemy. Baz is surprisingly strong, I must say. He lifted Simon like he weights nothing and he left him on the bed as effortlessly as ever. Perhaps he does have vampire strength.
—-----------------------
SIMON
I dream.
My body is here and nowhere. I exist just in my senses.
I smell cedar and bergamot. I see grey eyes and dark hair in blinding flashes. I hear a familiar voice speaking but I can’t make out the words.
I want to keep dreaming.
—-------------------------------------
BAZ
From all the award-deserving merits I have had as a student at Watford, today they should grant me the biggest one. A medal that says: “Here’s to Basilton Grimm-Pitch, on the day he endured Snow’s wet breath on his neck, his curls caressing his nose, the warmth of his blood against his skin all the way to the infirmary”.
Alright, that would be a long inscription to read. And a very gay one too.
When I leave Snow on the thin mattress of the room, he makes this small little whimper that makes me demented.
“If that’s all, I’ll be leaving” I announce to both Mr. Baldwin and Bunce. I need to get out of this room as soon as possible.
“Thank you for your help, Basilton. I’ll go and inform The Mage immediately. He’ll not be happy about this” he says as he leaves first. I could swear that was fear in his voice.
I step towards the door but Bunce gets in the way.
“I need to go get Agatha” she says as if that is of any relevance to me.
“Good for you. I wish you nothing but success” I smile with what I hope is sarcasm concealing irritation.
I’m not stupid. I know they’ll need Wellbelove to kiss Snow and break the spell. She’s mental if she thinks I’ll stay and watch. I have another more interesting list of self-destructing behaviors to complete.
“Simon can’t stay alone. Stay here while I go get her in case he wakes up”
I give her an unconvinced look.
“And you’re leaving him with me . His enemy. While he is sleeping. So that I can finally execute whatever evil plan I’ve been plotting for the last three years”
“Of course not Baz” she rolls her eyes, and before I can get my wand she lifts her ring up and speaks with magick “An eye for an eye will only make the world blind!”
I take a step back when I feel her magick wash over me.
“Heaven’s snakes’ Bunce! What do you think you’re doing?!”
She smiles, satisfied with her doing.
“Nothing really. It’s just a precautionary spell. If you try to hurt Simon, you’ll go blind for a couple of hours.”
“What?!”
“You have nothing to worry about if you’re not planning on hurting him” she shrugs. “Wait here now. I’ll go get Agatha”.
I’m still baffled and starting to feel offended by how easily she could cast a spell on me when the door closes behind her. I rub my temples and I make a mental note to see if she ever casts the spell again in the future.
Against my better judgment, I turn around and I see Simon sound asleep on the bed. It almost looks like any other night he’s asleep on his bed. He’s on his back, lips slightly parted, a hand next to his face and the other over his stomach. The only thing giving away this is not a simple sleep is his expression. Simon usually has nightmares, several over one night if I’m precise. He looks pained or in distress most nights, and I have to fight the urge to slide a thumb over his cheeks to comfort him. It makes the pain of the impossibility between us grow instead of me getting used to it.
Now he looks too relaxed to be just sleeping. I wonder if the spell makes him dream too, but if it does, it seems to me is not a nightmare he’s having.
I sit backward on the chair next to his bed and I watch him unapologetically. I don’t usually get a chance to look at him in detail, at least not unless he is shoving his face a centimeter away from mine when he’s bickering about something I said. Provoking him makes me equal parts frustrated and lustful (another self-destructing behavior. Checked ).
I scan his face and I allow myself to slump with my chin on the backrest of the chair (something my father would disapprove of. Not that he would approve of me homosexually gazing at another boy if I was sitting correctly). Simon’s eyelashes rest against his cheek. There are more freckles there than I remember. I could map the universe on his skin if I had the chance. I swallow the lump in my throat when I realize I’ll never have it.
I blink away from his face and I follow the up and down of his chest with every steady breath. If I close my eyes I can hear his heart pumping blood into his whole body. And that’s enough to give me a small smile. Simon Snow is alive . If his beating heart is not enough proof, then his magick is.
I straighten my head up and I realize I just noticed this. His magick feels different somehow. It usually smells like smoke and it feels like a tempest out of control. Now it feels like a pond, placid and undisturbed.
My magick almost leaves my body when Simon stirs and takes in a deep breath, air leaving his lungs slowly as he shifts. He’s facing me now, and I know I could touch him if I extended my arm just enough.
—------------------
SIMON
I dream.
I see a pair of lips that were designed for pouting. A pair of lips that I want to kiss.
Long dark hair. Grey eyes. Bergamot and cedar. A sneer. I want to kiss those lips.
I keep dreaming and I can’t wake up.
—-------------------------------
PENELOPE
It takes no time to find Agatha in her classroom. What I didn’t anticipate was how long it took to convince her to come with me.
“Great Snakes, Agatha! I’m telling you Simon is under a spell!” I insist.
“And I’m telling you there is nothing I can do” she whispers, looking around probably embarrassed of how loud I’m speaking at this point.
“I just told you it’s a spell that can be broken with a kiss! A true love’s kiss!”
She crosses her arms and rolls her eyes.
“You see, that’s the problem Penny. I don’t think…” she trails off. I don’t think I heard her right.
“What? You don’t think it’s going to work?”
“No” she shakes her head looking defeated. Or probably just tired. “I don’t think I love Simon the way everyone expects me to love him. He knows this…”
“Agatha…” I can’t believe I’m hearing her correctly, not after everything we have gone through.
“Sorry Penny”
I hold her gaze but I’m resolute to insist. Simon still needs someone to wake him up, relationship or no relationship.
“Won’t you try?” I must sound desperate. “Even if it doesn’t work, we have to try….”
When I open the door, Baz is sitting straight on the chair next to Simon, arms crossed and his right foot over his left knee.
“Basilton?” Agatha looks at him, her eyes wide.
“Wellbelove, Bunce” he nods as he stands up, ready to leave.
“Did you go blind?” I tease.
“Didn’t have the pleasure”
“Are you staying?” Agatha asks, and I hate the way I recognize hope in her voice.
“To see you kiss Snow?” he scoffs. “Sorry, I didn’t get my front-row tickets beforehand”
“What if he wakes up and goes off?” Agatha asks, apparently with renewed faith in her kiss.
“We should probably call a Professor first” I suggest.
“And having them watch me kiss Simon too??”
Baz rolls his eyes back.
“As if the whole school hasn’t seen you two already…”
Was that jealousy? Does Baz actually like Agatha back?
“It’s not like that anymore Baz…” she tries to explain herself.
“I really ought to go-”
“Stevie Nicks and Gracie Slick! Just kiss him already!!” I scream louder than I intend to.
To my surprise, Agatha just blinks and obeys. She hovers over Simon and leaves a quick peck on his lips. The three of us go silent.
—------------------------------------------
BAZ
What an unnecessary and distasteful way to ruin my morning.
I didn’t intend to see Wellbelove kissing Snow, and now, because of these two, I’ve had to.
“Simon?” Bunce calls him.
“Well, that was anticlimactic” I can’t help myself saying.
“I told you it wouldn’t work” Wellbelove sighs, and it makes me look at her with a confused expression I can’t conceal. What does she mean?
“Merlin, Simon…” Bunce sounds desperate now. Snow is not waking up. “How are you supposed to wake up now?”
It takes me a couple of seconds to understand what just happened. When I do, my stomach fills with equal parts satisfaction and fear.
“I knew it wouldn’t work Penny… Simon and I were barely speaking to each other anyway”
“Just leave” Bunce says. It seems she has completely forgotten about Plan A and now her mind is already working on Plan B. “I need to figure out a way to break the spell, or find someone who truly loves Simon. He doesn’t even have to love them back, right? Will it work with any type of love?” she mutters to herself.
I’m positively sure it must be romantic love if it follows the tale’s logic, but Bunce grabs one of Simon’s hands and kisses it before I can speak.
“Nothing happens…”
“It must be romantic love” I cross my arms over my chest. I don’t know very well what to do with them at this point. I’ve been standing for too long watching and I want to go to my bed and internally scream at ease. “The original spell intended it that way”
“I know how spells work, Baz” she barks back. Bunce could kill people with a glare if she had the power. I decide it’s time to leave.
I get to Mummers House in no time. I head straight to the ensuite and I take a much-needed shower. It is not the first time Snow has gotten himself into trouble, and I’m sure he’ll get out of this one too. It is by no means the most dangerous situation he’s faced, and Bunce is working on a way to help him.
It is none of my business.
I shouldn’t care at all.
Except that I know something for sure: I can wake Simon Snow.
Bunce said it herself; he doesn’t have to love back. It only needs to be a kiss from someone who feels true love. And if that’s not me, I’ll change my name. I could kiss Simon and die right after. (Appealing). I could snog him and change my name anyway since Malcolm Pitch will never allow his son to live in peace after that. (Still appealing.)
I attend my classes unable to pay attention as I usually do. I overhear Bunce talking to Agatha during dinner, telling her how she still doesn’t find a solution. Not even the teachers know what to do.
I grab my book and I get back to our room.
—--------------------------------
SIMON
I’m not sure how long I’ll be dreaming like this. I can’t think straight and I’m moved by a strong feeling of wanting . I must be spelled or burning up with a terrible fever because I can hear, see, smell, taste, and sense everything but amplified by ten.
Like now.
I feel firm fingers massaging circles into my back and I lean into the touch. The ghost of a smile presses lightly against the back of my neck and I try to move my hands to reach up and touch, but I can’t. My hands move slowly, desperately slowly, like when I’m underwater.
The touch changes and suddenly there’s a finger tilting my chin up. It makes me look into a pair of grey eyes I know too well.
I know it’s him. I know it’s Baz. And somehow this feverish dream doesn’t allow me to question it. The force of my hate turns into wanting , and it all starts making sense.
This is a dream, this is a dream, this is a dream…
I see him wet his lips, his tongue sliding smoothly over his bottom lip and it’s the most sensual thing I’ve seen.
I want to kiss him. I want to devour him. I want him .
—------------------------------------
BAZ
I cannot sleep, Aleister Crowley, and it’s because of Snow.
He’s not even here and he’s still annoying me, the nightmare. I look at the clock and I realize it’s three in the morning. I roll over and hide my face under the pillow. This would be one hell of a moment for the Humdrum to send a dragon or an army of numpties to take over Watford. That way I could at least think about something else. But Simon has always been like this to me. I knew he would win this nonsensical war we’ve been dragged into. I just never thought I would be defeated like this. Going insane because I have to kiss Snow and I won’t survive it.
I get up and rub my eyes, trying to stop myself from the absurdity I’m about to do. Maybe I could kiss him and spell him asleep right away again. He would wake up in the morning as if nothing happened. Theoretically speaking, I could do it.
I walk to the infirmary with this resolution in my head. I will break the curse, knock him out again, and disappear. Hell, I will punch him in his pretty face if I have to.
When I open the door, I see Simon still peacefully sleeping, his face lit by the moonlight. I walk to him making sure I don’t step on the wooden planks too hard. The last thing I need is someone finding me here. Merlin knows what they would think (probably that I’m trying to kill him). I sit on the edge of his bed, a shiver runs through my spine and I fix my eyes on his lips. I grab my wand and I repeat “Out like a light” in my mind, getting ready to cast it. Here goes nothing.
I press my forehead against his, knowing that this will be the first and last time I’ll have Simon like this. I close my eyes, letting myself enjoy the moment, and I register the feeling of his cheek on my left hand, the rhythm of his warm breathing, and the temperature of his forehead against mine.
And I kiss him.
I press my lips against his and it’s obvious I’ve never done this. Immediately, I feel the magick of the spell working, breaking, but it’s making me pour my own feelings into the kiss. I’m unable to pull back. If anything, I press harder against him, my left hand going from his cheek to his neck.
I’m getting lost in him.
—---------------------------------------
SIMON
The moment his lips close over mine, it feels like something inside my chest starts pouring uncontrollably out. The more it flows, there more there is to take.
I can finally move.
I respond to the kiss, my fingers getting tangled in his hair, and I pull. This is the most realistic my dream has been in hours. I even hear a small surprised groan when I push my tongue between his lips.
—-----------------------------------------
BAZ
I must be the one under a spell and dreaming. Simon is kissing me back and I can’t think past that.
—---------------------
SIMON
I can finally kiss Baz and it feels like breathing after holding my breath for far too long.
I wanted to kiss Baz.
His hand is trembling, barely touching my face, and I open my eyes.
This is not a dream.
I’m kissing Baz and he’s kissing me.
His lips are cold and I’m hot all over.
This is not a dream.
—-------------------------------
BAZ
Snow shifts our positions and suddenly my back is against the mattress. We’re both agitated, and his eyes are now open searching for mine. I panic.
“You…” I clear my throat in a poor attempt to make myself sound coherent “You had a curse, a spell, and-”
“Explanations later” he cuts me off, the savage. I love it.
He kisses me again, this time pressing his body into mine. I throw my head back and I bite my lower lip when he slots a leg between mine.
“Crowley, Snow…”
—------------------------
SIMON
To be honest, now that I know this is not a dream, I’m not very sure of what’s really happening (not that I knew before when it was still a dream). I keep kissing Baz and he arches his back from the bed to reach for my mouth. I kiss him until I can’t feel my lips. I slip my hands under the cotton shirt he’s wearing and I drink the bits of my name that spill from his mouth. I kiss him because it makes sense. I kiss him until my thumbs start massaging his hipbones over the pajama pants he’s wearing, and then Baz pulls quickly away.
—--------------------
BAZ
I’m abruptly reminded of reality the second I feel my fangs drop. I can’t even properly cover my mouth because I’m out of breath.
“Sorry” Simon says, pulling away from me.
“No, it’s just…” I try to explain. “I don’t want to cut your tongue”
If I had enough blood in me, I’m sure my face would be bright red. Snow blinks at me, looking at my covered mouth and back to my eyes.
“Do you need to… feed?” he asks. I can’t believe I’m going to answer him.
“No. I think… I think they drop when I’m… “ I can’t finish that sentence.
Simon nods slowly and then smiles like a kid.
“Can I see them?”
“What?!”
“Can I see your fangs?”
I roll my eyes but it doesn't deter Simon from his petition. I give up. He kissed me. I would give him the world if he asked me. I open my mouth and tilt my head slightly up.
“Wicked” he says.
“Are you seriously not confused or surprised at all by this?” I ask.
“Your fangs? I always knew”
“No, not that. I mean… the kissing”
“I mean, I am, but not really”
“You’re not making any sense, Snow”
“Does it have to make sense now?”
I huff, trying to look displeased by his answer, but the truth is I can barely think. No, it doesn’t have to make sense now. He could go back to kissing me senseless for all I care. We stay in the infirmary bed, the only sound interrupting the night is Simon’s breathing. I feel his hand over mine. I wish I could live in this moment forever.
“I remember I pricked my finger on that needle. That was the spell from The Sleeping Beauty, right? I should’ve known”
“You should’ve kept your hands to yourself”
“But you woke me up” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. I turn my head to confirm it. “You were my true love’s kiss” he grins.
“I-” I open and close my mouth, confused. “I don’t get it, Simon. What are we even doing?”
“Kissing” he says, and he closes the distance between us again.
This time he kisses me. He guides the kiss and I follow. Part of me hates how easily I’m melting under his touch, how weak I am when he slides his hands under my shirt, but I can’t help it. I’m desperately in love with him.
—------------------
SIMON
We kiss until his fangs drop again. I laugh and he tries to hide them again. I could do this every day. I like this better than fighting. I like this better than any other thing. I’m looking at him, a stupid smile on my face I’m barely able to keep because we’re slowly drifting to sleep.
There will be time to talk about his vampirism. There will be time to think about how long I've actually had feelings for Baz. There will be time to fight and see where we stand in the war between the Old Families and The Mage.
Tonight though, there will only be sweet dreams for both of us.