Rainy Day Calm || Simon

[Ember Winry Luce]

Ember was enjoying this for once, and the quiet didn't bother her as much either. She just had to keep looking into his eyes and holding into his hand, she'd always be safe as long as she stayed like this. She was about to say something when someone interrupted their staring contest, and by someone she means Salizar. "Well hello there, Ember," he said looking rather interested in the both of them for some reason. "Hello," she said unwillingly taking her eyes away from Simon's and looking at Salizar. "And Mr. Gallagher as well, how are you two doing this fine day?" He said, "I'm sorry to interupt, but it looked like things were starting to escalate with quite a bit of heat growing..." Ember followed his eyes from their faces to their hands. They had, without realizing it, added their other hands in and were now clutching them tightly but gently. "Uh..." she said not realizing what he was getting at. What did them holding hands have to do with it getting hot? She looked back up at him confused as he continued. 

"I do hope that you two were planning on using protection before carrying things all that much further." He smiled and laughed at this and she just looked at him in horror. "What...protection..." she said softly, not realizing she was thinking out loud. She looked from Salizar to Simon to their hands and then back to Salizar, the entire time blushing ten shades of red. She loosened her hands when she realized what the square foil he had thrown towards Simon was, all but dropping his hands. "But...we're not...." she started becoming more embarrassed by the second. He continued before she could get out the rest of her sentence. 

"Also, as a school official, I'm going to pretend that this little intervention never really happened..." He smirked before looking towards her, "Are we still on for our session tomorrow afternoon then? You are overdue for evaluation and... considering this new development, it might be prudent to extend our session past the usual half-hour to a full hour..." She had actually forgotten about her session with him tomorrow but now she dreaded it more than anything. "Oh, yeah, okay, but..we're not going to..." she started now as red as an apple. 

[Simon Patrick Gallagher]

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but it looked like things were starting to escalate with quite a bit of heat growing..."

Simon's face reddened. "Sorry, what?" He said, trying not to look guilty. In truth, he had no reason to be guilty, but because he was so used to being in trouble for merely 'looking guilty', it was his first instinct to assume that any adult would think he was guilty even if he denied any wrongdoing. Sex was the furthest thing from his mind right then, well, before Salizar came over there it was the furthest thing from his mind, anyway. Now the thought of sex had ruined their moment, and Simon wanted to bolt before Salizar could make any more of a fool of him than he already had.

Now, Ember was going to think that sex was all Simon wanted, and that wasn't the case at all!

To his horror, the shock of the suggestion and the appearance of the condom had begun the process of mood switching inside of him. Anxiety was beginning to overtake Simon, and he didn't want Ember to see that. He didn't want her to see him depressed, as he might soon be thanks to the fickle nature of his moods. Though she said that she wouldn't be afraid of him, though she gave off the impression of being able to accept a person for what they were, he had this nagging suspicion that she might have underestimated the scale of his mood changes.

Please, god, universe, anyone... not now. Please, just let me get through this one human interaction without fucking it up.

She'd dropped his hands, and was looking at him with a horrified expression that mirrored his own. "But...we're not...."

The spell was broken.

"Also, as a school official, I'm going to pretend that this little intervention never really happened..."

Simon couldn't look at the man, or he'd glare. He hated Salizar right then, even though he knew the counsellor was just trying to be helpful. He was being the cool adult. He was trying to help Simon get laid. But, no. No. No. That's not what he wanted. He felt sick. He wanted to hold hands again, but he knew that she probably wouldn't want to now. She probably thought he only wanted one thing. And, the spell was broken. It might not be the same now. Better to keep the memory of the moment as it was fresh in his mind than find disappointment. Everything was going to be a disappointment because everything was always a disappointment.

He stared at foil on the table and he wanted to scream. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest. How could he tell her that he wasn't just after sex, without sounding like he was protesting too much? He could he make her see that he wasn't like that?

You can't. He concluded. And, some part of you had to know that it wasn't going to last. There was a poem running through his head, amid the chaos. A poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay. And, he'd never really understood what the poem meant until that moment.

"My candle burns at both ends It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends -
It gives a lovely light."

Ember. She was the bright light that burned him for not even one night, and now the lovely light she gave was ending. The lovely evening was coming to a close, because it couldn't be any other way. The universe had a way of balancing itself out that way, didn't it? You had to be equal parts joy and sorrow so that you left the world with debts paid and without the world owing you a thing. He couldn't hate Salizar really. And, he couldn't mourn the loss of something that had never been rightfully his. He didn't deserve someone as perfect as Ember. And, this was the universe's way of reminding him of that.

He got to his feet, because he didn't need her to see him like this. He'd be okay. He'd read a book when he got back to the dorm. He'd read a book and maybe write a poem. But, it felt unfinished. He had to tell her something. He could see the end of the light coming, the approaching darkness. He could feel it in his bones, so he did the thing he had to do while he still had the courage. He leaned into the table, placing his right hand over the hand she had laying on the table, and took her other hand in his left holding it to his chest--- he leaned in close so that their faces were nearly touching, so his lips were by her ear so only she could hear him.

"I want you to know, whatever it is we experience tonight is so much more than... what he thinks it was." His voice was trembling with sincerity. He hoped she knew that he was telling the truth, but he knew he should expect fate to do him no favours. He stood up, and had he felt any pride to begin with it would still have been intact. He let go of her hands, though it hurt to do so. "Goodnight, Ember." He said.


EXIT: SIMON

[Ember Winry Luce]

"I want you to know, whatever it is we experience tonight is so much more than... what he thinks it was." He said, his voice trembling slightly. "Goodnight, Ember." Ember watched him walk away from her and Salizar and heard the doors of the library open and close behind him. 

She crossed her legs, looking back up at Salizar, no longer blushing and fake pouted,  "you made my prey run away." She smiled wickedly then, "that wasn't very nice of you embarrassing the poor boy like that. She won't like him not talking to her later." She said revealing who she really was to him. She hadn't been there very long though, just long enough to heart sweet words from the boy and decide to play along, and just before Salizar walked up and tried to be the cool school official. This was going to be a fun game now at least. Maybe the boy might actually give in to her, though it looked like he may have too many issues with his pride to give into her so easily. "So what were you going to do, show them your favorite place to screw in the library?" She laughed a little knowing she was most likely correct in that assumption. 

She uncrossed her legs and stood up, picking up her bag, hoodie, and umbrella before smiling with such fake innocence back at him as she slowly bent over to pick the unopened condom up off the ground where it had been tossed. "Thanks babe, this'll come in handy later if I can find him again," she said as she stood back up and began to walk away, flipping her hair unintentionally in the process. "If she's here tomorrow during your session be sure to tell her what happened." She began walking towards the exit again while saying "but with any luck I'll see you tomorrow." she turned back to wink at him before opening the library doors and stepping outside to the now shinning early evening sun. Now to find where Simon went before she got kicked out her mind by that stupid girl again. 


EXIT: EMBER