enduring love | miniminter

7

simon gazed at the three girls stumbling down the hall away from his flat. slowly, he closed the door and leant against it, taking a deep breath in. the way that ivy hugged him took him by surprise, but he did not want to let go and he could not understand why. maybe it was just that feeling he recognised and he missed it, because even from the short amount of time they had spent together, he understood why he missed her company.

"fucking hell." jj slurred, watching simon trudge back into the room, "this is mad."

"mhm." simon nodded slowly, sitting back down on the sofa. he fell backwards into the cushions, taking a swig of his beer.

"what's the matter?" ethan questioned, glaring at simon gazing into space.

"nothing," simon quickly shook his head, "just weird, init?"

"yeah," ethan nodded, "nice seeing her again though."

"yeah it was, she's got some decent mates too." harry smirked to himself.

"of course you'd say that, bog!" cal laughed, "you didn't even pay attention to ivy all night."

"oh shut up," harry laughed, "i'll see her again anyways, won't i?" he turned to simon.

"i mean you would if you've got something going on with one of her mates," simon laughed, "but yeah, maybe." he shrugged.

josh looked at simon with a confused expression, "well you guys seemed alright together, can get along as mates now, right?"

simon took a deep breath in, the harsh reality of it all hitting him alongside the many drinks he had been consuming all night, his brain felt foggy. 'mates' may sound great, but simon could not remember a time when they were just friends as he was instantly drawn to her. the entire time they were friends, simon liked her, but kept it hidden very well and it quickly dawned on him that asking ivy to be friends could only be asking for his heart to be shattered into pieces like it once was. but he could not miss out on her presence either.

simon sighed, slowly turning his head to look at josh, "yeah, mates." he nodded with his eyebrows raised.

josh could sense something was not right about simon, but put it down to the obvious - simon spending time with his ex girlfriend who he had not seen since they broke up. all the guys were certain that simon had moved on from ivy. however, simon was not quite so sure.

"well, me and bog might have drinks at ours next week, if you wanna ask the lasses to come." cal suggested, taking a swig of his beer, turning his attention directly to simon.

"i don't mind." simon shrugged, looking down at his knees, knowing all the guys would want them there anyways.

and they did just that, all the guys excitedly agreeing to see the girls again. simon sometimes hated how much they all adored ivy and how well they all got along with her because it would just mean seeing her again and again and he was not too sure how he could deal with that. ivy had been anxious the entire day, simon noticed it from the minute they met up with one another, they knew each other inside and out without even realising it. maybe neither of them could deal with it well.

"well," lux threw his body backwards into the sofa, adjusting his cap on his head as he stared up at the ceiling, "been a bit of a weird one, hasn't it, lads?"

"yeah," jj slurred, "i guess it has been."

sighing, simon gazed down at the bottle resting between his hands, he held a firm grip on it out of frustration. he was desperate for the conversation to move way from ivy and onto something else, but she was all the guys could think about.

"minter, lad," ethan stared at simon opposite him, simply glaring into his bottle, "you can tell us if something's bothering you."

simon instantly threw his head up, sick of hearing more or less the same thing, "why would anything be bothering me? it's been two years." he furrowed his eyebrows.

all the guys exchanged glances, raising their eyebrows at one another. they knew that with ivy being back in their lives, it would be agitating simon. why wouldn't it? each one of the guys imagined themselves in simon's shoes, being faced with someone who was once the love of their life who they hadn't seen in a long time.

"well, you know?" vik turned to look at simon, "i guess what ethan's trying to say is we're always here to talk. it must be str-"

"yeah, yeah," simon muttered, "can we just change the subject? just talk about football or fifa or some shit." he let out a frustrated sigh, gulping the last of his drink before standing up. trudging towards the kitchen, he pulled open the fridge with great force, surprised that nothing fell out and reached for a bottle of beer.

rolling his eyes, he took a deep breath in. all he wanted to do was go to bed, think about the day he had just had and sleep it off, but he did not want to appear rude or moody - like everyone was assuming. simon threw himself back down to where he had been sitting all night, glancing around to his friends all having their own conversation.

simon desperately wanted to message ivy, to tell her he was thankful for the evening and that he had a good night, but feared appearing too clingy. he did not want to scare her away or come across as annoying, but ivy could never see him that way. even though her friendship had the potential to tear him apart, simon was ready to risk it all. the last two years, all he could think about was being in her company again, just to hear her stupid laugh or sing along to their favourite bands in the car. it was the little things he missed, the little things that did not feel the same with anyone else apart from her.

even as just friends.