𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞

prologue.

lunch was mediocre. cold ham and cheese sandwiches with disturbingly opaque green peas. dani couldn't be mad. she went to school located in the poor side of town.
she couldn't expect them to have the amazing lunches the sunnyvale kids ate everyday.

dani toyed with her green peas with a spoon while her friends openly conversed around her about the newest gossip or shit someone had gotten into.
simon leaned back in his chair, his head thrown back as a laugh ripped from his throat at something kate had said.
his arm draped itself over the back of dani's chair. something he always did at lunch, and something dani always accepted with open arms.

the small action had been something simon had done since dani could even remember. the two have been friends since diapers. dani and simons mothers had met at a grocery store when simon had run away from his mother, a story dani's mother laughs at, not so much simons mother. when they had met, helaine had returned simon to his mother, maria, and dani likes to joke that they have been destined to be next to each other since she was swimming in her mothers womb and simon was sat in her mothers arms, awaiting to be returned to his mother. 

simon being dani's longest friend, and most cherished relationship, had been the only one to meet everyone in dani's family. even if he was a baby and couldn't remember anything along with dani. throughout their childhood he heard almost every story dani had heard about her aunt and uncle before their untimely death along with her. 

they were with each other for every single one of their big milestones, sharing them with each other. attached at the hip when they were younger, people never saw one without the other. they got comfortable in each others presence, almost as if the universe had crafted them together to be one but they somehow got separated along the way and found each other quick. 

when they were younger, simon had made friends with deena and kate. only he wouldn't let them go anywhere without dani. he always made sure dani was right next to him no matter who he was hanging out with. dani, being introverted as a child, didn't want new friends. she was fine with simon and just him alone, she couldn't understand why he wanted her to get out of her house and go on their adventures with them. but she still did, she could never say no to simon, and quickly she became best friends with the two girls.

dani could never explain the pull she felt toward simon. it was gravitational. it pulled her in and wouldn't let her leave, not that she wanted to anyways. 

his fingers reached up to play with the ends of dani's curls. her heart fluttered as she was drawn into the conversation.
"no seriously, if you're gonna fuck don't do it in the fucking school bathroom???" kate looked disgusted as she spoke about the topic.

dani raised her eyebrows, intrigued by the words from kate's mouth "what!? who did this?" she questioned, her eyes flickering between her three friends.
simon gave dani a smile, his fingers now twirling her hair between them like they were on autopilot "were you not listening to this entire conversation?" he asked her, his head tilted to the side—in that dreamy way he always did.

dani blinked. there was no way she found that attractive. right? she couldn't. she can't ruin anything.

dani shook her head of the recent thoughts. trying to shove them deep down into her memory as possible "i was looking at the cancerous green pea mush—now," she turned back to kate and deena "who was it???" she asked with urgency. dani loved drama. she loved listening about the juicy jaw dropping shit the teens around her did.
her life was boring, so she figured she'd get entertainment from others fucked up lives.

"elizabeth tanner and eric quick fucked in the unused staff bathroom in the art wing a couple weeks back and got caught, obviously!" kate looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was listening in before she leaned over the table to whisper to her friends "and i heard from her friend, lillith, that shes pregnant now." everyone's jaw dropped at the new information.

dani smacked a hand over her mouth "no fucking way!!" she laughed.
a light chuckle came from simon "yeah, imagine telling your kid they were conceived in a school bathroom when they're fifteen." he mused. he found their situation funny. in his mind, he thought if you're horny enough to do it in a staff bathroom, you should be prepared for the results and consequences that come from it.

"its the witches curse." dani spoke. her eyes trailing over her friends as she drank her water. relieving her dry throat.

"what?" deena questioned. dumbfounded how the witch came into this dumb teenager situation.

dani put her water bottle on the table, her body leaning toward simon as she spoke "it's obviously sarah fier making teenagers horny to reproduce more slaves for her evil doing, duh." she said the statement as if it were obvious "she needs to keep this town's reputation up, otherwise we would just be broke losers." simon laughed. it was the most ridiculous thing he ever heard.

but it made sense.

somehow almost everything that came out of dani's mouth made sense. he couldn't figure out how she did it. how dani could make even the most bullshit of bullshit sound like it was legit.
simon could listen to dani talk bullshit forever and never get tired.

after all thats what friends were for.

the conversation between the girls continued for a moment while simon had stood quiet. he observed and listened to everyone.
however his eyes seemed to always fall back on dani and stay there. he watched her eyes roll at deena's words. he watched as she always looked toward him first before she made a dumbass joke.

dani was simon's best friend. his platonic buddy. his partner in crime.

they were just friends.

simon was snapped out of his thoughts by a shadow overcasting both him and dani.

dani looked up at the girl who stood by her side. "hi heather." dani smiled at her coworker and classmate.

heather smiled as she sat down with the friend group "hi dani! hi everyone!" she greeted, met with waves and hello's.
heather turned back to dani "so i was wondering if it was fine with you if we could trade shifts for the next week or two? i could also start tonight? give you a day off?" she asked, hope in her voice "my mom is running short for bills and i dont really wanna have the power shut off and shit and my hours are just complete shit this week," the girl let a sigh pass her lips "you know how it is." dani nodded at the girls words. she knew how it felt to take a shower in the dark, the only light coming from a tea light candle on the sink.
although she loved to watch the light from the candle dance on the shower curtain. it put her nerves at ease during rough times.

"of course!" dani smiled "we don't have any crazy bills coming up so we should be fine." she could feel fingers delicately dance her hair around as she spoke. simon listened to their conversation intently had subconsciously started to twirl dani's soft hair between his fingers, the feeling of soft strands flipping between his hands familiar and comforting by now.
coconut hitting his nose, a comforting blow.

"that means more time dedicated to your favorite!" simon laughed, leaning his head on dani's shoulder and batting his lashes up at her. dani smiled down at him, rolling her eyes before she shoved him away by the boys face. 

"thank you, dani! so much!" heather praised the girl as she walked away from their table waving a goodbye. 

dani turned over to simon "well since i'm free tonight, horror movie marathon?" she questioned, her lips curling in a smile. 

simon mimicked her facial movements "hell yeah! you waiting by my register tonight or am I picking you up at your moms?" his foot kicked at hers from under the table. dani smiled, her stomach fluttering at the act as she started to kick back. "you already know what time i'm gonna be at the grab and bag." dani kicked simon in his shin, laughing when he grimaced at the pain "ow!" he hissed, rubbing his shin. 

"loser, virgin!" 

"okay daniella, now that was too far."