A New Life (adopted by the sidemen)

Ch. 2 Someone Like Me

Warning: mentions of self-harm

Josh's POV

It was a long drive from London to Brighton but it was completely worth it because Simon and I were picking up the girl that I adopted. Her name is Lux Rose and the few things I know about her is that she is a huge fan of The Sidemen and she has been through a lot during her life. I formed an instant connection with her and I just had such a strong feeling that I had to help her.

Once we reached the house and knocked on the door, two pretty women greeted Simon and I. They welcomed us in and guided us to the dining room. One lady who I presumed was Mia offered us some tea which we both agreed.

After a few minutes of chatting and filling out paperwork some guy who seemed a few years younger than me entered in. He took one glance at Simon and I and smiled, "Oh man Lux is gonna flip once she finds out her favorite youtuber is going to adopt her."

This made the smile on my face grow even more. "I can't wait to meet her." I responded hinting that I wanted to see her soon. Mia's wife Brittany sent the boy who I learned was charlie to go fetch Lux. My excitement grew as I finished a few more pages of paperwork.

A small gasp from the doorway caught my attention, "Your Zerkaa and Miniminter! W-Why is 2/7 of The Sidemen here?" Lux's face was filled many mixed emotions, mainly confusion and shock. "No don't tell me one of you is adopting me."

"Welp I guess you'd be sad to know that I am adopting you." I joked around with a fake frown. A huge smile erupted on her face as she took a few steps towards me.

"Yeah I'm just here as the pack mule." Simon laughed causing Lux to giggle.

I handed Lux a pen, "All you gotta do is sign here," I gestured to a line on the paperwork, "and then I will officially be your legal guardian." Lux's smile grew even bigger if that was even possible. She quickly grabbed the pen and signed her name.

Happiness illuminated across her face while she threw her arms around me in a surprise hug. My arm wrapped around her gently and hugged back tenderly. When we finally pulled apart a key around her neck caught my eye. "Wow that's a beautiful necklace Lux."

She glanced down at it and wrapped her hand around it softly, "Thanks it's the only thing I have from my biological parents." As she pulled her hand away I heard a soft barely audible gasp from my left. I turned to simon and have him a confused look but all he did was shake his head and whispered "I'll tell you later."

Nodding my head I turned my attention back to Lux who still held a huge smile. Her smile makes me feel instantly happy and makes my heart melt. Her smile though started to fade as she made her way to Mia and Brittany. Engulfing them into a huge hug while pulling Charlie in as well. I turned to Simon and gave him a sad expression which he returned with a sympathetic smile.

"I'm going to miss you guys so much." Lux whispered, a few stray tears trailed down her cheeks.

"Don't worry baby." Brittany reassured, "We'll come to visit and call a lot." Mia nodded her head.

"I'm going to miss you lil sis." Charlie whispered tightening his hold on Lux. He glanced up at me and continued, "But I know you're in good hands." We locked eyes and nodded heads.

Everyone pulled apart and wiped away a few tears. We started to make our way out each grabbing one of Lux's luggages. Once everything was put into the boot everyone gave one more quick goodbye hug and we made our way on our long journey home. I was driving with Simon in the passenger seat and with Lux in the back.

"Waaaaiiitttt a minute," Lux spoke confused, "When you tweeted that you were having a new addition to the sidemen family, was that me?"

I looked back at her in the rear view mirror, "I see someone follows us on twitter." I nodded my head, "And yes it was about adopting you."

"Well duh of course I follow you, I'm kinda a huge fan." Glancing back I see that her cheeks started to get red, "You wouldn't believe how much self control it took to not fangirl once I saw you."

"I'm impressed," Simon commented glancing back at her from his phone, "Most girls can't keep their panties on most of the time." We all cracked up laughing from his weird joke.

"Sooo," Lux started, "Does this mean I get to meet the rest of The Sidemen?" She asked, hopefulness shone in her voice.

"Nope," I responded sarcastically, "Just kidding. Of course you are!"

"You're part of the sidemen family now." Simon giggled adorably. He has the cutest laugh I have ever heard. Simon is the nicest person I have ever met. He's just so charming, kind and compassionate. Not to mention really cute. I just wish that he was happier and saw what I see instead of having such a low self esteem.

The drive continued with much more banter and chatting. But as we continued on our journey back home the noise in the car died down to silence. Glancing back I see that Lux has fallen asleep with her head lulled to the side and her lips slightly parted. I nudged Simon slightly and in response he grabbed his phone to take a picture.

"Hey back at the house why did you gasp?" I ask out of nowhere, just remembering that he said he'd tell me later.

"Oh yeah," He sighed and turned his body towards me, "When Lux grabbed her necklace I noticed scars on her wrists." He glanced down at his hands and started to play with the hem of his shirt nervously, "They were very faint but with my experience they were easy to spot."

"Oh that's why you reacted to that." I responded softly. Not many people know, just the sidemen and a few close friends, that Simon has struggled with self harm. Even to this day it's a constant struggle.

"Yeah," He mumbled starting to go shy, "It pains me to see someone just like me. Because I understand what it's like." Constantly glancing between him and the road I see that he keeps pulling down his long sleeves.

"I understand what you mean Simon." I said gently, not quite sure how to respond. Not really being able to stop myself I take one hand off the steering wheel and place it on his thigh. He looked down at my hand and then back at me as a ghost of smile hints at his face. He stopped playing with his shirt hem and placed his hand on top of mine.  

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