[1/3] NEVER LEAVE ME│s.m

twentytwo

"Jide!" Simon exclaims as he slams his controller on his desk.

"Uh, Si, maybe take it a bit easy," I interject, stepping behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm gonna fuck you up, man," Simon growls into his microphone, referring to JJ's many attempts and successes of blowing his white vehicle up in a GTA race they were currently recording.

"JJ, I swear to God if you work him up-" I start but get interrupted by another shout from Simon.

"JIDE!" he calls out, another cough attack following. "Jesus," he says in between coughs.

"Maybe you should stop jumping around," I giggle.

"I can't help it, JJ's upsetting me!" he exclaims, his eyes strained on the screen in front of him.

JJ's laughter could be heard through Simon's headset, and it was as loud as normal.

"You need to rest, Simon," I sigh, sitting in the chair beside his desk, off camera.

"Nah, I need to record for tomorrow," he says, discarding my existence.

"You're ill, Si! Your fans will understand if you take a day or two off-"

"I just can't, Sage! Piss off!"

I press my lips together tightly, pushing myself onto my feet.

"I'll let you continue alone then," I mutter, exiting his room. I trot down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Simon getting angry?" Harry asks from the island. He's been here since I've woken up and I haven't talked to him at all during his visit. "Oh, c'mon, Sage," he groans.

"I just came down to grab something to eat, not to speak with a prick," I reply, rummaging through the pantry.

I stick with a bag of potato chips (or crisps), heading into the living room to watch some television.

"Sage?" I hear Simon call out.

"In here!" I respond, my eyes fixed on the TV as I flip through channels.

I hear footsteps patter into the room, a body falling beside me.

"I'm sorry," he says, the symptoms of a sore throat becoming more clear.

"It's alright, I know how worked up you get when playing video games," I reply, not paying him any physical attention, which annoys him as he takes the remote from my hand and shuts off the whole system. "Hey, I was watching that!" I exclaim.

"I heard Harry trying to talk to you," he says, completely switching the subject.

"Then you must've heard me shut him down," I reply with a simple, prideful shrug.

"Yes I did," he chuckles, glancing at his lap before looking back up at me.

"So when are we going on an actual date?" I ask, turning my whole body so I was facing him.

"We can go whenever I feel better," he smiles.

"Good," I reply with the same expression.

"I really wish I wasn't sick," he groans, placing his hands over his face.

"Why? Can't wait to go on a date with me?" I respond cockily.

"Well, sure. But I really just want to kiss you right now," he replies, peeking an eye through his fingers to watch my reaction.

"Eh, too bad you're contagious."

"Nooo, you're supposed to say 'Oh, that doesn't matter, babe, you can still kiss me'."

"'Babe'?" I question with raised eyebrows. His face draws a blank but turns scolding red. "Don't worry, I like 'babe'," I add, setting a reassuring hand on his thigh.

"Good," he replies, chuckling out of embarrassment.

"Go finish your recording," I tell him, giving him a little shove.

"I will as long as you come back up with me."

"I think it's best if I stay down here and worry about you silently," I tease, pecking his cheek. "Before you go upstairs, take some more medicine, your fever is coming back."

"On it, ma'am," he replies, running off. I giggle as I watch him jog out of the room, completely unaware he was in his boxers due to the heat wave in his room.

••••

"Just record a Prop Hunt with us!" Simon exclaims.

"No, I'm alright, Si," I giggle, cozying up into the blanket. I was snuggled up on the couch once again.

"Pleeaasseee," he whines, cuddling into me. He wraps his arms around my waist, my back pressing into the couch cushions.

"I would be complete rubbish!" I proclaim, hugging him back.

"Fine then, no more cuddles," he says, reluctantly pulling away from my embrace.

"Noooo, Si," I cry out, clinging back onto him. "You always want to cuddle when you're sick!"

"I don't want to anymore," he chuckles, pushing me off. I stick out my bottom lip, looking down at my crossed legs. "Oh, don't do that face," he whines.

"Pwease," I pout, giving him a longing look.

"Nah," he replies, standing on his feet.

"Oh, give over. When I'm actually your girlfriend you quit being all cute with me, I don't understand," I complain, almost genuinely.

"'Girlfriend'?" he quietly questions.

"Well what else would we be? We're not best friends anymore- we've kissed a few times!" He remains silent, his back facing me. "Unless you don't want me to be your girlfriend," I softly reply with a sad expression.

"Of course I do, I kissed you after all!" he shouts, whipping around to face me. He clears his throat, apologizing for raising his voice through nonverbal actions. "Just please come play some Prop Hunt with us," he says with a gentle tone.

"Fine." Simon looks down at me with a perky facial expression. "Am I in Vik's room?" I ask.

"Yup, he'll help you set it up," he replies. He sticks out a hand, gesturing for me to grab it. I do, intertwining our fingers as well.

We walk upstairs, and he drops me off at Vik's bedroom.

"Pick Hunter," he whispers into my ear before walking off to his room.

Once I step past Vik's door, he sits up in his bed and walks me over to his setup.

"It isn't hard," he chuckles after explaining the controls to me.

"Alright," I reply with a smile, turning to the screen.

"If anything goes wrong while you're playing, shout for me," he informs before stepping out and shutting the door behind him. The Skype tune begins to play, a picture of Simon popping up on the screen as well as a blue background.

I answer the call, greeted by all three boys smirking.

"Ready?" Simon asks me.

"Sure," I reply as I exhale heavily.