MiniZerk - You Could Follow Your Heart

Chapter 17

"So..." Simon murmured as he and Josh stepped into the elevator together. Harry kicked both of them out of the room the moment Ethan woke up, but Simon wasn't complaining. He knew the two wanted to be alone, and he wanted to talk to Josh in privacy. Josh hit the button for the first floor, lifting an eyebrow to let Simon know to continue. "You told Ethan we were back together."

Josh's cheeks turned pink, if only for a second. "Well...we've been doing stuff again. Do you not want to be together...?"

"No!" Simon exclaimed quickly, stepping out of the elevator as it opened into the lobby. "I didn't mean it in that way. I just...I didn't realize you wanted to be together..."

In the parking lot, Josh grabbed Simon by the arm so that, illuminated by the street lights, he could look into his eyes. "I do, Simon. and I want it to be...proper, this time around. But only if you want that, of course."

Simon's cheeks flushed a shade of deep red, his palms beginning to sweat. "Josh..."

"I love you, Simon Minter...will you be my boyfriend?"

With no hesitation, Simon practically threw himself into Josh's arms, unable to hold back his tears as he clung on, digging his nails into Josh's back. He couldn't believe it. He had imagined this day, but never thought it would actually come. For the majority of their sexual relationship, Simon had always felt like a pawn in Josh's game. Now, it was the complete opposite. He believed that Josh loved him, and it made him cry even harder.

The love Simon contained for Josh was greater than any other. To know that his feelings were reciprocated was the best feeling he had ever experienced after such a long period of depression and doubt. Post-Madden, he didn't think he would ever be able to feel another person's love. Maybe he was being silly, but he wholeheartedly believed Josh loved him.

And to be loved is all he truly wanted.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Life was full of ups and downs, Simon supposed. It had been a constant downhill for awhile there, but things were beginning to take a turn for the better. Just as the doctors had said, Ethan stopped his first round of chemotherapy in June, and he and Harry announced to all the lads that they would be getting married in the Bahamas in August. Simon had never been, and he was psyched - especially since it was an honor to be in a wedding party.

A lot of their YouTuber friends came, and took snapchats and instagram photos. Vikk and Josh, being the editing gods that they were, vlogged the whole thing (at the couple's discretion, of course). The wedding was all over social media, and fans were shocked, as to be expected. But the response was overwhelmingly positive, and especially when they saw that Ethan was happy and well. People were arguing about the name change to Harry Payne, but Simon thought it was suiting enough.

The reception itself was gorgeous, and if Simon were to ever get married, it would be his ideal reception, too. They had rows upon rows of food, birds flying around, and flowers galore, complimented of course by the stunning private beach. Simon supposed that money truly could buy that kind of beauty, and certainly not for the first time, found himself humbled. He realized that, in spite of everything they had encountered the past few months, they were really living their lives to the fullest and experiencing so much despite their ages. Not everyone could do what they had all done.

Dancing with Josh at the reception was another thing. Josh was not graceful in the slightest, but even though his toes were probably going to bruise, Simon found it charming how clumsy and awkward he was. He told Josh that they didn't have to dance, but he was shut down instantly. Josh wanted to have his first slow dance with Simon, and that was that.

(Plus, Josh was handsome as hell in his suit, so he almost had every right to crush Simon's feet).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the fall came around, and Ethan and Harry came back from their honeymoon (an Alaska/New England cruise, that was apparently to die for), Ethan was admitted back into the hospital for another round of chemo, and became sick again almost immediately. The doctors explained that they wanted to get his strength up to a point where they could safely operate on Ethan and remove the tumors. Harry didn't seem thrilled, nor was he any sort of optimistic. Simon couldn't blame him . The tumors were like little warts covering Ethan's stomach, and it was a terrible thing.

However, Ethan was doing a lot better than he had been the first time. He seemed hungry more often, and didn't have to sleep so much. He had the energy to walk around, and was even allowed to take walks with Harry to get fresh air (so long as they kept it to a minimum; Ethan really couldn't afford to run into an illness).

In the meantime, Josh and Simon were regular little lovebirds. They had yet to come out about their own relationship, and Simon wanted to take his time. He didn't so much mind people knowing, but for the time being, he wanted to keep Josh and their relationship to himself. He cherished it. He would open up one day, but they were really in no sort of rush.

JJ ended up settling down with a girl he met whilst in the Bahamas. She was on vacation with her family, hailing all the way from Texas. So, even though they had gone their separate ways for awhile, they kept up with each other over video chat and text messaging. For awhile, no one thought he was serious about Brittany, until he flew to America to go be with her. He stayed there through September, and when he came back, he told the guys that he found something special in her. Something that wasn't just about money or fame. She was a humble girl from a small town, and apparently she was JJ's dream girl. He told them that they would get married in the winter.

Simon was sure that they weren't serious, but sure enough, a week before Christmas, they were flying overseas once more to attend a wedding in the deep south. It was unlike anything Simon had ever done. He was a clean cut city boy, and this wedding was one of the most unconventional things he had ever witnessed. The ceremony was beautiful, Brittany was beautiful, and Simon had even agreed to being JJ's best man. But the reception, although different, was the funnest one Simon had ever attended.

They did line dancing, ate homestyle cooking, and roasted the shit out of the newlyweds. It was nothing Simon would have wanted for himself, and was pretty sure the wedding was mostly Brittany's planning, but it was entertaining all the same. Simon was genuinely happy for the couple.

The two had held their reception at Brittany's family ranch, a quite large piece of land with a long river nearby. Halfway through the night whilst they were dancing to Cotton Eye Joe, Josh pulled Simon away from all the excitement to take a walk along said river, taking his hand. It felt nice to be in the cool, breezy air, strolling with Josh under all the stars and constellations.

"They're a strange couple," Josh remarked, swinging their intertwined hands and kicking at the pebbles on the ground. "But he's so happy. Who would have thought?"

Simon nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Brittany's one gorgeous girl, but I didn't think she was JJ's type. Hell...I don't think he's ever been happier."

Josh nodded, appearing solemn for a second. "It's strange to think that we're all splitting up in such a short amount of time, you know? I didn't think it would end this soon."

Simon swallowed thickly, his breath catching in his throat. He didn't like to dwell too hard on the fact that things were not what they used to be. After Ethan got sick, they all kind of fell apart. All of them posting videos less and less frequently. With JJ now being married, and planning on moving Brittany to London with him and buying a new house to settle down in, there wasn't much left to the Sidemen. Everyone was starting to move on and do their own thing.

Simon had to agree that things were not the same, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He sucked in a deep breath, stopping Josh in his tracks to press in and give him a sweet, loving kiss. Before his boyfriend could kiss back, he pulled away to look into his eyes. "I love you, Josh Bradley."

Josh smiled at Simon, pulling him into another kiss.