The Space Between Us (snowbaz)

6

SIMON

I don't want to be here. 

It's only been a few days since my run-in with the ne'er-do-wells but Penny insisted that I go with her to to Rhys' party tonight. So here we are in his shitty house off-campus that he shares with a few other blokes. There are a lot of people here and I refuse to talk to any of them because, of fucking course, Baz is here. He showed up two minutes ago looking fit and perfect and flawless in black skinny jeans and a floral button-down that isn't buttoned up all the way. I want to punch him right in his perfect mouth. 

Penny's off socializing, but I'm following Baz around because I know that he isn't here for fun. He's probably going to get a girl drunk, take her outside, and drain her dry. I'm going to stop it, though. It's my job. My duty. He won't get away with anything tonight. 

BAZ

If Snow thinks that he's being subtle about following me around, he's a fucking idiot. I've noticed him lurking a few feet behind me for the past ten minutes and, honestly, it's driving me up the fucking wall. I'm already helplessly in love with him when he's pretending I don't exist, but being in the blinding spotlight of his gaze is infuriating. His stare is going to set me on fire, I swear it. 

Even when I'm talking to other people, he's there. He's following me everywhere and I can't deal with it. I decide to step outside so I can at least have a cigarette if he's insisting on stalking me all night. I'm not expecting him to follow me––it's a cold night and he's wearing a white tee shirt. 

SIMON

If Baz doesn't think I'll follow him outside, he's wrong. I can, I will, and I do. When I get outside, he's lighting up a cigarette, but I don't see a lighter. Maybe vampires can summon flames. Though, aren't they flammable? 

"Baz," I growl, stepping towards him. 

He jolts, clearly surprised, and coughs. A billow of smoke goes up into the air and vanishes into the night. "Christ, Snow. Why won't you just leave me alone?" 

I step closer. "Because I know what you're planning."

He raises an eyebrow at me. I feel my magic simmer under my skin. I try to swallow it down. I don't want to have to go be sick in the middle of this showdown. 

"And what is that, exactly? To get drunk? To have some fun?" 

I clench my fists. "No. You––I know you're a vampire." 

He laughs, but he doesn't laugh like a normal person. It's forced like he's never had a real reason to laugh before and he's just gotten by with fake laughter for business deals or whatever the fuck he does in his spare time. "Vampires aren't real," he says. 

I can't really say anything to that without exposing myself as a mage, so I growl at him again. 

"And why the sudden interest in me, anyway? You've been following me since I arrived." 

I really want to punch him. Punch something. 

If we were in our dorm, this is about the time that I'd run off to go throw up in the toilet. My magic is buzzing through me––filling me up. I need to release it. I need to get it out of my body so I don't hurt anyone. I turn to leave, to go back inside and find Penny so she can talk me down, when Baz chuckles. 

I turn around. 

BAZ

I hate that he does this. Any time we have an argument (which is every time we speak), he runs out of the room like he simply can't stand the sight of me anymore. These fights are the only time I get to look at him without shame. The only time I can talk to him, even if all I'm saying are insults. 

"Can't finish what you started? And just when I thought you couldn't get more pathetic." 

I want to tell him how much I think about him. How I think he's brave and courageous and beautiful, but I hold my tongue. 

"You know what, Baz?"

I anxiously await the rest of that, but a roar and a heat wave pull my attention away. I turn around to find the source of the strange noise and feeling when I see a fucking dragon on the rooftop of a nearby building.

A fucking dragon.