A Man's Becoming

Prologue

"Sim, he's an ass. I can't even begin to understand why are you being so charitable towards him," Pearce said. "Sim! Sim? Are you there?" Sim seemed unruffled.

"C'mon, Sim. You won't listen to your best friend of eight years and go for the crazy one from last month?"

"Cut it out!" Sim exclaimed.

"Why, so you can go back to your stalker friend and comfort him?" Pearce was already heating up.

"He's not a stalker, Pea. For God's sake, cut him some slack, will ya!?" Pearce had rarely seen Simeonne on edge.

Pearce thought back to some time eight years ago, when he had chanced upon a meeting with the cousin of one of his neighbours. They were kids then, finishing high school. She had come over for her summer holidays. Paige remembered that he had lurked every evening around their house just to catch the name of the pretty girl that had arrived in their colony. When you're a kid who's shy as hell, stalking someone just to know their name seems to be an option much suited to your personality than going in front of them and introducing yourself. Oh, the horror of it!

"Damn it, Sim! Standing below your window for four hours in the dead of the night with a motive of catching a chance glimpse of you! You don't call that stalking?"

"He didn't have any motive. He.. Er.. He just stood there." Sim's voice registered unease.

"That's even more creepy, Sim! I say you get rid of him ASAP, or else I'll have to take some measures." Pearce couldn't help but notice the slight jealousy in his voice.

And why wouldn't he be? If anything, he should have all the rights of being jealous of that stupid Victor. Parents these days should name their kids appropriately, I tell you. That loser's not a victor by a hundred miles. Pearce was deeply in love with Sim, since more than four years. And he had never let on about that fact, save for that one time. That one time when Pearce accepted being vulnerable, being totally exposed to that beautiful girl. The girl who lived half a city away from him. Simeonne.

Simeonne, whom he had met only eight times, briefly, in their eight years of tight friendship.