YOU & ME

Halloween Special.

"Are you sure about this Jace?" Simon asks for what seems to be the umpteenth time as the two head to the roof of their school. The dark haired male is fairly certain nobody is allowed up there. But, Jace was holding his hand, so Simon's mind is pretty much short circuiting. Thus, no matter how reticent he might be to breaking rules, he has no plan to actually object going anywhere Jace would lead him to.

"I am." Jace fondly indulges, not tired of reassuring Simon one bit. Frankly, he hides on that roof all the time. It's basically his thinking place by now. And he really wants to share that with Simon.

"I don't know if it's so smart, with my luck we'd somehow get stuck up there. I'm sure." Simon replies, his chuckle sounding a little self-depreciating.

"So what about it?" Jace asks, a small grin on his lips. He is mustering all the bravado he has left, hoping Simon would see. Hoping Simon would understand that Jace want it to be just the two of them for a while.

No such thing happens. Simon simply chuckles, dismissing it as the cheeky behavior Jace is prone to. In his defense, Jace flirts a lot with him these days, now that they are friends who actually talk to one another. Simon has guessed this simply is how Jace is. "Are you planning to murder me up there?" Simon jokes back, retreating behind his best lines of defense: humor and sarcasm. He can't flirt back. It'd hurt too much in the long run if he lets himself believe.

Why couldn't he though?

Why couldn't he believe the words he heard held the meaning he wanted them to and preferred to silently hope for it instead?

Jace sighs softly and lets go of Simon's hand. For a second, the male wonders if he's said something wrong. But the blond merely retrieves a bobby pin and kneels to take care of the knob. "Oh my gosh, you lockpick." Simon comments. "Jace Lightwood, perfect student, hidden nerd, faux rebel actually dabbles into illegal stuffs? What's next? Looting? Petty Theft?"

"They're the same thing in most states." Jace remarks, without a glance back. But Simon can hear the edge of a grin in his voice. "Also, shut up, I'm trying to focus."

Simon clicks his tongue. "You're the one who brought me buddy." He reminds. "That tongue just never stops running."

"What else does it do?" Jace easily asks. He smorts at the choking noises. "And here I thought the only way to get you to shut up was to literally shove my tongue in your mouth." The blond goes on, aware he is laying it a bit thick. But Simon is painfully oblivious. "Aha!" Jace stands, pushing the door open. "Come on." He slips his hand in Simon's again, tugging a little to lead him forward.

Still processing the words he's just heard, Simon indulges Jace's guidance. How is he expected not to think about how kissable Jace's lips are when he is spouting nonsense like that? It isn't fair really. Especially since he apparently has a thing for Maureen. He shouldn't be playing with Simon's heartstrings like that. "I..." The male's brows crease. "I don't think I can do the friendship thing anymore." He admits, freeing his hand from Jace's hold.

"What?" Jace frowns, a quiet but acute noise of flatlining resounding in his ears. "If it's about coffee with Maureen, Simon I," He runs his fingers through blond hair. "I'm not sure what I did but I, I brought you here to apologize. I don't bring people here usually and look," Hastily, he slips his backpack off his shoulders, fumbling a little to unzip it. "Clary said those were your favorites."

Slowly, Simon's gaze shift to what's inside the bag. It's candies. A bag filled with them. Wonka Jawbreakers, Vidal Tongue Painter Lollies, Twizzlers and Hershey's cookie and cream in a ridiculous quantity. No room for a single school book in there. Simon chuckles involuntary as his eyes grow misty. "Why?" He rasps out, both angry and incredibly touched.

"Because you wouldn't see me for days. You wouldn't text back. You wouldn't come to lunch." The blond sighs, crouching a little. "I literally had to wait for you after class and drag you here. I thought we'd moved past that Simon. I thought," He clenches his jaw for a second before continuing: "I thought we were better friends than that."

"Friends."Simon echoes, nodding a little. "But I don't want to be your friend Jace." He admits, feeling some of the weight lift from his chest. "I don't think I've ever really wanted to be your friend."

"What?" Jace asks, eyes widening in disbelief as his lips remain parted. Simon sighs, looking away from the blond. He knows, that his words can be misinterpreted. However, he isn't certain to be ready to clarify. "What do you mean?" Jace repeats. "Simon, Lewis." The brunet swallows at the tone. "What do you mean you've never wanted to be my friend?" The blond reiterates, dropping his bag and moving closer to his interlocutor. "Will you look at me for a second? Don't you owe me that much?" Jace's brows are now creased, but instead of anger, his expression reflects incomprehension and genuine vulnerability. "Simon, please..." He tries again. "Just tell me how to be a better friend. How to be worthy of your friendship. What is it that I keep doing wrong with you? I don't understand but I swear, I swear I'm trying."

Simon's lips involuntary part at the words, brows knitting together as he turns to face the blond. "What?" He lets out, genuinely taken aback. This sounds so much like something he could've, would've said himself really. But this is Jace. Confident Jace. Popular Jace. It doesn't make any sense. Why would he care so much about Simon anyway? Simon shakes his head. It doesn't matter. It doesn't currently matter because Simon knows, when someone asks you if they're good enough, you're supposed to answer that yes, they are. More than enough. So he swallows away at whatever emotions forced a nod in his throat and decides that he'll be the friend Jace asks him to be. Because Jace needs one. "You didn't do anything wrong, Jace." It's true. He didn't. Jace Lightwood always did things too damn right. That's why Simon loves him. "I promise you, you didn't do anything wrong." He repeats, tentatively moving forward to wrap his arms around Jace. "You're worthy of about anything good in the world, I swear. I'm the one whose messing it up. And I wish I could give you better explanations but I don't think I'm ready."

It's eerily quiet for a couple of seconds. Then arms sneak around Simon's middle and Jace lets out a loud exhale. "Okay." He says finally. "But please, don't go back to avoiding me. I don't want that."

And what is Simon supposed to say to that, huh? He can't be the asshole that walks away now, can he? He closes his eyes and says: "I won't."

"Does that mean we're still friends then?" Jace asks. Simon swallows. "Because I think a great friendly activity would be to eat all the candies I brought while watching Halloweentown."

Simon chuckles. "Which one?"

"All of them." Jace replies, hopeful. He feels more daring like this, when they're holding onto one another. Simon laughs, and Jace feels the vibration. The warmth. The proximity. Jace closes his eyes, and feels it all. And he knows, he knows Simon is the kind of person who'll fail to see time fly away once they launch the first movie. He knows, Simon is the type of person who won't leave until they both feel like parting ways, even if it means spending the night on a school rooftop rotting his teeth. He knows because he loves Simon.

Shit.
Jace, loves Simon.