"Hot tub! Hot tub! Hot tub!" Freya chants, dancing through into the bathroom where a large bath tub is against one wall. A large bath tub that is also a hot tub. She jumps into the already filled tub, the water splashing in Josh's face.
"Oh, God!" Josh shouts looking over the edge of the tub at where water is flooding the tiles.
"Yes, my child?" Freya chimes, an innocent smile on her face. Josh shakes his head, smiling and pulling Freya in by her waist so she is resting against his chest.
"Why are you wearing a swimming costume?" Josh asks, staring oddly down at her bright red bikini with an unimpressed look on his face.
"Why aren't you wearing anything?" Freya smirks, turning the dial next to Josh's head and bubbles start surfacing around and between them, spitting warm water and making a loud whirring noise.
"Because this is a bath. Who wears a cossie in the bath?"
"Obviously, not you."
"Obviously."
-------------------------------
"Suzie, I can't do that." Simon whispers into his phone, hoping that no one can hear him as he starts to rethink his stupid decision to have this conversation in the middle of the kitchen. He should probably move and go to his room but he feels this conversation is urgent, or he just wants it to finish, and cannot be held up by two seconds of running to his room.
"You need too! Simon, this is your responsibility as well!" A loud, exasperated voice rings through the speaker and Simon sighs.
"I know it is! I mean I can't afford that, I may have a good job but it isn't stable and I can't afford hundreds of pounds a week! That's ridiculous, it's more than a minimum wage job!" A loud, obnoxious beeping sound accompanies the end of his sentence and he lets out an annoyed growl and angrily pushes his phone into his pocket.
"Simon? You ready to record GTA?" Vikk shouts from his open door as Simon heads up stairs.
He nods his head as he reaches the top of the stairs and before Vikk can even ask, he is reaching into the room and shutting the door for him.
-
"Monei? You're aren't moving." Ethan mentions with a loud laugh as he drives past him. Simon returns from his thoughts, mumbling an incoherent couple of words before starting driving again. He hadn't even realised the race had started never mind everyone else already being a lap ahead of him.
His head felt like it was full of jelly and one simple movement would send it all in a different direction and it would squelch loudly and cause Simon to lose his train of thought and completely forget where he was and who was there. He didn't like it, he needed to figure out a way to clear his head.
-
"Simon, are you okay?" Ethan asks as they finish their last race and stop their recordings.
"Yeah, I'm good. Why are you asking?" Simon feels confused, of course he wasn't okay but he was pretty sure he was good at hiding it. Ethan, on the other hand, was wondering how Simon could be so oblivious to the fact that he was so obvious. Simon had been out of it for the majority of the playlist and Ethan could just imagine the way his eyes would glaze over with uncontrollable thoughts that dragged him away from the world and into a deep state of fear or worry, depending on what was wrong.
"Because you were barely here for most of that recording, I don't need a magnifying glass to see that there is something wrong." Ethan declares with an agreeing hum from Vikk and Tobi.
"I'm fine. Never better." Simon breathes out, suddenly tired, "I'm gonna have a nap, I'm tired."
And with that he exits the call and gets straight in bed.
He doesn't fall asleep, too busy worrying but he also doesn't stir when his door opens and his bed dips. He just stares blankly at his wardrobe until a face shadows his view and he jumps back.
"Fucking hell." He sighs, turning onto his back and rubbing a hand down his face.
"Sorry." Ethan murmurs quietly, laying next to Simon but on his side, staring at Simon staring at the ceiling. When Ethan follows his gaze he sees a small mark dented into the ceiling and a rush of memories fill his head.
-¦-
"Ethan! Come on! We're home alone, what do people do when they're home alone?" Simon chimes, running up the stairs to his room and opening the door and turning to smile widely at Ethan striding up two stairs at the time.
"Sex? Wank?" He questions, walking past Simon, who now has a disapproving look about him.
"No! Jump on the bed!" He launches forward, landing on the bed and barely staying on as he rolls all the way to the other side.
They jump together, and you would think that there bed jumping session would be cut short by the bed breaking under the unbearable weight of two fully grown men. Well, a teenager and a fully grown man. But, no, instead it is stopped by a loud bang and a long chain of shouted cuss words flowing from Simon's mouth as he clutches his head.
Ethan clasps a hand over his mouth, trying (and failing) to conceal a laugh.
"Ow." Simon whimpers, checking his hand for blood but not seeing anything. He looks to the ceiling where a small indentation is now gracing their presence.
"Wow, you must have hit that hard!" Ethan exclaims, his laughter calming down as he sits back on the bed, searching through Simon's hair for the wound.
"There's nothing there," he kisses his head, "Stop being a baby."
-¦-
"Simon? Tell me what's wrong." Ethan pleads, turning back to look at him. Simon closes his eyes and sighs.
This is the part where I write a long paragraph to create suspense leading up to Simon telling Ethan what the actual fuck is bothering him so Ethan can then hug him, kiss him and tell him, 'It's okay' and, 'I'm here for you, always,‘ but what fun is that when, really, there hasn't been much suspense created earlier in this story to make this a big reveal and I, the author, know what this thing is and I, the author, also know that no one in their right mind would just blurt it out without fully thinking it through because, in the situation that this was real, Simon would surely not tell Ethan until he definitely had to because it's the sort of thing that ruins a relationship. It brings unwanted chaos and questions his responsibility and maturity in life and Simon doesn't want that. He wants to savour what he has and be responsible by sorting this out himself and then making a big announcement to all his friends, family and fans, in which he may lose some people but knows the majority of people will be proud of him for his initiative and ability to take control of a situation. He has full and total control. Definitely.
"I can't."
-------------------------------
"Is there anyone you would take a bullet for?"
"This sounds selfish, but the only person I would take a bullet for is myself, which is a little confusing."
:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:
Hhhaaaaiiiii!! What could Simon's secret be? Let me know what you think down below!!
I absolutely loved the feedback on last chapter and I have read it all and taken it into consideration and sometimes I forget that I am nine chapters ahead of you guys and that Simon's secret is out in the open haha...
Anyway! I want 8 votes and 4 comments please!!! Feedback over votes blah blah blah
Chapter 22 sneak peek:
‘Simon knew that he couldn't afford to be ill and that he needed to sort things out but maybe he was ill because of the amount of stress that he was under. It was times like this that he wanted to go home, his parents home, and have his mum wait on him hand and foot until he was better. Being ill sucked and he knew it was only going to get worse.‘
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stumbling into line (sidemen ff)
Fanfiction'Would you give up your happiness for her?' 'No, she is my happiness' --- 'One add one equals one. Me add him equals one. Everything equals one. But how you get there is always different.' --- 'Love is a one time thing, but it's so unknown to hum...
