miniminter imagines (discontinued)

twenty one ; 1

Simon Edward Minter was born on the 7th of September 1992. He was a naturally beautiful person; soft, dark blonde hair and deep, mesmerising blue eyes. Tall and thin - lanky, with long arms also. A beautiful set of white teeth and when he smiled - dimples. I'd seen lots of pictures, and honestly, I couldn't stop myself from looking at them; when he hid his hands in his sleeves and covered his face.

He was arguably perfect, but of course no one is perfect. Simon defiantly wasn't; he was the most broken one I'd ever seen. He'd done many illegal and shameful things, mainly out of anger, frustration, sadness and heartbreak. He was 17 when he was first caught overdosing on cocaine...

I hated writing that. I hated the word; it made me feel sick. No one knew that Simon was the real reason that I worked here; I wanted to get closer to him mentally, even if it wasn't physically. He didn't even know that I existed.

...But was let off lightly due to the fact it was his best friend - Olajide Olatunji that found him. Olajide had promised to keep it all a secret but only if Simon wasn't caught again. A year later - Simon was now 18 years old - Tobi Brown (another one of his best friends - there were seven of them) innocently walked in to see Simon viciously drinking, the stench of alcohol and smoke in his room. Simon pleaded Tobi not to tell Olajide, but of course he had to.

It was as if every year, Simon got worse and worse, mentally, physically, you name it. He was 19 when Vikram Barn found him in his bathroom, cutting his soft skin.

When Simon turned 20, on his birthday - he threatened to kill Joshua Bradley. Simon loved Josh dearly, but his frustration, anger and sadness got to him. The knife was in his hand, and he was pointing it directly at Joshua. But he couldn't do it. The knife slipped out of his trembling hand, clattering to the ground and Simon collapsed with it, crying his little broken heart out.

The next year, he actually did it. He lobbed the knife - again out of frustration - and it killed Joshua instantly. Olajide and Vikram - who Simon lived with, as well as Joshua - were heartbroken at how ruined their best friend was. Harold Lewis, Ethan Payne and Tobi Brown would stay at the house most nights. Simon, like always, would lock himself away, to overdose on all the drugs and alcohol he could find.

There was a reason that Simon was like this; there always had been, but no one knew what it was. The boys didn't even know. Simon, had a fear of rejection; he pushed everyone else (including himself) away. The fear was so intense that it turned into anxiety and depression. The only thing that physically made him better was cutting, drinking and cocaine.

I stopped typing, saved my work and walked the short distance to the address I'd finally found.

"Hi, I'm Kayleigh Lane; can I talk to you about Simon?"...

I had learned so much, within such a short period of time. I talked to the other boys, and they said how they couldn't tell the police that Simon had killed Joshua, however far he went. I asked for permission to see Simon and they all looked at each other warily before deciding to let me.

I knocked lightly against his door and started talking, not expecting a response.

"Hey Simon, my name is Kayleigh Lane. Don't worry, I'm not here to talk about you, I just want to see you. You're beautiful ya'know. I was awestruck the first time I saw a photo. I still am, to be completely honest. I promise you that I'm not here to write about you. Yes, it's my job and I'm technically not supposed to get to know you, but I don't care. You interest me. You're beauty captivates me and your helplessness and uncanny innocence draws me in further."

I stood up and softly whispered:

"Please, Simon."

I heard him unlock the door and a very weak mumble, suggesting to me that I could go in.

I couldn't believe that I'd actually managed to get through to him, and so quickly too. Slowly, I opened the door and saw him sat crossed legged on his bed, head hung low. He was doing that thing where he would hide his hands in his sleeves, making my heart stutter. Taking caution with every step, I walked over and sat next to him. For minutes, I just stared at the side of his face that I could see. Simon was even more magnificent in real life, as expected. Carefully, I picked up one of his hands - he flinched at my touch, but let me hold it - and I pushed his sleeve up his arm. Panic filled his eyes and he looked at me, unnerved.

"It's okay," I cooed as I stroked the scars that were all over his left arm and wrist.

It took him a couple of minutes, but soon he relaxed to my touch, making me happy. This was the first time that he'd felt and looked better.

Simon looked back into my eyes, melting my heart completely. I noticed that his eyes were the tiniest bit lighter now, from when I'd sat down less than half an hour ago. He lifted his hand up towards my face, warily, before flinching back - his cheeks blushing.

"Simon, be brave." I whispered.

He was so innocent and helpless. It warmed my heart. Simon looked me in the eyes as if to ask for permission. I nodded.

Simon lifted his shaky hand towards my face again; I held his arm, instantly stopping it from shaking. He cupped my cheek gently, stroking it with his thumb. I saw a smile form on his face, making me smile too. I knew that this was the first time he'd smiled in years. Simon seemed captivated by me, just like I was by him.

He moved closer towards me, trembling. He was so careful. I pulled Simon even closer, as if to remind him how to kiss again - him not having done so properly for years. Slowly, he leaned in, and I cupped his face in my hands. Our lips locked, gently. I could tell how nervous he was. It felt magical. I could feel the happiness beaming off of him; his confidence growing.

We pulled away, and for the first time, Simon spoke. It was a whisper:

"You're so beautiful, so perfect."

It made me emotional to think that the first words that he spoke were so precious. I wrapped my arms around his warm body, his long ones engulfing me in a cuddle. I could tell that Simon barely slept much, so I stroked his back soothingly - in an attempt to tire him - and breathed in his sweet, relaxing scent that I could only describe as his own. Within minutes, we were both whisked away into the beautiful land of sleep.

❁

republished it with changes & there's a part 2 soo

-lysm-sophie, x