the not so romantic / simon minter

14

They stand in her old bedroom. Walls that had been painted sea-foam grey, and posters that had been neatly taken off and stored away. The room makes her feel nauseous. As she lays on the bed, with arms crossed and eyes glued to the ceiling; she can't help but rub her forearms. It may have not been the first time he's put her hands on her, but it's the first time in public.

Her chest heaves uncomfortably, as she tries to stay quiet as possible; fearing an uncontrollable sob escape her lips. So, when she feels her cheeks wet, she coughs, and quickly wipes away the tears before sitting up and looking at Dominic who is staring out her window.

"Are you really not going to say anything?" She demands, grinding her teeth when she gets no response. "Where have you been? I called you."

He sighs sharply; turning on his heels, and pointing a finger at her. "Where have you been?!" He bursts outwardly, waving his hands in the air. "I got a call from that boy, Simon, saying you've run off without saying anything! But you're angry with me?! What is wrong up inside that head of yours?!"

"My family needed me, you arse!" She yells back, "I, unlike you, like to see my family from time-to-time, not only when something bad has happened. But guess what? Something bad has, and where were you? Too busy with your fucking job."

"Something you should be worried about, right about now." Dominic tells her flatly. She watches his tongue dart out, avoiding her eyes.

"You're threatening me now, are ya?" She breathes out in exasperation.

Dominic runs his fingers through his hair, letting a breathe of air escape his lips. "I'm not! I just..., can we start over? Please? Things got out of control, very quickly. I don't wanna fight."

Her shoulders fall slightly, and she lets out a tireless breath. "I don't want to fight either."

He puts his arms out and pulls her in for a hug. The way he wraps his arms around her are loose and not comforting. But when he presses his lips against her forehead, she buries her face against his chest. As if trying to push herself inside his skin; would make this embrace feel any better. Any semblance of comfort and warmth.

So, when she pulls away, she forces a smile across her lips.

"I'm sorry I didn't respond to your calls, Dom."

OOO

When she stirs for what seems like the umpteenth time, whilst trying to sleep in her old bed, she runs her fingers through her hair harshly. Reaching out for her phone, she absentmindedly plays with the edges, wondering if it would be too late to call someone--to call him.

But then again, she finds herself wondering: would he pick up? Would there be a reason for him to listen to her? Would he care?

Did she want him to care?

"Hello?" It isn't who she expected on the other line. "What a curious little thing. Are you Maggie?"

"Have I dialled the wrong number?"

She makes a long humming noise through the phone, clearly drunk. "I don't think so. My baby Simon is staring daggers at me right now."

Maggie bites her bottom lip, a little too harshly. "Can I speak to him?"

She laughs through the phone. "Mm, don't think so. Sorry in advance, but it's just a bit of banter." and with that, there's dial tone.

Shuffling under the sheets, she pulls the covers over her chin, and shuts her eyes before counting. She wanted the butterflies, moths--whatever it was that was fluttering in her stomach, to stop. She had taken a leap, and something about it made her feel giddy--excited--probably about the fact that he wanted to talk to her.

Counting to a hundred four times over, she rolls over on her side and clicks her screen back on. The light is blaring in the dark, and she's thankful that Dominic decided to sleep on the couch. That's one thing she couldn't deal with.

Gasping when her phone vibrates in her hands, she quickly swipes and puts it to her ear.

"Simon?" She asks, feeling a knot twist in her stomach. She could hear giggling.

"Yeah, Mags! Hey, can you hear me?!" He yells over the phone, and the music seemed to be getting louder and louder until it stopped all together. "Maggie May, blink twice if you can hear me." He pauses. "Did you blink?"

Maggie giggles, a grin so big that it would make the Sun feel so haplessly inferior.

"No, don't think I can." She teases.

"Hear me, I hope. I'd feel pretty bad if you couldn't blink." He hums to himself. "Your eyes would get annoyingly dry."

Rolling her eyes, she burrows her head in her pillow. "It's been a long night for you, huh?"

"Hm. No, not really. I decided to be the designated driver for tonight. So, no drinking for me. My dad would probably kill me if I did." He clears his voice before continuing. "Plus I said I'd call you back. And I don't really have a filter when I've had a few..."

"Speaking of..., I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

He makes a noise, and she can practically see him shrugging his shoulders. "Not really. I was JJ's wingman for tonight."

"I'm not entirely sure how your girlfriend would feel if you were chatting up girls at the end of the night." Maggie laughs, running the palm of her hand against her forehead before yawning.

Simon coughs, "Girlfriend? I..., Maggie, I don't have one. Thought that was abundantly clear when I tried to chat you up."

"Would you call that a chat up line?" Maggie questions, thinking about the first day she bumped into the boy at the hotel lobby.

"You're teasing me right now, aren't you?" He says all-too-seriously whilst she has a wide-spread grin across her face.  "But in all seriousness, it was a girl that I was talking to whilst JJ talked to her friend. Not entirely sure why she pulled my phone from my jacket pocket."

"You might wanna check your wallet." She jokes, and waits for a moment. She can hear him breathe through the phone. It sounds strong and light, and her eyelids slowly droop. "I shouldn't have assumed she was."

"I'm not bothered by it. She isn't my type anyways."

Maggie yawns, and smiles when she can hear him chuckle. "I wouldn't have thought you had a type."

He feigns hurt with an exaggerated gasp. "That is an insult to my character!"

Yawning mid-laugh, she tucks her arm under the pillow, listening to him breathe while they stayed silent.

"You don't mind if we don't talk, do you?"

He copies her, yawning loudly, and she can hear feet shuffle across a floor. "I don't mind. I don't mind when it comes to you, Maggie May." Silence washes over them before he talks again. "Go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

A/N: unedited but cheers for all the love x