lonely || sidemen || completed

/apart/

/simon/

I would be a liar to say that Josh Bradley, the school's designated prick, hadn't intrigued me.

I think that's probably why I went looking for him in the first place.

It was a Wednesday morning, and I knew he had a project with Tobi and JJ going on, so I figured the Woodwork room would probably be a pretty good bet- and I was half right. Tobi and JJ were there, huddled over a sketch on a piece of paper, brows creased and pencils blunt. They both looked up as the door opened.

'Hey.' JJ said. 'Tobi, you know Simon, right?'

Tobi nodded and we smiled at each other. We didn't really know each other that well, but I was hardly one to glare and tell any stranger to fuck off. By that, I mean I wasn't Josh.

'Have you guys seen Josh?' I asked, trying to keep my voice level. I didn't really want to ask, but I wanted to see him even more.

'Why?' JJ frowned, his eyes glinting with a knowing look.

'Erm... Just about... I think he gets the same bus as me... I figured maybe we could sit together...?' I said, my voice obviously shakey and unsure.

'...Josh lives in the college flats.' Tobi replied with a laugh in his voice. I blushed.

'Okay. I need to ask him about some homework we had.' They both laughed.

'Josh doesn't do homework.'

I groaned, knocking JJ's arm with the palm of my hand. It felt nice, y'know? Over the course of the English lessons we shared, we had slowly gotten closer. Close enough, I think, to call him a friend.

'Okay, fine. I just want to talk to him.' I said simply. JJ winked.

'Well, if he's the same Josh I know, he's probably somewhere in the music block. Or, maybe, in the library- he's friends with my group, and we usually sit in there when we're free together.'  Tobi relented, as I smiled widely.

'Your group?' JJ asked. Tobi nodded. 'That's, like, Vik Barn, Harry, and Ethan, right?'

'Yeah. And Josh.'

'Seems pretty cool.' JJ said, his voice almost hinting at something longing.

'Don't tease, Jide. They're cool.'

JJ turned to look over at Tobi, dark eyes meeting. 'I wasn't teasing. They seem a lot cooler than any of my friends.'

Tobi grinned, obviously relishing in the praise for his friends as I watched the exchange.

'Well, you can always come join.'

I felt a little bit... Out of place, then, so I turned to walk towards the door.

'Oh, Simon? If he's not there, come back. This rooms free. You can sit with us.' JJ called.

I nodded, my heart raising slightly as I realised what he was offering. Friendship.

With that, though, I left. I went looking for more.

~~