the not so romantic / simon minter

18

Simon sleeps on the couch. Before, though, he pulls her one of his sweatshirts from his closet, mentioning, "The ones we have in storage can be a little itchy if they're not washed first. This is clean, promise."

Then she doesn't remember anything but the smell of rain wafting through his windows while she tucked herself in his covers, and nestled into his pillows to sleep.

Once she wakes up, she can feel his sheets against her legs, and runs her fingers against the cool fabric. Letting out a groan whilst stretching her arms above her head, she goes to leave.

When she reaches the last step, she catches JJ coming out of his room.

"Hey, sleepy head." He grins at her. "Simon was about to go check up on you. You know..., wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Where is he at?" She rubs the sleep from her eyes, and wraps her arm around JJ's waist. It seemed weird to her at first; but he does the same, and gives her a slight squeeze of reassurance.

"Kitchen, making some oatmeal. He wasn't really sure what to make." JJ replies, and stretches his arms above his head. "He usually has oatmeal for breakfast, though."

Maggie grimaces slightly. She never cared for oatmeal. At least, never cared for the texture. But JJ leads her into the kitchen where they're facing Simon who has his back turned to them.

She spots an array of small bowls filled with different types of toppings. There was: blueberries and black berries, strawberries and raspberries. Almonds and walnuts, orange slices and several pieces of chocolate. 

"Sleeping beauty has come down." JJ announces, and reaches for his keys off the counter. "I'll be back later tonight. Promise to tune in, won't ya?"

Simon glances behind him. Eyes meetings hers, and quickly turns around to look at JJ.

"Yeah, man. You'll kill it tonight." Simon tilts his head down, and press his hand in a fist before JJ bumps his against Simon's.

"Always do, mate." And JJ does this sort of saunter, turning back to look at the two of them, and snapping his fingers with a huge grin plastered against his face.

Maggie tucks her thumb under her lip, smiling at both JJ and Simon who were laughing like idiots.

When the room gets settled, and Maggie sits on the chair, she stares at Simon whilst he still cooks. His shoulder blades flex under the blue cotton shirt he slept in, and messily runs his fingers through his hair as he stirs the oatmeal and puts the contents into two bowls.

He turns and looks at her. His eyes are shockingly blue under this light. And it's small, but the smile that graces his features makes her shiver (if only the slightest). But he seems genuinely happy to see her, and the air around the two of them feels different.

It doesn't feel heavy.

So, when she takes a deep breath of air, and let's it escape from her lips -- she reaches for the bowl he's handing to her.

"I shouldn't have let you slept on the couch." She starts out, clearing her voice, and piles on some blackberries. "Thank you, though."

He laughs, the smile he wears growing even bigger; where it makes his eyes crinkle. "Don't do that. I didn't mind. If I minded, I would of just slept beside you."

Maggie blushes, biting the inside of her cheek. She rolls the oatmeal around in her spoon. She averts his gaze and starts to attempt to eat it. But when she makes a face, Simon laughs. Whole-heartedly, boisterous. It makes her heartbeat get faster.

"What's with the face?"

"What's with all the laughing?" She wipes her hands across her lips. "Do I have stuff on my face?"

He shakes his head and leans against the countertop. "You don't like my laugh or what?"

"No, it's cute." She stumbles with her words. "I mean -- I like it. It makes me smile."

He pulls the bowl of oatmeal away from her and places the two dishes in the container. "Oatmeal's crunchy. Wanna go to breakfast?"

"Yeah, I'd love that."

OOO

When Simon pulls up to a diner, he rests his arms against his steering wheel, looking over at Maggie. She looks back at him, trying to find any reason to contemplate why she shouldn't be here - with him.

"Did he hurt you, Maggie?" Simon asks after a few minutes of silence, his gaze falling to his hands. "Did..., did he put his hands on you?"

"No...," Maggie try's, and it's true. He didn't. Except the one time, the first time. "I mean, not last night. When.., I went to visit my family, he grabbed me a little more roughly than usual. So, I've been sort of weary that he might actually this time. But last night? No. He just sort of got angry and threw a tantrum."

He contemplates.

"Don't go back to him, Maggie May."  He continues, "I want you to be happy, and I don't think it's with this guy."

"It's different, right?" She asks him. "Assuming to know how easy it is to get out of a relationship like his and mine. Like you know what's good for me? How do you know, when I don't even have a clue?"

He backtracks, "Hey, I don't want to argue with you -- and I'm not trying to start an argument. I just want you to know that I -- and the rest of the guys, we're looking out for you."

Maggie licks her lips, sighing, and looking out the window. "It feels like I'm starting over."

"Isn't staring over a good thing?"

A/N: unedited and like such a filler chapter, so sorry for that peeps

pls follow me for updates, new stories, and me freaking out over #malec and that isabella x raphael scene in the latest episode of shadowhunters because 😍